At Hyeres 2008......Beach Beauty, South of France

The Kindness Of Strangers & The Agnelli Tie

I have always heard that Gianni Agnelli had a quirk for wearing his tie outside of his sweater.

The other day ,while I was walking on the Hyeres boardwalk, I found a gentleman that not only shared this little style quirk but wore it with the same level of sprezzatura as l'Avvocato.

When I asked to him to take his photo he politely declined (i think it was polite but i don't speak French).

Anyway, as I was trying to explain why i wanted to take his photo a young man that knew my blog saw i was having a tricky time so he stepped in and explained (in French) who I was and what I wanted to do.

This apparently did the trick because as you see I ended up getting the shot - thanks to the kindness of strangers or the kindness of my audience!!)

At Hyeres.....Louise, South of France

At Hyeres 2008........Haider Ackermann, South of France

At Hyeres 2008......Hyeres Femme, South of France

At Hyeres 2008......Hyeres Homme, South of France

At Hyeres 2008......Hyeres, South of France

Guess What I Did Yesterday...

I was shot for one of those "Gap Icon" ads for Fall '08.

I was asked about a month ago and it has been so hard to keep from announcing it on the blog.

Talk about an all-star production, Mikael Jansson - Photographer, Karl Templer - Stylist, Trey Laird - Creative Director and Patron of the Arts

As you can imagine I have been running and working-out trying to get in shape for the shoot (didn't help).

If you have seen me around the city looking a little scruffy the last few weeks, its because I was asked not to cut my hair or shave so the hair and make-up would have something to work with when I got there.

During that time a few of my friends asked "what's with the puffy hair?"
"Secret project" I replied - I felt like Tom Hanks while he was shooting "Castaway" and everyone thought he was shooting a Civil War flick (not quite that dramatic but you get the idea)


Mikael Jansson and Trey Laird

The wardrobe room with a small selection of shoes.

When I was teaching myself photography I would rip-out editorials that I really liked from magazines and would study them for angles, use of natural light, settings, etc.
I still have one entire binder for editorials by Mikael Jansson.
As excited as I was just to be in the ad I was equally excited to by shot by THE Mikael Jansson.

My only fear was that I would be a nightmare to shoot.

A photographer shooting another photographer is never easy.

I kept imagining myself throughout the shoot saying "what lens are you using?" , "what's settings are you using?", "why are you lighting that way?", "does my face make my neck look fat?".

I think when I did finally speak to him, all I was able to get out was a very Ralph Wiggum-ish "I like to eat paste" - i kinda kept quiet after that.

Reviewing the images.
I swear that they are not laughing AT the pictures of me, they are laughing WITH the pictures of me.

The review board


Mr. Eugene Souleiman and his skull scissors.
I was going to ask him if he had a name for those special scissors but I was afraid he would say "The Accidental Van Gogh" so I didn't ask.
I usually use Aveda pomade but Eugene used this stuff called Magic Move and it was really great (and tastes much better than paste - crap, I didn't mean to type that out loud).
You can buy it at Ricky's here in NYC.

The other reason I am happy to be in the ads ,this particular season, is quite simple - the Gap is back.
If you look back at the archives to May 2007 I announced it then that signing Patrick Robinson ,to head design, was going to be the move that turned the company around.
With the new delivery thats just hitting the floor now, you are starting to see hints of his effect. The Fall 2008 collection, however, really brings back a strong fashion element to Gap.

It is like having an old friend back.

Separated At Birth?

I know both of these guys for a while but I'm surprised I didn't notice this earlier.

I love how similar they are and yet how clearly they represent the style of their native homeland.

FYI - Bruce Boyer will be giving a speech about Fred Astaire at the Fred Astaire Conference in early June at Oxford College.

Here is a link for more info
Fred Astaire Conference

This Weekend...

I will be at the Hyeres Fashion and Photography Festival in the South of France.
The organizers have been kind enough to host a solo exhibit of my work.

This festival has gained a reputation for finding great young talent in fashion and photography.

If I am not mistaken, Viktor & Rolf were one of the first important designers "discovered" at this festival.

I really look forward to seeing the collections and even more forward to seeing the crowd.

The images over the next few days will be from Hyeres and Milan.

On the Street.... 40th & Broadway, NYC

From May GQ - Mr. Lapo Elkann

On the Street.... 22nd St., NYC

From My First Editorial for GQ - "The Best Suits Under $500"

On the Street.... Vintage Lacoste..., NYC

...reminds me of modern Jil Sander

On the Street.... Soho, NYC

On the Street.... 16th & 3rd, NYC

A Look Back To the 80's, Brooklyn

A Look Back To the 40's, New York

Modern suit made of vintage 40's fabric.

On the Street....Channeling Marcello, New York

On the Street.....Times Square, New York

On the Street.....The Look-Alikes, Brooklyn

Wow, some couples really do start to resemble each other.

Eva and Gentry own a great store in Brooklyn at 389 Atlantic Ave. called Butter by EvaGentry.

The store has been around for a while but yesterday was the first time I had ever been there.

What a great surprise, they offer a great edit of Dries Van Noten, Marni, and Rick Owens plus other cool labels and accessories.

I'm gonna have to move Brooklyn into a higher rotation spot on my walk-around choices.

Just A Thought

Within the whole make-over discussion, a lot of people said that they felt this idea went against the core of The Sartorialist mission statement (so to speak).

Actually it is at the very core and basically the reason the blog started in the first place.

I have always said that the reason I started the blog was because i was not feeling inspired by the guys I was seeing in magazines.

I was wanting to refine my own style so i went out with my camera and started taking pictures (initially of men) that I thought would help me and inspire me in my choices. Actually, I was the first Sartorialist make-over.

I took a chance and shared the photos because i thought other guys might be feeling the same way. In two years I have received lots of emails from people that have done their own makeovers or refinements inspired by images they have seen on this blog.

I am very happy to share and celebrate other peoples personal style but I have always said that abstract inspiration was the core of my views and decisions.

I cannot honestly say that I have captured these subjects "personal style" because most of them I simply don't know from Adam. I could have easily caught them on their best or worse day ever, but once I decide to take a picture I try to take the best photograph I can given the conditions. With a little luck and hard work I think I have gotten pretty good at capturing more than just the clothes but the spirit of why I was attracted to that subject in the first place.

Is this all based on my judgments?
Of course, I am the only one here at The Sartorialist but because of the blog format it can create a great discussion and inspiration for lots of people.


Just a thought

On the Street....Transitional Floral, Paris

On the Street.....April Flowers, Milan

On the Street.... Mr. Tonchi, Paris

Programming Note

Next weeks "Sartorialist Who's Got The Cutest Baby Contest" has been put on indefinite hiatus.

On the Street.... Dramatic Dress, Paris

The First (and Hopefully Only) Sartorialist Make-Over

So I'm walking in the East Village last week and stopped into a magazine store for some gum.

While I'm in there a young woman walks in and down an aisle, I barely saw what she was wearing but I was curious.
I guess she saw me looking because she said hi and that she was a fan of the site.

We spoke for a few minutes and while we were talking I kept trying to figure out how i could take a picture of her without getting those boots in the shot!

Anyway, I asked if I could take a shot of her but after a few tries I realized this would never go on The Sartorialist.

Those boots never make a girls legs look good, they always hit at the widest part of the leg which makes your leg look shapeless. I don't think I have ever shot a young lady for this site wearing that type of boot, or cowboy boots.

The hair is way too long and seems a bit old-fashioned for her and I don't get the tights/hose.

At least the dress is savable but that neckline combined with her hair does nothing for her long neck.

For all the people that say "she is so cute she would look good in a potato sack" well, here is the proof that even the cutest need to make good stylistic choices.

That's when I realized she needs a Sartorialist make-over. We are not going to make some huge transformation, she doesn't need it, but we can make a few changes that will really make a big impact on her personal presentation.

The first thing we are going to do is get her hair cut.

I'm no hair guru but I think we should go short.

What do you think?
We are going to try and do the cut on Wednesday so we need your feed back.

Her name is Phoenix and she is an illustration student. I think it would be great to get all that hair out of her face while she is drawing.

Since she is a student I thought we would also go to Gap or J. Crew for some reasonably-priced, easy Spring/Summer pieces that will fit into her lifestyle.

I have no idea how this will go but it could be a fun little project.

On the Street.....The Dogwalker, NYC

This is what I call real personal style because it looks great on her but I'm not sure many other people could pull this off.

On the Street.....Nolita, NYC

On the Street.....Rivington St., NYC

When I'm out shooting I'm constantly looking around for backgrounds in case i run into someone within the next block or so.

Yesterday I was having lunch at Bruschetteria on Rivington - great white bean bruschette.
As I was sitting there I kept looking out at the big empty field across the street and thinking what a great backdrop it would make for a shot.

That LES area is always hit and miss for shooting but when it's good it's usually really good so I decided to just wander around for a while after lunch.

After a few big lazy loops I ended back very close to this spot just as this young lady was heading West on Rivington.

Perfect LES backdrop for a perfect LES look.

On the Street.....Fifth Ave., NYC

Helen Levitt

I was flipping through a new Helen Levitt Book at The Strand yesterday and fell in love with this photo.

So poetic, so New York - those shimmery, fragile perfections hanging out over the open dangerous street just out of reach of these young hands.

I find it beautiful and tragic at the same time.

Viewing Glitch

A few people have mentioned recently that they are having a problem viewing the blog or of an empty space at the top of the page.

I am aware of the problem and I have everyone in my tech department busy working to correcting this issue. ( I even made them cancel their annual kick-boxing grudge match against Team Facehunter so that this would be done asap...but next year Yvan you are going down!!!!!!)

The Shape of Denim, Milan

On the Street.....Park Ave, NYC

People ask "How do you run into the same people in a city as big as New York?"

This young man is a consultant for high-end menswear brands. A big part of his job is to understand what is happening in the American retail market.

Because of that I often see him walking Madison Ave. and when he is dressed like this, it is not hard to miss him (even from two blocks away).

On the Street.....Spring In Her Step, NYC

I was a little frustrated yesterday.

Even though the weather was very nice I didn't get even one shot after about four hours of walking.

Finally I had to give up and go pick-up my little girl from school.

Because I'm a big softie I went to get my little one a cupcake for afterschool snack and boom....there was this young lady in there buying cupcakes for an office birthday party.

Sometimes doing something special for your kids can have a way of working out for you.

Actually this whole crazy ride started with me just taking pictures of my kids. (please don't tell them that though because I will end up paying dearly at birthday time)

On the Street.....Urban Camouflage, NYC

So I am just standing on the street talking on my cellphone and right across from me this guy is just standing in a doorway. I guess he is waiting for a friend but he seems totally unaware at how perfect he melts into his surroundings.

The trick here is that the size of the graphics behind him are basically the same scale as the graphics on his hoodie.

I don't know if this is a typical "Sartorialist" shot but when I see something like this I just have to take the shot.

On the Street.....She Gets It, NYC

Apparently this young lady works at the Marc Jacobs Kids store in the West Village.

I think her outfit is adorable but I was even more impressed when she told me that all the pieces she was wearing were from the kids store size 12.

The top is actually a dress that was ,of course, too short. She fell in love with the stitching detail on the waist of the skirt but again the skirt was too short so she bought two skirts and sewed on the extra ruffle by herself. The sewing she did was not perfect, not couture, the seams are not overlocked or taped but it works.

To me this is a big part of what The Sartorialist is about.
She was able to see past what something was and was able to get excited about what something could be.
The skirt wasn't wrong it just wasn't right for her....yet.

On the Street.....Outside APC, NYC

I saw him walking over to sit down and what really struck me about his look was the simple pleating detail on the back of the jacket had created a very strong V-shape silhouette.

Maybe the sweatshirt underneath helped build up the shoulder and the super slim jeans helped finish off the vision but in that moment I had an instant flashback to Mugler/Montana with a little Thriller (in blue) thrown in.

It's funny how certain silhouettes can just disappear for a while and when you unexpectedly see them again it really kinda shocks your eye.


It's been quite a while since we've seen a strong shoulder actually make its way to the street..

Time.com's First Annual Blog Index

I'm honored to have been selected as one of Time.com's Top 25 Blogs.

This list is comprised of some pretty big-time blogworld players. My inclusion is a testament to the strength of a simple idea and what can happen when a group of smart, respectful, reasonably like-minded people come together to discuss something as simple as personal style.

I share this honor with all of you.

Thank you

Here is a link to the article.
Time.com's First Annual Blog Index



I was also recently named #20 on The Guardian's list of The World's 50 Most Powerful Blogs
Ditto everything I just said above but in an English accent.

On the Street.....Prince St., NYC