An amazing trip to Los Angeles that resulted in new thoughts, new sartorial observations, and lots of new pictures, followed as well by a step towards new and more bold outfit choices for the mean streets of Boston that I have begun to document daily.I have so many new thoughts and pictures and ideas and comments to share with you all that I do believe this is going to extend from one post into many. So, as always, I bid you stay tuned because there will be lots to come.To begin with, I would like to open this post with a quote I came across a while back from London artist and man of fashionable intensity Sebastian Horsley:
"It is better to go to Hell well tailored, than to Heaven in rags."
I couldn't agree more Mr. Horsley. And in fact I think I have begun to agree too much. Perhaps there is something to be said here about living a life free of material things, a life of love and family and friends and goodness and repentance and a guarantee of pearly gates, but hold on... Do you not know your Boy at Sea at all?! This little atheist queer doesn't have time for Heaven and Hell. There are far too many people to meet, friends to love, family to cherish, and suits to search for. So I say, yes, if there is a Hell, and if I am heading there anyways because of my life of sinful non-normativity, than I damn sure I want to be going there in Ralph Lauren Black Label
Alright. I'm not here to discuss Heaven and Hell. I'm here to talk about clothes and styles and trends and the amazing dimensions that female-bodied people are bringing to the man's wardrobe. So, onto L.A.I will tell you right now my fabulous followers, L.A. is huge and so I only just scratched the surface of what it had to offer, but I will tell you I was delightfully surprised by how much I liked it there!
As for the fashion I think I was expecting everyone to be in shorts and loose billowy button downs with small dogs walking about in the scorching sun perfecting their already perfect tans. I was incorrect. For the most part.To begin with the weather there - a breezy 70 during the day and a clear crisp 55 at night - is wonderfully conducive to wearing layers and that was exactly what I saw! In fact people often seemed a bit overdressed with jackets and sweaters and scarves during the middle of the day. But I found that it actually worked out quite wonderfully for me because I was able to wear skinny jeans or jean cutoff shorts (just take your skinny jeans and hack 'em off to just a smidgen above the knee and fold once and you have the latest summer look, my queers and bois) along with a button down, and a pullover sweater with a deep V-neck, perhaps even throw on a simple scarf or a hat and the look was complete but I never felt overwhelmed or overheated.
In the day I could pull off the sweater and as soon as it got cooler I had the layers I needed to keep warm. Not to mention (obviously) the extra layering did wonders for covering my chest and making me feel comfortable but not bulky. A little something like this:
Only for this particular outfit I tossed in a cream-colored knit tie and was wearing a short-sleeve button down with a button collar (the button collar helps provide more stability to hold up the knit tie which can be a bit heavier and make the neck of the shirt sag). The shirt is a little too tight on me when it comes to hiding my chest, but with the sweater on over it provided the extra coverage I needed but I never got too warm. Perfect.Oh me, oh my! My dear queer folk, I am already realizing how much space my thoughts are taking up and I certainly don't want to keep you up too late or distract you from your busy work hours, so I will try to wrap this post up shortly and promise promise promise to bring you the rest of my thoughts sooner rather than later.
A couple final points:
1. The thrifting in L.A. was amazing...like fan-fucking-tastic. At Thank You Mart (where everything, and they mean EVERYTHING is just $3.99 http://www.thankyoumart.com/) I found 2 amazing vintage youth baseball shirts (always priceless when they have funny sponsor names etc) as well as 2 pairs of imitation Ray-Ban sunglasses, which are super trendy right now and I found mine with awesome detailing and for yes, that's right. $3.99. Get with it!
2. I also came across a Buffalo Exchange in the same area http://www.buffaloexchange.com/. Now, my dearest friends of sartorial decadence, if you are hip to my jive, than you know that there is also a Buffalo Exchange here in Boston! Right in Davis Sq. actually, and I do hope you frequent it.But it was wonderful to check it out in L.A and see what the people in that area were turning in for and turning up. I did indeed find some gems. The black V-neck sweater I mentioned earlier I found there. It has a wonderful stripe pattern on the inside of the hood and a second sleeve inside that comes just a bit above the wrist (with the same stripes) so that you can fold back the sleeves together or individually and create a unique look each time. Furthermore, and perhaps the reason I bought it (aside from the fact that it fit super swell and hid what I wanted it to hide) was that on the lapel of the sweater, there was a very small brooch, clearly pinned on and left by the last owner. It is a silver and black gem studded leopard. So strange!! And soooo wonderful! It makes this piece genuinely unique, used, vintage, a bit femmy, and surprisingly studly in my opinion.
I also found there a killer pair of sneakers that look as though they were only worn once! They are men's shoes and in my size no doubt! A true treasure. The shoes are by Gant, a Swiss clothing brand, that is described as traditionally American with European flair. I do love the European flair! (http://www.gant.com/www/northset.html)
Now, I didn't have a chance to take a picture of the shoes, but they will show up in a later post, so keep those peepers peeled. My friend described them as a combination of a bowling shoe, a dress shoe, and a boat shoe. And I would have to agree. They are two-tone tan with some sexy details. I am quite smitten with them.3. The vintage shopping in L.A. is quite different than the thrifting. Grossly more expensive, but the clothes were TO DIE FOR. I do not recommend visiting these stores with the intention of buying (unless you have your first-born or a mortgage on hand) but I DO DO DO recommend going to browse and take in all of the sartorial glamour and bask in the warm welcoming rays of the fine craftsmenship, the most dapper and dandy looks, and clothing that has it's own personality.
HOWEVER, you needy needy queers, you will have to WAIT to hear about those castles of couture because I am TIRED and this post is far too long! So, please, as always, I beg of you to return for the next installment from your Boy at Sea. In fact, I can entice you with a guarentee of pictures from all of the vintage stores I visited. As well as a promise that I am going to start documenting some of my own collaborations of clothes and begin to give you a better feel of exactly what the Boy at Sea leaves the house looking like each morning. Don't lie, you're intrigued.
Well then, you have no choice but to come again. And in the mean time, here's something wonderful and lovely and perfect and ooooh, boy, yup....
Some samples (of various seasons) from Junya Watanabe, a Japanese designer who I think I'm falling a bit in love with. My new swoon-worthy fixation.Good night and sweet dreams friends, stay queer, stay classic...
BaS
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