You can see from the title of this post that I can’t write advertising copy to save my life. After brooding for over ten minutes on how exactly to describe Strellson’s clothes, I gave up. Let me just start by saying that Strellson is my favorite men’s clothing brand. Every time one of my male friends asks me where he should buy clothes, I say Strellson. The problem is it’s not widely available (perhaps that’s a good thing too because I don’t want them to go mass market).

Strellson is a Swiss company based in Kreuzlingen that makes beautiful, wearable clothes for men. They have a more formal office line of suits and shirts, but their design really shines in their more relaxed collection of rough jackets, shirts, and trousers. The quality of the workmanship (i.e the stitching, button holes) of the shirts exceeds what you see in other men’s clothing brands. They use good fabric and they do not design the same old boring stuff that comes from the previous century: old-fashioned Brooks Brother’s type shirts and jackets, faux English upper-class hunting wear, preppy Great Gatsby sportswear.

Strellson is indeed very modern but they don’t go to extremes, nor do they slavishly follow trends (such as the hideous low-rise jeans and drainpipe trousers that are the scourge of the modern man looking for something good to wear). Arnon Kohavi, co-founder of Shopplr, visited Strellson’s recently opened Berlin store on Münzstrasse 8 and came away with two shirts that he now wears all the time. This is a guy who hates shopping, not because shopping is horrible in and of itself, but because you can’t find decent clothes unless you are shaped like a teenage male model (thin legs, thin arms, no waist), or you want to look like a suburban dad (sloppy baggy trousers, large baggy t-shirts).

It’s hard to believe that Strellson hasn’t made a bigger splash here in the US where men are just screaming for beautiful wearable sporty modern clothes that take them beyond the Brooks Brothers-Ralph Lauren-Tommy Hilfiger triumvirate, but which do not force them into looking like hip hop hoodlums.

Strellson
Münzstrasse 8
Berlin, Germany
www.strellson.com

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Go to Mapplr.com to see our Berlin favorite restaurants and hotels.

I can spend hours wandering around San Francisco’s Japantown, marveling at the curiosities in its boutiques. My first stop is always the Kinokuniya Bookstore in the Japan Center. Kinokuniya boasts the largest selection of Japanese books and magazines in the city. I am fascinated by Japanese women’s fashion magazines, which are so different from ours. They show many ways of putting together outfits and profile a seemingly endless supply of beauty creams, many of which are whitening lotions (in contrast to the obsession with tanning in the West). There are even stranger Lolita magazines which show teenage girls in top-to-toe pink outfits surrounded by pink teddy bears.

Then, I pop over to the Kinokuniya Stationery and Gift store which is a perfect place to find good writing paper (in A4 format!), gel writing pens, slick pencils, beautiful blank notebooks and more bizarre paraphernalia I have not yet even figured out (the instructions are, sadly, in Japanese).

I also make sure I stop by Asakichi Incense to replenish my incense supply. The selection at Asakichi is immense and the sales staff are more than happy to find the incense of your dreams or to help you pick incense for a friend. Don’t forget to buy the gorgeous incense holders. These make lovely gifts. There is another incense boutique called Japan Incense, which is also wonderful. Finally, if you are looking for a super-funky T-shirt, stop by Super 7 which sells unusual, trendy designs. The vibe is skater-hacker-snowboarder chic.

Kinokuniya, Asakichi and Japan Incense are all in the Japan Center, a giant shopping mall between Geary and Post. Super 7 is on Post Street. If you get hungry and crave sushi, go to the “sushi boat” restaurant, Isobune, in the Japan Center. The sushi is inexpensive and fresh.

Kinokuniya Bookstore
Japan Center
1581 Webster Street # 165
San Francisco, CA 94115
+1 415 567 7625

Kinokuniya Stationery and Gift store
Japan Center
1581 Webster Street # 218
San Francisco, CA 94115
+1 415 567 8901

Asakichi Incense
1730 Geary Boulevard # 209
San Francisco, CA 94115
+1 415 921 8292
www.asakichi.com

Japan Incense
1737 Post Street # 335
San Francisco, CA 94115
+1 415 931 2002
www.japanincense.com

Super7
1628 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
+1 415 409 4703
www.super7store.com

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Check out my favorite restaurants in San Francisco:

Mapplr reviews of SF restaurants

Google map of Mapplr favorite SF restaurants

If you are looking for beautiful, unique rugs and blankets, check out Elementos Argentinos, a boutique in the Palermo Viejo neighborhood of Buenos Aires founded by Fernando Bach and Pablo Mendivil. Each rug or blanket is handmade by weavers and craftsmen from the northern provinces of Argentina where people keep alive the old tradition of loom weaving. They also carry table runners and textiles.

I interviewed Fernando Bach to find out what inspired him to start this business and what advice he has for entrepreneurs who are looking to do the same.

Q: Who are these native weavers in the northern part of Argentina — can you give us a background about their culture?

A: In South America, prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the art of hand-spinning llama, alpaca and vicuña wool (sheep were introduced by Spain) and loom weaving was widespread. More than 500 years later, we find the craftsmanship still thriving. We work with a lot of Native South American weavers from a variety of ethnic groups: from Kollas and Aymaras in the northwest of Argentina to Wichis in the Northeast and a lot of “criollos” (persons of mixed descent). We try to mix their ancestral knowledge with more contemporary designs in order to create unique pieces.

Q: What inspired you to start Elementos Argentinos?

A: I am from Tucuman, in the northwest part of Argentina, and after living in Buenos Aires and even in the States for a few years, I went back to visit relatives and became friends with an amazing group of weavers who needed help in selling their incredible creative products in Buenos Aires, so I offered to help them out doing that. I ended up giving up my carrer as Hotel Manager for this really rewarding project.

Q: What is the most surprising thing you discovered while running this business?

A: I think the most surprising thing is how people react when we tell them how our products are made and the fact that they are made 100% by hand, and in certain cases, dyed with vegetables like onions, nut tree roots or yerba mate, a traditional sort of tea that Argentinians drink all the time. That is always the beginning of a very interesting conversation that can lead to suprising places that goes from global warming and politics to good places to eat in Buenos Aires or art.

Q: What advice would you give to small entrepreneurs in other countries who want to start similar businesses?

A: I would suggest that they learn as much as possible about the product: how is it made, techniques, ancestral knowledge. Also to keep costs as low as possible and to go step by step, but most of all, I’d suggest to respect the idiosyncrasies of each ethnic group you want to work with.

Q: What is your background?

A: I studied Social Communications and did post-graduate studies in Business Management, worked as Hotel Manager for several years and now run Elementos Argentinos. I am 40 years old.

Elementos Argentinos
Godoy Cruz 1720
Palermo Viejo
Buenos Aires, Argentina
+54 11 4832 6299
www.elementosargentinos.com.ar