My friends @ Exposure hooked me up with a hot pair of premium denim from indie menswear line Mottainai. I have one (1) pair of slim, straight, grey 100% cotton jean with raw wash. ($312 retail value)

The line is launching their Fall/Winter 08 collection this week at Bergdorf Goodman, Jeffrey, and American Rag Cie (LA).

"Focusing on meticulous detail, structure and workmanship without wasting anything in production, the collection consists of high-end organic denim, tailored trousers, 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters, British made outerwear, hand tailored cotton blazers, fine Italian shirting and embroidered organic T-Shirts." Checkout their site for more info and pics from their collections.

Answer me this: what does Mottainai mean?

Winner
Eric Alston

My friends at hip new Italian sneaker company D.A.T.E. have graciously given me two (2) pairs of hightop sneakers from their hot-off-the-presses Fall/Winter 2009 collection to give to my most faithful readers.

One (1) pair of men's Sport High in white + blue leather and one (1) pair of women's Tender High in black velvet. (Approximately $180/pair retail)

Even if you can afford these gems, they're tough to get ahold of right now in the US as they're just breaking into the market, which makes them even more precious. I'm a HUGE sneakers fan and I've not seen sneakers this hot in a long time.

For your chance to win, answer me this: What are the names of the 4 founders of the company?? (Hint: you might want to check back to my original post on the line for the answer.)

* Make sure to include your size, if you want the women's or the men's style, and your mailing address.

Winners:
Affan Imran
HyunSook Chung

 
Women's Tender High

Men's Sport High

I have 2 Kenzo Minami tees ($180 value/tee) to give away this week.

Minami's tees are at the top of the highend tee game and worth their weight in gold: the graphics are simultaneously simple, yet complex; the fabric is perfectly washed to feel like that tee you've had since junior high; and the cut is sheer prefection. The Rolls Royce of tees, if you will.

I have 2 men's size Medium tees for you in the "XV" design from his Spring/Summer 08 collection: one in black with white graphics, one in white with black graphics. The design is a dedication to Kenzo's 15 year anniversary in New York City. See more pics on Seven's site.

I'm going to make this relatively easy on you since I made it so hard for the PUMA Serpentine bag give away 2 weeks ago.

Name 4 stores that carry Kenzo's line. Please note: creativity gets you extra points.

Winners:
Juan Garcia
Viktor Castro

My friends at PUMA (who own Tretorn) really want you to know about last week's opening of the first ever Tretorn store in New York at 150 Spring Street in Soho. It's the second free standing Tretorn store in the world! Stop by and check it out.

In honor of the opening, PUMA has given me a Reality Bag ($1,200 retail value) designed in collaboration with the Serpentine Gallery (London) to give away to my faithful readers.

"The Reality Bag is an exciting new product, adapted from the PUMA Urban Mobility Edition Bag, which launched last season. The Reality Bag is designed to reflect the world inside and out through a clever use of innovative materials and design detail."

"To develop the concept of this original accessory, the Serpentine Gallery invited artist John Armleder to create its look and feel. Armleder also created the concept of the content and invited young artists to create artworks to go inside each of the 1000 Reality Bags."

Read all about it here.

This contest is a little more highstakes than previous ones given the value of the Reality Bag and the cool factor of the project. For your chance to win, answer the following questions about this.hearts.on.fire.:

1. Who was the first Celebrity Deth Match between?
2. Who was the first artist I interviewed?
3. If you haven't done so yet, join my Facebook group.

Email me now!!!

Winner:
Carter MacDougal

My friends at Tretorn want you to know they're opening their first ever store in New York at 150 Spring Street in Soho on 07.15.08. It's only the second free standing Tretorn store in the world! Stop by and check it out.

In honor of the opening, they've given me his + hers Tretorns to give away to my faithful readers. For the guys a pair of Skymra Canvas ($70 retail value) and for the ladies a pair of Madeleine W ($55 retail value).

Click to their site to have a closer look at the styles and to see their other sneakers. You really don't want to miss the original preppy classic Nylite Canvas (white on white!!), the Skåne Mid, and the Tournament Sail.

Back to the contest... Answer me this: where is Tretorn headquartered??

(Please indicate if you want the men's or women's pair and in what size.)

Winners:
Laura Paterson
Sean Hanratty

Daniela @ GoGallery in Milan has graciously offered up 1 copy of the only 500 printed of Keiichi Nitta's hot-off-the-presses photography book Everyday is like Sunday for me to give away to my faithful readers.

Nitta -- Terry Richardson's former assistant -- has a body of photos with the same name currently showing at GoGallery, his first solo show since leaving Richardson's studio and heading back to his native Japan to setup shop.

Make sure to checkout the piece on the exhibit I did last week. His work is amazing. And don't forget to checkout GoGallery's site. Mark my words: they're on their way to being major players in the art world.

To win a copy of Nitta's Everyday is like Sunday, answer me this: What year did Keiichi move to New York?

Winner:
Andrew Freeman

My friends at CITY Magazine have hooked me up with 3 FREE! year subscriptions to their newly revamped glossy.

In case you haven't been paying attention, new blood has come to the helm at CITY and there's big changes in the works. The most recent issue, with its Marlene Dumas inspired editorial shoot, is testament to this. Keep an eye out for spread in the Fall Fashion Issue by legendary photographer Mick Rock, who shot Tyson Ritter of All-American Rejects and Michael Pitt (yeah that Michael Pitt) from Pagoda.

Try to get on the list for the 07.01.08 Summer Issue launch party at the SoHo Grand. They're doing it up Brazilian style, with open bar caipirinhas, music by Ju$t Another Rich Kid, and FREE! copies of the issue.

Winners:
Jakob Wernerman
Laura Miller

An insider friend at New Era hooked me up with a gift card (a $28 value that will get you almost any hat in the shop) to give away to ya'll.

New Era has the hottest hats around and a flagship store (9 East 4th St) in NoHo. And let's not forget the other flagship stores in: Atlanta, Toronto, London, and, of course, Buffalo.

The hats are so hot that even I, who's not much of a hat wearer, even own a few.

My favorite part, though, is that despite their seeming to appear out of nowhere and right into coolville a few years back, the company is actually 80+ years old and is based out of Buffalo, hence their flagship store!

There's no question this week. Ju$t email me if you want it!

Winner:
Jon Hart

Although I kinda trashed their latest EP At Zoomer Mountain, I still think everyone should see Wolf Parade at least once. Remember, it's not a bad EP at all. As a followup EP to Apologies To The Queen, it's just okay, which still makes it pretty good.

I'm so dedicated to everyone seeing them that I'm giving away MY 2 tickets for the Thursday, 07.31.08 show. Hopefully, it's not sold out so I can buy two more.

You're going to have to work a little harder for this one. Send me a 5 song playlist of the hottest, coolest songs you're listening to right now. The best playlist wins and I'll feature it on the site next week.

Winner:
Brittany Gray

Tuesday + Wednesday 06.10 and 06.11.08

Connections is an exclusive, insider tradeshow hosted by Le Book. Referred to as "six months of work in one day", if you want to be "in", you need to be part of this. There's one caveat: it's industry-only, which makes it even better. To find out if you're "in", register today!

In honor of Connections, my friends at Le Book have given me a copy of Le Book New York 2008 by Narciso Rodriguez (a whopping $229 value) to give away to you!

* Given the size and weight of Le Book (and my non existent budget), I have to ask the winner to pay for shipping. It's a whopper: 9 x 9 x 9" and weighs 22lbs. If you have any idea how resourceful Le Book is, you'll realize this is a small price to pay. (Approx. $30 anywhere in the US via UPS) If you're in New York, you can stop by to pick it up!

Answer me this: who designed the current London Le Book??

Winner:
Albert Yeh

Ju$t Another Rich Kid Spring/Summer 08 Sample Sale
Friday + Saturday 06.06 and 06.07.08
Noon - 6pm
Cash and credit cards accepted.

You'll find men's and women's crew, v-neck, and u-neck tees and men's polos and hoodies from S/S 08 and previous collections.

In honor of the sale, they've given me 3 tees to give away to my most faithful readers!

Answer me this: name one store that carries Ju$t Another Rich Kid in the US and let me know your size and whether you want a man's or a woman's tee

Winners:
Nick Cowan
Cain Semrad
Khairi Mdnor

Nice Collective is having their bi-annual sample sale Sunday 06.01.08 from Noon - 5pm @ Treat Avenue + 19th Street in San Francisco. Men's and women's clothing from S/S 08 and accessories and bags that can only be bought at the sale. Come prepared to shop and party: there will be cocktails and DJs.

In honor of the sale, the boys have most generously given me 3 VIP passes (this gets you in an hour before the masses to get the good stuff) and 3 size M men's tees ($75 street value per tee) to give away to my most faithful readers!

So, it's a little complicated: anyone can win the tees! To get a VIP pass to the sample sale, you have to live in SF. If you live in SF, you can win a VIP pass and a tee.

Answer me this: what are the names of the designers of Nice Collective? Email me now!!

Winners:
Gilbert Woo (Tees + VIP Passes)
Ryan Sorkin (Tee)
Peter Nelson (Tee)
Raymund Soria (VIP Passes)
Jimmy T (VIP Passes)

Congrats!

Tomorrow's the start of the Nicholas K sample sale !! It's being held @ 33 west 17th street (Between 5th/6th Avenues) and runs through 05.20.08.

Days/Hours: May 15th from 12pm-8pm. May 16th-18th from 10am-8pm. May 19th-20th from 11am-7pm.

The designer has generously given me a scarf from the SS08 collection to give away to one of my die hard readers. The 100% cotton Checkered Scarf is directly inspired by Nicholas' extensive travels to India. Click here for a larger image.

All you have to do is be the 10th person to send me an email telling me what you'd like to see more of on the site.

** Keep your eyes peeled: sometime in the next week, I'll be giving away VIP passes to Nice Collective's semi-annual sample sale (the passes get you in an hour before the masses) and a Nice Collective t-shirt. I'm going to surprise post this one randomly on the main page of the site before next Wednesday Stay tuned.

Winner
Amy Wenzel / 303 Gallery