Revisiting Boston

Back in Boston for three days, I thought I'd revisit old stomping grounds and old sartorial habits. When the temperature drops to the thirties, Fauxji Yamamoto is my go-to look. A long oversize black coat eliminates the need for long johns, cleanly cloaks away the awkwardness of carelessly piled-upon layers, and hides a multitude of dietary sins.

Illesteva sunglasses, oversized vintage Pierre Cardin coat, vintage turtle pin, Club Monaco cashmere sweater, Portolano leather gloves, Uniqlo pants, Dr. Martens pony hair oxfords

the coat, the turtle pin, and the leather gloves

Dr. Martens pony hair oxfords

Christmas tree at the Commons

Harvard Square

late afternoon tea at Upstairs on the Square

a nightcap of decaffeinated cappuccino, but wait--

a quick stop at Middlesex Lounge, the old stomping grounds

(the comfort of) driving around MIT

Koreana in Cambridge ranks among the top five of my favorite restaurants in the United States.

Koreana's seafood and scallion pancakes

prime rib galbi with a halo of little side dishes called banchan

and it is finished.

the walk to the Bolt Bus back to NYC

first three photographs by Mia

Tech Tux

I'm at my uncle's in Boston for a quick holiday---the one who lives at the Ritz, acts more like a Gen-Yer than a baby boomer, flies to China for medical missions, the one who happens to have a pair of unworn Prada shoes in my size to be freely given away to his most favorite of nephews.

Prada patent leather lace-ups

I was hesitant at first; where was I to wear a pair of rubber-soled, pointy-toed black-tie shoes? But there was something about everything being so not of-the-moment: the patent, the pointy toe, the Prada Linea Rossa stripe at the bottom that made it so refreshing. It's the pair of shoes I'd wear with a hyper-heat-generating tuxedo or a tux made out of Tyvek.

In the late 90s, these brand badges were my holy grail when the red Prada Sport stripes crept a good centimeter and a half up the back of the heel. As tiny dashes today, I could learn to live with them, and even love them.

with my overused and much-loved Prada saffiano and nylon travel bag

What are your new shoe acquisitions?

Weekend in New England

Portland General Store is a line of men's personal care products made from sea- and forest-derived ingredients all custom-mixed in Maine. They had sent over a box of vials of what they call their "handsomely addictive" colognes, which came with quite an interesting and beautifully-photographed lookbook that embodies the feel of their goods, a bunch of shots of which I will share with you now. The scents all had that old-world classy charm of New England: the mini-cities and sprawling suburbs of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and everywhere in between. I poured a vial in the tub one bad day, and for a moment, I was back in Boston---with all the bricks, and the red leaves, and the warm soaks with cold wind outside, and I was at peace.

shaving soaps in whiskey and alpine

If I could find a vintage doctor's bag that said Boston University...

New England, I will see you again soon.

photos via Portland General Store

clothing provided by David Wood Clothiers and Bliss

Dr. Martens Fall 2011 Preview

At the Dr. Martens Fall 2011 preview, I had the chance to take a gander at the new batch of my favorite snow-stompers for the impending cooler months. My Dr. Martens boots and oxfords were the only shoes that got me through the ruthless Boston winters when I used to live there, and New York's winters, though generally five degrees warmer than Boston's, are expected to be not that much less sadistic. It was nice to see them done in interesting new fabrications: in pony hair, in an oil-slick patent, creeper-ified, and bedazzled.

These Dr. Martens pony hair oxfords, in black and oxblood, brought an intriguing new texture to an iconic silhouette.

tall, white, and hairy, with spots all over

The oil slick patent reminds me of the good old techno-raver early 2000s, while the other pair in burnished burgundy is shoe-crushably handsome.

The Dr. Martens creeper "mutant" shoes: questionable or charmingly convoluted?

But the most fascinating of the Docs I spied were an unassuming all-black pair with patent cap-toes on the feet of Dr. Martens CEO David Suddens:

patent cap-toe limited-edition Dr. Martens x Swarovski shoes

I learned that these shoes were the product of a yet-to-be-launched collaboration with Swarovski, and it's no surprise that the chief executive officer gets first dibs at the samples.

a lone Swarovski crystal at the back of each shoe

I think the classic shape updated with a simple patent cap-toe, with the typically yellow stitching blackened, is just exquisite. On the dashing, silver haired Suddens, who plans on wearing these bejeweled beauties with a tuxedo, I think they will look doubly smashing.

The Weekend Prepster

Preppy is not a term I'd use to describe my personal aesthetic, but there is some fun to be had in taking the unexpected and making it your own. I was in Boston for a weekend, and thought it could be amusing to dress up as my own dark-dandy version of the sherbet-colored prepsters that roam the old city.

Illesteva sunglasses, slim-fit Lacoste L!VE polo shirt, J. Crew belt, H&M jeans, Tod's loafers

My arm ornaments for the weekend:

rose gold pavé ring by Lanero, bracelets from Hermés, Number (N)ine, Susan Rosen, and Philip Crangi, Rolex watch

burnished periwinkle-blue Tod's penny driving loafers

buffoons in the background mocking the blogger

If you want to make like me and take a crack at being a weekend WASP, have a look at Lacoste clothing sold online at JD Sports.

photographs by Mikee Tuason

Cold Picnic

Cold Picnic is a new unisex jewelry line by Peter Buer and Phoebe Sung, born out of an attempt to carry on the tradition of storytelling through symbols, inspired by 1970s arts & crafts, ancient cave paintings, African textiles, and Native American history. The result are pieces that are charmingly raw and very wearable.

This necklace (in ink-printed hand-cut cream scrap leather from a local bird toy factory strung on vintage coil, hung from vintage mixed chains) would be the perfect casual bow tie substitute, worn over a buttoned-up club-collar dress shirt.

Peter Buer had approached me as a fan of The Dandy Project asking if he could get my thoughts on his jewelry line. Somehow I found a kindred spirit in him, both moving to Boston from overseas and trying to find inspiration to create beautiful things in historically rich yet decidedly un-fashiony Beantown. Let me share with you the little chit-chat I had with Peter and Phoebe about Cold Picnic, Boston, and bird toy stores.

This coiled bib necklace made from vintage chains and findings would make for a more restrained bow tie substitute, or as a subtle detail over a white t-shirt in the summer.

Tell us about your line: what you make, your inspiration, your techniques.

Cold Picnic is made up of a lot of narrative pieces. We've been getting our inspirations from images that tell stories - the carvings on eskimo bows, african cave paintings, native American symbols, ceremonial weaving... and a lot of the books we got our research from were 1970's craft books we found at library book sales.

What is your background? What do you do? What got you started on making jewelry?

Both of us have fashion backgrounds. Phoebe got her first degree in sculpture before getting a second one in fashion design, and Peter studied art in England before coming to America to get his fashion design degree. We worked a little around New York and Boston before we decided to go into jewelry. It was a nice break from apparel - it's more self sufficient - there's no need for pattern drafting, sample makers, fits, etc. It's a bit more spontaneous and organic.

What role does living in Boston play in your creativity?

We might never have gone on our library book sale kick if we hadn't lived in Boston, which has really amazing libraries. Old textbooks and how-to craft books are so inspiring. We really just kept collecting them until we couldn't not make stuff! Also we didn't have a ton of people we knew in Boston so we had lots of time at home to make things! Hopefully now that we're moving to Brooklyn we'll be able to keep up the pace!

Men and jewelry... your thoughts on this?

Our first collection had some unisex pieces, but they were pendants, and it still didn't feel that natural - at least to Peter - to wear them casually. For our second collection, we really wanted to incorporate pieces that men could wear every day, and without it really feeling like a statement. Its not fun when one of us gets to wear our stuff every day and the other is left out in the cold. The cave painting cuffs felt like a natural way to go.

Nearly all the pieces are unisex, but I thought their hand-printed black ink on cream-colored suede earrings in the shape of thunderbirds

and arrows were very interesting.

I find it interesting that you source some of your materials from bird supplies stores. What got that started?

We always wanted to be an eco-friendly company, and even started out using scrap leather for Fall 2010, before we ran out and couldn't find the quality we wanted from remnants. For Spring we had almost given up on sourcing scrap leather–it was difficult enough finding the perfect color and weight–when we contacted a local factory which just happened to manufacture bird toys. They showed us a few leather qualities but each was too dark, or too stiff... finally the owner took us to a back room with boxes upon boxes of scraps, all different shades and sizes. Many of them were absolutely perfect so we just dug and and sorted through the ones we wanted. He gave us a few empty boxes to carry them out, charged us by the pound.

Anything exciting coming up for your line in the immediate future?

We going to be doing the Brooklyn Flea this spring and will have loads of flea-only pieces. We hope to do a few fairs around New York and Philly this spring and summer, and may try to do some of the West Coast fairs soon. We're also going to be designing the aprons and a small line of home goods for the store Emily Thompson Flowers in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

This unisex leather printed cave painting cuff would look great layered with other bracelets and a watch.

A similar leather printed cuff, but in a wider version, this time inspired by textiles and patterns.

GIVEAWAY: Cold Picnic would like to send one of you, dear readers of this blog, a leather cuff from their new line (your choice of design, in either the wide or the narrow style, the last two photos posted). All you have to do is fan both The Dandy Project (http://www.facebook.com/thedandyprojectblog) and Cold Picnic (http://www.facebook.com/coldpicnic) on Facebook and for verification, e-mail your Facebook name to thedandyproject(at)yahoo(dot)com. The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced soon. Contest is open to all readers of The Dandy Project, worldwide.

EDIT: And the winner goes to... (It's a joke, I know.) Ruud Saerens of Belgium! Ruud, you will be receiving an e-mail shortly. Thank you all for joining.

Cold Picnic's site

Cold Picnic's online shop

Norwegian Rain

A rainy day in Boston is not a pretty sight: cheap plastic galoshes and rain jackets of the Northern Face persuasion abound. I always find myself in the middle of the thunderstorm, refusing to give in to functionality, in my khaki cotton trench, rolled-up white pants and beige suede shoes, looking like a doused dirty cotton ball. Looking fly and staying dry in a rain shower is not an easy feat, that's why I am excited about Scandinavian brand Norwegian Rain's offerings, which they dub as "extreme rainwear technology meets Japanese simplicity and traditional men’s tailoring".

Norwegian Rain's installation at the launch of the Bergen pop-up book in Milan

Norwegian Rain combines science and engineering with style and luxe materials: their hooded coats are made out of recycled hi-tech membrane textiles from Japan, and are lined in cashmere for warmth. Here are my favorites:

A double-breasted raincoat in the richest rusty brown herringbone, to be worn atop my abundance of black everyday clothes:

The deliciousness is in the details: note the inner belt placed for optimal fit when the jacket is left open. There are also three inner pockets where one could stow away the detachable hood in fair weather.

the coat buckled up with the side outer belt

A sharp, military-esque single-breasted raincoat in olive:

I love how the silhouette changes dramatically when buttoned or belted.

Norwegian Rain's signature piece, the unisex raincho:

I'm partial to any silhouette with the vaguest resemblance to a kimono, and the idea of looking like a dark samurai in the rain appeals to me deeply.

The raincho, easy and unbelted.

Scenes from Norwegian Rain's presentation at the White Show in Milan, June of this closing year, where they showcased their raincoats alongside art installations brimming with the absurd:

a mannequin hand grasping for a palm

...or an egg

the brand's creative director Alexander Helle and bespoke tailor/designer T-Michael

Norwegian Rain coats are available in their online store, and at the Skostredet 9a, Bergen, Kirkegaten 20/Posthallen, Oslo. Oslo-ites: you lucky fellows get a discount of 120 EUR on the new collection if you hand in an old coat as part of "Project Winter Coat", a charity that helps provide warm coats to people in need.

photos via Norwegian Rain

official site

Facebook page

The Vintage Reworked Camel Coat

The thing about vintage clothing, or any bought clothing for that matter, is that you need not ever wear them in the state at which they come. Replace the buttons, cut up the collar, dye it black! Case in point, this vintage camel coat that I spent a little bit of money and effort re-working:

Number (N)ine sunglasses, vintage reworked camel coat, Ivan Grundahl jacket, H&M shirt and jeans, Tod's shoes

I bought the coat off eBay for next to nothing; but being an American size 38R, it was way too roomy, and the below-the-knee length was hardly flattering.

vintage single-breasted coat by American clothier Botany 500, who, fascinatingly, did Ryan O'Neal's wardrobe in 70's cult sapfest Love Story

I removed the stodgy brown buttons on the body and the cuffs,

laid the coat on buttonless, and I had an epiphany: laying each "breast" of the coat over another, I was able to wear the coat almost fully double-breasted with it fitting perfectly when closed. I then sped off to my local button store, picked up a bag of shiny silver buttons, and spent a good two-and-a-half episodes of The Nanny sewing them on. I also had to take it to the tailor to have it hemmed to a more modern, wearable above-the-knee length.

I may have spent more than twice the cost of the coat on enhancements and alterations, but it has since proven to be a versatile workhorse in my closet. I admit to partly having been swayed by the abundance of camel coats in fashion publications in print and online, but the classic piece does have its merits. It serves as a soft, eye-pleasing outer shell when a big black coat is just too dreary, and nothing looks better amidst autumn leaves than this warm, neutral hue.

I thought the silver buttons would make for an austere, modern accent against the camel as opposed to the more expected gold buttons.

Details:

vintage "salon" brooch from Amsterdam

Japanese silk kimono belts worn as a necklace

turquoise ring from Manila, age-old Tod's driving shoes

erroneously colored tote from the Tate Modern in London