Dandyism: Better than Cargo Shorts

Ever unpowdered, unperfumed, immaculately bathed and shaved, and dressed in a plain dark blue coat, he was always perfectly brushed, perfectly fitted, showing much perfectly starched linen, all freshly laundered, and composed with an elaborately knotted cravat.

- Barbey d'Aurevilly, "Du dandisme et de George Brummell

That Purple Rain poster was very hard to find a photo of, which is too bad because Prince's suit is epic and was clearly custom-made for him, though you can kind of see the metallic paisley and big buttons. Not that if you are reading my blog you haven't looked up close at that poster before anyway, and are also obviously well acquainted with the naked shower Prince poster too.

This image is too small, but trust me, this shit is graphic!

Once dandies were part of our culture, and though we have some modern day dandies, they are much more rare. It seems a lot of guys these days are attempting a modern dandy look, with rolled up skinny jeans and little oxfords, but what they don't know ---and all those seen in the photos above clearly do--- is that dressing like a dandy means nothing without an eye for quality, fabric, and fit. All of these we have certainly have lost the ability to recognize, but people were probably much more aware of when most clothing was handmade and meant to last. Black men of an older generation seem most likely to be dandies these days.

People can't afford bespoke suits, but you don't need bespoke suits to be a dandy. Anyone can starch a shirt. Austin Scarlett, a consummate dandy if there ever was one, amazed me on the first season of Project Runway with his morning ironing routine. The best thing about this look is the effort put into it. It's a perfectly studied flamboyance, as opposed to the flashy and trashy flamboyance I also heartily approve of. It's the opposite of what modern dressing is all about- throwing on some harem pants/pajamas/shants and a beefy tee featuring an off-color reference. Dandies do not wear wraparound sunglasses or flip flops. They tuck in their shirts. Today people don't really have any easy way of learning about clothing even if they wanted to. It's not like you can take a trip to your local department store. There is something intrinsic about the way a true dandy dresses. They have a deep understanding of what they are wearing, an understanding so few people seem to have. "Masculine" attire need not be broad and frumpy. Today's Men's Wearhouse style suits feature clingy legs and boxy blazers, but we can do better.

In conclusion, study the photos of these dandies. Look at the cut of their shirts, their well-coiffed hair, and the ease with with they wear these clothes. This tailored and covered up look is hella fine, but does not rely on conventional good looks to make it work.

Photo Key Which I am Usually Way Too Lazy To Do:

1. Man in the perennially blighted Mid-Market district of San Francisco

2., 3., & 4. Clearly Prince.

5. Katherine Hepburn

6. Fred Astaire in a dandy-inspired number

6. Frida Kahlo and family

7. Josephine Baker

8. Portrait of Una Troubridge

9. & 10. Oscar Wilde

11. Radclyffe Hall

12. Noel Coward

13. & 14. Andre 3ooo and also Big Boi but he's not the focus here, though his suit is cool too

15. Don Cornelius, who I couldn't find better photos of

16. Austin Scarlett outshines non-dandy Tim Gunn

17. & 18. These are the type of David Bowie photos I would paste on my locker in high school. Damn, this was good look for him.

19. John Waters

20. & 21. Marlene Dietrich

22. Yves St. Laurent

23. David Bowie

24, Quentin Crisp

PS: There is a show on Lifetime with Austin Scarlett and Santino from Season 2 where they road trip around and make dresses for non-fancy people and it's pretty amazing!

Joan Jett Appreciation Post

Friends, even after all these years, whenever I see a magazine subtitle that says "Ashlee Simpson-Wentz reveals how she stays lean after Baby #2!!!" I still cringe a little bit. Simone, Gaby- imagine if, when watching The Ashlee Show in 2004, that could have flashed before us as a vision of the future? So dystopian!!!

Also, not to blame the world's problems on Sarah McLaughlin, but don't you think if the majority of female musicians in history had been Joan Jett, many of our problems would have been solved by now?

Space Funk: A Love Story

For a long time, I have wanted to write a post about the fashion called "space funk" (well, I call it space funk) but I haven't been able to find that many great photos, and I've always thought I should do more extensive research on it than just what comes to mind. I have so many questions about, such as...

Where does the space funk look come from? What are its origins? How does it relate to the much whiter, less funkier fashion/music genre of glam rock? Could I get a grant of some kind in order to study it? Why are fashion's histories and particularities never seen from a valid anthropological standpoint?

Space funk seems to have a lot in common with Bowie's bold, spacy, strong look of glam rock- but did space funk really draw from glam rock or did it grow independently? Now glam rock, my number one lover during my later years of high school, often had a similar, funky, spacy, glittery feel, but it often looked sort of homemade- like you just threw on your mother's ratty fur and some gold pants. See the lovely Marc Bolan in the below photo below.


David Bowie's impeccable glam rock meets space funk look.

Brian Eno works the strong shoulder while doing what he does best: twist nobs.

David Bowie seems to be the link between the two-because space funk is not about throwing things on. True Space funk is usually carefully constructed, apparently by some sort of master 70's craftsmen, like in this amazing LaBelle video.

Also, in their early years, bands like (pre-Parliment) Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone had sort of hippyish, pirate-y, Hendrix-y version of a space funk look. Obviously this had nothing to do with Brian Eno.



Edit: Doesn't looking at these photos make you think about how you will never begin to look anywhere near as cool, and neither will anyone else for the rest of time?

All I guess i can really say about space funk is that we no longer have these sense of dazzling showmanship we once did, and that is a tragedy.

Okay, now I'm just going to post some photos. Perhaps I will enumerate more on this subject later!

PS: I want Midnight Special DVDs for Christmas.

The king of Space Funk, the underrated Rick James.

Okay, maybe he's the king of Space Funk: Bootsy Collins

80's space funk, courtesy of The Commodores.


Betty Davis combined space funk with a classic ho look.

Anyway, I can barely find any good photos! Isn't there an archive somewhere?

I Love You Thursdays/Icons and Role Models: Stevie Nicks

Here is my new idea for posts, on Thursdays, even though I can never keep up with any "features" I promise: The rare famous people whom I love. Today we are featuring Ms. Stevie Nicks.

I used to think Fleetwood Mac was the gayest band in the world. When I was in high school, I thought anything that didn't sound like Television or The Dead Boys or something was totally fruity and soft rock. I refused to listen to synthesizers, and I probably didn't even like most female vocalists. In many ways, it was my friend Gerard from college who taught me not to take heed to fascist and typically "masculine" music standards, which really widened my horizons, man.


Anyway, now I love Fleetwood Mac- especially the Stevie songs, though I must agree with my other friend, Julia, when she says she likes the oft-overlooked Christie McVee songs, even though Christie wrote like a zillion hits for the band, from the singer songwritery to the mega hits like "Don't Stop". But I love Stevie because her songs have the slow and slightly-grinding-but-smooth-but hard-at-the-same-time 70's rock sound. They are catchy but intense, hard rocking but almost feline in nature. In any event, she is extremely talented but rather underrated in the world of rock music, and I think people forget that Fleetwood Mac is largely a female-driven band.

Stevie's look was a gypsy/boho/witchy/ragged orphan/disco kind of thing, which was uniquely her own, and it fit her music well. Though she had a feminine and flowy look, she was fierce and drag queenworthy; apparently there is a party in New York called "The Night of 1,000 Stevies" in which everyone (meaning gays) dress up like Stevie. Simone and Gaby always say they're going to go to that. (Way to name drop!)

Christine McVie's pants here rule! I want jeans like that!


Anyway, I love how her look was so distinctly feminine and over-the-top and showy but she was a seriously talented person, not unlike other faves like Betty Davis or Dolly Parton.

In conclusion, Stevie Nicks rules. She is also totally coked out in 99% of these photos, probs.