40% Summer Style Guide

It's been a while since I've taken on the 40% persona. The last rant I went on was about the religious zealots that are taking over Norfolk. What a horrible way to go out! Since then I've been working on other projects, being generally lethargic during the winter months, and lamenting over my lack of big city life. However, it's allowed me some time to refocus my energies and really get to the core of what I want to do with this outlet. (My main goal being to score a gig writing for a magazine or paper one of these days when the economy evens out. Or maybe even make money off a culture blog! We can dream, right?)

If you paid any attention to fashion week(s) this year, you'd have noticed special attention to men's lines. A lot of fashion houses added men's stuff to their production to beef up their sales first of all, but also because the Dapper Dan is making a comeback. I got endless amounts of inspiration from shows like Band of Outsiders, Tim Hamilton, Rag & Bone and Antonio Azzuolo (even if I didn't agree with the use of fur everywhere). I'm in love with all of the classic styles for summer and fall, and it's inspired me to create a series of mini style guides, incorporating a few of the ideas pitched at fashion week, but also putting my own modern twist on a few things.

A few months ago, I decided that chambray was going to be huge throughout summer and fall '09, and I'm happy to see that I've been validated! Chambray is a breathable, denim-like material that was primarily the material of choice for blue-collar work shirts when American men did things like manual labor on a daily basis (a much under-appreciated skill). It's a sturdy fabric, with a comforting rigidness that keeps its shape, no matter what you do to it. So naturally, the brilliantly quirky Koto Chambray Workshirt is number 2 on the style guide.

1. Zuriick Beata Chukka Boot. I actually bought this Zuriick Beata Chukka Boot from Provisions here in Norfolk in a black, with a purple sole. Though I considered buying the grey shown here. The baby blue piping breaks up the gloom a little and adds a modern, whimsical twist to the overall construction - which is exceedingly simple. This is a one-piece shoe molded from the same fabric and shaped for a more fitted look to your foot. They're also mega-comfortable and look great with a skinny jean or even shorts. 2. Koto Chambray Workshirt. Oh, Urban Outfitters, you've always got affordable finds that look so expensive. One of my favorite things about this shirt is the attention to design. Check out how the left breast-pocket is actually turned upside down and in the shape of a jean pocket. The rounded hem, and webbing n the sides (for a bit of stretch when you sit down without giving away too much skin) really add to the style of this easy, comfortable spring/summer day shirt. And it's on sale! 3. Matt & Nat Warhol Grey Weekender. Hello, new gigantic weekender bag I'll use for everyday toting! Matt & Nat are an eco-friendly design company that specializes in women's bags, but has recently branched out into men's accessories and unisex bags. This is one of their new styles, and it's definitely a favorite of mine right now. Grey canvas is broken up by bright blue zippers and vegan purple leather straps to give this throwback to one of the world's greatest art marketers a pop feel, with a fashion forward (and animal-friendly!) twist. Simply, I love this bag. It's a tad pricey ($325), but you're not paying for animals suffering so maybe it's a more satisfying buy. If that's not your thing, and you prefer a more classic bag, the Deerfield Weekender Bag I wrote about a few months ago is available in different colors now, at a more affordable price. 4. Dolce & Gabbana The One. Every now and then I'm pretty into typical big brand things. I love D&G's Light Blue, and was really excited to discover that The One is an even better summer scent. It's a more spicey scent than Light Blue with notes of ginger, cardamom, tobacco (!), and orange blossom, and literally makes you think about a permanent sunset. (The best part of the summer day for me is that hour between sunset and night, when everything is just a little more burnished by the sunlight and the breeze seems at rest.) $70 at Nordstrom, which isn't too bad. 5. Safari Animal Belt. Remember The Darjeeling Unlimited? If you're a Wes Anderson fan you probably noticed the Marc Jacobs-designed luggage featuring safari animals that the brothers carried around India with them. In a brilliant stroke of inspiration, Urban Outfitters is now offering this belt, which bears a striking resemblance to the luggage. At $38, it's definitely not a Marc Jacobs piece, which I'm totally fine with since Marc Jacobs is a bit of a bank breaker. It features a removable roller buckle, so you can replace the buckle with one of your choice. I got this as a gift from the Easter Bunny (via my mom), and can't wait to start rocking it in a whole Hemingway-inspired outfit. (Without the elephant gun, or dead animals of course.)

Summer is all about classic, personalized style. Think literary references like Thoreau, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby wasn't great for nothing.

El Mundo Unido por Un Balón.

i spent a lot of time with lost-and-found friend, juanita, over the weekend. friday night was really more of the same "let's go pretend we want to dance at the wave!", but saturday was the piece-de-resistance. she picked me up around 4:30ish and we went to her house in norview, where her god parents, god brother and mother were staying with her. her mom had cooked up some fantastic stir fried tofu and vegetables over rice that i couldn't have been more thankful for. during the course of my little visit, her godmother and mother gave me a Thai nickname: Tha. i haven't been able to find a literal translation of the word anywhere on the internet, but i'm told it means something like royalty. if anyone out there speaks Thai and can tell me if that's true, i'd love you forever.

but the really great part of saturday happened when juanita had to drive me back to my car so i could go pick up my room mate from virginia beach, where she was stranded. i don't remember why, but i was looking in her glove compartment and i came across the amazing sunglasses you see above. after a little research, i found out they're sunglasses that were sold at the 1986 World Cup, which was held in Mexico City. besides being the second time Mexico had hosted the World Cup since 1970, the UN had also declared 1986 "international year of peace," which gave way to the unofficial motto: el mundo unido por un balon (the world united by a ball). some other trivia about the games that year: canada, denmark and iraq all qualified for the first time; argentina won the cup; iraq played all matches on neutral ground (meaning away games i guess) due to the iran-iraq war; Mexico City was rocked by a massive earthquake only 8 months before the cup; denmark was dubbed "the group of death" because of their 100 percent record in round 2 of the cup.

juanita said they looked better on me, so she gave them to me. i'm seriously in love with these sunglasses. they're vintage 80's (i know, i know. i totally blasted 80's fashion last week), and they've got a great backstory to boot. i feel good when i wear them. so be jealous that you're not friends with girls who have great sunglasses to give away, kids.

a fourtypercent fall.

i am fighting the first sickdays of fall right now, and as a result can't sleep very well at night. so i figured now was as good as time as any to start mapping out looks for the fall that will make me feel as though i won't get sick anymore this season. (here's hoping!) i'm a huge fan of rainy days, especially between late september and the end of november, so hunter's wellington boots top series one of ///40% fall.

1. hunter wellington rain boots. i've had a love affair with rain boots for the longest time and have been waiting for them to catch on with actual people. not that i think they have, but my friend beth wore some out the other day and it made me so happy that i hunted down a pair for myself. they're a bit expensive, so i'm saving up for them, but they're available from jcrew for less than $100, which is very exciting. having not really taken my cowboy boots off since i bought them, it'll be refreshing to have another knee-high boot to rock when it's wet outside and i'm feeling slightly more whimsical. check 'em out. 2. WeSC Eddie Herringbone Duffle Coat. this is one of those coats where i actually did say out loud, "omigosh, it's amazing." the first time i heard about WeSC was the last time i was in california visiting my good friend bobby from kitsune noir. we stopped into their boutique, and i have to admit i wasn't too impressed. at that time, it was a new brand, and they appear to have come an awfully long way since then. at $258, this coat is an expensive addition to your fall/winter wardrobe, but damn if it's not worth it. if you can't afford something like this, sub it with a great peacoat or even a trench. i'm making this part of my official "bring classy back" movement. all of this 80's ironic hipster fashion is starting to make my head hurt. 3. any large, overstated, patterned or brightly-colored scarf. i have a "desert" scarf like the one pictured above in a green and black houndstooth pattern that i can't wait to start wearing all the time again. contrary to popular belief, scarves are not out of fashion. (as a point of fact, not much is out of fashion these days. it's about how you wear it.) throw a similar scarf in with the mix to spice things up a bit and draw attention to the way your cheeks and noses are turning red in the cool temperatures. 4. cheap monday tight unwashed jean. i know, i know. tight jeans are getting a little old. but as long as i can keep pouring my legs into them, i'm going to keep on wearing them. plus, they make wearing boots so much fun. cheap monday's skinny jeans are an exceptional find, as they're relatively cheap (in this case, only $65) and they fit like a glove, reinforced with a bit of spandex for movement.

obviously this look goes best on a particularly chilly day, flask of hot cocoa mixed with peppermint schnapps in hand. man, that sounds good. i can't wait until my body likes that stuff again.

today's letter: a.

i am no visionary, but absinthe made me feel like i might just be the moment it slipped past my lips. you start with a 120-proof bottle of a green, mouthwash-like liquid, standard Ikea short drinking glass, and sugar. 3-parts water to 1-part absinthe goes into the glass. swirl a teaspoon of sugar around lazily with your finger, and start the process. it's slow, but it begins to feel warm, and familiar. you suddenly can sing along to any song, recall names and places you've never been to, and you begin to see why edgar allen poe was so furiously insane.

and it's totally artificial - built around the myth that has become absinthe. in fact, very little american absinthe is even close to what was a turn-of-the-century favorite for bohemians and pretentious artists. (ours, in fact, was from prague. we are pretentious artists, after all.) absinthe, by chemistry, is little more than an intolerably strong bitters that you have to dumb-down with water and sugar. it does hit you quickly, though. so there's that. most of my experience with the green fairy was ultimately ended by a carelessly concocted soco+coke and an unfortunate serving of fried mozarella. i did wake up at two a.m. wondering what time my flight left... but i also went to sleep by eleven-thirty p.m., long after my last Ikea-glass of our absinthe from prague.

i am a quintessentially american twenty-something in h&m garb, assuming the role of conscientious objector and bubbling underground pop-culture enthusiast. ironic scarves and animal references to my personality are probably all too prevalent, and my sunglasses are generally overstated and "fierce".

it is my belief that i will only ever experience roughly 40% of everything the world has to offer me, if that. and so this blog is my attempt to categorize and catalog everything in a sometimes-alphabetical fashion. up first: the letter "a".

1. first up in the letter a is absinthe, which i've already touched on. sketchy business if you ask me. tastes a bit like jager mixed with mouthwash. (doesn't mouthwash already smack of fermented licorice most of the time?) 2. nooka's V Zenh camouflage watch. (hey, it's an accessory.) i was shopping around on urban outfitters and saw this in their men's "what's new" section. i was really intrigued by the colors first of all - very vibrant - and the box-shape of the face really caught my attention. what i especially love about this watch is that the camouflage is entirely composed of animal shapes. that's brilliant. it's a bit pricey (over $200), but would definitely make for a fantastic summer-time addition to your wardrobe. 3. antena's "camino del sol". this album is from the '80's. (1980, in fact, on the factory benelux label out of france.) it shares some of it's decades signature sounds - mostly its use of analog synths - but does it much better than most any act from that era could have imagined. it's not particularly danceable. most of the rhythms are minimalist, and the majority of the instrumentalism is hushed. however, the vocals are quite beautiful and if you're a fan of either of the gainsbourgs, or maryland's beach house, you'll appreciate antena. listen to this during late-night summer drives, or ocean-side sun bathing. 4. ryan mcginley. as far as art goes, photography is a particularly hit or miss trade. ryan mcginley captures everything that is beautiful about photography without fail every time. in his most recent show, he showcased a few of his disgustingly beautiful models (all very euro-looking) playing around in the summer sun. somersaults, fireworks, skinny dipping, morning fog. what more could you ask for? check out his web site for more visual appetizers, and if you can, check out one of his shows. RyanMcGinley.com.

i'll try to post a few times every week now that we've gotten past the hard part. i never know where to begin.