Guess where dressing like the walking wounded, complete with faux bandages and booboos, is all the rage. C’mon, this is easy… [The F Word]

Victim fashion picture after the jump »

What Goes Around…: A Gauliter jacket was the big prize ($11,600) at a rare Paris vintage-menswear auction. [AP]

Green Jeans: Biodegraded denim recycled into auto fuel. Cargo pants still bound for landfills. [Treehugger]

Bidders Beware: Watch yourself when shopping for bargains on big-ticket jewelry gifts on eBay. [Family and Twist]

Big In Japan: A fascinating deconstruction of the market forces behind trends in the trend-happy East. [Clast]

Tom Tomorrow:: Is Hifiger SoHo bank or bust—decide for yourself on Thursday. [She Knows Best]

White Wizard: Men.Style gives a whole lotta love to Jimmy Page’s silver fox look. We prefer Jimmy as pictured… [Material Interest]

Tim Hamilton does Uniqlo

In the tight circle of New York designers and the rising tide of young, American menswear creators, indie comer Tim Hamilton is a clear standout. As well, his limited collaboration with Uniqlo, the Japanese superstore that has also recently worked with Loden Dager, is a far cry from the designer-stamped wears one might find at Target. In anticipation of the line’s retail debut on Friday (show up early, guys) Hamilton gave us a handful of his precious minutes to explain the origin of the line, how it differs from his signature collection and his favorite Japanese dishes.

A conversation with Mr. Hamilton»

Mr. & Mrs. Z: Jay-Z once rapped,”Y’all be frontin’, me give my heart to a woman? Not for nothin’, never happen’, I’ll be forever mackin.” He lied. [US Magazine]

“Why does anyone in New York buy ties fully priced?”: Good question, mate. [Permanent Style]

Team Polo: While the Olympic Torch is struggling to stay lit, Ralph is busy outfitting American athletes. [Reuters]

Party Politics: Pro war. Anti war. Conservative. Liberal. The only thing that really matters is where the candidates stand on beer issues. [Huffington Post]

Fresh Fruit: BR Monogram opens today in the Village. [WWD]

Kempt Kept Men: Thanks to the changing face of Japanese sexual politics you can finally be a geisha. [CNN]

The Great Pants War: Two competing revolutionaries, Bonobos and Cordarounds, square off against the “Soviet Bloc” of vertical corduroy with the introduction a horizontal variation on the classic fabric. Watch out for the crossfire. [VanityFair.com]

The Long Haul: Back off you vultures. Giorgio Armani ain’t going nowhere. [WWD, 2nd item]

Russian Male-Order Bride: Iron-fisted autocrat beloved legally elected Federation President Vladimir Putin tries his best to emulate Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent marital success. Fails. [Gawker]

Wigging Out: Unofficial Kempt mascot Rachel Bilson plays blonde for a day. [Egotastic]

Loop de Loop: Harajuku t-shirt maker does it oldschool. [PSFK]

More Celebrity Stink: James Franco, who we actually like, will be the face for Gucci’s latest scent. [Luxist]

Boob Tube: Because he hasn’t reached complete market saturation, Tommy Hilfiger will soon have his own TV channel. [DNRNews]

Madras Explosion: Ahh! Our eyes! Our eyes! [A Suitable Wardrobe]

Despite what Kanye might tell you, the market for high-end streetwear based on sci-fi movie in-jokes is somewhat limited. And for A Bathing Ape, the Pharrell-endorsed Japanese import, time may be running out.

More on the week in synergy»

Funny Money: In these penny-pinching times, who couldn’t use a little more levity in their wallet? [Refinery29]

The Family Business: Father-and-son art aficionados bond over checks and English cuts. [NYMag]

Brooklyn Boys: Racked takes the F over to Boerum Hill’s new And Then Some. [Racked]

Drip Dry: Forget the cleaners. A new Japanese suit is designed for cleaning in the shower. Loofa anyone? [Theindian]

The Great Rock and Roll Swindle: Legendary venue goes from club to store, back to club and then right back to store again. Protestors still desperately searching for lives. [Vanityfair.com]

Sky King: Per usual, Prince William makes us commoners look like chumps. [Daily Mail]

Hail Married: Eli Manning wraps up his improbable championship season by beating both brother Peyton and arch-rival Tom Brady to the alter. [UPI]

A lot of good stuff has come out of Japan recently, but they haven’t had much in the way of suits. Until now, anyway.

Our friends at A Continuous Lean tipped us off to the Japanese brand Whereabouts, currently on shelves at L.A.’s H. Men.

Free of the pop-art touches we’ve come to expect from the land of Mario, Whereabouts seems content with thin lapels, tasteful tailoring and impeccable fabrics. The look has served them well in Asia: they’re stocked in more than 20 boutiques and department stores in Japan, with four more locations in China and Korea. In the States, however, the label’s still under the radar.

More on Whereabouts»

This week’s Loose Thread comes courtesy of the nonist, who just introduced us to the Japanese concept of chindogu, or unuselessness.

The utili-tie to the left is a prime example. At first, it seems like the ideal combination of the sartorial charms of the necktie with the practical need to carry safety scissors, a set of paper clips, a ruler, a passport, and various other office essentials. But after you consider it for more than thirty seconds, it becomes clear that the tie is wildly inefficient at both its intended uses. It’s not entirely useless, but even if it existed, it would never be used. It is, in other words, Chindogu.

More on this intriguing categorization»

When manga artist Takashi Murakami was first tapped to collaborate with Louis Vuitton, he opened our eyes to the burgeoning cultural renaissance taking place in Japan.

Now the Japanese avant-garde is getting the full treatment in Ian Luna’s Tokyolife: Art & Design, which showcases the work of over 80 creative types pushing the boundaries in those fields as well as architecture, film, photography and of course fashion. While some names like Nigo of A Bathing Ape are already widely familiar and influential, others have yet to make their mark on the West.

Here’s your primer.

A.P.C. has let loose their fall and winter ’08 lineup, and we’re suitably impressed. Choosing a ginger model is a particularly seasonal touch, but the lineup of tweed, denim and generally tough fabrics is the real draw. They’ve been having a pretty good year—they rolled out a new denim style in April—and a recent Japanese expansion seems to have tempered their usual minimalism.

Naturally, the pants remain slim and the jackets keep their epaulettes.

Another set of pics after the jump»

So far they’re most popular among the hip-hop crowd, but Clarks Desert Boots are one item that’s ripe for crossover. The desert part means they’re impervious to sand, but the main appeal is the roomy, bubble-like front.

The Japanese have already caught on. Clarks is going halfsies with Japanese brand SHIPS to land in select Tokyo retailers with a rare ebony-leather version of the classic boot. They don’t look half bad…from here, anyway.