Investing in fashion?

Okay now we are talking, so here we go investing in your style. Literally, I'm taking a look at two very comparable companies that you should invest in today. Saks Fifth Avenue and American Apparel.

So why invest in these two companies if you're gonna hit up fashion? Potential and growth, these two companies have it right now and something big is going to happen with both of these companies. Let's Start with Saks Fifth Avenue, everyone knows Saks Fifth Avenue, the old school boutique started in 1867 located in New York City. This company sells high end luxury products from handbags to shoes by top end designers such as: Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Lacoste, Chanel, Armani, etc. Now this sector has been hit very hard since the downtown hitting as low as $1.50/share at the beginning of the year. The stock is down 16.9% for the year but things are looking up, their real estate still holds value and a private investment of about 800 million will sure help buy time until the economy turns up. Also people most associated with this company have seen their portfolios increase a mighty hand lately which could lead to some shopping and a strong April same store sales growth. I'm liking this company a lot.

Then there is American Apparel, an enigma of American fashion as they are the biggest United States clothing manufacturer in the U.S. 3,000 employees strong produce the product in Los Angeles. The sexy jersey knit clothing is a huge seller from ages 18-40 and is geared towards the more hipster crowd. The quality of the clothing is great and employees are treated very well with this company. American Apparel plans to open 300 more stores in the next 3 years or so which is great for the company. The stock is actually up 110% for the year but way off of its 2008 high of 15. Why do I like this stock, because it's innovative CEO Dov Charney is a genius when it comes to fashion. He knows his stuff whether it be controversial (have you seen his advertisements) or just how to make great quality clothing.

So get out there and put a cool $1,000 in these two companies...ride it out for a month or two....

Don't Matter what age you are...still gotta dress

So I wanted to change things up for a minute and write about my little nephew Kevin. He is the biggest stud I know (even more than me :), I mean this kid's got it all. Good smile, social behavior, and most importantly he's got style. Now of course it helps his mom knows how to dress him and that he's got a pretty stylish Uncle but you gotta have the swagger to pull it off as well.

First pic Kevin's repping the Nike label, obviously he's a little bit ahead of his time (hat doesn't exactly fit). He's on the right track though, he's got good taste in clothing and brands. C'mon what kid doesn't need a white nike hat anyway. (comes around $19.95 retail).

Kid's gotta get their exercise (look at Kevin's cheeks their so chubby) but you know you don't want to catch cold. You also don't wanna wear one of those starfish snow coats either. Kevin's got a nice little denim jacket that can be found at any Gap Kids' store or believe it or not Marshall's and Nordstrom Rack have really good deals (ranging from around $10.00-$30.00).

Last but not least, Kevin's sporting the brown/blue combination with a brown vest and blue shirt. I love this combination on anyone, it's good for Spring Time or Fall and it shows you have style as opposed to just wearing a basic white/black vest combo. Dress your kids up for those weddings, holiday gatherings, or family reunions that take place well into the night time. Kevin's comfortable and still looking sharp.

You need a new suit for cheap...go to Banana Republic...free pants

So this weekend only at the Downtown Men's Banana Republic they're giving away FREE SUIT PANTS. Oh, there's a catch, you have to buy the suit jacket that goes along with the suit. How ever you can save even more b A) using your banana republic card or B) opening up a banana republic card. It is 10% for regular Banana Republic holders and 15% plus 10% for new openers. It's a real great deal if you're in the market for a new suit. The one pictured above is the new three piece Monogram suit. the jacket goes for $425, vest is $148.00, and the pants are regularly $199.00. But in this case the pants are free plus the potential discounts you can save at least $250 with an average suit. In today's economy that's why I call being, ...urbanomical. There are a tone of new summer suits there because we just got our new line this past Tuesday. I know the Women's store has dresses for 50% or something but yeah...btw this is exclusive to the Downtown Men's Store I believe and it's only on regular priced suits. holla....

Urban Eats...Kushi 2nd Ave Seattle

Last Friday I went out with a group of people totaling five, we were initially going to go to an Italian restaurant on 2nd Ave but somebody was late (I swear Asian time is ridic) anyways, I wasn't really feeling the whole Italian restaurant scene so we relocated to this nice bamboo restaurant called Kushi. Now you would probably think this place is another Umi or Wasabi Bistro (which by the way it's right next door to) but no. This joint specializes in Japanese street food, their known for food on skewers grilled over charcoal. You walk in and may choose to sit outside on their bamboo deck (it's heated and insulated) or sit inside for some nice mood lighting. We decided to sit on the deck...ready for food.

As we waited for the others of the party to arrive I opened the menu to take a look. The dishes are fairly simple, you can simply get a bowl of noodles for about 7 bucks or dive into some regular old teriyaki dishes. Drinks are pretty standard, $4 domestics $5 imports. Happy hour is from like 3-6 and 11-1. I imagine they have a pretty good after hours since it's around the corner from Del Rey. Course I came to this place for street food, the variety is amazing. You can get anything from dragon balls (bacon wrapped scallops) to chicken hearts, gizzards, or liver (which aren't too bad but not much flavor). You can also get seared tuna, salmon, halibut, fish on a skewer or dive into some filet minon and any type of chicken. The skewers average about 2-7 dollars depending on what you prefer so I decided to hit each basic protein group.

We went with the dragon balls, seared tuna/salmon, chicken, gyoza, shrimp, chicken fried rice, fried squid and drinks of course. Overall it was great, I was stuffed off everything but my most favorite was probably the fried rice and the dragon balls. All the food was very high quality and very tender, I was pleasantly impressed and satisfied.

As the bill came we split up and it came to about $25/person with food and drink. We did splurge a little because we did want to taste everything but I think you could get away with spending about 15-20 if you know what you want. That's including tip, our the service, if you're wondering was excellent. Our waitress was pretty chill and I could tell she was tired but she was very attentive to what we needed...so yeah overall I give it an 8 out of 10. It was money well spent and I'd go again, I want some of them dragon balls dude.

Urban games...Street Fighter Joystick

I have just recently purchased Street Fighter IV, probably one of the greatest fighting franchises for any system. I remember as little kid trying to figure out what the hell exactly Vega was trying to do on screen. Jumping up and down like a lil bitch...anyway so I played it. Game was pretty good, graphics were excellent and it was easy to pick the game up over again. Granted it was a little bit different using PS3 controllers but it was still fun. After playing for about 4 hours with m brother in law I get to the boss which is actually some weird ass robot looking dude that possesses all the powers of everyone in the game. After about six tries I finally beat the mo-fo and reign victorious. Evidently when you beat the game with each character you get a new one to play with. A bit like Capcom vs Marvel 1 and 2, two also great games that should be in every game collection.

One thing was missing though and I could not figure it out for the longest time. I was at Game Works checking out some stuff there and it hit me. I see two guys playing Street Fighter IV on JOYSTICKS. Man was does it add another element to the game when you add joysticks. So first thing I do when I get to the office is search for some new joysticks. Holy freaking crap, $250 for one joystick. You gotta be kidding me but I really wanted one but didn't want to fork over the money. Do you have this same dilemna? Well, I have a solution for you.

Go to the link below and you'll find joysticks for a bit less, granted it's not the same Street Fighter one made by Mad Catz but they do the trick. I have a buddy that knows how to put these bad boys together. If you have any questions he'lll answer them for you. It's legit otherwise I wouldn't post it.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/tag/1084231423.html