The Sartorialist

On the Street....The Dancer, Berlin

Asking for a Little Help!

I've had this razor for years.
I love it. I love the weight of it, the look of it, and the fact that I've been able to hold onto it for so long.

However, I haven't been able to use it for years because they just don't make blades for that type of head anymore.

So I need a little help. Where can I get the head of this razor reworked to fit the new standard blades?

And for the ladies, a great Father's Day gift might be a classic, reworked razor. All of us guys need some type of razor and today's options are usually less than chic.

Gotta Be Prada, Vintage Photo

This is a picture of my grandmother taken in 1956 on her honeymoon in Cairns. I think the whole shot is fantastic, the old snorkel, bathers and flippers - it simply captures her personality; colourful and slightly wild. It was taken on what would be the first of many exotic trips in which my grandfather would force my grandmother to experience all there was to experience. What attracted me firstly to the photo was the amazing bikini which just seems so stylish and secondly the fact that my grandparents, now 83, are still going on similar trips -sailing down the Dalmatian coast of Croatia this year! I hope you like the picture as much as I do.

-Iona

Brussels Monday!

Monday I will be in Brussels!!

Below is the information for the event.

Monday 17th May
Book Signing
Chic Outlet Village
Maasmechelen Village, Belgium
4PM till 6PM

It's my first time there so I am very excited.

Any suggestions on what I shouldn't miss?

Wednesday Frankfurt!

Great-Grandma with Che?, Vintage Photo

Eatmore, Vintage photos

The sassy woman in the saddle shoes is my grandma Lois. This photograph was probably taken in the 40's in Yakima Washington. Lois always spoke her mind and was sharp as a whip.

The Grandparents, Vintage Photo

The one enclosed is from my grand-parents. "Biarritz_1936" They lived normally in Reims, north-east from France.
This photo was taken just before the war in 1936 in Biarritz. They are on their honeymoon. I like this photo a lot because they just feel happy and they look incredibly elegant and stylish even if they are at the sea... it would never happen nowdays ! My grand-father was half english and until his death very elegant, a
real gentlman. I also like the contrast of the perfect hair for my grand-father and the wind blowing through the hair of my grand-mother.

I could not resist sending you a photo of them both in Bandol on the same vacation because I find them so beautiful even though they are just wearing the minimum: a swimsuit. The photo reminds me a little bit of Man Ray photo.
Best regards,
Alexandra

Garance's Birthday at Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa

Recently, when we were in Australia we spent Garance's birthday at a really great resort. The rooms, the spa, and the food were all wonderful, but all that interested me was mountain biking around the resort's grounds.

When we told our Australian friends we were gong to the "outback" for the weekend, they laughed when we told them that it was Wolgan Valley and said that the REAL outback was another hour away. After a few more incidents like this we stopped calling it the "outback" and started calling it the "halfback."

(click on image to enlarge photo)
This is Chris, Garance's assistant. Everywhere we turned was another photo-op. With the landscapes, animals, and food, this place truly made me fall in love wth the idea of photography outside of the big city.

I took this picture while riding my bike very fast, too fast in retrospect, on a bumpy dirt rode. I'm surprised that I got even one shot in focus.

Self-portrait of my shadow at sunset. The great/scary thing about these little grass-covered paths is that your bicycle moves so quietly that you can sneak up on a group of kangaroos before they even notice you. I wasn't particularly interested in surprising any kangaroos, so we spent a lot of time singing very loudly while we rode. Human League anyone?

I know that I'm a total city kid and I'm sure that some of you have wrestled bears and hunted dinosaurs, but for me, being this close to wild animals while on a mountain bike was pretty cool.

My primary reading material while flying to Berlin was a book on shooting better landscapes. Hopefully I will get a chance to shoot a few more soon. Maybe the Amish countryside could be cool?

On the Street....Claude, Berlin

I'm in Berlin right now shooting an ad campaign. Yesterday I met Claude, her name is Claudia but she hates that name. As you can see, Claude is a beautiful example of a young lady that knows how to play up her best assets. We cast her because she has the figure of a real, everyday girl: she stands about 5'1" and she is very curvy. You can't really appreciate her curves because of her coat, but they're there. It has actually been a little difficult to find samples that fit her correctly but really, who could get past her hair, lips and those legs? She knows that these are her best featues and works with us to find looks that suit her best.

To me, this is such a great reminder to stop obsessing about my own personal imperfections and start highlighting the little gifts.

Tomorrow I'm cutting the sleeves off all of my Guy Rover shirts and showing off the guns! (For those of you who didn't understand the Pocari Sweat post, that was a joke.)

On the Street....Tokyo Color, Japan

On the Street....Bleecker St., West village

To me, this is so American, strong/healthy, so perfectly Spring-ish in feeling that you don't even need to see the front of the look to understand exactly what it's all about.