thedandiest

New York Dandies

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:36:22 GMT

These wonderful men have their differences - dapper dandies, disco dandies, decadent dandies - but they all share one dandy trait: they take elements from the classic era of men's style, then fuck with those elements and add their own creative touches.

1. Hamish Bowles

2. Sean Crowley

3. James Jimenez

4. Patrick McDonald

The Kaiser

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:22:22 GMT

Above: Karl Lagerfeld with Anna Piaggi in the 1970s

Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent in 1954:

Another foto of Lagerfeld and Piaggi in the 70s:

Lagerfeld looks remarkably like cult leader Jim Jones at this time. Always nice to see a German wearing jodhpurs. Fashion writer Anna Piaggi is quite restrained in this shot. Since the death of Isabella Blow, Piaggi is the last great, massively eccentric female fashion icon. Unlike Blow-- who always seemed to look coordinated even if she was outlandish -- Piaggi often regrettably looks like a batty trainwreck.

Karl in the 1980s:

I will refrain from showing pix of Karl in the 1990s. I see enough obesity when I step out my front door.

Karl in the present day:

I know it is supposed to be a faux pas to have a shirt and a tie made from the same fabric, but Karl looks fanfuckingtastic in this shot.

Looking mighty elegant here. We'll ignore the gloves.

Ruffles.

I love how, as Karl gets thinner, his collars keep getting higher! To the Duchess of Windsor's famous statement, 'you can never be too rich or too thin', I would add: 'Your collar can never be too high.'

Photographer David Bailey

Fri, 02 May 2008 20:32:56 GMT

above: David Bailey, photographed by Patrick Lichfield, the swinging Earl.

I recently read the book "Ready, Steady, Go!: The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of Swinging London" by Shawn Levy. A big portion of the book concerns the exploits of photographer David Bailey, who was the inspiration for the caddish main character in Antonioni's 1966 film "Blowup."

I enjoyed the book, which is surprising since the author is from Portland Oregon. Usually, if some creative project originates from Portland, you can bet it will be mediocre. Possibly this is because Portland is too clean and safe - the artistic types are too relaxed and have no fire in the belly. There are a few exceptions-- I like Portland filmmaker Todd Haynes, and I am a big fan of Ida No, the skinny stylish singer of electro band Glass Candy. Ida looks a bit like Penelope Tree, a sixties fashion model who was often photographed by David Bailey.

Ida:

Penelope, by Bailey:

Twiggy - "Beautiful Dreams"
Barnaby Rudge - "Joe Organ and Co"

David Bailey was quite the man about town, and was married at one point to Catherine Deneuve. Here's the two of them:

In the 60s, Bailey specialized in photographs of rogues and cultural figures, usually shot in close-up with moody lighting. Here's some of his work-----

Salvador Dali:

Man Ray:

Michael Caine:

Madness - "Michael Caine"

Factory Crew:

Kenneth Tynan:

Federico Fellini:

Brian Jones and company:

The Kray brothers -- brutal British gangsters:

Bailey's decision to photograph the Krays was controversial and caused him to lose support from some of his establishment patrons. Years later, Morrissey wrote a song about the Krays--
Morrissey - "Last of the Famous International Playboys" (live 1991, Elysee Montmartre, Paris)

Bailey is still active. Here's a shot of Paul Weller:

Recently, Bailey collaborated with bad boy millionaire Damien Hirst on a series of photos:

(Vaginas and cow heads - I don't think Morrissey would approve!)

Tarts & Tartans: Vivienne Westwood

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:12:12 GMT

Someone, who is legally distinct from me, posted 18 minutes of a 1990 Vivienne Westwood documentary onto Youtube. (That footage was found in a pile of moldy old videotapes.) The audio is slightly out of sync, which is vexing, but it's worth watching-- we see Vivienne, in the middle period of her career, advocating England returning to elegant paganism. We see various little dramatic vignettes featuring her clothes.

I like about 20 percent of Vivienne's work, and most of it is from the 1990s.

In the 70s, of course, she and Malcolm invented the punk rock look-- harsh, torn, vulgar. This was a necessary kick in the ass of a world saturated in hippy earth tones and denim leisure suits. But, I can do without t-shirts, punk rock or otherwise. (The only thing a t-shirt is good for is polishing a car.)

In the 80s, Vivienne did pirate clothes, but regrettably she combined the pirate elements with baggy genie pants and African prints.

In the 90s, Vivienne got her shit together, and did collections that were wonderfully British - tweed, tartan, classic tailoring. I think that, other than the 70s Sex Pistols involvement, Vivienne is best known for those tartans. She is great with the plaids.

I also like it when she uses men's style elements in her women's lines:

Since the 90s, Vivienne has been less impressive, though I do like her cheeky use of (ahem) 'mid century' helmets, in a recent collection:

ORANGE - THE TABOO COLOUR?

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:50:21 GMT

Above: Charles II in Coronation Robes, 1661
Below: The Earl of Rochester (inspiration for the movie "The Libertine")

Stereo Total - "Orange Mécanique"

These days, stylish people seem to be afraid of wearing orange. It seems to have a bad reputation. Maybe it is considered to be a tacky remnant from the 50s, 60s and 70s. (Frank Sinatra's fave colour was orange.) Maybe it's because prison jumpsuits are often orange. In ye olde England, 'orange girl' used to be slang for prostitute.

Orange IS a tricky colour to pull off. Orange and black look good together, but inevitably give one a Halloweenish feel, so I tend to avoid them.
Here's Tommy Hilfiger:

I do like that suit quite a bit, but we see here that orange and black are problematic. (Plus, Hilfiger is a massive douchebag.)

There are many shades of orange, and many complimentary colours. Orange looks good with olive green, powdery baby blue, ivory. Orange does look good with brown, but only experts should attempt this, as the results may look very 1970s high school science teacher.

Orange on the runway...

Perry Ellis, Fall 2005

Burberry, Spring 2006

Alexander McQueen, Fall 2007

Ralph Lauren, Fall 2008

Free-style orange goodness...

Andre 3000:

Anton LaVey:

bricology and his wife:

Old foto of me:

Foto of me taken today:

STYLISH SKINNY BASTARDS

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:57:35 GMT

Not everyone appreciates a skinny Dandy...

...but for those of us that do, read on!

Ian Whitcomb - "Dance and Grow Thin" (Words/Music by Irving Berlin)
This Ian Whitcomb track was produced by Neil Innes. Here's Neil's group:
Bonzo Dog Band - "Cool Britannia"

Peter O' Toole:

O' Toole with drinking buddy Richard Harris:

Robert de Montesquiou:

Bowie:

David Bowie - "Waterloo Sunset"

Willy DeVille:

The kid from Death in Venice, with Visconti:

Kenneth Tynan

Billy Childish:

It's not sirwilliam, its Blixa Bargeld:

Einstürzende Neubauten - "Winnetou Walzer"

The absolutely fabulous Patrick McDonald:

There is another East Coast man who is similar to Patrick McDonald -- Cator Sparks. No photo of Cator will be found here. Cator and Patrick are both skinny social butterflies who favor hats and sideburns. Both seem to have no visible means of support. Cator has, in the past, called himself a dandy. I think he should start calling himself an ex-dandy. He seems to have given up, and increasingly wears jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. A true dandy is a dandy for life. I can't imagine Patrick McDonald appearing in public in jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes. I know that I never would, since I do not own ANY jeans, t-shirts, or tennis shoes.

Salvador Dali:

John Waters:

Two skinny bastards -- the infamous foto of me and John Waters:

Skinny ManWoman...

I always get thinspiration Gemma Ward and Lily Cole confused, but I think this is Lily:

Jerry Hall, and some skinny/creepy woman:

Ralph Lauren woman's collection. Note that it features a REAL top hat:

Hey Ralphie Baby, here's another fab skinny man's look, to inspire you:

WRISTWATCH

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:13:36 GMT

(Sixties pop soundtrack for Wristwatches)

Kaleidoscope - Mr Small The Watch Repair Man

Blossom Toes - Mister Watchmaker

Paul Jones - High Time

(Two Skinny Johns, with wristwatches)

John Rotten

John Waters

(Anton LaVey)

I do not own a cell phone (no one worth calling) so I need a watch to tell me the time. Even though I am an anachronistic clown, I do not normally wear a pocket watch. I wear a wristwatch. My favorite watch is dead and I need a new one. I am looking for a skeleton watch - a watch that shows the inner gearworks. I may regret this decision, since gears/cogs/pulleys are in danger of being ruined by Steam Punks. If you haven't encountered Steam Punks, they are fat goths who wear pleather trench coats, goggles, and fake top hats. (Fake top hats are made from wool felt. A real top hat is made from silk or beaver. A wool felt top hat is only acceptable if your name is Wavy Gravy.)

In looking for a new skeleton watch, here's some personal preferences: Square is better than round. Two hands are better than three. A black dail is better than a white dial. A leather band is better than a metal band. A gold watch is better than silver. (Most of my cufflinks are gold, but not always, so a watch that is mostly gold, but has touches of silver, might be the most versatile.)

I've spent 20+ hours looking at watches, and I'm down to nine candidates:

Candidate #1

Candidate #2

Candidate #3

Candidate #4

Candidate #5

Candidate #6

Candidate #7

Candidate #8

Candidate #9

Most people I've consulted seem to prefer number 8. Myself, I'm leaning towards number 2 and number 7....

Barbary coasting..

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:13:41 GMT

a few moments from a recent trip to the Bay Area...

Tall/Tiny....
Visited the wonderful Mr. Olson, who is 6 foot 6 inches tall, and has a massive collection of tiny European/Niponese porcelain figurines of pixies. (!?!)

Of course, I had to bring my own pixie...

Awkward/Starched....
Dinner with various factions from the Dandy community. Somewhat of an awkward evening, but as I have a morbid appreciation for awkwardness, I enjoyed it.

It was an opportunity to discuss, with Massimiliano "Andrea Sperelli" Mocchia di Coggiola, the important matter of the correct starching of detachable collars.

The Oenophile, The Pedophile, The Bibliophile...

Had lunch (at the Tadich Grill, the oldest restaurant in S.F.) with Mr. Mattis, who is from the 'orthodox' faction of the Dandy community. This faction has a history of being snarky with the UNorthodox elements of the Dandy community. Amusingly, Mattis and myself both wore Lord Whimsy pocket squares to lunch.

My one wish is that the orthodox dandies continue to fire shots at Whimsy and myself. Peace is boring! If it bleeds, it leads.

Speaking of Lord Whimsy, this one is for him: A shopping trip to the largest carnivorous plant nursery in the US:

TASTEFUL = BORING

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:48:44 GMT

Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Stop being dandy, showing me you're handsome

In regards to being a creative, well-dressed man (a/k/a a Dandy), there's pretty much three types of people:
1. The Clueless
2. The Cowards
3. The Clowns

Almost all men fall into the catagory of the Clueless - they don't dress well, they don't wish to dress well, and they probably couldn't dress well even if they wished to dress well. This is as it should be - most people have no sensitivity to aesthetics, no appreciation for beauty and imagination. There will always be many spear carriers and only a few chiefs. I am indifferent to these people.

The Cowards are those men who DO know the value of dressing well, but are usually too timid to be a Dandy. They are afraid of being too flamboyant. They are afraid of color. They are afraid of patterns. They sometimes hide their cowardice behind grandiose claims that they wish to be 'tasteful'-- they state that a well-dressed man should not be anachronistic or draw too much attention. These cowards are old men, even if they are 20 years old. They are fond of qouting Beau Brummell, who said “If John Bull turns around to look after you, you are not well-dressed; but either too stiff, too tight or too fashionable.” They do not seem to be aware that, in the present day, wearing a suit IS flamboyant and anachronistic. If you wear suits, you are a peacock-- you are showing off, saying fuck you to the world of denim-clad drones. In the recent BBC documentary on the bespoke tailors of Savile Row, the story is told of an American entertainment lawyer who relocated from the East Coast to Los Angeles. The lawyer was asked (it wasn't a request, it was an order) to STOP WEARING SUITS - he was making the other people in the firm look bad. He was being a distraction and was creating a hostile work environment. THAT IS WHAT THE FUTURE WILL LOOK LIKE - The tyranny of the casual. By the way, you can download that excellent Savile Row documentary here. (You didn't hear it from me.)

Then, there are the Dandy Clowns. These are the men who dress well, and are brave enough to use a palette that is not limited to blue, grey, and black.

Above, we see two men - one is strutting around in velvet and orange. That clownish man is me. I am an atheist-- if I am going to grow a set of balls and walk out the door wearing orange, I must do it in this life. I won't have another chance.

The photo was taken at a Fashion Week event - so, the other man in the photo cannot be clueless-- he knows about clothes, he's just too cowardly to dress up. He looks tasteful, which is a polite way of saying that he looks BORING.

You can be a clown and not be a dandy. To be a DANDY, you must pay attention to fabric and to fit.

You can be a dandy and not be a clown. Grey, blue and black can be nice. Should we, however, limit ourselves to that? What fun is that? Some of us prefer to live vivid, blood-splattered lives. Also, why is it that the cowards, who claim to care about being tasteful, often seem to wear clothes that DO NOT FIT - their jackets are too big, they look slouchy. I guess it shouldn't surprise us - they are too cowardly to wear clothes that REALLY fit well. That would be too 'flamboyant'. Tom Wolfe tells an anecdote about his well-tailored suits:

“I think the thing that really annoyed people was the nipped-in waist. That seemed unpatriotic, a real affectation…I could have attracted more attention to myself–I could have worn a dashiki, for example–but I wanted to be in the game. The important thing was, I wanted them to say, ‘Who in the name of God does he think he is?’”

Being colorful, flamboyant, well turned out, is a gift to the world.

Who Is A Dandy? That is a controversial question, and always good for some cocktail chatter. Almost everyone agrees that the Duke of Windsor was a dandy. Was the Duke a tasteful (i.e. cowardly) dresser, or was he brave enough to clown it up. You decide:

Personally, I'd rather hang out with a young, clownish Vivienne Stanshall, than with a coward. Neil Innes describes his first meeting with Stanshall: "He had on Billy Bunter check trousers, a Victorian frock coat, violet pince-nez glasses, and carried a euphonium. He also wore large pink rubber ears."

Vivienne's music group, the Bonzo Dog Band, had songs about shirts, songs about mustaches, and a song about trousers, which you can listen to here.

Recent soiree in the Den of Iniquity

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:07:54 GMT

I should clarify, that I mean MY Den of Iniquity, not Anton LaVey's Den of Iniquity. In the BlackHouse --LaVey's Victorian home in San Francisco--he constructed a 1940s style saloon in his basement, that he populated with mannequins - a cabbie, a whore, a bartender, a pick-pocket, etc.

Here's a younger LaVey, upstairs at the BlackHouse:

An older LaVey, down in the Den of Iniquity:

LaVey, near the end...

So, in regards to MY Den of Iniquity, I recently assembled a group of artists and ne'er-do-wells for an evening of indulgence. Some of the attendees do not wish to have their likenesses displayed, but we can peak at the others...

One of the guests of honor was the IMMENSELY talented glass artist, Andy Paiko.
Here's a 5 foot tall syringe, made by Andy:

and here's a beautiful absinthe fountain:

(I could never own that piece, however, as absinthe is COMPLETELY OVERRATED - fit only for fat goths. Although, since I am not a fat goth, what am I doing on LiveJournal?!?)

Here's Mr. Paiko, and me:

Another of the guests of honor was Charles II of England:

Legendary Seattle party host Russell started the evening by inventing a brand new (and quite lethal) cocktail, which he dubbed the 'Russell 44'. It featured Chartruese and Benedictine. He ended the evening dancing on the tables, and swinging from the chandeliers:

Whats this girl doing, hanging out with that creepy old man? She should know better:

Etc:

I AM THE DANDIEST

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:02:41 GMT

Ah yes, LiveJournal - home of fat goths and fotos of cats. Well, I haven't had an Internet home for a year-- nothing to say, really, and no wish to share. But, people contact me now and again and say that I am missed, and although I don't give a rusty badger crap about being known to the general public, it is nice that some of the few people that I care about, care about me as well. So, like the ghost ship Flying Dutchman, I am appearing again, for at least a brief time!

Yes, I am the Dandiest. I have a light-hearted attitude towards my dandyism, but it is not a joke - I am a Dandy For Life. Yesterday, I received a nice ghetto tattoo, declaring my allegiance to the dandy cause:

So, the latest in the dandy world is news that Mr. Sebastian Horsley has been
denied entry to the United States. I have loved Sebastian from the moment I heard of his cheeky exploits . Here he is, with one of my all-time time favorites, Mr. Shane MacGowan:

Another of my heroes is the anachronist Dandy, Mr. David McDermott. Here's a clip of him, that I posted to the youtubes: