“Being from Baltimore, it was tough to get involved in the stuff that I’m interested in,” 25-year-old Nat Thomson tells me when I ask him about the impetus for starting his web blog A Silent Flute. Thomson’s thorough street-style coverage means New Yorkers read it to find out what’s fresh in Japan, while you know his ill grasp of East Coast slang is being jocked by thousands of Gotham-obsessed teens in Shibuya. Thomson, whose all-time favorite things include T. Rex’s Electric Warrior album and Hysteric Glamour’s Sonic Youth tour shirt, concedes that blogging is dorky, but oh-so necessary, and we can’t argue. Here are his picks for the summer.

1. ARI Sneakers
This one’s for all the downtown NYC spotters. If you’re sharp like that, you’ve no doubt caught the ARI logo all over the LES, as he’s pretty much Dutch Master-ed that shit. In a logical progression, ARI’s taken his sneaker-centricity to the next level, creating a limited run of menthol-flavored (and boxed) joints aimed at those highbrow/lowbrow shoe masters out there, complete with a foil-lined, flip-top box with filter insole. Available at Clientele, 267 Lafayette St., NYC

2. A Silent Flute for Mishka Shirt
I created this t-shirt for Mishka’s summer line after a fruitful brainstorm sesh–imagine Carvel’s space cake and Cookie Puss gone psychotropic. In the subsequent design process, I had to tackle some tough Parsons-like design decisions, like “Should I use weed or hash for the hat?” and “Are cocaine eyes too predictable?” At the end of the day, it came out exactly like I pictured it. What’s next? A Phil Manzanera shirt, doye.

3. Garni White Cross Necklace
While tacky-on-purpose gold is running downtown-NYC style right now, Tokyo’s flavor is all-the-way silver, with Garni running things as one of the best silver specialty brands in the scene. This particular pendant is a favorite: a mellow chain, nice length, and a silver cross with white leather thread. Maybe I’ve been listening to too much Mobb Deep, but I always tuck mine. Girls love this shit, by the way. Available at Shop Gentei, 1010 MOrton St., Baltimore.