blogbomb, re: boston

Posted: March 8th, 2012 | Author: jshuang | Filed under: blog, guestblogger, personal style, projects, Uncategorized | No Comments »

hi everyone, blogbombing from los angeles. my good friends here at fashion fix thought that i might be able to support their cause from across the country by talking to some interesting people about art, music, design, style, inspiration, change…right on. what you’ll find in this series: photography & at least the first ten questions that pop into my mind in the process. i can’t guarantee that you’ll be any wiser, but i sure hope that this motivates you to think more creatively about what style means & can be. if you have any questions, comments or suggestions going forward, just holler.

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guest 1: b.oh | boston
quick stats:
+ male
+ 25 yo
+ pursuing MA in global development economics from boston university
+ in five years will be: working in the development field. somehow.

1. If you had to have your entire wardrobe from just one brand, what would it be?

It might be a boring answer, but probably J. Crew. They cover all the bases and have done a good job of walking the line between casual and dressy while still injecting some ruggedness with vintage workwear pieces. They also curate a lot of great third party brands like The Hill-Side, Quoddy, and Saturdays.

2. Which designer do you wish was your best friend?
I don’t think I’m aware enough of designers’ personalities to make the distinction of who I’d enjoy having a beer with. That said, I have been reading more about Emil and Sandy Corsillo, the brothers behind The Hill-Side and Hickoree‘s (their collection of all American made menswear) and they just seem like really hard working, down to Earth guys that just happen to love vintage fabrics and hand made goods. There was a recent profile of their new store in the NY Times about them and they’re portrayed as some of the last dignified hipsters in Williamsburg without any of the triteness of what’s become of that culture today.

3. What is your most treasured item in your closet?
Going purely in terms of how often I wear something, it would probably be a blue chambray utility shirt. It goes with everything, dressed up or down, and looks better with age. It’s a staple for me year round.

4. What is one item that you wish you had but can’t afford?

At this point, being a poor grad student, it would be a nice tailored suit. It’s kind of a giant hole in my fashion repertoire, but the last time I bought a suit was, I think, in 2007. Near the end of college and I was still clinging to the hope that baggy clothes were still cool. As soon as I have some form of income, I’m going to go out and buy a suit (and depending on how much income, maybe a pair of Aldens to match).

5. If you had to pick a song to represent your style, what would it be?
“There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere)” by Radiohead. I can’t say exactly why I think so, but sometimes I’ll be walking somewhere with this song on my iPod and it’ll feel right, like that song was scored for that particular scene. Thom Yorke’s vocals are, as always, loping and mellow, but the drums keep an upbeat, but measured pace to the song. I guess I can try to characterize myself as a similar juxtaposition of cool and intense, but I might be giving myself more credit than I deserve. I am not as cool as Radiohead.

6. Do you have any bad fashion habits?
I never learned to tie a knot other than the four-in-hand. It’s become my favorite knot, but I refuse to learn how to tie a WIndsor or a Double or anything else. The downside is when a wider knot or more formal look is needed, I can look sloppier than usual.

7. What is one thing that you wish were socially acceptable?
Eating an entire pizza in one sitting. I have gotten a wide range of reactions for this and a very small percentage of these has been of people being impressed.

8. Pick one artist, musician, designer, photographer, etc., that inspires your personal style.
The first thing that comes to mind is the recent movie, “Drive.” Maybe not a lifelong influence, but it was just so saturated with cool and Ryan Gosling was badass. Not that I could pull off a gold, metallic, scorpion embroidered jacket, but I’ll try my best. Gosling makes the plain white tee and jeans as cool as Brando did.

9. What style faux pas do you judge people the most for?
This isn’t special, but just when people wear ill fitting clothes. It’s the easiest thing to do to look better, but so many people neglect it. Having been one of those people in the past, I’m acutely aware of the difference it makes.

10. Fill in the blank: I love it when a woman wears ____.
Blazers. Or ties. Or menswear  in general. There’s just something very alluring about a woman that can wear masculine clothes and retain her femininity.

10.5. Which cartoon/animated character has the best style?
Hey Arnold. He was a hipster years ahead of time. Plaid shirt and a sweater everyday with the eyes half closed expression of someone that doesn’t care what society wants of them. Hey Arnold was a pioneer.

11-20-2011 JS