Maine's Largest General Store

The sign says it all: Guns, Wedding Gowns and Cold Beer. Located on ME 32 fifteen miles east of Augusta, the Hussey's General Store provides central Mainers with all things required for life in Maine. Open for business for 87 years, the store has changed little in the face of competition from chain stores like Walmart.

Many times on my journeys throughout Maine I have stopped by Hussey's to poke around the store's 30,000 square feet of retail space. Sometimes I buy venison sausage, other times I chat with the sporting goods salesmen, and occasionally I frantically search the store's countless aisles for a restroom sign. The sheer texture of the store and its juxtaposing goods always catch my eye regardless of my reason of stopping by.

The tools have changed, but the story hasn't.

Wedding Gowns...

Cold Beers... PBR long necks are as rare as stores like these.

Guns...

Customers.

Vintage military canteens and leather shoelaces.

Every color of the rainbow.

All the Carhartts you could ever want.

Just in case you have enough lamps to necessitate gallons of kerosene.

Do you feel lucky?

Woof.

Hussey's has a great selection of Emerson of Maine Boots.

I couldn't think of a better place to buy the supplies for a shotgun wedding. The guns and the gowns are literally 30 feet apart.

Anyone visiting Maine should make the trek to the Hussey's General Store. They are a dying breed and as much a part of Maine as Bean boots and lobster fishing.

Here are some more links,
Hussey's General Store (Picasa),
Hussey's General Store.

A Trip to Winn Perry

Last fall I started hearing chatter about a new menswear shop in my hometown, Portland, Oregon. As time marched on and my interest in menswear continued to grow, I kept tabs on the budding shop in Southeast Portland. After a 12 month hiatus from Portland, I finally made it down to SE 11th to check out the shop's wide selection of menswear brands including Alden, SNS Herning, Band of Outsiders, Quoddy and Hill-Side.

Winn Perry sports a nice array of Hill-Side ties and bandannas.

Jordan, Winn Perry's founder, giving a breakdown of some of his offering ideas for future products and collaborations. Jordan named the store after his great grandfather and started the store after graduating from Portland State.

Some parts of the shop reminded me of Alex Carleton, like these Aldens, harpoon and chest.

Where the cards are swiped, the cash is given, and emails are answered.

Those Band of Outsiders plaid shirts caught my eye, I am just a sucker for red and blue.

Winn Perry has a nice mix of New England Nautical, Classic English and local Northwest.

Wherever I go, I find pieces of Maine. These Quoddy's looked great.

Some Pendleton pieces from the collaboration with Opening Ceremonies.

Rules for My Unborn Son showing proudly.

I am glad to see young entrepreneurs making a run at it in menswear and putting Portland on the Map. For a one room shop, Jordan has amassed quite the list of brands that would leave many of Manhattan's most coveted shops envious.

Here are some links,
A Trip to Winn Perry (Picasa),
Winn Perry.

45 RPM

Yesterday I swung by the 45 RPM on east 71st. Specializing in indigo denim for over forty years, 45 RPM has collections that my friend Edge describes as four hundred dollar selvedge denim and three hundred dollar shirts inspired by contemporary Mongolian nomads or Japanese peasants.

The store's decor and merchandising remind me of the Rogues Gallery showroom with substantial nautical influences, including a bunch of Popeye the sailor dolls and a rowboat infused into a brick wall. Their walls were made of woods native to northern climates and had amazing detail including individually chiseled siding. Here is a photo I took in a mirror on the second floor. I like what they do.

Here are some exerts from their AW08 look book.

Filson Store: Portland Oregon

Ever since the Filson store opened in Portland Oregon in early November, I have been itching to visit. Nestled in the Confectionery building in the vibrant Pearl District, the 2400 square foot store (one of three flagships) has four main sections: Men's, Women's, Hunting, and Luggage. The store has an awesome array of products with all of the staples you would expect from Filson, (however I did not see a Wool Parker Jacket).

On a side note, I talked with the store manager about my blog and about men's wear. He had some interesting things to say about bringing Filson to the Japaneses market and the potential problems with sizing. For example, the Filson Mackinaw Jacket (pictured predominately in the NYT article, The Fashion Report of 1920), starts at size 38 and goes to size 52. For reference, I am 6'3 and 175 and size 42. The Japanese market would need sizes down to 34 for petite men. Apperently Filson's Japanese distributer had been in the store earlier looking for ideas for a potential Tokyo store.

In addition to quality products, the store is decorated with awesome vintage magazines, pictures, and books documenting Filson's history and the foundations of its ethos. I will have a separate post about these pieces.

Here are some photos to give you a feel for the merchandising and products, if you don't already know them.

Luggage

Tin Jackets. People mainly talk about Filson's wool coats and often overlook their Tin Cloth Jackets. Personally, I like the heavy duty Tin Cloth jackets more than a comparable Barbour Bedale.
My Blue Alaskan Guide Shirt!

Womens Section.