Fantastic Man never ceases to amaze and surprise me. Part of the reason why I like this particular "Reading" series from its Spring 2009 issue is that it publishes these images in the context of the lives of particular people - in this case, "featuring five charming Parisians and some suggested reads for this spring season". This raises the level of the magazine way above shallow fashion.
'Angels and Ages'
At rest, PR manager Mr. Jacques Shu is wearing cashmere jumper by Prada over a t-shirt from Uniqlo and jeans from Kitsuné, which also happens to be one of Jacques' clients. Cashmere is a particularly wise choice for those times when a couch is the perfect retreat, with comfort being an imperative to aid the reading process; it also provides warmth should the desire for a nap take hold. The perfect companion for such a somnolent mood is the new book by Mr. Adam Gopnik. Mr. Gopnik, who works for The New Yorker, is the sort of writer to read whatever the subject. His new book, 'Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life', draws parallels between the lives of those two great men, born on the same day 200 years ago. How utterly charming!
Photography by Paul Wetherell, Styling by Mattias Karlsson
One of the first few posts of this blog involves Mr. Jacques Shu. He was photographed by both Scott Schuman and Yvan Rodic in Paris, as below, respectively.
He himself points out to me that he was also photographed for another blog, Style and the City, yet again carrying a bike helmet.
Even before I had any interest in fashion, books jealously held their own sway. Nowadays, I have more time to read short magazine articles than pile upon pile of novels and collections of poetry. Here is a compressed current (bookmarked and yellowed by neglect) reading list:
1. Collected Poems by Odyseuss Elytis
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3. The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
4. The Unabridged Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
5. Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
6. Selected Poems by Gabriela Mistral