Dandyism
Current mood: creative

Dandyism, the style and the philosophy, is uniquely British. The original dandy of 1800, George Bryan 'Beau' Brummell captured, in the turn of his cuff and the knot of his cravat, the studied irony and languor that defined his age. Brummell's preoccupation with pose and appearance was derided as the last gasp of aristocratic decadence, but in many ways he anticipated the modern era – a world of social mobility in which taste was privileged above birth and wealth. Dedicated to perfection in dress and the immaculate presentation of his body, Brummell's total control over his image finds its legacy in 21st century masculine dress styles in Britain. The tension between old and new, personal / individual and public, tradition and rebellion is just as pressing in contemporary British design language. 



21st Century Dandy explores six sartorially self-conscious male types in contemporary British culture and illustrates the debt each owes to dandy philosophy. British menswear design in 2003 is at its most fertile and interesting since the Peacock Revolution in Carnaby Street in the 1960s, and it owes much to the British love of dressing up of ironic posturing – that Brummell practised so archetypically. The work of the designers, brands and manufacturing companies in our exhibition show how dandyism is at once an exclusive and democratic stance – democratic because it appears so easily attainable, but elusive in that so few succeed in getting it right. In reality, few British men could be easily categorised into one of our six types. The true dandy's guiding principle (individual style) rejects definition by type. But the dandy principles of exquisite beauty, quality and performance are as influential in British menswear design today as they were over 200 years ago; the cultural referentiality and material quality that characterises the best of British design could not find a better muse in the 21st century than the dandy.

The Gentleman

Brummell's direct stylistic descendant is the Gentleman. Today, as in previous centuries, the Gentleman is defined by his relationship to property (rural and urban). It is an easy, natural association reflected in an apparent effortlessness of dress, manners and social bearing. In the 21st century, however, it is an aristocracy of talent rather than birth that the Gentleman represents. The new Gentleman's most important quality is success and the power that affords. Second to that is the reflection of his power through discreet and coded means.

In clothing, this can be seen in both the style of the new Gentleman's clothes and the way he buys them, principally in the privacy of the tailor's suite. Gentlemanly dress is loaded with expressive clues – the turn of a collar or cuff, the size and style of a button and the colour and fastening of a shoe have each become one of the few ways of letting the world know what kind of person you are or wish to be. But Gentlemanly style categorically avoids ostentation; the practical, contemporary uniform of grey or navy suit, black lace-up shoe, white shirt and modestly colourful tie are more than influenced by the subtlety of Brummell's own approach.

Contemporary tailors like Timothy Everest, Charlie Allen and Richard Anderson are the standard-bearers for Gentlemanly discretion in the 21st century. Whilst all three are taking a fresh visual approach to a traditional trade, their innovations still hold quality, propriety and discretion at their core; the locations they have chosen to pursue their trade (Spitalfields, Islington and Savile Row respectively) are still hubs of power and influence.

Hoxton Dandy

The Hoxton Dandy subverts materials, form and function in the name of style. Hoxton Square, once a bleak, principally industrial quarter of East London, now finds itself at the heart of a trajectory of bohemianism that began in Soho in Brummell's time. Populated by young creative people in search of large studios and cheap rents, Hoxton has quickly become a hub of new media / graphic / furniture / fashion design style that embraces the 'gritty' urban reality of its high-rise blocks and crumbling warehouses and the area's history of craft-based and industrial manufacturing.

Artisan clothing has often drawn upon dress types more usually associated with the working man in order to emphasise the masculinity of artistic pursuit, the physical labour involved in its production. This is no less true of the Hoxton style, which is rooted in a flamboyant urban camouflage – a mix of military iconography, 'peasant' staples (roughly cut jackets, gilets, jeans, Guernsey jumpers) and industrial work wear, made from high performance fabrics (rip-stop nylon, anti-ballast, Teflon®-treated wool and Coolmax® cotton jersey) whose functionality always far outweighs their wearers' need.

Originality is as crucial for the Hoxton Dandy as it was for Brummell. Oscar Wilde once said, 'One should either be a work of Art, or wear a work of Art' and Hoxton style is the ultimate expression of the music / fashion / art trinity that characterises British street style in the 21st century. Demonstrably extant as a species, the Hoxton Dandy has his own style press (it is no coincidence that magazines such as Dazed & Confused and i-D are based in or around the area), and hordes of ready followers making his the hardest image to maintain as individual. As the West End's theatres and gentleman's clubs provided platforms for performance of dress in Wilde's early 19th century, so too do the wide, open bars and gallery spaces of Hoxton Square.

Neo modernist

In his time, it was the modernity of Brummell's monochromatic style that marked him out against the tired raiment adopted from the European baroque. Modernism in the 20th century struggled to establish itself as a positive choice in British design culture, yet there have been intense and passionate periods of flirtation with clean lines and rationalism – momentary reprieves from both the ludic sensibiliy more common in British design and the prevailing conservatism of the mainstream.

The early British Modernists of the 1950s sought to emulate the socially mobile elements of American society. Stylistically, they drew inspiration from the sleek, sharp and minimal suit favoured by the avant-garde musicians of the East Coast jazz movement. Philosophically, early Mods saw themselves as 'citizens of the world', a world in which it only mattered where you were going, not where you came from – a sentiment Brummell would have endorsed.

In 2003, clean lines and muted colours once more afford relief from the riot and parody of post-modernism that has dominated British fashion since the emergence of Vivienne Westwood and, latterly, John Galliano. The Neo-Modernist style draws, as it did in Brummell's day, on established sartorial traditions but subverts them through materials (denim for suits, shirting fabrics for linings), form (tighter, sharper and leaner than the norm) and, ultimately, function. The contemporary monochrome suit might be made of utility materials and with structural details that would withstand physical labour, but it is in fact a costume for an urbane, creative society at leisure in the cafés and smoky bars of Soho and Mayfair.

Terrace Casual

The Terrace Casual performs his identity on the terraces of the football ground. The early 80s 'Casual' was vehemently patriotic – his goal, the 'smartening-up' of Britain's football supporting fraternity. European games introduced in the early 80s showed Britain's fans in stark contrast to their Italian and French counterparts whose immaculate dress prompted a revolution in UK working-class style. The British football fan became a principal consumer of mostly European luxury sporting brands – Burberry, Fila, Lacoste and Ellesse. Today's Terrace Casual was born of similar influences.

What separates him from his forebears is that the garments he favours are principally British. Burberry still features prominently in this language, but is joined by Aquascutum, DAKS, Cordings and an abundance of tweed. The upper class sporting pursuits which with these clothes are associated (hunting, shooting, fishing) are redolent of the masculine camaraderie and corporeal engagement of club life favoured by Brummell and his circle. Following Brummell's example, the Terrace Casual is engaged in the positioning of traditional upper class 'country' style in the urban environment, co-opting it for the pursuit of leisure rather than the management of rural estates.

Football has emerged as a driver for a 'soft' nationalism in 2003 that stems directly from 19th and 20th century cultivation of sport as a moral site for the making of national and regional identity and for the transmission of traditional values of hard work and perseverance to the urban masses. The Terrace Casual upholds these values through his dress style as much as he subverts them. Morality (another of Brummell's motivating principles) is expressed through hygiene (crisp sporting whites, carefully pressed trousers, brilliant white trainers) and hard work that facilitates his access to luxury brands supposedly outside his reach.

Celebrity Tailor

The inherent nobility of the ideal male body is entwined with the moral superiority of the sporting physique and prowess that has been celebrated in romantic literature for centuries. The tailor's challenge is to conceal the effects of the worst excesses of his clients' lifestyles, but London's tailors are also famed for mastering the art of cut and materials that emphasise muscularity and stature, creating an ideal body that separates the wearer from the norm. In an age where celebrity afforded by beauty is privileged above all other talents, it is no coincidence that London's Celebrity Tailors are in the ascendant. Richard James, Ozwald Boateng, Mark Powell and John Pearse all display an acute awareness of the body as seen through the camera lens.

Powell is known principally for his showmanship, both in his personal style and the style of his cut. Drawing on shapes privileged by one of Britain's first true celebrities of the modern age, the Duke of Windsor (Oxford Bags, fur-collared coats), Powell produces suits that eschew gentlemanly propriety to create a larger than life figure, a magnificence of stature reminiscent of powerful men with popular appeal. James, Boateng and Pearse focus on the construction of spectacle. Each tailor deploys, with varying degrees of subtlety, an abundance of colour, changeant fabrics, sparkling adornment and close fitting cut in the pursuit of a figure of distinction. It is pure performance, both in the bravado of the maker and self-assurance of the wearer. Whilst Brummell may have disapproved of the flamboyance of these tailoring styles, he would have been fascinated by the cult of celebrity around them. Crucial to their success in creating celebrity bodies is each tailor's own notoriety; they are as much icons of style as the clients they dress.

New Briton

Without the formal strictures that govern social status in Britain – class, dress, manners, and property – there would be little to push against or explore in its contemporary culture. British fashion is most characterised by our designers' interpretation of national tradition. The perception of Britain as reliable, dowdy and conservative affords designers the perfect stereotype to both celebrate and unravel with each new generation. Few other national identities offer such enticing challenges. At the other extreme, Britain's puritanical leanings perpetuate bawdiness and revelry, qualities no less a part of the national heritage.

Designers Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood consistently re-evaluate what it means to be British and how that understanding can be expressed through dress. Smith's work shows an acute awareness of British bourgeois aspirations, combining a self-parodying humour with a relentless adoption of international reference (riotous colour, print and embellishment) to reflect the more languid, post-war Britain of cricket matches and high tea. The resulting collections are as beloved by the descendants of those he simulates as they are by his significant international audience who respond principally to the affection he shows for his subject matter. Westwood exploits a much more urban iconography, mixing the language of elite Western dress (cravats, military regalia, strict tailoring, taffeta, lace) with that of the 'outsider' (tartan, rubber, leather, safety pins, shalwar-style trousers) to create a new language imbued with parody and conflict. Each fosters the individuality in dress that is so closely linked to dandyism and to British fashion at its best.

In 2003 a new generation of designers, Maria Chen, LCFP, Noki, Wale Adayemi, Arkadius and Peter Jensen, have set about finding new ways to define individuality in a more globally aware and visually saturated environment. Their take on British culture is poignant and dissenting, humorous and transgressive, informed by their own cultural experience and resulting in objects that seem familiar yet strange and new.

Currently listening : The Beta Band By The Beta Band Release date: 29 June, 1999

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One week of awesome!
Current mood: Wicked Rad!

Tuesday...
A few days out of town.
A yummy lunch, and dinner.
Movie, wine, and a cat.
Tomorrow I go home for the evening.
I'm back...
Reset...all better.

Time for happy holidays!!!


Wednesday...
Woke up at Steven, and Tomi's...slept well despite Ben's stupid phone alarm. That song needs to change! Steven made some wicked-good coffee! Walked out front to smoke, and saw some dude from "The OC" walking his gog. Worked my ass off, and have been tired ever since. Drinks with Ben, T-Barr, Brian, and Neeners, and a couple girl friends I haven't seen in a bit. A good night...I missed 'em.

I've got two rad events this month, and another for a friend.

Sunday the 17th at 3 Clubs
Wednesday 27th at Knitting Factory

Clucas opens for John Doe on the 15th@Blue Cafe in LB

I DON'T NEED THIS DISEASE...Not right now.

Thursday...
Woke up, and listened to one of the best records I've heard in awhile. . .
Before coffee, sex, or anything.
Got on the 5, and saw the lamest accident ruin a perfect morning for a bunch of lame-o's. . .
not ruined for me.
Rolled into Topanga Village, and had breakfast with Ben. Sweet Spot!
Worked for a few hours, and then realized the beauty around me at lunch.
Best friend, pretty ladies, and a really nice neighborhood.
Like a vacation from where I am not supposed to be.

Spent the day in a bad artists house, and just wondered why I waste my
time with the mediocre.
I'm so glad I prefer AWESOME!
Perfect timing for that thought...
I still enjoyed my work day.
Got off work.

Wonderful things happen to wonderful people.
Common people are getting ripped off, but that's fine...if you like being common or ripped off.

Planned a photo adventure...nice!


Friday
Worked...long day, and really tired from too much excitement.
Went to Malibu for a second, and raced home to change, and then right back up to LA. Went to a koo-koo Chrismas kegger in Echo Park with Sean, and Ben...too bad the dj's only scraped the surface of good.

...didn't know it was going to be hip-hop/dirty disco.

Saturday
Last day of work in Century City. Everything came out perfect, of course.

Went to Erin's party, it was cool. Went to RED house, and tried to show Franky Sinatra my junk. Back to Erin's for dancing, then back to RED, then Mo's, and that's where the tequilla happened. Mean, nasty liquor that is when you take shots of it. Obviously, that's where my night ended. Drank port, and ate chocolate until 5 or 6 in the morning. Great night!

Sunday
Woke up, and missed band practice...hehe, oops! I hope I don't suck...hmm. Ok, I won't.

Gonna play some Stones, Kinks, Dylan, and other classics I haven't in awhile. Other stuff to dance to, but not "dance" music tonight. Just awesome!

Find out from Ben that the phone call he got that afternoon was for work at Stephen Speilbergs 60th birthday...Darn!

After I'm done playing music we meet up with the cool friends, and drink more. Free all night, and plenty of it. OUCH!

Monday
Talked to my baby nephew on the phone. He sounds really cute on the telly.
I have to go out there right away. My brother, and his wife are doing well, and doing a good job at Mums, and Daddy'ing.

Tuesday
Got all of what I needed for my sweet vintage drum set finally. It only took 6 years to find it.

Currently listening : The Back Room By Editors Release date: 26 July, 2005

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Your heart goes boom, my heart goes boom too!
Current mood: Wicked Rad!

Your heart goes boom, my heart goes boom too,
when you walk into the room, all the wallpaper comes in bloom.

Here come The Childballads!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe The Childballads aren't "super new" by music-nerd standards. Actually, Pitchfork just posted some crap about their Myspace page like two days ago. But you know what? Fuck it. Everyone go crazy! Real truth be told, Stewart Lupton's latest endeavor is a million big breaths of fresh air. His old bandmates are now The Walkmen... (Hamilton, you left quite a legacy behind at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) ...but this shit's for serious. Easily wooed? This is really, really good.

The EP, Cheekbone Hollows (Pop. 1/2 Life), will be out on (ex-NME editor) James Oldham's Loog Records sometime in early November. Until then, join the repeat-1 club at their sparsely awesome myspace page
The Childballads


The Childballads: New Music

Stewart Lupton and Betsy Wright

"I'm coming into my own," Stewart Lupton says.

Gregory Korn, a talented writer and artist, passed on word of The Childballads recently, and the lone song available on the band's website haunts me: Childballads: "Cheekbones (White Chocolate Tea)". This song was in my dreams last night and I woke up singing it this morning.

Of course the name, Stewart Lupton, sounds familiar. Recently in the New York Post, Maureen Callahan wrote:

"IT'S rare that someone gets another shot at becoming the next big thing - especially when people aren't quite sure whether you're still alive. In the late 1990s, Stewart Lupton was poised to be the biggest rock star to emerge from the burgeoning New York rock scene that his band, Jonathan Fire*Eater, had helped revive.

The sonic and spiritual forerunners of acts like Arcade Fire and Interpol, they were the ultimate elegant Lower East Side wastrels, purveyors of noirish, organ-laden rock and sunken-eyed, dishabille glamour."

The Childballads' look and sound is deliberately far removed from Jonathan Fire*Eater's. The new music is influenced by country and folk, with lyrics steeped in old-fashioned storytelling. The stories and sound of the South hide under the alt-rock underpinnings of the band. Stewart Lupton describes the music as "sounding like doilies, like your grandmother's living room. There's a certain hollowness there; it's a roomy sound."

"Stewart's in his prime to leave the mark he didn't leave with Jonathan Fire*Eater," says Erin Norris. "That kid is never gonna fall from grace any further than he already has. He's a lifer."

Currently listening : Wolf Songs for Lambs By Jonathan Fire*Eater Release date: 07 October, 1997

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There's make-up everywhere you little princess!
Current mood: accomplished

Red carpet burns!


It's all seems surreal sometimes when you have a pool...a whirlpool of people around you with so much talent. These friends, and their grand talents, have convinced me to put something out I should've years ago. You know who you are, and you are the threads that spin creative fabric. 

Currently listening : Are You the One? By Presets Release date: 24 November, 2005

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Justin & Beth Regan's Wedding

Justin and Beth Regan's Wedding

Rad pictures(Justin and Beth Regan's Wedding) of some very dear friends.
Married after 9 years of being awesome!
Thanks Rev. Marshall.

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Music I Likes!

MY MUSIC: Champion Sound, Dirty Little Lover, Super Bad Vampire Eyes, Leather Kobra, BattleSnake!

OTHER PEOPLES MUSIC:
Assassins - Guilty

Dirty Pretty Things - If You Love A Woman

MEW - Am I Wry?

Assasins - Always Wantin' What You Ain't Got


Kashmir-Calla-Led Zepelin-The Kinks-AC/DC-The Horsepainters-Slowpolk-Dicky Swift-Eskimohunter-Gram Parsons-Odelia-Bavarian Druglords-Chris Batstone-Sean Stentz-Dungen-Arcade Fire-Pinback-BRMC-DYLAN-This Et Al-Butch-Girls Against Boys-Interpol-Joy Division-Blonde Redhead-Drive like Jehu-The Clash-Oasis-Roxy Music-Nick Drake-Andrew Bird-Jonathan Fire*Eater-The Walkmen-Bowie-Ride-The Fall-Joy Division-Gang of Four-The Modern Lovers-Lennon-Stones Roses-My Bloody Valentine-Slowdive-M83-Dandy Warhols-Brian Jonestown Massacre-Television-Marco de Bolan(T.Rex)-The Stones(duh)-QueensOTSA...A bunch of other stuff...you know...same stuff as you, but with exceptions...


Death From Above 1979(minxy remix)

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Miami, Foreign Women, and My Tan
Current mood: Wicked Fast!!!

So I wake up this morning dressed like I'm on vacation or something. White tight short shorts, white sunglasses, and a white and red Michael Kors button-up shirt, unbuttoned of course...oh, and my cross too. Like something out of Scarface. I sit on the patio looking down over the entire city. I smoke a cigarette while waiting for the gay boys, and foreign girls from other countries wake up to smoke with me. It's sunny, I'm fit, tan all over, and the Margarita's from last night aren't haunting me like I thought they would've. I missed all of this...enjoying my life. Everything is looking pretty mint right now.

The people are special, always colourful.
I think I'm gonna take a leap...of course.

M. Garratt esq.

Currently listening : Witching Hour By Ladytron Release date: 04 October, 2005

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Dirty Pretty Things
Current mood: Rad!

So I go see this band last night with Ben, and Koval...Dirty Pretty Things. Before the band even goes on, Koval introduces me, and Ben to this guy Jason Faulkner who played guitar in Air...nice. Super hot tramps all about, and Jack on the rocks...also very nice.

The band comes on, and I don't usually use this comparison lightly, but they reminded me of the Clash on stage. The singer comes out with a brittish flag as a sling on his arm...which wasn't injured, but a nice little Strummer-ish touch. Super great drummer...kinda looked like Seal without the screwdriver stabs in the cheek. The band looked wicked-cool, dressed like they should, danced like cheetahs, and rocked like the Clash. Now, they might not sound exactly like the emperors, but I think they played a show the way it ought to be...well done! Now don't fuck it up, and acquire a brilliant addiction...beat-boys.

Had a great time...I'll do it again!

Currently listening : The Sunlandic Twins By Of Montreal Release date: 12 April, 2005

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WORLD CUP!!!!
Current mood: excited

I don't know about the rest of you, but Futbol is my favorite sports of all time. Every four years the Cup comes around in June, and when it does I am a very happy boy. It's usually a time when my cycle of growth, and happiness is renewed. Last time it came around I fell in love(nice). I smile, dance, and stay up late watching the earliest games on whatever channel has it on. I think we should get together, and catch a few of them somewhere...anywhere, and be wicked-rad! I personally love all the South American teams, and there are few European teams that have always been favorites of mine. I get high when I see the underdog African teams doing well...what am I doing? I love this game! I dig all of them! If you guys have favorite teams or want to watch a match with me...let's set it up! I may even have a pint with ya.

Currently watching : U2 - Vertigo 2005 - Live From Chicago Release date: 15 November, 2005

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6 weird habits and things about myself, which are all true
Current mood: I don't know?

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

six weird things which may or may not be true

Rules: The first player of this game starts with the "6 weird things/habits about yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a blog of their 6 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end you need to choose the 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says, "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read yours.

These are all true.

1. I love peanut butter with cigarettes. Not on them. Just next to them.
2. I grew up with horses, chickens, dogs, cats, wolves, kobra's, tons of veggies, and fruits...also, in the suburbs.
3. Sometimes I forget to do things.
4. I purposely try to look disheveled...to avoid being called "a gay".
5. The only jewelry I wear are rosary beads without the cross...It fell off in a wrestling match...I won!
6. I've been falling a lot recently, and I never did before.

My tag people are: Ben, Terry, Bob, Chon, Zoe, and Beckah

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