I am the King of Wise Decisions, so that’s why I left 90-degree weather back home in L.A. to fly out to Boston, which is enduring a last-minute winter onslaught. The last time I was this cold was.. oh wait, NEVER, that’s right.

On down Newbury Street, which is the fashion mecca for Bostonians.

Say hello to Chris, who manages the Karmaloop shop:

Stocked with J.Money, Bodagan, Stussy, and Reason, amongst some of your other favorite brands:

Follow the ice-gilded brick road down to Johnny Cupcakes’ shop, the novel headquarters for the kitschy cupcakes-stylized clothing line.

Although Johnny and I are involved with separate markets, completely different brands on opposite sides of the country, we’ve been friends for a couple years now and have had the opportunity to watch each other transition from t-shirt upstarts, to clothing company owners, to now having our own retail locations. This is one of the most successful and intelligent dudes in the independent apparel industry, who managed to capture a specific audience with a unique product, and now sits atop an empire that pays the bills for all his friends and family (literally — his mom and sister are now both employed by the company). Not bad for a 23-year-old kid from Massachusetts, right?

by bobbyhundreds