Certain cities become cultural touchstones for an era, channeling the emotions of a given moment. Brooklyn, Seattle and Berlin are the zeitgeist triumvirate of the moment, but we would like to add Gothenburg Sweden to the list of potential candidates.

We were introduced to Per Andersson's Velour at Capsule yesterday. This impressive designer line is a credit to Sweden's burgeoning design community outside of Stockholm.

We were informed that the label came out of Andersson's Nostalgi which carries dead-stock vintage merchandise. Launched in 2001, the line came out of the inspirations from the never-worn vintage living in his grandparents tailor shop in Mariestad.

The vintage feel comes across not so much in the design but in the quality and caliber of the textiles. Chunky knits, deliciously waffled seersucker suits, tailored cotton shirting basics and the softest khaki known to man make this a sure fire hit with the alt-preppy set.

A few years ago our girlfriend Leah said men are the new women. She was clearly ahead of the curve as menswear keeps getting bigger, better, and vainer each season. The contemporary menswear tradeshow Capsule is in town. Organized by community member We Are The Market and Brand Pimps, the five floor extravaganza in the Lower East Side has brought out the best of breed for men's market week in New York. We took some time yesterday to explore the five levels of fashion in the Angel Orensanz Foundation on Norfolk Street.

We were tremendously impressed with the quality of the labels on display this year. Many traditional staples in the streetwear community were included but the real joy was the younger labels making their debut. We will be covering Capsule throughout the week focusing on designers of note.