My shopping principle has always been to only to buy things I particularly like because there's something special about them. Each item has to be like that. I trust that pieces loved in their own way can come together to form remarkable outfits.
I'm willing to spend a little more for such items, but if I really have to buy basics, I turn to thrift stores. As I have mentioned before, my trips to such shops began with the need to expand my office wardrobe.
But this time, thrift shopping has also provided me an opportunity to tread on relatively new territory. After stocking on skinny, horizontal tipped, and colorfully patterned ties in silk, wool, and cotton, finally, I find vests, a navy jacket, and yes, my very own cutaway.
I found most of these from a store that ships from Japan, so that even if there are no big-name labels, there is impeccable Japanese tailoring.
I suspect these vests were made by the same tailor. Now I have to decide if I want to send the navy one on the right to a tailor here so that the satin back can be replaced or if I want to keep the wear to let the piece have that lived-in character.
I love the cut of this pinstriped navy jacket. It is slim and the sleeves come right before my wrist.
If you remember the day I wore my tux jacket with drawstring pants, I was wishing for a cutaway jacket to make the outfit better. Well, here it is. The fit is likewise perfect. I am excited about all the combinations, both casual and spiffy, I can create from this formal piece.
Now it begins. These gold and bronze leaves baptize my wardrobe with its first brooches.
So here is the happy camper in the store where I bought most of the ties (not the jackets). In total I spent PhP1,700 (US$36).
I am still ticklish from the anticipation. Sending the clothes to the drycleaner right after I post this.
Elmo tee from Greenhills; open bonnet hat, 5cm; micro houndstoot pants, Custom Made; filigree belt, Brave Beltworks; leather sneakers; Converse; PVC bag; 5cm; gold watch, Omega Seamaster
The phone is once more broken, and hence my broadband connection. So I'm here again at the café just to blog.
Not that I'm complaining. I'm still smiling after all (:P). It's just that nothing seems to be working. Even dressing up, which should be fun, has conceded to the Monday blues. Well, almost.
Good thing for time-and-tested basics. In this case, my ever reliable purple plaid shirt, which goes with almost anything. If it weren't for it, I wouldn't have the strength to even wear a bow tie, or be half as brave to bring out my beloved white jeans.
Maybe that's what prodded things to pick up. For instance, I've never taken as many street style photos in a day (three is a record!), even if one prospect did refuse her photo to be taken, and there seemed to be no stylish men lurking in the central business district...
Plaid shirt, Springfield; pullover, French Connection; white jeans, Maison Martin Margiela; leather filigree belt; Brave Beltworks; penny loafers (not seen), Bass Weejuns
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:
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.
Spent the whole day last Friday in bed since I wasn't feeling well, as is a little evident in these pictures. Must have been the flu. Good thing I had taken meds starting Thursday night. By Friday afternoon I was feeling strong enough to join my friend on a return trip to the Japanese goods shop.
I broke in my new espadrilles and combined a fabric and wood pendant necklace with my current bauble favorite.
This was the gray striped pullover I found inside one of the boxes crowding the garage. It was up for only PhP10 (US$0.20). I adopted it like a poor unwanted puppy. But I didn't get the brown beanie I was holding in the first picture since it was already hopelessly mangy.
My next find was this gray jacket. The shoulders fit snuggly and I liked the lapels, but I was unsure about the sleeve length. I think they're even shorter than what Thom Browne prescribes. But I got it anyway, since I could wear it casually.
The tie was the third item of the day. Looking at this picture now, I'm wondering why I never thought of wearing ties untied, like scarves.
Believe it or not, after all the exertion rummaging through dusty clothes, I went home feeling more than a little better.
Dope is an adjective I've never used, but I'd be willing to make this apt exception for Robot and Brucling's fantastic creations.
Stumbled upon the artists themselves, Christopher Bennett (right) and Bruce Franklin, on Citizen Couture
Who would have thought of pinning metal roses on the preppy basic, jazzing up leather with chains, netting, studs, spikes, silk, skulls, and even crystals. Amazzzzing!
Left: 'Finale, lambskin leather bow with netting and gold metal roses, 12" chains in black and brass, Black Swarovski crystal corner embelishment, black silk center strap and adjustable 18-in neck strap Right: 'Phantom', lambskin leather bow in black, chrome spike, brass skull, and silver pyramid studs, silk center strap and adjustable 18-in neck strap
Left: 'Knight', lambskin leather bow in black, studded edge with chrome center spikes, silk center strap and adjustable 18-in neck strap Right: 'Vienna', black silk bow with black baguette and Swarovski crystal embellishments, black silk center strap and adjustable 18-in neck strap
Left: 'Pigalle', lambskin leather bow in black, leather center strap and adjustable 18-in silk neck strap Right: 'Carnegie', silk bow in black with silver corner dome studding, black silk center strap and adjustable 18-in neck strap
The bow ties even come in denim!
Left: 'Chelsea', 100% raw denim bow in blue, raw denim center strap and adjustable 18-in neck strap Right: 'Americana', destroyed raw denim bow in black, custom hand distressing, denim center strap and adjustable 18-in neck strap
When I first saw this Martin Margiela artisanal bow tie, hand detailed with alternately rusty and shiny brass push tacks, I immediately thought it a thing of beauty. But what I didn't immediately feel was the raw awe that coursed through me when I first set eyes on the blazingly original artisanal pieces of the design house way back when Martin Margiela was still behind its design impetus.
Before browsing down, I would recommend that you to play this video of "Modern Drift" by Danish band Efterklang. It is the first song on the soundtrack of Close Up and Private's site.
At first I thought Close Up and Private was an outfit (what-I-wore-today) blog of some yuppy and his friend/sister/girlfriend — a couple with a preppy predilection for Ralph Lauren. But then I read this, and the site got me even more interested:
Close Up and Private is an on-going project by artist Sergei Sviatchenko which looks to capture the spirit of modern style, as seen through the subtle shades of the individual. Through these details a complex discourse between clothing, fashion and image takes form, offering new perspectives on contemporary fashion and identity.
Close Up and Private is curated by artist Sergei Sviatchenko [DK] and designer and art director Nello Russo [IT] and is dedicated to the visual language of style – celebrating classic details and contemporary looks through unique photographic documentary.
The pictures do not only pay attention to clothing and outfit details — in pretty much the same way as Tommy Ton does — they appear to me as particular moments in a peron's day.
Yes, the person wears the clothes, but he also interacts with them in a way that only an individual can.
Yes, he likes wearing sweaters, blazers, pocket squares, and bow ties, but the attitude that he wears with them reveals a lot not just on his fashion choices, but also how he thinks of himself.
It becomes clearer that clothing and personal style are not merely exterior, but a medium to both define someone and be a tool for him to express himself.
I know this may sound high-brow and totally out of context, but it is important to view these images in the way they were intended: as sets (this post featuring Spring Summer 2010), as series with their own streams of consciousness that move from one vantage point to another.
This picture, for example, is one of many black-and-white images. Does it look like an instance of hesitation by an advertising partner, a junior finance associate? Was he suddenly caught off-guard by a thought or a memory that has been bugging him for the entire week?
Does he need reassurance?
Is he really the only one who feels compelled to turn his back on everything? The only one that feels like sinking?
Plaid on plaid, but why isn't he glad?
I know I may only be injecting my own cynicism where there isn't any, but I can't help being reminded of noir cinema since there is something cut-off and distant about these images, both those in color and in black-and-white. In proper art school terms: surrealist.
They are meant to be snapshots, which can catch muttered jests.
Small shrugs.
Idiosyncrasies.
Personal statements.
And plain simple glimpses into an abstract person's checkered life.
In the first Close Up and Private series (Spring Summer 2009), a small plastic bag greets the viewer in the first picture. Intended or not, this image expresses the same emotion as the short clip of the same object shown in American Beauty. So is the collection also a desperate cry for meaning in an urban world of material trappings?
How deep do yellow submarines sink?
How long does happiness last?
Nice boots!
I have to try this type of monochrome.
Day in and day out, how many combinations can we find from all the possible patterns?
Ingenious mix of polka dots and stripes.
Of course, there is always a way out of monotony. A kiss of pink, for instance, can make our outfits dance.
All we need is fresh perspective (and wide-cuffed trousers) each time we feel fatigued.
It is always our choice to set ourselves free from our own trappings.
Remove a piece or two when it gets too much.
Or when things seem suffocating.
I know it is not easy to always keep things fun, to keep that spirit of play.
To keep things fun and easy.
When we'd rather stand back and not care about it.
But we must always keep our footing.
Blue + yellow = green. A smile can turn red into bright orange.
Finally! This post is nearly through. I can now hide my head in embarrassment for rambling this long.
The dandy always needs his eye candy.
And the city drudge his style fixes to keep him sane.
Fade out from reality once in a while, then you'll see.
