Stonewall

(Source: immutableinscrutable)

fyeahbenfolds:

“@benfolds bedtime lullaby for his gracie”

…did anyone else know he plays cello? I now love him even more, if that’s possible. What a great dad.

well said

putthison:

Scrimp, Save, and Shop Slowly

In the past week, I’ve been reading The Craftsman by Richard Sennett, a wonderful book that Bruce Boyer recommended to me some time ago. In one chapter, Sennett talks about various epochs when the volume of material goods available to Westerners expanded dramatically.

In the Renaissance, trade with non-Europeans swelled the number of goods at people’s disposal. Netherlands, Britain, and France had an unprecedented demand for new possessions (and subsequently the furniture that was needed to display those possessions). As material abundance seeped downward, it extended to ordinary matters such as people having more than a single pair of shoes to wear and different clothes for different seasons. Victorian England was similarly prosperous. Here, the advancement of industrialization made it possible for the British to enjoy more clothes, domestic utensils, and books.

In each of these periods, Europeans felt both wonder and anxiety for their new material abundance. People worried about how to use goods well, what abundance might be for, and how not to be spoiled by possessions. Human virtues such as restraint and simplicity came to the fore, and some wondered whether the sheer quantity of objects around them would dull their senses.

One can see a reflection of these periods in our current state. Despite all of the economic problems we may have, most Westerners (and many in the East) still live in a consumer paradise. However, I think we’ve struggled to properly manage the issues that have come out of that. Take, for example, clothing, which has largely become an industry of “fast fashion.” Clothing is made cheaper and cheaper, and new items are introduced not just on a seasonal basis, but also multiple times throughout a season.

The production of cheap clothing has led us to devalue clothes, both in what we’re willing to pay and how we treat them. The mere availability of $15 button-up shirts makes people cringe at the idea of a $75 shirt, even if it’s made from better materials and done with better stitching. Give someone a closet full of $15 shirts, and they’ll have no incentive to really learn how to take care of what they own.

The availability of cheap clothing has also made voracious appetites possible. People these days are constantly buying new clothes, and this introduces a level of waste that’s only dreamed of in scarcity societies. Even cheap, poorly made garments - which are only meant to last two or three years - are thrown out long before the end of their practical life. 

One explanation is that people these days are more aroused by anticipation than actual operation. Getting the latest thing is more important than making good use of what you have, and being so easily able to consume new and cheap things makes this quest an endless activity. Consequently, people have much more than they need, but nothing that they truly satisfies them. This triggers a vicious feedback loop - because they’re not satisfied, they go out and buy more and more, but since they consume so much, their limited budget forces them to only buy other unsatisfying things.

It also sets an utterly bizarre modern mindframe. In what other era have people thought they need to fill every “gap” in their closet? “I have wool trousers in glen plaid, solids, window panes, and houndstooth, all in navy, brown, and grey, but none in olive, so I have to fill that gap.”  Granted, I write about things such as “Five Casual Trousers for Fall,” but this doesn’t mean you have to get every one. I’m giving you options, not a shopping list.

In previous epochs when Westerners enjoyed such material abundance, they reflected back on what it meant for society and themselves as individuals. We’ve done the same; there’s all sorts of neo-Ruskinian attitudes these days. Everyone is talking about craftsmanship and returning to a more “humanist” view of production.

The fundamental problem, though, is still present: we expect to accumulate an unreasonable amount of clothes, and we want to do it within a year, if not a season. People are constantly hunting for “deals” at “fast fashion” stores such as Zara, buying things without any real long-term impression of what they need, and spending whatever is within their immediate disposable income. That kind of practice will lead to an enormous wardrobe, but of things they’ll never quite like, so they’ll never really wear.

It would be better, I think, to have a more controlled appetite. Make a prioritized list of the staples you need, and don’t get side tracked into impulse buys. Then, find out how to really discern quality in clothing, and buy what is truly, truly worthwhile. Instead of owning a hundred mediocre ties, thinking that they were a “bargain,” buy ten quality ones in your most basic designs. Instead of having twenty mediocre shoes, buy three excellent pairs, and use the time that you would otherwise spend on shopping to take care of what you have. Put in shoe trees, apply leather conditioner, and take the time to buff and polish. 

Of course, if you have the means to accumulate nothing but the best, then more power to you. If you’re of limited means, however, you would do better by really taking the time to understand how to discern quality and prioritize that over price. If you can’t afford it today, then scrimp and save for a while until you can. If you take a long view - that you will need five to seven years to accumulate a decent wardrobe - and don’t expect to need fifty trousers in every single pattern and color, this is quite achievable. That is, after all, how most people built wardrobes in the past.

(pictured above: installation art by Christian Boltanski)

twloha:

The TWLOHA interns had the opportunity to set up a TWLOHA table with Nichole at the Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers concert on September 28th. This news excited me since I have been a fan of SK6ers for the last couple of years. To be directly involved with a band I already admired was thrilling. I am a concert fanatic. It is where I can escape without fear of being myself. So to be able to give back to such an event was only fitting.

When meeting people I look up to, I always get nervous about the possibility that they might not be the role model I have made them out to be. When we arrived Sam, the SK6ers guitar player, greeted us. He is an excited and happy soul, to say the least. Sam was very interested in all of us and in the organization. That quality was true throughout the band once we met the rest of the members. To know that we were a part of the evening’s show was relieving and encouraging. This organization is built upon reaching out to others and spreading love, and it was nice to see that feeling returned from this band.

Before the concert, SK6ers played a couple of acoustic songs for SIXERTOWN (their fan club), and we were lucky enough to be a part of that. Seeing the band interact with their fans and seeing their fans share their love and support was wonderful. This isn’t a band that just shows up for a regular day at work, but rather a group of gentlemen who come to spread a smile and a night of music and community.

This sense of community was displayed halfway through SK6ers set. They played the first few songs plugged into their amplifiers and bound to the stage, but the band quickly traded their gear for acoustic instruments, jumped into the center of the crowd, stood on milk crates, and shared a song with their fans. From the back of the venue, Stephen’s words were just a whisper lost in the voices of fans singing as one. That performance summed up the evening for me. The band was there to share a memory with all of us. It wasn’t about the band themselves, and this wasn’t just another night on tour. This was a community event that was only possible because everyone in the room shared a common love for music.

TWLOHA has never been about one group. We exist because we believe in hope and community. It’s important to surround yourself with those you love and keep close those you care about. This concert and that one act of community showcased an example of hope and love that you just don’t see all the time. It’s one thing to see love alive in the office, but to see it put to action in person and in public is inspiring on a whole new level.

Concerts were always my escape from society, but this particular show was almost the exact opposite. It allowed me to bring those around me closer and to exist within a group of strangers without fear. We were all brought together as outsiders and sang as one voice of hope and love. I couldn’t be happier to be a fan of Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers and to know that TWLOHA is a part of this wonderful tour (keep an eye out for specific dates to come). If this group is stopping in a town near you, please don’t pass up the opportunity to share a night of music with them and say hello.

—Barry
Fall 2011 Intern

P.S.—The band was excited to be a part of our Fears vs. Dreams Campaign. Above is a photo of Stephen owning his. You can see the fears and dreams from the whole band here and check out their new video here.

putthison:

My Father’s Fashion Tips

I have a sense of style, I guess, but it is not like my father’s—it is not earned, and consequently it is not unwavering, nor inerrant, nor overbearing, nor constructed of equal parts maxim and stricture; it is not certain. It does not start in the morning, when I wake up, and end only at night, when I go to sleep. It is not my creation, nor does it create me; it is ancillary rather than central. I don’t absolutely f’ing live it, is what I’m trying to say. I don’t put it on every time I anoint myself with toilet water or stretch a sock to my knee or squeeze into a pair of black bikini underwear. Which is what my father did. Of course, when I was growing up, he tried as best he could to teach me what he knew, to indoctrinate me—hell, he couldn’t resist, for no man can be as sure as my father is without being also relentlessly and reflexively prescriptive. He tried to pass on to me knowledge that had the whiff of secrets, secrets at once intimate and arcane, such as the time he taught me how to clean my navel with witch hazel. I was 18 and about to go off to college, and so one day he summoned me into his bathroom. “Close the door,” he said. “I have to ask you something.”

“What, Dad?”

”Do you…clean your navel?”

“Uh, no,”

”Well, you should. You’re a man now, and you sweat, and sweat can collect in your navel and produce an odor that is very…offensive.” Then: “This is witch hazel. It eliminates odors. This is a Q-Tip. To clean your navel, just dip the Q-Tip into the witch hazel and then swab the Q-Tip around your navel. For about thirty seconds. You don’t have to do it every day; just once a week or so.” He demonstrated the technique on himself, then handed me my own Q-Tip.

”But Dad, who is going to smell my navel?”

”You’re going off to college, son. You’re going to meet women. You never want to risk turning them off with an offensive odor.”

One of my favorite articles ever published in GQ is this essay by Tom Junod, titled “My Father’s Fashion Tips.” It’s excellent not for its fashion advice (that part is secondary), but because we get to see a portrait of a charming man who cared about style. Give it a read when you have a chance.

This is what I think of every single time anyone uses the phrase “Best of Both worlds” #effectivemarketing

I been searching for a heart of gold….

(Source: immutableinscrutable)

drysafemarker:

“There’s nothing better than freedom”

youarenotaphotog:

With confused looks, the couple repeated, “A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y” when the preacher asked for the vows. Or at least, that’s what we’re lead to believe from this picture.