Men Represent: Essentials mark two

EJ

- Accessories: It's not one of the most used tags on the blog for no reason. They step any outfit up a level and give you an excuse to be a bit eccentric- bow ties and buttonholes anyone?

- Photography books: I love poring over glossy photography books of any era and almost any subject. My favourite in terms of style inspiration is Cecil Beaton portraits. I love tiny details like Gary Cooper's sideburns and more obvious things like suits, poise and posture.

- A pair of killer trainers: my love of Adidas is well documented, but I can have my head turned by all sorts of trainers (and I do mean that literally... it's not uncommon for me to almost smack into people because I'm looking the other way at someone's feet!)

- Superfly hair: tousled or slicked back, I'm not too fussy and I can appreciate guys making almost any sort of effort with their hair (why do so many men just ignore or mismanage their hair??) ...though of course my favourite is a brilliant quiff.

- Galleries: not so much a style essential, but believe me when I say that I couldn't do without them. The National Gallery in London is one of my favourite places to be.


Steve

- Everyday bag - These come in all shapes and sizes and the choice should depend on the day's activities. My current workday bag of choice is my vintage Polaroid bag but I'm also in the hunt for the perfect tote.

- iPhone - I love this piece of technology, it just makes my life a lot easier and is beautiful at the same time.

- Moleskin notepad and any pen I can find. Simple, elegant and just the job. In a fast paced world it is essential to be able to write down an insight, otherwise it might just be lost...if there aren't any insights to be jotted, you can always doodle.

- Borders - A well stocked newsagent is a necessity and Borders is heaven for me. Whenever I have a few minutes to kill in London I head to Borders. Magazines are so important to me, if it wasn't for magazines like The Face and even GQ who knows what I'd be doing right now. I'm a magazine addict and love nothing more than flicking through a new issue of Fantastic Man, 10 Man, Monocle, Man About Town, Nylon Guys, VMan, GQ Style....

- Wallet - The home of the key to all things shiny and new. I can not understand men who don't use a wallet. Mine is a Commes Des Garcons black wallet complete with coin purse.

Gian

We forgot to mention it on the last essentials post but Gian has posted his essentials over on his blog. Go and check them out!

Yvan beware!

Last night I attended the launch party for the Diesel Wall 2008 competition. It's an interesting idea so I'm quite excited to see what they'll come up with... Oh, and details of how to enter are here. May I recommend that you paint a giant portrait of me?

It seemed to be more party than launch (though there were loads of people drawing on the walls of the shop which was pretty cool... I had to stop myself pulling out the felt tip pens when I got home), which gave ample opportunity for me to get a few pics of the (disgustingly) young and trendy people. I felt hideously old and uncool in comparison; must watch more Skins. I should warn you though, I've still not got the hang of my camera yet.

I fell for this chap's boots (Diesel from a few season ago apparently), but didn't quite manage to get a good shot of them. You'll have to trust me on this one.
I think this bloke may have been my favourite person there. He was busy drawing on the wall when I asked to take his photo, fervently expressing my love for his quiff. He had some quite excellent glasses (as did quite a few people, actually. Almost enough to make me consider wearing glasses again)
Just brilliant. I think I scared him a little though. UPDATE: This man's work can be found on his Flickr page here. Turns out I have taken pictures of his work before. It's a small, er, Manchester after all.
I had to get a snap of this bloke (who was lovely by the way) as not only is he rocking the slightly unbuttoned white shirt but he's also sporting a rather nice beard. Turns out he was another one of the artists (see below)
This photo does not do this guy's quiff justice. I was stalking around after him for about half the night until I cornered him on the stairs.
Yet more awesome glasses... and can you believe I didn't properly clock the guy on the left's tash until after I took the photo?

If you're interested, the rest of my photos are on Flickr. I completely forgot to ask anyone their name as well, so if you met me last night I apologise for this rudeness!

Sod it

I simply cannot be bothered with these complicated outfits any more. From now on I will only wear white shirts unbuttoned with abandon, black trousers and a killer quiff. When I am older, I shall subdue said quiff, and trade the white shirt for a black one.
I shall be Morrissey.

I kid of course. I cannot do without accessories and bright colours. But, for today at least, I'm practising my whithering looks. Who are you channelling today?

There are no words that could make this better than it already is

Well what can I say to that? Truely remarkable. The reactions from the other customers are just great. Just one question though? Am I missing something or did that newly created teddy boy walk out with that quiff creating device still in his hair? Surely not. . I have been doing it all wrong and definitely need some help so I want a quiff creating device for Christmas or failing that my own barber who posseses those skills.

Fighting in the streets - The style of The Clash

Having changed my mind over who to blog about first countless times over the last two days (actually weeks) the tossing and turning is over. In the end it had to combine my two favourite things: music and fashion. So let's start with the Clash.

Bernie Rhodes (the manager) said "There's gonna be a lot of fighting in the streets. Things are going to get rough so we're going to need clothes which are tough." Rhodes approached a number of fashion students to realise his vision of tough streetwear that looked great on stage. Rhodes chose Alex Michon (pictured left in a Clash shirt) who at the time was a 19 year old art student. Her successive waves of militaristic designs have ultimately defined the look of one of the most visually exciting bands. We can also see the influence contemporary influence with brands such as April 77 exploring similar ideas.

You would be misinformed to say that the Clash just wore what they were told to (never a good thing because you have to wear the clothes, not the other way around!). A key facet of their style was the individual inputs from the band members. Simonon (pictured left, and looking awesome!) for example during the early days designed Pollock influenced paint splashes on the clothes and shoes. It is unlikely that I would do that a whole outfit but splattering your accessories, such as tie/pocketsquare/bag would look great. Another example is Joe Strummer adapting the zip jacket designed by Michon and worn at their famous Rainbow gig (April 1977) by stitching a ripped up photo from the Notting Hill carnival onto the side. (I have hunted for images to illustrate these two points but alas i am empty handed so please just imagine it, or better still send me what you find!). What we can take from these examples is; be creative. Look at the clothes you buy and wear, make them yours. Rather than just buying a new item of clothing look at what you already have, can you adapt an old piece that has been sitting in the wardrobe unworn and give it a new lease of life? Currently my to do list involves tapering trousers, adding zips to jumpers and pockets and of course this will all be blogged about no matter how successful or otherwise.

Another part of their style mentality we like is the fact that the individual needs were taken into account for example Strummer had to have a little plectrum pocket inhis trousers and an inside pocket for the books that he always carried with him. At times too many people neglect their individual needs when thinking about the clothes they buy and wear. Granted, not everyone needs special pockets (even though they are cool) but thought about what we do in the clothes we wear has to have an influence on what we actually wear.

Overall when we think about what The Clash wore, we think of primary colours (with plenty of black), stencilled slogans/phrases and of course zips! I currently love black vintage leather biker jackets with a number of chunky zips but the hunt for one that fits as I want it to is proving hard. At the moment House of Holland-esque slogans (especially the typeface) are everywhere and to be honest I am a little tired of them but if witty and or interesting why not add one to an old t-shirt.

We have only really touched on some of things we like, we don't want to bore you this early but it means we will return to this band! For us at Style Salvage clothes (although extremely important) are only one aspect of style. The Clash and in particular Joe Strummer provide ample material in discussions regarding how to style hair...but you will have to wait for that.