Today one of those things you never thought would (or maybe should) be documented was documented. Today GQ published the Oral History of Menswear Blogging and I have to say it is pretty interesting. Somehow I managed to harass my dad and make fun of Lawrence Schlossman all in the same article – sorry guys. And if you can’t tell, I was only (mostly) joking.
Some choice quotes below and full article here.
Michael Williams: Maybe I’m out of touch, but I never liked the whole double monk thing. I think a lot of this stuff has gotten out of control. At the Pop Up Flea [in 2009], some dude showed up in a henley and Carhartt overalls, seriously, with like a bandana in his back pocket. That shit looks weird at a truck stop in rural Pennsylvania. You can’t be wearing that shit in SoHo. Now it’s all these Italian unstructured garment-washed jackets.
Lawrence is like the leader of all these little things. He’s the one that gets on bracelets and shit. I never subscribed to that either, the whole bracelet thing. I’ll leave that to Man Repeller, I’m good on wearing 10 bracelets. I’m not at fucking summer camp.
Lawrence Schlossman: I think the age difference in bloggers determines how susceptible they are to experimenting style-wise. An older guy, such as Michael, has had more time behind the wheel and knows pretty quickly when he has absolutely no interest in something. I wear them because I saw Kanye West wear them at Coachella.
“It’s never okay to wear a tie over a tank top like Avril Lavigne.” Awesome.
That article is like the rosetta stone and esquire’s black book all rolled into one.
Thanks for sharing.
Michael, you are brilliant! Truth be told, leave it to Michael. (As I write this wearing my Barena deconstructed wool jacket.)
I remember first getting interested in menswear around 2005-06 and there was NOTHING on the internet apart from some forums where people endlessly debated which sack suit and OCBD was the most ivy/trad, and on other forums where all anyone cared about was the hot new limited edition sneaker in some rare colorway from Japan, or how to break in your $300 jeans.
THANK YOU ACL and others for actually broadening the focus out to something usable.
Not featured: Where I follow up the Kanye line by making it very clear that I am joking.
Always a pleasure being mentioned in the same breath as Papa Williams.
Pretty interesting article. Men and jewelry remain a mystery to me. I’ve always believed a wedding band and nice watch was all a man needed.
I read it twice. My father was a siding contractor in Louisville,Ky. The most I got out of that was carpenter pencils and navy pocket tees. This helps.
Thank You.
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/12/An-Oral-History-of-the-Time-We-Read-emGQems-Oral-History-of-Menswear-Blogging
Interesting article like many of the features on your blog. for another perspective on bogging and men;s style, I recommend WCW INSIGHT and in particular Fashionists Style.
>> “Michael Williams: Maybe I’m out of touch, but I never liked the whole double monk thing. I think a lot of this stuff has gotten out of control. At the Pop Up Flea [in 2009], some dude showed up in a henley and Carhartt overalls, seriously, with like a bandana in his back pocket. That shit looks weird at a truck stop in rural Pennsylvania. You can’t be wearing that shit in SoHo. Now it’s all these Italian unstructured garment-washed jackets.”
LOL, GREAT quote! :-)
Did L.A.S. get paid by Lands’ End Canvas for tossing out their name 2-3 times in the article?
I really enjoyed this article. Great reference about the Carhartt coveralls and the bandana. ‘Character dressing’ gets old.
Men wearing jewelry: no. no. no. no. no.
A man doesn’t need bracelets to show the world how many friends he has.
When I was dating my wife she gave me a really cool custom/slightly over the top silver cuff bracelet. I would love to have had someone videoing the shocked look on my face when she said “you should wear it every day for the rest of your life.” I try to still wear it every now and then to show I appreciated it.
isn’t all dressing “costume”? I say where what best expresses your personal style. If you like bracelets, where them. If you dont, then dont. who cares.
So does this mean the hipster crowd is officially done with the whole Americana-blue collar-work wear thing?
I hope so, so I can get back to wearing my flannel shirts without being lumped into a scene.
fucking awesome! I now know where I fit in on the age range spectrum.
ps. What is Coachella?
What’s up with the VF article? Are they serious or just trying to come off as arrogant pricks?
Oh wow, such memories from the past. I remember hanging out at styleforum around 2006 looking for general advice about suits and how they fit, ect. It was all we had really. Men.style.com was never particularly interesting besides your standard runway model photos from flashy fashion brands.
So much has changed, so many sites and brands to keep track of. It’s amazing really. Glad to see it all written down. Cheers!
when every fool dude in nolita, tribeca, east village, downtown looks and acts essentially the same, where even the chain stores like J Crew etc have caught onto your “fashion”/”style”/”trend”, don’t you think it’s time to give it some effort and look a little different? at least the bowties have started to disappear- unless they are also fans of doctor who, which in case it is okay…
You know the putting a quesadilla in the front pocket of your jacket instead of a pocket square? I invented that.