Treasured Items: Number (N)ine Monkstrap Creepers

Style Salvage had asked me to contribute to their "Treasured Items" series of posts on the blog, in which I shared my devotion to my Number (N)ine monkstrap creepers. The post had come up a few days ago, and I thought I'd share it with you, my dear readers.

It would render me practically footless if I lost these Number (N)ine monkstrap shoes that I had purchased at the store's closing sale in New York two years ago. The silhouette is of a classic slim monkstrap shoe, but with punk-rock creeper detailing, tough and extremely walkable hard rubber soles by Continental, rendered in ever-wearable dark beige suede. Their era- and style-ambiguity make the shoes as great a base for dark and conceptual Belgian pieces as they would with full-on Americana, and the high vamp provides ample coverage that allows me to wear them even on the deadest day of winter.

I've worn them so much so that the lines are going squiggly and the weave goes gaping open. There is a faint white stain on the left shoe (toothpaste fell; I was brushing in a hurry) that suggests perhaps a bird might have gone to the bathroom on my shoes, but I think I'll keep it on there.

Number (N)ine is now defunct, and though the designer Takahiro Miyashita still brings his artisanal romance to his new line The Soloist, nothing would compare to the dark, theatrical exuberance that was Number (N)ine. In honor of the brilliant designer, I've affixed medal of sorts on one of the shoes: a vintage shoe clip from Kings County Salvage in Williamsburg. I could only hope that the intense brilliance of the rhinestones against the battered, seemingly bird-defiled creepers would be something Miyashita-san would find at the very least, agreeable.

Mint and Peas

Mint and peas, and a little bit of carrot: the colors I'm crushing on are not quite jewel-toned, not quite neon, but are darned delectable.

pea green suede New Balance ML574 sneakers (c/o ASOS), mint green and periwinkle striped shirt from American Apparel, orange Hermés looping bracelet

It's the island boy in me craving a bit of sunshine, and on select days in the dead of winter, under my padded parka, you just might find me dressed like a cupcake.

On other days, you'd see me all black and wooly and minimal, punctuated by a pop of chunky classic sneaker in a funny color. (New Balance ML574 sneakers and my superwarm supercomfy everyday socks c/o Stance)

DIY: The Deer Antler Razor

I've been pretty lean on the DIY posts as of late, and let me tell you why. One can only cut up and metallicize so many shorts and paint-splatter so many shoes before it just gets old; I can't sew, and neither can so many of the creative, stylish men who read this blog. This is why I've decided to branch out into do-it-yourself projects that go beyond just fashion and bring you easy and charmingly odd DIY projects that help you embody the dandy lifestyle. Today, I thought I'd give a facelift to one of the items a well-groomed man makes use of everyday: the razor.

small deer antler from Evolution, Gillette Mach 3 razor

Shaving is one of the everyday activities that makes us feel manly; it is in the upkeep, or lack thereof, of facial hair that reminds us that our bodies produce hormones that make us grow beards, and not breasts. And so I thought manly.. huntsman.. taxidermy.. antlers---let me make a shaving razor handle out of deer antlers! I purchased a piece of deer horn at the Evolution "Natural History" Store in NYC, took my old Gillette Mach 3 razor, and got to work.

I went to the nearest hardware store and had the kind fellows there saw the antler and the razor handle at points I marked. (EDIT: You can very easily do this step yourself with a clamp and a hacksaw.) As you can see, I had the antler cut on two points. I mocked the razor connector up on both the thicker and the skinnier segment, and decided I liked the heft and the organic detail on the thicker base piece so I decided to go with that.

Sawing left the edges rather rough,

so I sanded the ends of both pieces. On a rough emery cloth first to get rid of the splinters,

then on finer sandpaper to smoothen everything out.

I then applied Super Glue to the cut end of the razor connector. It would be wise at this point to have removed the razor blade cartridge from the connector; you wouldn't want to be holding on to the sharp blade during the quick motions of applying the glue and pressing the pieces together as the glue quickly dries.

To strengthen the bond, I added a little more glue to the edges of the razor blade connector.

I re-affixed the razor blade cartridge, and behold, my handsome new urban-huntsman deer antler razor. I love how the wild, organic shape of the deer antler flows into the iconic smooth steel lines of the metal razor.

with my two new favorite bathroom products: Buckler's Chapped Skin Remedy--a thick, hearty skin moisturizer perfect for combatting winter dryness, and Lab Series Root Power Restorative Style Wax--the lightest, subtly shiny hair wax for those days when you want to give your hair a break from heavy product and just let it hang loose with minimal control

Happy shaving.

Special thanks to Ivy for her words of encouragement and her abundance of taxidermy.

The Perfect Black Coat

The perfect black coat did not come to me perfect, and it is highly likely that it won't for you either. Right after it had arrived at my apartment, I wrote down my own fit notes, compared them with what my trusted tailor thought needed some nipping and tucking, and after two rounds of revisions, I'm very pleased to have the classic trim black coat that I hope to wear for years to come. In the dead of winter, when hordes of men walk down the street in what looks to be trash bag shape layered upon trash bag shape of fleece and puffy nylon, it makes a world of difference to put a little effort into presenting yourself smart and tailored.

Illesteva sunglasses, Jil Sander for Uniqlo cashmere scarf, Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons stick pin, Maison Martin Margiela coat, vintage gloves, Uniqlo pants, Paul Smith chelsea boots

Off the rack, the coat was already incredibly beautiful: strong, slightly extended shoulders that fit me to a t, long, sweeping lines on the shawl lapel, and delicious smooth black wool with the slightest hint of sheen. But a lot of work still needed to be done: I had to get the sleeves taken in slim, the waist nipped tiny as possible to provide sharp contrast to the power shoulders, and the entire coat shortened to a much more wearable above-the-knee length from the previously more dramatic and swishy, but less wearable below-the knee. Men's bodies may not come in as large a variety of shapes as women's bodies do, but it is knowing what to do with the subtle nuances of a man's body shape that makes for great tailoring. I think Angela at G&G tailors did an impeccable job at making my vision of the perfect black coat come to life.

the perfect black scarf---a ridiculously soft and unbelievably light and warm black cashmere woven scarf from +J, and my new favorite sterling silver whale stick pin from Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons beautifully accentuate the shawl lapel on this Margiela coat

trademark Margiela power shoulders

Subtly colored shoes, like this Paul Smith pair in pale pink suede, help break the monotony of my all-black winter.

photographs by Mikee Tuason

Please Be Fat with Me

There's no suit cut surgically sharp enough to hide the weight I've gained the past few days, but neither is there a vision of myself in the mirror with beauty that matches the pleasure of savoring the unctuous goodness of the holidays' delights. Let me share with you photographs of what I had eaten, as well as an excerpt--two stanzas of a piece I'm working on: "Please Be Fat with Me". Call this my (likely temporary) antithesis to Kate Moss' notorious proverb.

"My dearest, please be fat with me

Come join me in my eating spree

Bone marrow doused and dipped in lard

Truffles creamed, smothered, roast pig charred."

Pig foot “Milanese” with rice beans and arugula at Babbo was the essence of dark, fried pig, in crumbs, compacted, and lightly seasoned with shards of salt.

Osso buco, after the fall

Rock shrimp with butternut squash, sage, and creamy artisanal polenta at Il Pesce, Eataly. Rock shrimp seems to be having a moment, for good reason. It's as if they genetically modified regular shrimp to have the soft, fatty bite of Asian crystal prawns and the robust, shrimpy flavor of tiger prawns.

The sea urchin roe in Eataly's soft-scrambled farmhouse eggs with tarragon was almost like a hyperbolic extension of the eggs: they seemed to be part of the scrambled eggs, only much richer and umami-laden.

The white chocolate-dipped red velvet twinkie at Lulu's just is.

Morimoto's toro tartare with caviar and fresh wasabi is pure theatre: scrape the fatty tuna off the plank with the metal paddles provided, dip in dashi, run through the stripes of wasabi, creme fraiche, chives, popped rice, avocado and the like, and pop in your mouth. Nibble on the sweet mini-plum when done.

rock shrimp again, this time tempura with spicy "Kochujan" and wasabi aioli

the most succulent spicy king crab broiled on the half-shell

Cut into the pillowy sea bass with miso sauce and avocado tempura and the world and your mouth starts moving like the river grass in The Little Mermaid's "Kiss the Girl".

RJ's home-made-from-scratch cornbread stuffing

and my Kung Pao shrimp spaghetti with an extra pound of shrimp.

the tastiest jalapeno blue cornbread at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill

and to ring in the new year, chicken rings and fried cheese at White Castle.

"I ask of you to hold my hand

When meat meets tongue strand by strand,

I moan, my spit glands go a-throbbing

In my mouth, they gush, ejaculating."

-1/1/12

photographs by Mikee Tuason

Black and Gold

lion-man coat of arms pin, cameo and wreath ring, and black rose stick pin, all vintage

In my younger years, I'd often shun the combination of black and gold; in my mind it was gaudy, and my princely pipe dreams had not yet manifested. There is a warmth and opulence to the marriage of the two colors, and in tiny touches, fine or faux---say, a pin on a plain suit, or a ring with thermals and jeans---they make daily wear that much more debonair.

Scarlet Sneaks

Ever the dress-shoe-as-sneakers person, I thought I'd turn the tables this holiday season and wear something colorful, skater-esque, and decidedly casual on Christmas day. I dug up a pair of Vans Old Skools in bright red, from the old old days when I was still in college. It was inevitable---the LN-CC look book, Pelayo Diaz, and that dashing Japanese gentleman walking around the Lower East Side in head-to-toe boiled black wool Comme des Garçons and Batali-esque orange Chucks---capping off a quirky "fashion" outfit with casual, classic sneakers was something I had to try out myself.

Comme des Garçons jacket, Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garçons sequined batik and silk shirt, Uniqlo pants, red Vans Old Skool sneakers

I thought my new vintage lion-man head pin was very Philip Crangi.

my scarlet sneakers on Ivy's cow rug

photographs by Mikee Tuason

La Maison Kirzhner

Saturday evening was the annual holiday party at the home of my friends Ivy Kirzhner, shoe designer, photographer, and all-around creative soul, and her husband Alex, Grammy-nominated art director and superchef, whose skills as a hosting-with-the-most team I could only aspire to slowly learn. Soon, perhaps, and it'll be cemented on the day I could afford to build a dwelling place as beautiful and as indicative of my personal style as this is of theirs. Walking into their abode, decorated for the festivities in Ivy's splendid maximalism---tapestry, taxidermy, and pelt---was bit-by-bit creatively inspiring.

Their tree was decorated with bird wings,

and little storybook rabbits.

Ivy's Giambattista Valli patent leather slippers

and "Alexey Romanovich, Il Re della Cucina"

welcome you to the holidays at La Maison Kirzhner.

Here's what my eyes and lips feasted on:

a partitioned head, a colorful bird atop an old typewriter, bug specimens

a vintage Polaroid Land Camera

red velvet mini cupcakes

Turkish "cotton candy" and Turkish delight (note to self: layering bought desserts could be more interesting than serving them in sections on a platter)

Ivy's easy holiday cocktails: Prosecco with a splash of St-Germain, and the Orient Express: sweet tea, cranberry juice, and rose water

I wanted to be both dark and festive for the holidays, and perhaps a little bit naughty. I wore:

a Thom Browne for Black Fleece tuxedo jacket, a Uniqlo black oxford button-down, and a Brook & Lyn silk rope and Brazilian agate harness. (photo by Bob Shimosato)

a sparse but storied wrist party on Citizen Couture's Jason Jean: the most charming plastic bracelet inscribed with the words "What This Says Does Not Matter" from a gum ball machine at Art Basel, and a string bracelet he got conned into purchasing from a street-roamer in Milan

the Kirzhner's bundle of joy: a bunny named Bonkers

whose likeness you'll find punched into their party favors

In a city where event invites flood both your e-mail and Facebook inboxes, where time is of the essence, and orchestrating a thirty-minute coffee date feels like pulling teeth---sweet, intimate dinner parties where you can sit and converse and view your friends in sufficient light are such rare, rare gems. Ivy, Alex, and Bonkers, thanks for the wonderful evening, and to you, my dear readers, happy, happy holidaze.