The importance of the sidewalk

I've been inspired to write a post about the the sartorialist by the article in today's Guardian Weekend magazine. The article discusses how our perceptions of who or what is stylish is not as straighforward as it was in previous times. The models and actresses who were once revered have now been analysed to the point of inducing humour and even pity (see Perez Hilton and gofugyourself). In short traditional style icons have lost their shroud of elusivity and in some cases their dignity and sanity (not naming names but I think Ms Spears highlights this point quite well). Enter Scott Schuman armed with his Canon G5 camera he has created a photo blog that is required reading for the fashion industry and people watchers alike. Have we entered into an era of the celebration of the individual, not just the individual but the seemingly ordinary individual? Two years after launching the blog (I wonder what we'll achieve in two years time...world domination no doubt, mwahaha), 50,000 people visit the site, he is listed in Time magazine as one of the most influential figures in the world of design and now prints of his work are being snapped up at $1,200!

It has been said (I believe EJ unearthed an interesting article) that the subjects of street style blogs can all blur into one. I can see this point highlighted across a number of other sites but this does not ring true on the sartorialist. In the article Schuman states 'Most bloggers are 20-year-olds taking pictures of other 20-year-olds, which is great if you are 20.' The sartorialist offers alot more variation. To illustrate this point and to applaud the work of Mr Schuman please see some of my favourite subjects.

Inspired by the Marx brothers

Mad about Plaid

How to wear a suit colourfully.

Metallic Cardigan!

The Red DMs - smart casual personified!

The article Steve refers to can be found here. Thought provoking stuff.

Picture Postcard - Chequers and Polka

To cheer myself up before I go outside I thought I would post a picture. EJ first showed me this image to pass the time at work last week but it is an image that I've not forgotten about and I thought I'd share (plus it will give her a chance to talk about it because I know she wants to!). This image is courtesy of fak! which we have blogged about before but why not again eh?

The combination of accessories is very good indeed, far better than most of the shots that one sees on facehunter (I have been looking over his recent shots of London though and I do approve). For me this outfit would be perfect if it he was wearing jeans as opposed to leggings/treggings. I just can't accept them and I don't like looking at them. I can however gaze at the combination of the chess board top and yellow polka dot neckerchief for quite some time. With this I leave you and this warm room behind but I will be back later.

Oh, I love him so! Mine is one of those mad crushes... my brain says:

'no, this is wrong! Look at him, who does he think he is? Some kind of harlequin ballet dancer? You don't like yellow, it's not your friend... and is he carrying a SPEAKER? Who carries a speaker?'

while my heart says:

'Look at him... he's like a harlequin ballet dancer! The boy's some kind of mad genius... a Doc Brown of colour and simple pattern'.

Weekend Therapy Part 2

Today has been the lazy day that I desired it to be and in all honesty it is how i desire all Sundays to be, but especially when it is windy and cold outside. The furthest I've strayed from the girlfriends flat today is the three minutes walk to the local Spar to buy Sanguinello Tropicana and the Sunday Times. All of this has meant that I've had time to explore my staple blogs to both amuse and inspire me. I've not been able to look into the Facehunter's world for some time and it seems that absence has made the heart grow fonder. I concede that I have been a little bored/disillusioned with it previously (saturated by people sporting similarly outlandish ensembles) but after about two weeks of not looking it and him being back in Paris the deisre for that aestheitic has returned.

Here are some of my favourites

I love the simplicity of this outfit, it leaves everything to the illustration which I like very much.

Can this chap be any more of a chic Parisian? Again it is an example of simple dressing but dressing well. The fur detailing on the collar is very nice indeed.

This chap looks a little like Jason Schwartzman and his use of colour is great. I'm a big fan of strong coloured deep v neck sweaters. Ok, i admit it I like this mostly because he reminds me of Jason Schwartzman and that man makes me chuckle!

I had to end it with Jarvis. I was slightly taken aback when I saw his face on facehunter.

Picture postcard: goodbye internet

Image courtesy of Fak! (their exclamation mark, not just me being overexcited)

Dear Steve,

Greetings from the floor of my living room! I am surrounded by boxes with my life (well, mostly my plates) packed in them. Moving at last! This does of course mean that I will be without proper internet access for an unknown period of time, but never fear as I shall try to comment/take over other people's computers.

Anyway, back to the pic. I (of course) really like this lovely, casual androgynous look. It's the kind of outfit you make up of stuff you haven't worn or thought about in ages, then realise that it looks pretty good and, hey, I should wear this hat more often. That bag is wicked too and so DIY-able. Mostly, though, I just wanted to draw your attention to this website. I think it's Ukranian, though correct me if I'm wrong. while some of the outfits are a little outlandish for me, I just love the photos. Also, I love the fact that it puts the total cost of the outfit... I get a bit jaded with certain street style sites that only seem to show people dressed in expensive labels (or blatently expensive vintage) .

Oh, I just remembered a question I meant to ask you. Do men compliment other men on their clothes or is it just not done? I'm always telling random women that I like their shoes or their top or whatever, but always hesitate to do the same to men. Agony aunt, help me!

EJ

Hello there EJ,

It's saturday Morning and I'm in a funny moody. I'm so pleased that I'm not at work but then I've lost my gf for 10 days which also means that I've got no internet access either. So the next few days (other than arranging the internet for my own home) will include frequent trips to the internet cafe down the road. I hate those places! Anyway, back to your post. I've not come across this site before but it's cool. I like how it contains many facets that other street style blogs just don't offer. Such as the elaboration of the outfit and the various shots of key components of it. I love the case that your chap is holding and I agree that it would be fun to create something like this. My instant favourite on the site was this chap who is doing a fairly common look within the realms of Brick Lane and Shoreditch but is doing it really well. This chap would certainly be snapped by the likes of facehunter. He seems to possess something though that many others featured on the styleblogs that I regularly consult. Yes the squash racket case is a little unnecessary but I like the style conscious humour of this outfit. Most of all i love the tie and the contrasting autumnal tone of the entire thing. Good find EJ!

Now onto your agony aunt query. As your well informed Agony Aunt I can tell you that quite a few men do comment on each others style but the level of dialogue contained within this conversation can range from 'Nice shirt' to a lengthy discussion about rare trainers (which I have done after a few drinks). I'm not sure how many men would discuss this with random men though, I'm a little shy about it personally, I normally just look and admire. Overall, the style dialogue between the majority of men is nowhere near the levels of that between the majority of women and I'm not sure that it ever will, at least not in my lifetime. Unless of course I succeed in revolutionising how men think about clothes. I do think though that more men are thinking about clothes and of course thought leads to discussion (well hopefully). It's a little too early for this pseudo-social science exploratory investigation as I've not even had a Lady Grey this morning. It is an interesting question though and I'd like to open it up the readers...because amazingly we have readers now. What do you think J, Dustcakeboy, Stephen and friends?

Time for tea. Much love

Steve xxx

Live Fight Night: Facehunter v Sartorialist

In the red corner, sockless and wearing navy trousers and olive green jacket with interesting neckwear, weighing in at 180 lbs, the undisputed champion of Street Style blogs...Scott 'the perfect amount of cuff on display' Schuman.

And in the blue corner, wearing a clash of check, the undefeated challenger...Yvan 'likes his eye candy' Rodic.

Verdict: The youthful Rodic wins, the lively check being too much for the autumnal but ultimately dull Schuman

As you can see I am a little overexcited about going to Paris. Apologies but can you blame me?
It was cool coming across some mutual love between two of the heavyweights of street style blogging! I came across Yvan (Facehunter) on sartorialists style.com blog and the compliment was soon reciprocated on Facehunter.

OK I must get back to washing and packing. What a crazy life I lead.

You SAW the SART?? Right, friendship terminated.

I think the facehunter wins here, but ultimately my heart belongs to Scott and his shots of grown-up style I can aspire to. Teenagers already make me feel bad enough about myself, without having to be told every other day that they're ten times more stylish (and, apparently, richer) than me.

Messy head- not just a hair style

A combination of family visits (sans internet, shock!) and general malaise have stopped me posting of late I'm afraid. I had a major headache today, not helped by thinking far too much about this coat from Topman Design.

My thoughts, as always, on important matters I'm sure you'll agree.

General malaise has also increased my scatter-brained-ness (and my vocabulary, apparently). What I have been thinking about today is:

Topman- has it been sneakily improving behind my back? I know that you are not really a fan, although I maintain that you can find a few gems. Their accessories sale is one of my most favourite hunting grounds for ridiculous bargains. They seem to have some really nice stuff in at the moment, such as this shirt designed by Carolyn Massey

They also have a few hoodies by Siv Stoldal that I have my eye on if I don't find something right on the US trip. Not to mention this! This gold bomber reminds me of something that Kanye would wear. Ok, I'm going to stop pimping out Topman now...

Scarves- I'm definitely going to elaborate on this one at a later date. I don't know about London, but Manchester is COLD today. This has let to me wanting to wrap up even more than usual. This gorgeous multi-coloured scarf by Paul Smith (aka designer I adore right now) is just brill and would be the perfect way to liven up a subdued outfit. A cheaper alternative can be found here for those of you who paid heed to my earlier call to needles. Do let us know if you give it a go!

Blogs I don't understand- not because I'm thick, just because I don't read the language. I found Breach of Style through another blog (I've forgotten which one) and spent a good 10 minutes (which is a lot of time given the headache I'm carrying around today) admiring knitwear and coats and thinking that maybe the 6 or 7 coats I already own isn't REALLY that excessive and that I could probably use 3 or 4 more.

Tetris- enough said.

Normal service will resume once I start feeling like myself again

Awesome or awful?

I'm well aware of most people's feelings regarding novelty socks, but these from Ozone Design were so unusual that I just had to share. I think if I saw these trompe d'oeil socks on a friend it would make me smile, especially if they had been wearing similar shoes over them... but then I do have an unnatural love of the kitsch. The child in me also loves the boot knife and ankle holster socks too... what do you think?

Bonus Saturday links:
- Beard alphabet! Slightly hard to read, but quite fun. I would be very tempted to try and photograph something along these lines.
- A great post on Androgyny by Giancinephile
- Some very lovely menswear over at Style Bubble
- Oh, and I wasn't joking before about Style Salvage-related entries to the Diesel Wall competition. Get to it. I want to see Fred Astaire dancing with Joe Strummer plastered all over the Urbis before the year is out.

(I'm hoping you're getting a taste now of the hundreds of links I bombard Steve with on a daily basis... and these don't even include the kitten related links)