On the Street.....Left Bank, Paris

Notice that both of todays female images are wearing jackets with pushed up sleeves.

I did a post recently about men wearing pushed-up sleeves and the reaction was mixed if not a little more negative.

I wonder if there is a perceived difference between women doing it and men pushing the sleeves?

On the Street.....White on White, Paris

The Thin Man

I love the Thin Man movies so during vacation I thought it would be fun to read the book.

After about three pages I realized that The Thin Man is nothing without William Powell.

The words are the same but William Powell made them jump and gave them such life!

This is one of the few times that the movie is so much more entertaining than the book.

Am I wrong?

On the Street.....Jean Shorts, Paris

On the Street.....Gatsby Moment, Paris

On the Street.....Left Bank, Paris

Reading List....Elegance - The Seeberger Brothers

I found this book Elegance - The Seeberger Brothers and the Birth of Fashion Photography by Chronicle Books about a year ago. I have flipped through it often, but I took it on vacation recently and absolutely fell in love with it.

Someday, 100 years from now, I hope some young person will flip through a book of my images and feel the way I felt looking at these photos.

Running a blog is a daily job that requires immediate action. I love that challenge but it is equally important to me that these images last and hopefully reflect a little bit of this moment in time for future generations.

I don't worry if what I do is art - but it is a document. A book like this makes me proud that I might be able to continue that tradition.




I am so jealous I didn't take this photo, but the picture I took the other day in Stockholm feels like this to me and you could almost switch the two young woman and still have the same spirit of the image.

I like to look at this image and imagine it is the Tuileries in Paris and that I am capturing the same spirits today but in different bodies dressed in different clothing.

There are not many men's images in the book but the ones that are included are fantastic.

Even the little details are fascinating. This photo is dated Aug 14th in Deauville.

AUGUST 14th! And she is wearing a giant coat. There are a lot of images like this, people really bundled up in the middle of August. It is the disconnect from today's world that I think makes these images romantic and mysterious.

What can I say about this image except it is soooo beautiful and inspiring.

On the street.....Taxi Taxi, Stockholm

On the Street....Face Graphics, Milan

On the Street.....Last Looks of Summer, Milan

On the Street......Stockholm Smile

This was going to be a full-length photo but she looked so serious in each shot.

However each time I lowered the camera she would smile like this.

again, anticipation

On the Street.....Gustav, Sodermalm

On the Street.....Mats, Stockholm

On the Street.....Ostermalm, Stockholm

On the Street.....Ostermalm, Stockholm

On the Street.....Black & White, Stockholm

On the Street....Joakim, Stockholm

Looks like he just stepped off a Prada runway and yet he only paid $6 for this coat.

I think it was a doctors labcoat but because of the color and weight it looked more like something you would buy at APC.

ps if you are wondering he is not a model but i think he should look into the possibilities

On the Street.....Sodermalm, Stockholm

Photography = Anticipation

As you may or may not know I taught myself photography by shooting my own kids.

If you really want to capture your kids true spirit the most important rule is not a big camera or complicated lights but anticipation.

The photographs above were taken with a tiny Canon point-and-shoot. It was so bright at the beach I couldn't even see the screen on the back of the camera but i knew that if I got them both in the frame that I just had to wait for the right moment.

For example, the top photo is Isabel taking the sand sifter from Claudia with a let-me-show-how-to-do-this bravado. The photo is all about the look on Claudia's face because she knows she wont see the sifter again for a while, or until we intervene. It is such a classic moment between brothers and sisters. (to really get the shot, click on the photo to enlarge the image)

In the bottom photo, the snap on Claudia's top suddenly broke and she has this surprised/embarrassed laugh that shows just how cool she is and able to laugh-off her own embarrassment. Those are moments you can't script or re-shoot but when you see the elements coming together (like the two of them playing nicely with each other) then you just have to place yourself in the position to get the right light and angle. The photo "That Moment" posted July 14th was taken with the same idea - I saw the perfect light and the activity of people running into the show so I stayed in one spot and just kinda waited for something to happen. Most of the time nothing happens, but the few times it does the reward can be really great.

So I Found My Hat for Vacation

On July 22nd I did a post about wanting to find a good Panama hat.

Thanks for all the great suggestions of where to find them.

I looked at a lot of high-end options and mass-produced options but the one problem that I couldn't get out of my head was the image of my new hat blowing down the beach never to be seen again.

In the end I found the perfect hat at (of all unexpected places) Marc Jacobs on Mercer St.

It only cost around $40 so if I lost it I was only going to cry a little. What really sold me on the hat was the "fiber" it was made of and how "crinkly/wrinkly" it could get. For $40 I can only imagine the hat is made from recycled Styrofoam coffee cups, but I'm OK with that.

To be honest, after wearing it for a while I am still debating if it is really me. I love the romantic Euro-allure of it but when I'm playing on the beach (and I mean playing hard - like paddle ball with a nine year old) it is hard for me to feel right in anything other than a Yankees cap and wrap-stemmed RayBan Aviator sunglasses.

For me, style is about not being afraid to try something new but being honest enough with yourself that even though "it" might be "fashionable", "it" might not be you.

On the Street.....The Stockholm Look via Los Angeles

On the Street.....Poolside at The Roosevelt, LA

More shots from LA in the new September GQ

Vacation Days

For the next few days I will be on vacation but I will post a few new shots on Thursday and Friday and then on to Stockholm next week!

On the Street.....Lucia Early Evening, NYC

Next Week...

Back to Stockholm!

On the Street.....Two, Paris

On The Street... Casual Friday Men's Ex Style

On the Street...Crosby St., Manhattan

Let's Consider...Silk Shorts

I don't own a pair of silk shorts but the idea intrigues me.

I love the color and print potential that only silk can bring to a look, plus the natural sheen of silk would be an additional visual element that you just can't get from cotton.

Hopefully will will see a few more options in the stores next season.

On the Street...Andre Benjamin, Florence

So it was the last day of Pitti, really hot in Florence and after being outside all day shooting the heat was starting to get to me.
All I wanted to do was stop into a few shops on my way back to the hotel and then spend the rest of the night working on images in my air conditioned room.

At around 6:45 I popped into Boggi. The place was about to close and there was only one other guy in the shop.
Now, I had just watched the movie Semi-Pro on the plane on the way over and the guy in the shop looked surprisingly similar to Coffee Black. I didn't think it was him because it was just so out of context. I got up the courage to ask if he was the guy in the movie, and just about the time he said yes I remembered his name (thank God!). Of course I knew all about him, but again because it was so out of context I was blanking.

Anyway, I told him I did a blog called The Sartorialist and now he was all excited because he said that he loved the blog and looks at it often. Now I'm totally blushing - I know a lot of people look at my blog but i never think it is someone like him (or Kanye!) (and by "him" I mean any big star)

So , of course I ask if we can go pop outside and take a fast shot.
We find a great background and the photo above is that moment. Honestly, I had to take a few shots because I was still so psyched that this was happening.

We went back to the store and he ended up buying the blue knit shirt that I recommended (I'm wearing mine in the Style.com video a few post down).

Anyway, that is the back story of this photo.

ps. I will make a prediction now that Semi-Pro will clean up at this years Oscars!!
If you haven't seen it yet RUN to buy the DVD - Will Ferrell Rocks!!

On the Street...Masha, Soho

On the Street...Park Ave., Manhattan

On the Street... Mama Mia, Milan

On the Street... Structured Jacket and Shorts, Paris

The other day I posted several guys wearing unconstructed jackets and shorts - I think they all looked great.
A variation on that theme is the idea of a very structured jacket and shorts.
Personally, next Summer i think i will try a more structured jacket like the one above when I am wearing my shorts in Milan (gasp! shorts in Milan!).

This Summer I wore a lot of unconstructed jackets but I find that for my shape an unconstructed jacket is too shapeless and makes me look square. Well, I guess you live and learn.

On the Street.....Macho Man Fabrizio, Milan

On the Street...Casual Formality, Milan

I like the idea of the sporty cotton jacket and white jeans with a French-cuffed shirt.

Even when the Milanese try to be sporty it always comes up with just a touch of formality.

On the Street...Graceful Steps Paris

I love the design details
I love the harmony of colors
but I most love the graceful way she walks.

Here is the GAP Ad!

So, remember when I was shot for this back in April?

Well, here is the result.


Even though this blog is very personal it feels like it has grown bigger than me.

I used to occasionally post photos of myself, but now I feel much more self-conscious about doing that. However, this is a story that I shared a while ago and this feels like a fitting end on that episode.

On the Street...Luca Rubinacci, Milan

Luca is another guy that deserves to be on this blog as often as possible.

As a blogger/photographer I love finding new people to shoot but as a Sartorialist I always want to seeing what Luca is wearing when I am in Milan.

I love that you really get a sense of Luca's young spirit - a lavender jacket in sober/formal Milan is a real statement. Can't you just imagine him riding around Milan or London on his Vespa in this look.

I will update the details tonight but I know Luca comes to Manhattan to see clients about once a month. If you want a bespoke suit with a little attitude then Luca should be one of the guys you consider.

On the Street...Young and in Paris

Out of the Storm, Milan

Sunday's Best