Monthly Archives: March 2009

31

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

TRUE TIL DEATH.

#, #

We get so many photographs from you guys (and gals) getting The Hundreds tattoos.  Whenever I make one of these posts, the entire rest of the day we get bombarded with e-mail asking everything from “How do you feel about that?!” to “How could you do this to these poor kids?!”

If anything, it’s flattering for us to see. So, THANK YOU to the devoted.  As far as “doing this” to our supporters, need I remind you that we’re not holding a (tattoo) gun to anyone’s head here.

I once asked Usugrow how he felt about his fans getting his artwork tattooed on themselves, and not by his own hand.  Out of honesty, he admitted that he didn’t really understand it, but whatever..  If it made them happy…

And that’s the thing with these The Hundreds tattoos that we’ve been seeing over the past few years. Most of them are pretty dope, but many are drawn wrong, backwards, incorrect coloration, inverted, or just bad handiwork in general.  But to the person wearing it, it’s the coolest thing in the world, and who am I to judge that?

None of us here at TH have a The Hundreds-related tat, in fact, I don’t think I personally know anyone who does.  But the reality is that the brand has moved beyond us, and to the people who get an Adam Bomb inked on themselves, it means something different and something more to our fans then whatever you may perceive The Hundreds to mean in your own life.

So, sure, you could say these are our tattoos, but you know what, they belong to you.

And why the hell not, courtesy of Joe Stewart, GOLD FISH x THE HUNDREDS =

by bobbyhundreds

30

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

THE CORE.

#

Riffing off the response I got for my commentary on the classic hardcore pullover hoody (over on my Hypebeast blog), I thought it’d be fitting to give you more visual insight as to what early hardcore’s style was all about. The cut-off camos, bandanas, sportswear aesthetic, hoodies, Adidas running shoes.. depending on the era you grew up in and where you lived, it ranged from borderline-rockabilly to junglist raver to jocko toughguy to beachside surf steez.  Amidst all the straight-edge tenets, vegetarianism, DIY ethic, punk philosophy,… at its core (no pun intended), it was all about the live music. These should help you get a better impression of where The Hundreds came from.

Inside Out.

Chain of Strength.

Youth of Today.

Earth Crisis.

by bobbyhundreds

30

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

THE GIFT OF RECEIVING.

#, #

Monday mornings are a little more tolerable when you walk into this on your desk.  Thanks Jordan (the Brand, not the athlete).

Monday afternoons are a little more tolerable with a surprise Jayne care-package.  I don’t know if Korean snacks are good because of the taste or because of the ridiculous concept and branding.  Those Vita500 drinks are Vitamin C shots, 665% of your daily dosage, and about 400% of your daily sugar intake.  Pocky chocolate sticks.. but for Men?  Because the regular Pocky sticks were making me cry during The Hills’ commercials.  Unlicensed Coca-Cola hard candies, even better than the real thing.  And that in my hand, is a can of silkworms.  I believe you’re supposed to eat them?  Eh, usually if I find worms in my food, it’s mixed in with my vomit. No thanks.

by bobbyhundreds

30

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

YEAH, WE KNOW. THANKS.

#

You can stop emailing it in now. But anyways, late news from last week, The Hundreds in Playboy.

by bobbyhundreds

30

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

IF CHILDREN DON’T GROW UP…

#

Randomography.

Benjamin Hundreds. Very Space Odyssey / Jamiroquai.

Taking flight.

ynoT?

Tony’s girlfriend.

Nicole. Stop staring.

I saw Larry Flynt get rolled out of this black beauty.  Typo.

by bobbyhundreds

28

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

THE OTHER SIDE.

#

This weekend, here in Los Angeles, it looks like this outside.

Needless to say, I’ll see you Monday.

by bobbyhundreds

27

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

CHOPPING BLOCK.

#, #

Carter stopped by.  Flossing his new logo, courtesy of RETNA.. who also designed his new album, The Carter Family Reunion (with the help of Mike Reese).

Today was fruitful because I actually spent its entirety drawing and designing, something that I have to fight for these days.  The drawing was just a warm-up, but the Sharpie’s the real deal. Won’t be coming out for a while though, hold your horses on that one.

Speaking of previews, we just dropped our Spring 2 delivery, but here’s a peek at some work from the Summer collection.  Over a year ago, we worked on some more tees with Steve Nazar, and this was one of the final results.  Just for old time’s sake, had to have the man himself resurrect Thrilla.

And speaking of Thrilla Gorilla, Dave Choe stepped in once more to do us a solid with his signature whale, Munko, x Thrilla mash-up.  Okay, that’s all you get for now, greedy pig. You’ll have to wait a little bit longer to dig on the rest.

But I can show you a couple tees that will never see the light of day, as long as I’m back here digging through boxes.  Like this piece right here, we nixed it as soon as it hit the production floor.  Sampled, but never stood a chance.

And this one.  Actually sampled and shown, but the way business goes, if store buyers aren’t feeling it, then more often than not, it gets dumped by the wayside.  We have so many great t-shirts and cut/sew apparel that end up in production purgatory.

I was bummed that this graphic got cut from production.  It’s a tribute to the late, great America designer Lou Dorfsman, who was responsible for all advertising, branding, and logo identity for CBS over his 40-year career.  He designed a 35-foot-wide wall installation called Gastrotypographicalassemblage that spanned CBS’ cafeteria, mashing up a number of typefaces and fonts out of wood, describing all the available foods. We’re such fans of lettering and typography here.. especially in juxtaposition. In essence, that’s what our former Nine, Eighteen, and Twenty Seven t-shirts were all about, if you remember them.

The piece was dismantled in the 90s, and apparently there is an ongoing fund dedicated to restoring this great work of art.  Dorfsman died in October, so this one was a shout-out to his career and his greatest achievement.

by bobbyhundreds

26

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

OLD SCHOOL. NEW SCHOOL. HIGH SCHOOL.

The Hundreds’ Senior Graphic Designer Benjie spent the day at Torrance’s North High School, where he was invited to lecture to the Graphic Design class.  When Benjie told me he was gonna do this today, I just had a few questions.

1) Since when do high schools have Graphic Design class?  Since when do high schools have computers?!

2) They’re letting you step foot on a high school campus? Around underaged kids?

3) Are you the Guatemalan Johnny Cupcakes?  Juanito Panecitos? (Johnny Little Bread)

He spoke to 3 classes throughout the day, and Benjie said about half the kids had heard of The Hundreds. The other half thought he was a creepy drunk hobo that had gotten lost. A girl offered him water and some vitamins.

Just kidding. Anyways, there were plenty of TH supporters. And streetwear heads, in general. He said a lot of the kids just surfed Hypebeast during class and wore street brands.  Most of them bought The Hundreds online, as opposed to physical retail shops.  And whereas they were so-so on Myspace and Facebook, almost every single kid was a Twitter fiend.  Which reminds me. Wink.

Other things that were going on with the future of America.  Tight pants. Bright colors. WHITE GIRLS.

P.S. Students of North High, this Benjie character is actually not affiliated with The Hundreds in any way, and has pulled similar impostor stunts at several other high schools in the area. If you come into contact with this deranged man, please run the other way and call the police.

by bobbyhundreds

25

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

CHEESE.

It was hard not to be outside today.

Our neighborhood is a canvas for warring gangs in the area.

Texture.

I introduced you to Vernon, he was the one sketching out the lettering on our front stoop the other morning. Not only is Vern our warehouse MVP, as well as a prolific artist, he’s a Deftones fan and somewhere underneath all that industrial black and gray, he’s 100% pure old-school skateboarding.

 

Scotty hop.

by bobbyhundreds

25

March 2009

Posted by BOBBYHUNDREDS

FIGHT BACK.

#

I just spent the past 2 hours detailing a long-winded editorial piece on streetwear’s condition amidst the current economic downturn.  And believe it or not, in 2 minutes, erased it all.

     A few weeks back, Hypebeast asked me to answer a similarly-themed Q&A, but I failed to submit it in time, so I thought I’d voice my opinions on the blog.  But as I sit here, backspacing over 750 words of recession digression, I realize that all I was doing was contributing to a greater problem, one in which the economy continues its spiraling malaise, churned by public fear, ignorance, and empty complaints.

I’m sure all of you are tired of hearing about it, so I’m not quite gonna go there. But I will say this.  Times are tough, and times are getting worse.  I’m not an economist, but from what I understand, this isn’t ending anytime soon.  And so you will find that over the next year, your beloved Streetwear will start trimming the fat to survive.  That means less stores, far fewer brands, reduced variety from your favorite labels.  If you’ve been paying attention, you may have already started to notice it now.  It’s Back to Basics, and not in a trend-forecasted “edgy” way, but out of a raw, desperate necessity.  In 2009, it’s all about bare-bones, core, essential streetwear, minus the gratuitous fluff.  (Which, if you’re seeing it my way, is a very good thing).

And so, for the sake of us, our peers in this industry, and fellow fans of the culture, it is up to you, the customer, to continue to support, encourage, and contribute to the craft.  For the most part, streetwear is orchestrated by independents.  We’re not cushy corporate honchos or veteran, spectacled businessmen behind mahogany desks.  Most of us got into this because we were following a dream, that up ’til now has supported our livelihood…  but as the financial ground dries up around us, it chokes the creative spirit that depended on it to survive, and thrive.  And that’s where it comes back to you, the customer, to keep us breathing.

Because you see, streetwear has always been about the customer, the people.  That’s where it started from and this economy is showing us that that is where it ends.  It’s back to you, to make us relevant, cool, and at the very least, existent.  And what do you get out of this?  You will find us all working, thinking, and creating a lot harder to keep you engaged, dedicated to pushing ourselves and streetwear forward.

In the hopes that in the end, we will all win.

by bobbyhundreds