“Fashion“‘s become a bit of a dirty word, hasn’t it? Imagine how it is for me, explaining what I do to a layman and having to use that word. “Fashion.” Not only do I feel like a genuine pig’s anus, but then I have to deal with all of the horrible connotations that come along with that word. The superficiality, the shallowness, the misplaced life priorities. Especially in L.A., where everyone and their dad’s in “fashion” (literally, if you’re Jewish or Korean) and every O.C. transplant enrolled at FIDM is a self-proclaimed designer. Not to mention the once-over I get when someone takes in my workman’s ensemble and ponders in their head, “This pig’s anus works in fashion? He dresses like my 14-year-old nephew. Circa 1993.”
I’ve always viewed fashion as being an alien world of runways and chalklines, so it’s difficult trying to reconcile those conceptions with streetwear. Streetwear, for one, is a bit more infused with branding and surrounding culture. But at the end of the day, I guess streetwear has as much to do with fashion as any high-end couture label when you consider the relationship with design, aesthetics, seasons, trends, and the like.
I don’t really like to discuss my personal fashion tastes and views, lest I set myself up to be marked as a “fashion designer” *gasp*, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a defined opinion on the subject, especially when it comes to The Hundreds. T-shirts aside, our garments reflect a classic American, and more specifically Southern Californian, visage. That means straight lines, a lot of work with hard angles, and solids. If we do run with a pattern, it follows the same rule, thus, plaids to pinstripes. Lightweight materials to complement our lightweight weather. Timeless pieces to complement our timeless brand. And as far as colors go, you know the drill. Dark and muted tones offset by an off-color hit. For example, a black jacket betrayed by a fluorescent pop lining. That sorta thing.
Last year, Andres introduced me to The Sartorialist, which is this retardedly brilliant photo-based blog by Scott Schuman. Schuman basically started off by taking street-shots of fashion he appreciated and blogging about it, and today has his own column in GQ. It’s like a Niketalk “What Did You Wear Today?” thread except not so Filipino, and geared for the fashion-savvy elite (and yeah, elitists as well).
It’s one of the links on my daily bookmarks bar, and I have a fat folder zipped up with some of my favorite Sartorialist photographs from the past year. I’m posting some of them here just to give you an idea of what the hype is all about. And for all you weeners who are wondering why I’m posting up boring fashion pics instead of more Christine Mendoza, remember, you don’t have to dress like this to appreciate the art and design of what fashion is, and what it can be. It’s like Ultimate Fighting. You can watch it all day long and appreciate the strategy, but when was the last time you put a belligerent Brazilian in an armbar? That’s what I thought.
all photos courtesy of TheSartorialist.com
by bobbyhundreds