Recently the Philly-based retail chain has been upping its game in terms of house-produced lines. While its UK counterpart carries designers like JLindeberg, Thomas Burberry, and Paul Smith, the domestic selection has been spotty at best, with some notable diamonds in the rough (such as footwear brand Sneaky Steve and pieces from the Converse by John Varvatos line).

The company’s notoriously-conservative CEO, Dick Hayne — who long ago admitted to handing over the creative reins to a younger generation – is slowly proving that the almost 40-year-old retailer may have found its second wind.  Taking a cue from H&M, the company enlisted the help of “it” designers like Geren Lockhart and Charlotte Ronson, who released capsule collections at a more accessible price-point. However, it wasn’t until Steven Alan’s “Lark & Wolff” line that we saw any menswear.

From that point on, lines like byCORPUS introduced some very interesting men’s pieces to Urban’s repertoire, followed by B100, an exclusively-male line of knits by the fleece fanatics at B.Son. While the quality definitely isn’t the same, both lines sucessfully emulate the aesthetic of their original designers. B100’s high-zip zood is a suitable understudy for the wildly-popular B.Son mock neck that’s been circulating around the Buy & Sell threads on forums like Superfuture for ages. While nothing can truly replace the original, the lower-priced pieces provide a great introduction to these lesser-known brands.

Urban recently unveiled its latest collaboration, a footwear line called Generic Surplus, courtesy of the understated artisans at The Generic Man. The line consists of two models, a brogued wingtip lowtop and a subtle high-top. Both come in muted colors and are made of canvas and suede, and retail at $70.00, which is really a steal considering TGM’s normal collection runs at around $240, and in times like these, you need all the deals you can get.

For more information go to www.urbanoutfitters.com

_by Jian DeLeon