On a recent visit to EXTRA, Koji Kusakabe's shop just off the Bowery, I had the pleasure of talking a while with Koji about all things vintage.Koji's, who now resides in the city, began making vintage buying trips to the US from Japan, back in the early 80's. American denim had become highly sought after in Japan and few used clothing stores here knew what they had.
California came around first, in the mid-80's, but Koji told me he could still come to the states and spend most of his time in NYC, grabbing up highly collectible pieces for next to nothing.
Some twenty-five years later, Koji's opened EXTRA.
If Koji's not out surfing, you're buzzed in and it's a mix of new and old. He's known Takeshi Ohfuchi for decades, so Post Overalls is there alongside another friend's line, Engineered Garments(including a small selection from Daiki's FWK women's line).
Most all else is vintage, and mostly things other than clothes; task lamps, seating, old hand made blankets, cameras, sculpture and all sorts of other things.
It's a great shop. Koji is extremely generous with his time and happy to shoot the breeze, especially if you have even a passing interest in vintage Americana. The man is a wealth of knowledge.
If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by. He's stocking Issue #3 of Inventory Mag. He's also got the EG Storm Parka in a Medium, FYI.
EXTRA
10 Extra Place
NYC
(212)677.7465
4 comments:
Great selections. I really like the black and white map of the United States--very cool. I am curious about those US Army items with the round glass inserts. Do you know what those are?
Robert @AmericanAntler
Extra place AKA Slappy Cove.
http://vimeo.com/13478443
Extra is a great store! A very unique experience.
Koji has the dopest photo of Extra Place in the 70's while a lot of the area was still vacant...hope you got to see that..... Great post nonetheless.
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