Categories / Gadgets and Tech

Ixos Disco Cube – iPod speaker like a 70s dancefloor

Ixos_disco
Apart from the white suit and the moves, the most memorable thing about saturday Night Fever is that flashing dancefloor – and this Ixos Disco Cube replicates that look for your iPod.

Just stick in your iPod (including any of the new models), then blast out your music through the side speakers and bass-enhancing subwoofer, as well as watching those coloured lights flash in time with the music. There’s also a volume control and an option to switch off the lights if it gets a bit much.

You can pick one up now from retailers including John Lewis and PC World, priced at £59.99.

Find out more at the Ixos website

Categories / Architecture, Books

Brazil’s Modern Architecture

Brazil_architecture
Looking for a weighty bedtime read? Brazil’s Modern Architecture could be your thing.

Edited by Elisabetta Andreoli and Adrian Forty, it’s claimed to be the most comprehensive survey and analysis of 20th-century Brazilian architecture – from the first modern houses of the 1920s and Le Corbusier’s seminal visits to the country, through the well-known ‘heroic’ period of the 1940s and 1950s to its post-1964 crisis, and up to contemporary developments.

Granted you’ll need a firm resolve to get through the numerous essays and explanations, but with 200 colour illustrations and 130 black and white images, it can easily double up as a coffee table book. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend their time looking at photos of Brazilia?

Available now from Phaidon, it retails for just over £16.

Find out more about the book at Amazon.co.uk

Categories / Men's Fashion

Gloverall Monty duffle coat

Monty
If you’re shopping around for a duffle coat for winter, why not get one with a heritage? Thats what you get with the Gloverall Monty duffle coat.

Standard issue to sections of the British military in World War II, it got its name from its famous Field Marshall fan (Montgomery aka Monty). The coat itself offers coverage up to knee length, a pancake hood with press stud adjusters, detachable throat tab, a fixed shoulder cape, two large front pockets, plus wooden toggle and rope loop fastening.

Oi Polloi currently have them in stock, priced at £219.99.

Find out more at the Oi Polloi website

Categories / Design and Interiors

Bemz Metropolis Collection – 50s and 60s Scandinavian look for your Ikea furnishings

Bemz
Yes, Ikea is cheap, it’s not always that bright and colourful. Bemz offers loose covers specifically for the Ikea range – and its latest Metropolis Collection by Katarina Wiklund claims inspiration from 1950s and 1960s Scandinavian design.

According to Bemz, that means "warm, luminous gold tones and cool hues of blue and green paired with earth neutral colours which invigorate the retro, moody look with an updated, edgy feel". On a more practical note, the covers are durable, will not shrink and are machine washable.

Check out the full range at the Benz website – and if you like one, free swatches are available.

Find out more at the Bemz website

Categories / Design and Interiors

SCP Elsie armchair and sofa

Scp_elsie

There’s a definite 50s vibe about this Elsie sofa and armchair range from SCP – right down to the period name!

Designed by Russell Pinch, there is the option of an armchair and two and three-seater sofas in the range, all compact and upright, with elasticated webbing covering the foam-covered solid beech frame and with stained oak for legs.

In the right house, especially surrounded by mid-century furnishings, this would really look the part. Prices start at £1190 for the armchair, rising beyond £1570 for a sofa.

Find out more at the SCP website

Categories / Bags

Fred Perry Weekend Bag

Perry_weekend
I’m very much liking this newly-issued Weekend Bag from Fred Perry.

A vintage-style brown and black colour scheme, retro design (the logo on one side, the name on the other) and silver Fred Perry Laurel zips. I’m not wild about the shoulder strap, but thankfully that is detachable.

Sized at approximately 55cm x 45cm, you can pick one up for £49.

Find out more at the End Clothing website