The Monkey Shirt

Leave it to Miuccia to take an apostle of non-color into the bright side. Her secret weapon: monkeys.

long arms like a chimp's (monkey print shirt by Prada)

There was just something so compelling about that Prada spring 2011 show---in the convoluted mix of colors and curlicues, and creatures, all shrouded in the haze and heady daze of a 1920's Cuban burlesque club of the future---that I had to have a souvenir of that collection. Indulgent wordplay aside, for a collection so garishly colorful, it had a sense of history and an almost-darkness that made it infinitely more intriguing than today's throw-away color-blocks.

Number (N)ine sunglasses, Prada monkey shirt, Topman trousers, vintage shoes from Latvia

gargoyle-gray monkeys with pink bananas swinging upon ornate wooden cornices mounted on a Tigger-striped papered wall. Note the tone-on-tone fabric buttons, very much appreciated.

These multi-hued brown vintage lace-ups look like something a patron of that 1920's Cuban nightclub would wear, only they're from nearly halfway around the world. (vintage lace-ups from Latvia)

I thought the curvy lines on my Y-3 backpack echoed the curlicues on the shirt's print.

photos by Pop, Bop and Snap