BENRUS + physical canvas

Atten…tion!

Army-inspired looks are on active duty for spring and are strategizing to take over my wardrobe, like ASAP. If you’ve had your fair share of online fashion magazines and clicked through enough runway images at Morse Code speeds like I do, you’ll notice that without a doubt military looks are in for Spring 2015 from the likes of Gucci, Mulberry, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Jason Wu just to name a few.

For those marching to the beat of their own drum this summer, we’ll opt for olive greens, weighted collars and cargo pockets, canvas bags and structured pieces over whimsical festival summer wear any day. Alright, at ease my little style soldiers. Before you start asking me where to buy the next camo printed unitard, let’s start with the basics.

Military looks are:

1. Timeless
2. Unisex
3. Nostalgic

I blame my thumb’s wanderlust intentions and nomadic late-night roaming’s on Instagram which led me to tap and (sc)roll from the Culver Road Armory account to BENRUS USA (follow me on Instagram to keep up with my random shenanigans). *shameless plug* After scrolling through their photos of their products and the retail space, I knew immediately that I had to visit the store for myself!

The 1,400 square-foot store is a dream. Secretly, their second floor is my imaginary loft but I’m sure it’s not coded for residential use (I mean, who needs a sink and kitchen anyways with those windows?!). From my initial visit to the store, I could easily spot that the military-inspired line had a rich heritage of utilitarian and stylish pieces- no ruffles, just clean lines. I later learned from Tess, located at BENRUS headquarters, that the original founders helped pioneer one of the first waterproof watches for WW II divers and U.S. Air Force pilots.

Walking through the store to select my favourite pieces was a breeze! One of the highlights from the line is that because the line is military-inspired, you won’t see the overly used army prints because the design details are seamlessly infused into the embellishments of their products- a herringbone overshirt, a pair of aviators and their killer waxed-canvas bags. As the store manager Kim and I were talking, she pointed out that the unique qualities of the brand and the unisex elements in the clothing which allows you to swap pieces between you and your buds. VERY COOL. I grabbed the James Classic blue diamond shirt to see how a men’s fitted shirt would look on my small frame. The result? The perfect model off-duty look. Nailed it.

I could go on and on about the store, the amazing customer service and how Kenny, Kim, Karlee and the rest of the team were super knowledgeable about the products during the photo shoot! In a nutshell, whether you’re adding to your collection of inherited pieces from your grandfather or looking to create your own traditions, this line is deeply-rooted in military nostalgia and will gracefully age in the coming years.

Check out the photos for my favorite top three looks and my first video (AHHHH!) of the amazing retail space! This is my first video debut and I’m super psyched to start filming, though my computer was NOT compliant in rendering the edits (but that’s another story …#bloggerwoes).

If you’re ever in the Rochester area, visit the BENRUS store or check out their site.

Left…left…left, right, left

(Alright I’ll stop with the military references already, geesh. I can’t help it if I practiced fancy drilling and marching for years! ^-^)

Kudos to the BENRUS personnel that made this feature possible! Tess Povar, Kim, Kenny, Karlee, Justin, Greg, Kayla, Benn and Amy-Lynn!

*Special thanks to Lucas Barber for the photography and video work*

physical canvas + BENRUS video

Look #1

“James Classic” shirt in blue diamond

Benrus logo tee

“Foxtrot” skinny crop jean

“J1” messenger bag

“Infantry” watch

Look 2:

White vintage tee (coming soon)

“Commander” skinny jean

“Bivouac” Herringbone backpack

“Infantry” watch

Aviators

Look #3

Waxed canvas & leather jacket

“Boyfriend” button down shirt

“Charlie” Boyfriend jeans in calvary wash

“Quartermaster” duffel bag

“Nighthawk” watch