Fine and Dandy

Speaking of accessories, Matt from the Fine and Dandy Shop sent me an email to check out their online store. Here are some items I'll definitely order or at least consider buying once they begin shipping to Manila:

Lee Allison black and silver polka dot bow tie and their own black and white striped bow tie

Scala grey diamond hat

Scala camel houndstooth newsboy cap

From top left, clockwise: Yellow and burgundy pin dot pocket square, black and silver trim pocket square, orange multi-colored edge pocket square, and white and black trim pocket square

Green paisley silk scarf

They also have a blog, where they feature real-life dandies, dapper editorials, and pretty much everything smart and natty.


I myself only have one bow tie, in all white, which I refused to buy with a fastener, to force myself to learn how to tie a real one. Now I'm inspired to get for myself pieces in other colors and even in patterns. The pocket squares will come in handy once I set aside time to find or have tailored blazers to my own liking.

For my own outfits, I want to experiment mixing dandy elements with other styles, such as street, grunge, and whatever transmutation.

Science nonfiction: Street shapes

To finally end this brief sojourn into science fiction, here are street style pictures taken from online resources - the first two I believe from Facehunter and the last from The Sartorialist.

Notice the thick belt above and the two succeeding jackets.

These prove that the future is indeed with us, and it is definitely wearable.

This post is part of a set in reply to a query by Nihaal Faizal from India on the topic of his sketches and on science fiction

Shrug-off: Z Zegna vs Prada

Imposing shoulders and large coats make these men from Z Zegna's Fall 2009 show look like detectives or sentries from a few decades hence.



Just look at that belt - seems good enough to fasten a convict to his final seat.



The hats are a nostalgic touch, given all the futuristic fabric.



These coats from Prada's Fall 2009 collection don't seem to come from a happier place.



Could they be the era's bank barons who just experienced the world's next financial meltdown?



Even the shirts are all somber. These two look like gravediggers.



While these next four look like crestfallen surgeons.



Couldn't save the doomed economy?



The shoulders are less pronounced for these bullet-ridden but unscathed prophets. The future's priests or poets?

This post is part of a set in reply to a query by Nihaal Faizal from India on the topic of his sketches and on science fiction

Gattaca

This film has been famous not only for the debate that it pushes, but also for its sartorial ethic.



It offers a vision of hope for the future, of the triumph of individual endeavor.



Now when a person has to continually negotiate with the limits of the self, he doesn't really have much time for frippery.



This vision of the future includes sharp suits, clean grooming, and the lack of any unnecessary details.



The highest standards demand an unrelenting drive and unforgiving trouser and cuff lengths.

This post is part of a set in reply to a query by Nihaal Faizal from India on the topic of his sketches and on science fiction

Gareth Pugh: Skin, fur, and scales

I must admit that at first glance, Gareth Pugh's Fall 2009 collection was not easy to look at. The clothes are visually violent, aggressive in how they express their futuristic and wild aesthetic.



An animalistic spirit is alive in the outfits. There are coats that look like armor - stiff, metallic, and geometric.





The fabric of the coats is even used for a jacket constructed like an obi. Pugh also employs the protective covering of other animals, such as fur. But the way this tunic is made also appears threatening: it has large shoulders and the length of the hair reminds you of its origin.





Other outfits utilize man-made armor, like chainmail. Even the boots are bound to ward of predators.



Blown up, the small geometric pattern resembles those used by harlequins. Using it for puffers is clever.





Rendered in all black, the armor now looks like snakeskin.





While the sheen of these fabrics remind one of slick black kelp.



The interpretations for this collection are slippery, like slimy eels.





These black and wet things awaken our deep-seated fear, but also fascination, of the grotesque.



These headpieces look like squid or seaweed thrown from the ocean.



From afar, the pins on the jacket and the trench look like thin animal hair. For such menacing creatures brought to mind by the collection, the dangerous seems perfectly natural.





Loose hairs and feathers look no different from ripped and tattered fabric.





The outfits look as if they just landed from another planet, or they just rose from the depths.



This post is part of a set in reply to a query by Nihaal Faizal from India on the topic of his sketches and on science fiction

Fetiche

At the time when this blog was not fully devoted to menswear, I posted something entitled The armor of Daphne Guinness. And I quote: She has had made metal pieces for her fingers, hands, and an entire arm based on the armory of the Middle Ages. She has been seen several times wearing thick leather or metal belts that hug her trim figure like old girdles.

Maybe she felt safe with her accouterment, maybe it was her self-expression or defence.

Gilet de smoking en coton granulé et satin, Tom Ford; pantalon de smoking en drap de laine, De Fursac; masque en métal et bracelet de force en cuir et métal, Phylea

'Fetiche', Vogues Hommes International Paris, Printemps-été 2008

Of course, these implements can also serve to mask or change one's identity, to morph it into something else.

Masque museliére en cuir et métal, Rex; veste de smoking et chemise en popeline de coton, Lanvin

To reverse our internal defences and wear them as our armor.

Harnais cage en cuir et métal, Rex; chemise de smoking en popeline de coton, Yves Saint Laurent; veste en laine, Ralph Lauren; pantalon de smoking en drap de laine, De Fursca; bras articulé en métal, Phylea

To totally become somebody else: this has been an obsession since the very first Metamorphosis.

Tour de cou en métal, Phylea

The urge to remove what is human - to make it artficial or render it for an android - this fascination has been explored in many science fiction novels and films.

Veste col châle et pantalon de smoking en drap de laine, Hermès; chemise de smoking en popeline de coton, plastron plissé, Brooks Brothers; ceinture de smoking en soie plissée, Balenciaga par Nicolas Ghesquière; masque bondage en cuir et métal, Rex; fleur en satin, La Droguerie

But many times, like in Frankenstein, the inorganic gives free reign to the bestial.

Gilet de smoking en soie, Maison Martin Margiela; manchette en toile à beurre, Ann Demeulemeester; haut-de-forme en feutre, Lanvin; masque heaume en métal, Phylea

The best we can settle for is a temporary heightening of sensations and emotions in the short event that we pretend to be inhuman.

Veste et pantalon de smoking en satin, Dolce & Gabbana; chemise en popeline de coton, Roberto Cavalli; masque et tour de cou en métal, Phylea

Par Hedi Slimane, Réalisation: Carine Roitfeld

This post is part of a set in reply to a query by Nihaal Faizal from India on the topic of his sketches and on science fiction