When trying to maintain a column like Poppin Tags, it sure helps to be in NYC. As you can see, my trip down south didn’t produce anything noteworthy for the closet, as finding unique hip-hop gear proved to be a much harder task than I had anticipated. I almost picked up a tee from a flea market in Raleigh, NC that featured a pitbull sitting in the back of a pick-up truck, surrounded by a confederate flag- which I commonly referred to as “that racist pitbull shirt” in conversation with the vendor.

Fortunately I made it back to NYC and made a good score today at Reed Space on the Lower East Side. I was excited to make my first appearance at the spot since the store is known to carry a variety of unique brands, some NYC based and other imports from around the world.

I wasn’t disappointed by the diversity of gear at Reed Space, as their brand selection and variation of t-shirt designs was better than about 90% of the spots I’ve visited in the City. They also give good background information on all their brands, which is appreciated by consumers like myself who want to know the background on the gear they’re not familiar with.

My biggest complaint here, which seems to be increasing in frequency, was the lack of colors available throughout the store. Is this recession causing designers to only be capable of printing on black, white or gray tees? Did the navy t-shirt producers fall victim to downsizing? I counted 2 navy t-shirts in the entire store. As you’ve probably noticed, I like my t-shirts dark. I don’t really do the white or gray thing (unless we’re talking a dark heather gray).

No worries, I still came through with some heat. This one is from 10.deep, a brand that I had previously heard of, but never really knew much about. I should have guessed by the tough look that this brand is straight out of NYC. You gotta love a brand that features a pair of brass knuckles in their logo. I’m really feeling how the design requires people to think about it’s meaning and really love the colors the shade of green that makes the shirt more than just a black & white piece.

Upon further research, there’s a couple of more spots in NYC that carry 10.deep, so don’t be surprised if we see some additional entries from them around these parts.

BRAND: 10.deep
LOCATION: Reed Space, 151 Orchard St.,NYC
PRICE: $36