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.