Any Old Iron: a true Brit friend opens a Lower East Side store

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Right: "It's very gay!" said friend Justin (also very gay). A reworked jacket by Red Mutha.

MOVIE:  March 4 soft opening

Hot on the platform heels of reminiscing old times with former roommate Julia Clancey, I followed up next day by attending the soft opening of her brother Andrew's new Lower East Side store,  Any Old Iron.

It's been 13 years since I crashed on Andrew's sofa on my way from End to End in the UK, and he's since become a "curator" of men's fashion - vintage, eclectic, avante-garde - 100% True Brit.

I walked in the door and noted that Andrew hadn't changed one bit. He's the same warm, welcoming and 'tude-free Andrew Clancey from when I knew him - just a little bit older, like all of us (sigh).

His collection of unisex clothing includes the brand Red Mutha from Brighton, UK, which specializes in "reworking" old jackets. Meaning,  take 1 destined-for-Goodwill jacket, do a bit of nipping and tucking, add whatever adornments you fancy including chains, buttons, Brit flags, and other found bling, and command a fair fashion price for it. Other labels include Vivenne Westwood's son's new line ("almost all sold out") and some bespoke umbrellas.

I bought some patches from the army surplus store on my Cape Cod trip last year, with every intention of sewing them on some garment and making a, er, "statement". 

"Sure, you can do this stuff yourself," said one of Andrew's fans who'd popped by the store, "but you know you won't get around to it."

So true ... the patches, including one of Elmo are still sitting in an envelope in my drawer.

The store was named after the old Brit ditty "Any Old Iron",  referring to those places in Mother England where you could drop off discarded metals to be melted down and reworked. In this regard, Andrew's choice of Red Mutha and its reworked couture seems a perfect fit - as does the fact the Clancey family have a metal recycling business in Yorkshire.

I've got my eye on one of the jackets, largely because one of my favorite buttons saying "High Fructose Corn Syrup DEATH" will now have a permanent home.

Congratulations Andrew!

More Gal as a fringe fashionista ...
Bike Friday on the catwalk: The tikit teams with designer Telfar Clemens, New York Fashion Week 2008


Reconnecting with Andrew after 13 years. Last time was when I crashed at his place in Yorkshire on my way back from cycling end to end UK. 1997? Oh, and another Red Mutha jacket - an otherwise pukey chartreuse leather bomber repurposed and reworked. $300.

 
 Portrait of Clancey rendered by a talented person in Thailand 

Another Red Mutha jacket - Brit pride a common theme.



The inspiration for the store: the song "Andy Old Iron"

The store and the curator, Andrew Clancey

Any Old Iron, 149 Orchard off Rivington, New York, NY.
anyoldiron.net

UPDATE! Behold, my newly old Red Mutha Union Jacket, modeled at Columbus Market:


And my personal tweaking of it - addition of a $2 INSPECTOR badge from the market, and my prized High Fructose Corn  Syrup DEATH badge:


Red Mutha and a princess pink Bike Friday tikit in Boston

Comments

Justin said…
"Justin (also very gay)" !!!

Hahahahahahahaha!!!!

This is brilliant, Lynette. Andrew must be proud to be given such a nice expose on his store. That "showroom" party was a blast, as was seeing you frantically change in and out of all the cool jackets, modeling them. We need to do something like this again soon.

Love your writing here and love the fact that someone pointed out the ingenious insight that sadly, most of us New Yorkers would "never get around to" recreating one of those brilliant jackets by hand. I think you supported an excellent brand! ...and thanks for quoting me. :)
April 19, 2010 at 4:49 PM
galfromdownunder said…
Justin, at the risk of sounding twee, it's so much fun shopping with a gay male friend. I still think that beige reworked number was YOU inside out, regardless of what your stylish beau says :o)
April 19, 2010 at 7:38 PM
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