Five Things 07
Lee Japan Buddy Lees, Paul Smith cycling gloves, Terminator shades from Japan, and the final days of Apple’s iPod 1 support for Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Hello out there!
Before we dive into this week’s Five Things, I want to quickly highlight a weekly podcast I’ve been cohosting
for some time. We call it Culture Club Half Hour: It’s a shorter-form take on our long-running Culture Club Show, where we talk through what’s on our minds and what’s happening across the cultural landscape. It’s easily one of my favorite recordings each week.I’d love for you to subscribe to Culture Club Show on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts—and follow along.
Thank you! And now, back to this week’s Five Things.
Lee Japan Buddy Lee Collection
Nothing annoys me more than watching an American heritage brand be done better by their international foreign partners, when they could full well do similar in the United States AND celebrate their American roots.
Case in point: Lee Jeans. Feel free to visit their American webpage and behold the boredom of basic product being sold with zero depth of storytelling. It’s a front page full of mediocre Lee summer fashions for young adults. It is so lazy, but then again maybe I’m the only one paying attention.
Compare that to lee-japan.jp where we see a celebration of Lee’s heritage including a very important celebration for the 100th anniversary of the Lee 101 cowboy jacket, arguably the most recognizable of denim jackets out there (yes, Levi’s had their early “types” but we all know the 101 is king). This is the storytelling I have come here for.
But why is this story not being told Stateside? Why would Lee U.S.A. pass on celebrating 100 years of their most iconic jacket? Please! Anyone with insight, let me know.
Venting aside, Lee Japan does things wonderfully, and I praise them for caring more than most. Because if Lee Japan was not here, none of this love would likely survive.
Another lovable collection from the Japan arm is the Lee Japan Buddy Lee Collection, a selection of garments inspired by the wears of the Lee’s company mascot, Buddy Lee, a mascot doll that has been the face of the brand since the 1920s. Buddy Lee was purpose built as a store display, but soon enough, Buddy Lee dolls were sold through retail store. While it’s heyday of popularity was pre-1970s, collectors worldwide still hunt for any and all examples they can get their hands on. eBay of course has plenty.
Now, Buddy Lee has made some comebacks over the years for one off-special projects, including the campaign below during the early 2000s that brought some modern fun to the mascot.
But now, Lee Japan celebrates Buddy Lee with its own collection of human-size clothing inspired by the doll. Available exclusively at Lee’s Shibuya POP-UP and online (Japan only), the collection features three staples found on original Buddy Lee dolls: a 101-J-style riders jacket and jeans, and a classic gray v-stitch crewneck sweatshirt. All of it done out of love for the icon.
The Buddy Lee 101-J-style riders jacket, jeans, and a classic v-stitch crewneck went on sale last Saturday in Tokyo.
Matsuda 2809 V2 Sunglasses Limited Edition
The boys at Acquired keep surfacing some of the best finds. Most recently, they spotlighted Matsuda Japan’s latest revision of its classic 2809 frame made famous by Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” film.
The updated Matsuda 2809H-V2 sunglasses raise the bar with intricate inlay detailing on titanium frames that demand a close-up look. Only 500 units of this limited edition are being produced at Matsuda’s workshop in Fukui, Japan.
Call them forward, call them cybepunk, but never call Matsuda boring.
Matsuda 2809 V2 sunglasses were available in “Bordeaux with brushed Ruthenium titanium” or “bottle green acetate with antique gold titanium.” for about $1600 a pair and now reselling for about $2,000 a pair on eBay.
Apple Likely Ending Original iPod 1 Compatibility
This may sound odd, but bear with me: when Apple released the original iPod in 2001—24 years ago—it shipped with a FireWire port, then a cutting-edge connection that allowed Macs and iPods to transfer music at high speeds. At the time, FireWire was significantly faster than USB.
By 2003, however, USB had caught up, and Apple transitioned the iPod lineup to USB connectivity via its now-infamous Dock Connector. By 2010, the last Macs with FireWire ports had quietly disappeared from the market.
But the death of the FireWire port didn’t mean the death of FireWire iPods. In fact, for over two decades, Apple has quietly supported nearly every iPod ever made through macOS. Don’t believe it? Plug in an old iPod Classic, Nano, Mini, or Touch and just like that your Mac will recognize it, mount it, and in many cases, still let you drag and drop music to and from it.
Fans like me have even cobbled together absurd chains of official Apple dongles to get an iPod 1 connected from FireWire 400 to 800 to Thunderbolt 2 to USB-C. It’s completely ridiculous. But it worked.
Admittedly, this isn’t for everyone. It borders on silly. But the fact that modern macOS versions continued to recognize these vintage devices was genuinely impressive especially when Apple is known for sunsetting support for older Macs with every new software release. That level of backwards compatibility was a quiet nod to the iPod’s legacy.
Sadly, that era may be coming to an end.
According to reports on MacRumors and a recent Reddit thread, Apple’s next macOS beta appears to drop FireWire support entirely. That means the earliest generation iPods—the ones that relied on FireWire—may no longer work on the newest Macs. For now, only USB-based iPods remain compatible.
For the record, the final iPod mode, the 7th-generation iPod Touch, was officially discontinued by Apple on May 10, 2022, marking the end of the iPod era.
Archive Paul Smith x Rapha Leather Cycling Gloves
A string of stories this week in Highsnobiety and Hypebeast about cycling kits trending into summer fashion reminded me of the good ole days of Rapha. Back in 2007, when we started Selectism, Rapha was still an upstart—bringing high-touch, premium design to the world of cycling apparel.
At the time, cycling gear was largely utilitarian: bibs were plastered with logos, designed more for sponsors than for style or innovation. Pink and black colorways? Unheard of. But Rapha saw what was coming. They understood that cyclists wanted to look good—and were willing to spend to do it.
Rapha was early, and their vision helped cement a long-running, fruitful relationship with Sir Paul Smith. Among the many highlights from their 2010s-era collaborations were the white gloves pictured above—some of the most gorgeous cycling gloves ever made. They were so beautiful, so finely constructed, it genuinely hurt to wear them and watch a dark patina form from overgripping the handlebars.
Those Paul Smith white gloves still stand out today, even if my pair are long gone. They were a small symbol of a bigger shift—when cycling gear stopped apologizing for embracing high design. That moment has rippled into today’s cycling-fashion crossovers, proving Rapha’s influence is still very much here today.
IWC Pilot's Watch Automatic 41 TOP GUN “Lake Tahoe” White
If you know me, you know I love the IWC Mark series often considered the smaller, more understated sibling to the more popular IWC Pilot’s Watch line. I’ve owned two variations of it: a Mark XV with it’s white background date that I hated and sold for a Mark XVI with it’s subtle black that seamlessly blends well with the watch face.
But I cannot stop staring at the IWC Pilot 41 Top Gun “Lake Tahoe” Watch after reading Hodinkee’s in-depth hands-on review of the timepiece. As they mention, this is not IWC’s first “Lake Tahoe,” but it may be the one that we’ve been wanting all along.
Mark Kauzlarich tells us what make this one different from a traditional black Top Gun.
The watch features most of the design cues that you'd find on other Top Gun watches, specifically the other 41mm Top Guns. The triangle 12 o'clock indication, matte black dial, and color-matched date window, with large sword-esque hands and large Arabic numerals. It's incredibly legible, as it should be for a watch meant for a pilot. It also ditches the red "Top Gun" writing, which works much better for the monochromatic design that is just so much more intense with a case made entirely out of white ceramic. And like the previous watch, the dial has all hour markers lumed.
IWC’s Pilot's Watch Automatic 41 TOP GUN Lake Tahoe is available now for $8,500 through IWC dealers worldwide.
Great reminder to dig out my old ipods and download the weirdo mashup mp3s from 2004-7.