Category Archive: bespoke
Sep 16
Bird Inspired Shoes by IVLISA
These are semi-bespoke bird inspired shoes by IVLISA [flash, sound, be wary] and passed to me by Xenia of The Nouveau Shanty. One has a hard time looking at them and not fantasizing about being kicked in the throat. The leather sole caresses your cheek, the feathers tickle your Adam’s Apple. You’re lulled into a sense of aroused quiet, then BAM! That elegant …
Jun 12
Bespoke Green Check and Velvet
Beyond the cloth and fit, I love bespoke for the participation it allows and relationships it creates. Not only with people but with objects. I have about three roles with most objects: Consumer, user and garbage creator. I buy a microwave, hit buttons until it breaks, then toss it out. I don’t understand how it …
Jun 03
Bespoke Oxblood Shoes
I have my first pair of bespoke shoes. These were made by Peter Feeney, who apprenticed in Italy and is now working out of my tailor’s shop. They feel great, look great and the whole experience was a pleasure. The experience started with a series of foot measurements and then the ordering of some custom …
Mar 30
My Article in Aggregation Magazine
I wrote a short article with five links about bespoke for Aggregation Magazine 05. My article is here, the issue is here and the magazine is here. It looks fine on a desktop but the magazine is optimized for the iPad. So, if you have an iPad, this is the time to use it for …
Feb 11
To the Tailor
I have an appointment with my tailor this morning. Looking forward to it. It’s going to be filmed and I’ll be asked for some of my thoughts on style and whatnot. I’ll tell you more about all that when I know more.
Nov 29
The Impractical Choice (New Suit)
I wanted a simple grey suit. Something dark and conservative. A counterbalance to my more outlandish choices. It is a classic choice and a male style staple. This potato of suits looks good. I have not given up on the idea. But I have slightly delayed it. Because, when I entered my tailor’s shop and had a …
Nov 17
Ozwald Boateng – Why Style Matters
A documentary about Saville Row tailor Ozwald Boateng. Known for his “cutting eye-popping, super-sharp 1960s-inspired suits with raised waistlines and slimmed-down trousers that elongated and refined the line” Boateng came to the row in May 2002 and was the first tailor to stage a catwalk show in Paris. This documentary is interesting, not just to hear …
Oct 22
Death of a Few Fashions
When reading about suits, one can find quite a bit of fussy, fashionable nonsense. Edicts about the amount of buttons, the ones that should be done up and the correct width of ties. While some of these make a great deal of sense (meaning I subscribe to them) others are just passed from person to person without much intervening thought. Indeed, some of these, at one time, did make sense but in today’s world veer into obsolescence. The basic rules of fit, texture and color remain fundamental. Some of the other stuff can be dispensed with.
Although Ryan Oakley began his career as a simple rake (drunk) he has since become Toronto’s most renowned flaneur (no car) and notorious dandy (overdresses). A misanthropic composer of psycho-geographical fictions (sci-fi), he is also a server of food, a tender of bar and a washer of dishes. While performing all these functions with efficiency and elegance (disdain and malice), he somehow finds the time to publicly criticize friends, strangers and cultural crap.
