NAME: PLAID COMEBACK

So plaid is really really popular rt now. Not exactly earth shakingly breaking news, just saying we've not seen as much symmetric pattern and color on men's shirts since the apex of the early 90s grunge years. Though this time it seems to be more about the plaid as opposed to flannel. There is a difference.


We're all for it really. It's not like we're the Sartorialist or anything,but in the everyday man's closet of gray/navy/black conservatism where the color spectrum is more a theoretical concept than it is a functional repository of possible options, plaid gives men the 'OK' to peacock it out a little bit, which is good, cause really why should the fairer sex have all the color fun? And since plaid or tartan has been around since the the time of the Iron Age from the Northern route of the Silk Road in Western China to the isles of Wales and Scotland it's kinda universal . It only makes sense that plaid never ever really goes away and at times, like rt now, spikes and explodes in popularity. This current plaid spike we like to attribute to the ever more abundant 'fond 1990s look back' that has also made colors more neon and prints more graphic(y) lately too. Plus it all works out well for the urban mountain man/farmer sophisticate looks that always do the fall/winter months so proudly.

NAME: FASHION AESTHETCS

At NAME: we have very definite ideas about attire, fashion and style, and at times that may lock us into a bit of box that can be super hard to break , but it also provides us with a platform or foundation ,if you will, that supports us in even the shakiest of sartorial hours. One way for us to avoid the whole 'stuck in the box dilemma' is the developing or exploring of what we term Fashion Aesthetics. Simply, our fashion aesthetics are touchstones or reference points we use to help us decide. In a world with endless option and choice throwing some things out and focusing on core elements that just work out is really helpful, and plain necessary we find.



Rastafarians- So not only do theses guys' religious love of marijuana and philosophical disdain of razors, scissors and marring the corners of their heads and beards set them apart, so does their choice of wearing tidy pants paired with button down oxfords, good hats, wallabes and overall tropical island good vibes.


Western Villains+Heroes- ... Squinty eyed stares and itchy trigger fingers go really well with earth tones and dungarees . Really you'd be hard pressed to find a more utilitarian,while still stylish get up.


Black Panthers- What do you call a dark color pallet with hints of muted gray drabness, berets, sunglasses,leather and militant attitudes? ...i mean besides an example of soulfully correct dressing.


1965rockstar- The thing about these guys is that they're just rt. Rt in the middle. Between the monochromatic suits of the do-wop 50's and the over the top gaudiness of the later psychedelic era. It works because messy hair and neat dressing is confusing...in both the 'what, really he's like that?' and the 'I'm gonna wear a tie and still and do it with groupies' kinda ways


Safari Gear- Well traveling light is important as is wearing clothes both as useful as they are stylish and RAD, safari gear is tops in these at times hard to pull off simultaneously categories.


Mod Accessories- So the mods totally just win for their choices of accessories, from amazing pop-art pins to the 'archetype of the good, smart shoe' the dessert boot+ its just so classic...has there been a time since say about 1964 that these two items would not have just worked...no no there hasn't is the answer.


English Country Gentlemen- When this style 1st appeared in the mid/late 19th century it was scandalous for it's lack of formality. So pretty much this was one of the 1st attempts at casual dressing...with pocket watches,tweeds and top hats...well fashion always evolves one would suppose.


JEDI(episode IV,V styles)- 'Use the force' is really more than just a famous movie tag line for us....its a life command and a philosophy we try live by on the daily, so its especially helpful when our role models for this way of life rock out karate/judo-type practice shirts, phat utility belts, clothy earth tone proto-Thundarr the Barbarian boots and orange flight suits with intricate and complex life saving light buttons and metal bits.

NAME:Personal

So we usually just leave the personal brain rumblings off of NAME:, because honestly we feel like who really cares about any of that stuff anyway like: "Oh my cat was just SO CUTE today." or "Man, my has work been extremely satisfying lately." Sure blogs can and at times are used as a journal-entryways into the mind of the blogger but... With all that said we are feeling extremely disjointed and deceptively superficial today. Like all we need is to eat a little bit of acid, read some Freud, and Gladwell all while looking for new and perhaps inaccurate,but stimulating information on the Internet. Not sure how these feelings will play out for the rest of the day,but we really just felt like we wanted to share. Have a pleasant DAY.

NAME: Vampires

(SHARK NIGGAS by JENONE acrylic on wood panel 9inx12in 2005)

With so many people and so many ideas floating around through so many filters like the internet, imagined nostalgia, and retro-culture; questions about who started what trend or whose ideas are whose get debated in fashion, music and even among friends. You know like when your friend got a dope pair of wingtips and you wanted to get some just like them or when you started to voice your new found appreciation for a particular aesthetic and now all of sudden your friends are into that same aesthetic. On the streets this phenomena is known as biting, or copping someone else's style. It's pretty common, those Retro kids even got a write in up in the New York Times for doing it. Its often very hard to say with totally accuracy who came up with what, everyone is a product of their influences and there is not a new idea under the sun. So it makes sense to build on things you appreciate and like tweaking odds and ends to make it more personal. One could even argue that this is one of the most dominant forces in the evolution of fashion and music. What we are saying, yes this is a bit of a P.S.A./ us saying what we want cause this is our damn blog, if you will, is that its OK to appreciate what has come before... to sweat it even, but it's not OK to not give credit where credit is due. When you do this you become a VAMPIRE, Jenone actually came up with that term, see how easy it is to give credit. VAMPIRES just suck the life out things for their own rejuvenation, not concerned about anything else. DON'T repeat DON'T be a VAMPIRE, be a connoisseur, be appreciative, bring something to the table. Raekwon and Ghostface said it best in "Shark Niggas" from "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx":
Man keep it real, get your own shit man, and be original
Word up
That's all man
And you'll be a better man
And you gonna come out on your own
Word up
Whatever how you gonna take it man, fuck it
Word up

NAME: yeah like Duh..real political styles

OK OK, not to get too terribly heavy or anything, but I just found out that Former 4star general Wesley Clarke has written a memoir, "A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country",about his days of military service, running for president and what not. Clarke says that just weeks after the 9/11 attacks plans were already being constructed under the the direction of the Office of the Secretary of Defense(sigh old Don Rumsfield he does have the best steely, squinty eyed glare like ever)to pretty much take over/liberate/help with a regime change for 7 different middle eastern countries in the next 5 years. Starting with Iraq and ending with Iran. Well if that's true we're a bit off schedule. I mean really how are we gonna go and duke it out with a people in the desert who have been duking it out in the desert since the time of Mesopotamia with that much accuracy in that little a time? Clarke also writes that since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, the regret of Leaving Saddam in power has been softened by the fact that since our cold war relationship with Russia has warmed its possible to use the US military with impunity cause our comrades won't block us.
So the quest for a US controlled or at least US approved middle east is not new. We just seem to be too arrogant, stupid or inexperienced with dessert combat to make it happen,but that don't mean we won't stop trying.

NAME: This is how it is.

The post frequency has dropped as of late not because we had no more to say, but due to the fact that we have relocated. In other words our stuff is not in boxes anymore,but our new space is not quite home yet so it makes it a bit more of a challenge getting it together. Sorry for the lame excuse ,but we felt we'd be remiss if we didn't at least let people know where we're at if you will. We'll be up and running smoother within the next two weeks. After that the posts will be on a more consistent basis...promises...promises. Click on these pictures and you'll see why we're so disorientated.