Now, or never

ts.

lying in wait

k.e.

seriously, please.

k.e.

for Deep, pt. two (sentiments & clothes)

*click to enlarge

ts.

Tom's Zoot Suit

ts.

WORKING GIRL

Ditto what Tiffany said

sincerely,

k.e.

Blog Clog

It's crunch time. I will resume posts (and my life) after April 28th.
xx, ts.

Tom Proustington Interview #6

Name: Julian Elvis* Biber
Age: 21
Home town: NYC
Current occupation: Student

What is your favorite article of clothing that you own and why?

I have always been a fan of boots. I am a big guy, so to be wearing dinky little sneakers or dress shoes always looks a bit awkward and disproportionate. In junior year of high school, my father gave me a pair of his old dark brown motorcycle boots. They were large but not chunky and were pointed enough to look a bit more elegant than work boots. They were perfectly worn in, and one of them had a tan burn mark on the back quarter from one of the outer cylinders of a Harley. While the leather was softened by years of use, the heels were a dark grainy wood, which gave the whole boot this wonderful solidity. I wore those heels down to the nub and have gotten them replaced a few times with rubber ones, but it’s not really the same. They go with the quintessential Steve Mcqueen get-up—jeans/khakis, thick sweater, wraparounds—I wish I was in the Great Escape, but without the whole Nazi thing.

What qualities of dress do you most admire in a member of the opposite sex?

I am not too fond of dresses. I know it’s characteristically feminine, but I like it when a woman can show her form, movement, and femininity through items less confined to one sexual category. A white t-shirt and blue jeans on women seems to hit a powerful chord with me. My first girlfriend wore a white t-shirt and some nice fitting blue jeans and it would just slay me every time.

Who are your fashion icons of fiction?

OK, someone already listed Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop. Then I would have to go with Han Solo (http://thecostumer.today.com/files/2009/09/hansolo.jpg) in and out of Stormtrooper uniform (http://media.photobucket.com/image/Han%20Solo%20stormtrooper/Dark_Ambika/ Star%20Wars/Wookieepedia/Han3_edited.jpg). I like space cowboys.

Also, Bruce Lee in Game of Death…the yellow jumpsuit speaks for itself (http://www.strangekiss.com/images/detail/bruce_lee_game_death.jpg)
Finally, ANYBODY from ANY movie that’s set in the late 19th century south.

Who are fashion icons in real life?

Michael Caine. Hanging cigarette, dark suit, thick black wayfarers. Unbelievable. Watch him as Harry Palmer in the IPCRESS File and you’ll see what I mean.

Richard Avedon. Again, big-ass glasses (http://static.intelligent.lv/uploadEx/images/ru/people/faces/gq50/Richard%20Avedon.jpg) and total simplicity. I guess in the same chunky glasses vein, I would also have to go with early My Aim Is True Elvis Costello. I have needed glasses since 7th grade, which at first made me self-conscious, but I remember that it was a young Costello that really seemed to make cool to have thick, loud, outrageous frames.

What articles of clothing do you most associate with your childhood?

Kermit the Frog Pajama pants. I wore them to school with a Batman cape and my Green Power Ranger power sword. Ladies loved it.

Under what circumstances do you put effort into your dress?

Too many circumstances. People say I look better when I’m not trying so hard so it’s a real crapshoot. Though sometimes I even put effort into my dress when I go to the library, which seems to be the primary location for looking good and pensive.

What articles of clothing do you most associate with past lovers/love interests?

Oy vey. I bought this blue patterned t-shirt while in Germany a few years back, which my ex would frequently sleep in. A little while after the break-up I accidently ripped the left breast pocket off. How much more metaphor do you need!

When do you feel best in your clothing?

Being big, the key to looking good is usually to dress in dark slimming colors. But walking around looking like you are constantly working as a theater tech or writing a poem about the consistency of crow’s blood gets a little boring. I feel best when I can wear something a little brighter and louder and still look good. A bright dress shirt under a neutral sweater or colorful socks, whatever—something that just adds a little life.

Explain what you’re wearing right now:

white socks…

*[editor's note:]

A Practical Magic: From Madvillain to Gene Kelly

ts.

For Deep

It was a slow process to finally admit this after a lifetime worth of denial, but I've only recently come to terms with the fact that I am an aesthete. This, I know, is a troubling realization, which is why it took me so long. What I do know is that I care deeply about visual harmony and really appreciate this quality in others.

Some guy once told me that for him (and probably almost all straight men) a girl’s dress doesn’t matter until he finds her attractive. It doesn’t have to be a particularly sexy outfit, he said. It could just be a T-shirt and jeans. What she wears is just an added bonus or something that just accentuates her appeal.

For me, though, it’s quite the opposite: I judge a man first before considering any other part of him, personality included. I only wish I could tell you this was an exaggeration, and unfortunately for me my aesthete ways have sent me either falling for total posers, or barking up the wrong tree. I have a sore spot for men who dress impeccably well. If he appropriates old trends in new contexts seamlessly, carefully combines neutral and/or earth tones with the sporadic accent of color, juxtaposes textiles in interesting ways, and cleverly plays with proportion – I can't help but swoon (hard, if it's all done simultaneously).

In my defense, this is probably symptomatic of being raised by a man who has an exceptionally keen eye for aesthetics, and this is perhaps why I am so attracted to men with style. It's because this quality seems common and familiar to me and beyond that - even likely to suggest a mind like my father's. By reference, a deep understanding of style seems suggestive of a man who is at once pragmatic and focused, yet secretly whimsical and boyish.

It is incidentally these four qualities which I most admire in men's clothing - and further, why menswear on women is so interesting. Worn by women, the pragmatism and the focused aspects of definitively masculine clothing seems on one level basic and classic and on another dramatic and minimal, yet the whimsy and boyishness on a woman conveys as coquettish and childlike, perhaps even Lolita-esque (Remember her in slacks?). Re-contextualized on a woman's figure, masculine styles reconsider the feminine form, unbinding it and accenting aspects otherwise overlooked or over-emphasized by womenswear. The boyish charm on girls seems to construct more than just a subversive play on gender role, but could perhaps be provocative of feelings of envy.

On that note, along with a few collected images of stylish men, I have included a picture of my father not without an awareness of a profound Freudian relationship I have to well-dressed men.

In order from the top: Andrew Sia (謝安如); Stephen Malkmus; Toshiro Mifune (三船 敏郎); Frank Sinatra; anecdote from GQ on Frank Sinatra's sartorial dedication (and explanation of mugshot). And here, here and here for posts related to penis envy, androgyny and boyish clothing on women.

ts.

picture preface: a little bit of context

more on this later

k.e.

Tom Proustington Interview #5

Name: Olivia Hall
Age: 22
Hometown: New York, NY
Current Profession: Student

What article(s) of clothing do you most covet on a friend of the same sex?

I really love shoes, and I think my friend Maggy has some of the best shoes I have ever seen and all have a certain bad-assness about them, like lookin' sharp but kick-you-in-the-teeth. I can't think of one pair in particular. But most of them are super high heels or really gnarly platforms.

What qualities of dress do you most admire in a member of the opposite sex?

I think it's best when boys let themselves be boys. Men who look prettier than me are definitely a problem, especially if the time they put into it shows. Semi-tight jeans and a well fitting tee-shirt are fine with me. Nobody liked dressing up Ken, so I don't see why boys get so into what they are wearing. They have very little to work with body-wise and I would much rather a guy look comfortable in his own skin than feel he is being curated to the likes of New York magazine.

Who are your fashion icons of fiction?

I'm going to have to go with the entire cast of Twin Peaks, especially the Log Lady and Audrey. Which is pretty obvious. But I think my biggest "fictional fashion icon" would probably be someone I think of as an Arizona Mom. I love that understated, sort of dusty colors and tight pants that also involve large sweaters over tight tank-tops. I also have a large brimmed leather hat that I think my fictional, in-my-head Arizona mom would wear, so I wear it too (does that count?).

Who are fashion icons in real life?

Patti Smith, the Olsen twins, Wynona Ryder (before Girl, Interrupted, circa Reality Bites) David's (the owner of Santa Fe) wife who is AMAZING [Editor's note: Santa Fe is the restaurant where Olivia works]. She is Swedish and wears mostly asymmetrical felt capes and shit with thick headbands and skinny pants. In fact, a lot of people come into Santa Fe who are weirdly asymmetrical and wear really amazing clothes. I also love teen pop stars and the shit they wear--like how crazy Keyshia and Rihanna are just because it's like, ballsy even though they don't make that shit up themselves. Lady Gaga is incredible in that respect too. She is just so nutty.

Tom Proustington Interview #4

Name: Henderson Dunn Randolph Shorter
Age: 21
Home town: NYC
Current occupation: Intellectual (Thinker, Writer, Photographer)

What is your favorite article of clothing that you own and why?

The only pair of dress shoes I own: a pair of black leather wingtips, made by To Boot New York. They work just about everything I own: suits, jeans, button-down shirts, t-shirts - the whole lot. When dress to go out, I often plan my outfit based on the fact that I will wear those shoes; nothing else will suffice. They've been with me on every significant trip I've taken: Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Barcelona, Tokyo, Hong Kong, San Francisco, and, of course, NYC. I got sick one night when I was out in Tokyo, and my friend asked "Is he puking? I really hope he doesn't puke on his shoes."I was pretty conscious of the fact that they were on my feet, and I knew better than to puke on them. Most importantly, they're probably the most comfortable shoes in my collection, more so than my other favorites: a pair of super-slim, form-fitting adidas century low-tops. My wingtips were pretty rigid at first, but after 4 years of use, they've just molded perfectly to my feet, wrapping around my arches and my heels as if they were custom made. I've walked 8 km on roads in the Spanish countryside and they ended up being a more comfortable choice than my slip-on vans. They're never a bad call. I always feel good about myself when walking in them.

What article(s) of clothing do you most covet on a friend of the same sex?

A well tailored blazer with perfect proportions (jacket length, volume of sleeves, etc). It was always hard for me to find a jacket when I was younger because I was so skinny. They were always baggy, falling off the shoulders, never fitting me on my lower back and my mid-drift. My family didn't know the importance of a good tailor too. If I see a man in a well-tailored blazer, I immediately have envy and respect, because its something I've always wanted to wear, and wear well.

What qualities of dress do you most admire in a member of the opposite sex?

I have a thing for the femme fatale: dark, mysterious, perhaps dangerous, with a mysterious, piercing gaze. Ideally, she'd be in an understated little black dress, black stockings, and a sexy pair of heels (she'd have to have perfect legs for it to all work too). She could also where some things mixed and matched - for instance, crazy colored vintage t-shirts with slick black jeans, a ragged faded stenciled jean jacket, with flats or high-tops and some crazy scarf as a belt - and I always admire this.In both instances, there is a level of sophistication of making it all tie together and carrying it with seemingly impenetrable confidence. Its not playfulness but a mark sophistication that I admire in women's style.

Who are your fashion icons of fiction?

The skinny and tall dude from Cowboy Bebop: http://www.wsfl-home.de/img/Animes/Cowboy%20Bebop.jpg - to me, no other fictional character could be cooler. There's also James Bond, and there's Steve McQueen in the Thomas Crown Affair. Both rock 3-piece suits and shades like no one else.

What articles of clothing do you most associate with your childhood?

Overall, I didn't become conscious of style until 9th grade, when I bought my first pair of jeans. Jeans will always be remind me of my coming of age.

If its a singular, sentimental object there's a faded Princeton t-shirt from my one of my Dad's reunions. It's size small, and I use to wear to sleep when I was really young. One day, I found it in my drawer, perhaps 2 or 3 years ago. It has been regularly cycled in my wardrobe ever since. That I wore it when I was a kid endows it with a meaning that remains a secret pleasure I keep to myself. Proust explained how we always have within us the memory of our past selves, however unconscious we may be of them. When I wear this shirt and I'm feeling good, I can feel that boyish smile trying to put itself on my face, the one that I used to wear when I was 5.

For me, there has always been a timeless element to style that I've embraced, certainly influenced by the French. My mom always dressed me well as a kid, taking me to Bonpoint and Petit Bateau on the regular. There were the blue and white sailor striped tops and the navy blue coats. My father is a Brooks Brother's man, and I remember the (very elegant) weighty navy blue wool duffle coat I got from there - it had a quilted lining and nice wooden toggles. I didn't appreciate it at the time, and I later traded it in for some high-tech snowboard gear. In a few sizes bigger, it wouldn't have looked out of place in Paris c. 1955.

What articles of clothing do you most associate with past lovers/love interests?

I've never had a girlfriend, and I'm very particular about what I like. Few people understand me enough to feel comfortable buy me things that I'd appreciate. But there's one was given to me by a girl who I was once madly in love with in a tragic, 'I can't even begin to tell you, cuz I can never find the words' kinda way. At that time, I was young, intellectually and emotionally lost. She is mysterious and complex and had a boyfriend at the time as well, which prevented me from acting on my emotions based on some personal sense of honor. Later, we had a falling out; months after that, she went abroad. We didn't see each other for a nearly a year. Finally, we caught up with each other last summer. And during the first time we hung out with each other again, she gave me this white t-shirt printed with this abstract, high-contrast and blurred black and white photograph by some Japanese artist. She said that she didn't buy anyone else gifts when she was abroad. "And then I saw this when I was in London," she said. "And I was like, This is so Henderson, I have to get this for him, I'll regret it if I don't." It's one of my favorite t-shirts.

Tom Proustington Interview #3

Name: Ben Goddard

Age: 22

Hometown: Brookline, MA

Current Profession: Photographer / Gelato Scooper

What is your favorite article of clothing that you own and why?

I must say although I enjoy my nicer clothes, I really have a love for my t-shirts. Each of my t-shirts have their own memory attached to them. This is because I have always bought them in a thrift store, purchased them while I was traveling, or were handed down to me from close friends. All of my t-shirts are connected to a place I once was or a particular period of time in my life. My favorite t-shirt that I own is my gray, purple, and pink Lake Placid t-shirt because it reminds me of summers in the Hudson Valley and all the fun I've had up there over the past couple years. I recently purchased a limited edition Quintron and Miss Pussycat t-shirt in New Orleans though, which I have been in love with as well.

What qualities of dress do you most admire in a member of the opposite sex?

This is a tough one. I admire a lot about how girls dress. I actually really like girls who wear flat-brimmed hats.

Who are your fashion icons of fiction?

Case from Neuromancer, by William Gibson.

Who are fashion icons in real life?

Stephen Malkmus. Basketball jersey underneath the striped shirt is so real.

Under what circumstances do you put effort into your dress?

When I am meeting somebody for the second time after first meeting them spontaneously.

What articles of clothing do you most associate with past lovers/love interests?

A pair of blue & white Québec socks that my girlfriend from high school bought me. Also, this over-sized sweater that I made out with a girl inside of while we were outside in the freezing cold.

When do you feel worst in your clothing?

When things are matching too much. I'll sometimes catch myself wearing a jacket and shirt that are very color-coordinated and it drives me crazy.

When do you feel best in your clothing?

When I'm dancing.

Describe the people in high school whose dress you wanted to emulate:

Well, I was a big metalhead at the beginning of high school, so I must say Tom Araya of Slayer was a big influence on my fashion. By the end of high school though I was idolizing a lot of avant-garde jazz musicians such as John Zorn who wore pink camo pants. I never wore pink camo pants (I just thought it was really cool at the time), but it's funny that a metal legend like Araya and a jazzhead like Zorn share a mutual love for army fatigues.

"wish you were here"

This is like the flight dream of shoe collections.

k.e.

the not-so-secret secret

ts.

"something about liminality"

From Roland Barthes' Camera Lucida

The portrait photograph is a closed field of forces. Four image-repertories intersect here, oppose and distort each other. In front of the lens, I am at the same time: the one I think I am, the one I want others to think I am, the one the photographer thinks I am, and the one he makes use of to exhibit his art. In other words, a strange action: I do not stop imitating myself, and because of this, each time I am (or let myself be) photographed, I invariably suffer from a sensation of inauthenticity, sometimes of imposture (comparable to certain nightmares). In terms of image repertoire, the Photograph (the one I intend) represents the very subtle moment when, to tell the truth, I am neither subject nor object but a subject who feels he is becoming an object

I like to have my picture taken in part because I like to look at pictures of other people. Intense voyeurism is part of my intense attraction (addiction) to the internet. The relationship of voyeurism to exhibitionism in this particular dynamic of public photos produces a self-negating self-awareness. Anyone who uses facebook in order to do more than just "keep in touch" knows that the best photos involve the least amount of trying on the subject's part (despite what Tyra Banks may try to tell me every season on Top Model). To truly not "try" however, one would have to be minimally aware of having their picture taken, or rather, minimally aware of the photograph's potential final outcome. Thus one who appreciates this quality in photographs of others could never achieve it in a photograph of themselves. Photos that I like of myself are often photos in which I am either caught nearly entirely unawares or flouting the rules of portraiture by refusing to make any face or making as ugly a face as possible.

The above picture was a difficult situation for me. Tiffany wanted to take my picture and I did not want my picture taken at all. It was close to finals and I was tired and not wearing any make-up and I think I may have said the words "Don't take my picture right now, I feel ugly" in a blasé way that could easily be seen as disturbing. It wasn't a whine, or a cry for help (or a fish for compliments), it was a fact as I understood it and I think this is often hard for people to process when it comes to girls vis-à-vis their appearances. While I have come to more or less accept my face without eye-makeup, a habit I've been in since age thirteen, I still prefer to have it on. It has come to be an essential part of myself, I have convinced myself that my face looks a certain way that it in fact doesn't. The disjuncture between my state-of-mind in moments like the one at the time of this photograph and moments when I truly felt pretty was a source of distress for me in high school. It is because I took both those types of moments as a kind of truth. When I had a pretty day I didn't look pretty but I was pretty. Yet most of my days, I felt, were not pretty days and thus how could an ugly girl have pretty days at all?

Tiffany told me it was okay if I covered my face while she took the pictures. I now see that the attraction to the situation was the light more than anything. Yet as a picture of me, I love it. I have evaded every rule of a good picture--I have even evaded the definition of portrait--yet I did not have to make a blank or ugly face and thus went around my normal modes of evasion. In not showing my face there is a refusal to be captured, yet the act of refusal and the reasoning behind that refusal, in conjunction with the pose and tell-tale favorite shirt, signifies myself in all respects. It is vulnerability shown through a defense against being vulnerable. It looks like a film still of a film I have no recollection of.

k.e.

The Urban Dandy

ts.

argyle socks (and little else, maybe with a book)

ts.

Tom Proustington Interview #2

Age: 21
Home town: Hong Kong
Current occupation: arse

I'm wearing a sweater that I wear everyday. It was given to me from Nicole, with whom I learned much about devotion: how to love God, and how to receive the love of God (agape). I learned from her companionship that there is a religious sensibility that one need not give up on in spite of the joke that is the current state of religion today. (As it turns out, reading Kierkegaard is the key...) A nun gave Nicole that sweater, and she transferred it to me. I've gradually developed a very personal relationship with this item of clothing - it gives me spiritual strength to live on and face each day anew, to pass through this world without judgment or prejudice.

P.S.

Dress Rhythm

In this video, my dad is asking me what I want for dinner as he gets ready for work. Putting on the jacket is quite a fluid but very meticulous process. First, he takes his coat by the collar and lifts it from the back of the chair where it was hanging. Then, propping the right sleeve open with his left hand, he slides his right arm in. Finding the other arm hole behind him, he swings his arms forward so his jacket falls into place. He pulls the lapels together to button the jacket, and as he does so, inhales to shrink his gut for a moment. Naturally, he leaves the bottom button undone. All of this happens within a few seconds and with the habitual familiarity with not only the action itself but also with the blazer itself. 

ts.

(rebuttal)(rebuttal)

You propose a transcultural brand. Your concept is based on several premises: (1) ‘brands,’ as we know them, have national identities (2) each national identity has its own unique aesthetic (3) a transnational identity exists and therefore (4) said transcultural identity merits a unique aesthetic, i.e. a ‘brand.’ I agree with your logic but am yet unsure whether a transcultural style is, indeed, possible.

The reason: I can’t help but see culture (and cultural production) as inextricably linked to place. Attempting to evade, or transcend, or avoid, the natural and cultural barriers that distinguish one locality form the next (geospatial, linguistic, political) seems dangerously ‘unearthly.’ It seems unearthly in the way that multinational corporations seem unearthly, transcending cultural barriers and in doing so muting, or deadening local cultures. I worry that in creating a brand that transcends national identity we will inadvertently advance the ‘monocultural’ ideal and thereby detract from rather than augment what you call the transcultural identity.

Whether or not we identify as transcultural, our sense of the ‘local’ is undoubtedly in flux. It now hinges less on our geospatial position and more on our level of connectedness, on the amount of time we spend online, communicating. We may not know our neighbors or vote in our local elections, but we certainly do belong to a ‘social network,’ or several. The question that remains is this: What form will ‘cultural production’ take in these placeless localities? What form will a transcultural brand take?

m.c.

boyish charm pt 2: a lesson in uncool

k.e.

Tom Proustington Interview #1

Name: Andrew
Age: Old
Home town: Old Shanghai
Current occupation: People influencer

I found that the questions that you've put forward are very hard for me to form an opinion on, but I appreciate that you consider me as a style icon.

I have a special love of suede, whether it is a jacket or a pair of shoes, it's always my favorite. I used to have this suede jacket about 25-30 years ago in a dark brown color and I wore it for quite a long time. We all know that suede is hard to keep especially in moist climates (Editor's note: Andrew lives in Hong Kong). But I managed to maintain it quite well. However, I lost that jacket - moving houses perhaps. Then years ago, about 6 years, I was told that I could tailor-make it again with Dunhill, and I spent quite some money and time invested in this jacket. Unfortunately, it was so badly made that it didn't fit me at all, but I accepted it anyway and have worn it until today.

A few days ago, I was at the Dunhill shop and I found that for the Spring collection they have that same suede jacket again, and this time it was ready made. I especially like ready-made jackets, because you can try it and if you like it you can just pay for it and take it. But I tried it on, and it didn't fit me at all so I declined this time.

I hope that I will have a suede jacket once again, but I am not desperate for it now.

Tom Proustington Questionnaire

The following is a questionnaire we sent out to various people. We asked them to fill out the first part in full and then to pick one of the thirteen questions to write a short anecdote in response.

Name:
Age:
Home town:
Current occupation:

What is your favorite article of clothing that you own and why?
What article(s) of clothing do you most covet on a friend of the same sex?
What qualities of dress do you most admire in a member of the opposite sex?
Who are your fashion icons of fiction?
Who are fashion icons in real life?
What articles of clothing do you most associate with your childhood?
Under what circumstances do you put effort into your dress?
What articles of clothing do you most associate with past lovers/love interests?
When do you feel worst in your clothing?
When do you feel best in your clothing?
Explain what you’re wearing right now:
Describe the outfit of the last person you saw that you felt attracted to:
Describe the people in high school whose dress you wanted to emulate:

girlish charm

ts.