February 14, 2013

I loved this short film about Walt Frazier’s style. If you don’t know, Frazier wears some of the most outrageous clothes in the world - he’s famous for making suits from upholstery fabric. He even owns (and wears) one with a cow spot pattern. Despite his outrageousness, though, he always looks great. Of course his broad, charming smile helps. And the fact that he’s a genuine basketball legend.

An aside: the short’s directed by Nelson George. Not only is George the author of one of the most important books about soul music, The Death of Rhythm & Blues, he also provided hand claps on an unalloyed hip-hop classic, Kurtis Blow’s The Breaks, and co-wrote CB4. You gotta admit, that’s quite a resume.

Posted in Walt Frazier Video New York Basketball
January 14, 2013
Our friend Dallas Penn let us know about this very cool event in New York on Sunday, January 20th. From noon to 4:30, you can buy, sell and trade your vintage Polo gear. Then, starting at 4:30, there’ll be a concert featuring some of the fiercest rappers in New York: Sean Price and Buckshot among them.

Our friend Dallas Penn let us know about this very cool event in New York on Sunday, January 20th.

From noon to 4:30, you can buy, sell and trade your vintage Polo gear. Then, starting at 4:30, there’ll be a concert featuring some of the fiercest rappers in New York: Sean Price and Buckshot among them.

Posted in Polo Ralph Lauren New York Hip-Hop Sean Price Buckshot
December 4, 2012
I hope some New Yorkers will stop by on Thursday. You’ll learn something, and I’ve also “curated” some cool vintage menswear stuff for the shop. jessethorn: I’ll be presenting my talk “Make Your Thing” on Thursday as part of Etsy’s pop-up holiday shop in New York City. It’s about making independent media in the internet age, for fun and profit. The show’s at 6PM, and is at 131 Greene Street between Houston and Prince. Come by, listen, ask questions, buy something vintage or handmade. The talk is free! And if you’re around during the day, my friend Kevin Allison from Risk! will be doing a storytelling workshop from 2:30-4:00 and my pal Dallas Penn from Internets Celebrities will be doing a workshop on his own special brand of DIY (like making Big Macs from stuff on the 99 cent menu) from 5:15-6:00. It will be fun, I promise.

I hope some New Yorkers will stop by on Thursday. You’ll learn something, and I’ve also “curated” some cool vintage menswear stuff for the shop.

jessethorn:

I’ll be presenting my talk “Make Your Thing” on Thursday as part of Etsy’s pop-up holiday shop in New York City. It’s about making independent media in the internet age, for fun and profit.

The show’s at 6PM, and is at 131 Greene Street between Houston and Prince. Come by, listen, ask questions, buy something vintage or handmade. The talk is free!

And if you’re around during the day, my friend Kevin Allison from Risk! will be doing a storytelling workshop from 2:30-4:00 and my pal Dallas Penn from Internets Celebrities will be doing a workshop on his own special brand of DIY (like making Big Macs from stuff on the 99 cent menu) from 5:15-6:00. It will be fun, I promise.

Posted in Make Your Thing Jesse Thorn New York Etsy
October 25, 2012

Ivy Style at the F.I.T. Museum

I’m headed out of New York this morning, having taped a few episodes of Judge John Hodgman, enjoyed a San Francisco Giants World Series victory, ordered a few shirts from my friend Carl, and attended WFMU’s Radiovision conference. I didn’t have a lot of free time on this trip - blame the baby - but I did make time to visit the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum and their lovely exhibit Ivy Style.

Among the sights:

  • Some stunning tartan sportcoats by Jeffrey Banks, the former protege of Ralph Lauren, author of several menswear books, and sole African-American contributor to the exhibition.
  • Some delightful Berk slippers, featuring a pair in crescent moon and star theme which match some I bought for my wife recently.
  • Ralph Lauren outfits pieced together from collections 30 years apart, but sharing a near-perfect aesthetic symmetry.
  • A Thom Browne Ivy-inspired suit featuring a spiked crotch.
  • Some genuinely gorgeous bleeding madras in shorts, coats, and everything else.
  • Some amazing information about a Princeton tradition, still extant, called the Beer Suit. Derived from workwear, it was clothing made to be worn by seniors while drinking, to avoid ruining the good stuff. They look a bit like a painter’s outfit, with graduation years and slogans stenciled on. After graduation, the suit was worn to reunions until the 25th reunion, when one could finally wear a class jacket - usually (by the looks of it) a crested blazer.

If you’re in New York, don’t miss the exhibition, which is free. And don’t forget the symposium, which is in just a few weeks.

Posted in Ivy Style Ivy League Princeton FIT Museum New York
October 9, 2012
Speaking of seeing me live and in-person, if you’re in New York, I’ll be joining my friend and colleague John Hodgman for the first ever live Judge John Hodgman show. We’ll have some very cool special guests on tap, and I’ll be wearing a full bailiff uniform that I purchased from a company that sells clothes to real bailiffs. 100% Polyester. I’ll basically be dressed like Bull from Night Court. Anyway, it’s October 22nd at the Greene Space. Tickets are on sale now.

Speaking of seeing me live and in-person, if you’re in New York, I’ll be joining my friend and colleague John Hodgman for the first ever live Judge John Hodgman show. We’ll have some very cool special guests on tap, and I’ll be wearing a full bailiff uniform that I purchased from a company that sells clothes to real bailiffs. 100% Polyester. I’ll basically be dressed like Bull from Night Court.

Anyway, it’s October 22nd at the Greene Space. Tickets are on sale now.

Posted in New York Jesse Thorn John Hodgman
August 31, 2012

Put This On Season Two: So Far

Above: Episode 4

Below: Episodes 3, 2 and 1

Put This On, Season 2, Episode 3: (New) Traditions, London from Put This On on Vimeo.

Put This On, Season 2, Episode 2: Eclecticism from Put This On on Vimeo.

Put This On, Season 2, Episode 1: The Melting Pot from Put This On on Vimeo.

Posted in Fashion Menswear Put This On Episodes London New York Savile Row Polo
July 16, 2012

There’s no better master class on the semiotics of getting dressed than the documentary Paris Is Burning. Released at the start of the 1990s, it chronicles the Ball scene in late 1980s New York. The Balls featured bisexual and gay men and transgendered women in all manner of drag - from clothes intended to convincingly portray a beautiful woman to clothes intended to convincingly portray an executive or a member of the military.

For folks like these, passing was and is essential to living safely, and being conversant in cultural norms was more than just a passing interest. As one of the interview subjects above says, “When you’re gay, you monitor everything you do. You monitor how you look, how you talk, how you act. Do they see me? What do they think of me?”

I’m guessing that most of the people who read this blog were born in a position where they don’t usually rely on cultural signifiers to ensure their physical safety, like the people in Paris Is Burning. The stakes are lower for most of us. Thankfully, they’re even somewhat lower for GLBT men and women twenty years after the film was made.

But if you want to learn something about how cultural cues like clothing can affect your place in the world, watch Paris Is Burning. That’s realness.

Posted in Paris Is Burning GLBT Drag Executive Realness New York Vintage
April 11, 2012

Put This On Season Two, Episode 2: Eclecticism

Put This On, a web series about dressing like a grownup, visits New York City, where eclectic style is a way of life.

We go thrifting with Josh and Trav from the blog Street Etiquette. They’re known for their thrift-store eyes and their unique editorials. We drop some shopping and alteration knowledge and have a friendly competition: who can pick up the coolest stuff in three shops and two hours?

Visit Jay Kos, the eclectic boutique that fuses traditional style with a decidedly non-traditional palette. It’s a favorite of modern dandies because of Jay’s bold color sense and wild material choices. Here you can find traditionally-made trousers in green python or a fine Italian sportcoat rendered in a blown-up flannel shirting pattern.

Meet Lewis Lapham, the found of Lapham’s Quarterly and longtime editor of Harper’s Magazine. Lapham discusses why fine clothes suit the humble journalist, and compares a coat and tie to the pair of gold coins Flaubert carried in his pocket - they lend the bearer a sense of weight.

In our How It’s Made segment, we learn what’s inside your jacket. Tailor Leonard Logsdail tears open a few coats to show us their guts and compares the construction of pieces at a variety of price points.

Plus, the return of Rudiments with new host Dave Hill. Dave explains that a coat isn’t finished until it has been altered by a tailor.

This is the second episode in our six-episode second season. In this season, we visit the three greatest men’s style cities in the world, as chosen by our readers - New York, Milan and London.

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Watch it elsewhere:

Vimeo / Youtube / iTunes

Clothing Credits


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Buy Season One on DVD for $16

This episode was supported by our viewers and by The Put This On Gentlemen’s Association.


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Executive Producers: Jesse Thorn & Adam Lisagor

Director: Benjamin Ahr Harrison

Host / Writer / Producer: Jesse Thorn

Rudiments: Dave Hill

Producer: Andrew Yamato

Director of Photography: Ryan Samul

Sound: Andrew J. Reardon

Posted in Season 2 Episode 9 New York Street Etiquette Thrifting Lewis Lapham Jay Kos How It's Made Suits Jackets Dave Hill Rudiments Tailors Leonard Logsdail
April 11, 2012

Season 2, Episode 2: PTO Place: Jay Kos

From Put This On Season 2, Episode 2, a profile of New York menswear retailer Jay Kos. Kos is known for mixing traditional style with bold fabrics and colors, and is a favorite of contemporary dandies like Fonzworth Bentley.

From Season 2, Episode 2 of Put This On

Posted in Episode 9 New York Jay Kos Fashion Style Menswear PTO Place Season 2
March 24, 2012
Ed Morel and Bruce Boyer, at the Panta trunk show Jesse talked about.  Both gentlemen have especially nice shirt collars on. 

Ed Morel and Bruce Boyer, at the Panta trunk show Jesse talked about. 

Both gentlemen have especially nice shirt collars on. 

Posted in Panta CEGO Custom Shirts New York Bruce Boyer Ed Morel