Some style lessons from Gerard Basquiat, a Haitian immigrant whose son helped define the New York art scene and neo-expressionism. 🧵
In tailoring, the term "gorge" refers to the seam that connects a jacket's collar to its lapels. This determines the shape and placement of the lapel's notch. The most classic placement creates a horizontal line running from the notch to the collar points.
As a counter reaction to 1990s Armani, which had excessively low gorges, men's tailoring has seen gorges creep up over the last 20 years. It's not uncommon to see a notch lapel almost sitting on top of the shoulder. Or peak lapels flying off the shoulder.
Something interesting about Gerard Basquiat's tailoring is that he always wore a notch that was basically level with his collar points. In this way, the notch is never too high or low; it's just classic. Compare to Ted Cruz's overly high gorge.
Interestingly, Gerard carried this proportion into the later part of his life, bucking ready-to-wear trends. This again looks very tasteful (compare to the peak lapel a bit up-thread, which was flying off someone's shoulder).
People often think about clothes just in terms of sizes (small, medium, large). But a more defining aspect is their shape. Gerard's tailoring had tremendous shape, as evidence in the lapel's roll at the buttoning point. Compare to Cruz's lapel, which is pressed flat like panini
Men are often reluctant to wear a higher-rise trouser because they don't want to look like an old man. But in a tailored outfit, the trouser rise serves a function: it covers up the bit of shirt fabric that would otherwise peek out from beneath the coat's buttoning point.
A suit is simply a garment where the jacket and pants have been made from the same cloth. This should create a coherent whole. When shirt fabric flashes beneath the jacket's buttoning point, it disrupts the line and spoils the sense of elegance.
Gerard's sense of elegance is carried into his accessories. When wearing dark worsted suits, Gerard wore small dress watches on a leather strap. This looks much better than chunky sport watches, such as Cruz's Tag Heuer chronograph, which are better for casualwear.
I suspect Gerard wore a Cartier Tank. His son's friend, Andy Warhol, also famously wore a Tank, once quoted as saying: “I don't wear a Tank to tell the time. In fact, I never wind it. I wear a Tank because it's the watch to wear.” Maybe Gerard suggested the style to him.
Gerard's sense of quiet sophistication is also reflected in his ties. This spotted one reminds me of something Gore Vidal once wore while hanging out with JFK. Very demure, very tasteful.
It's hard to talk about how to choose tasteful ties without spinning out an entire thread. But it's a generally good idea to stay away from overly shiny materials or busy designs. Jacquards, where a pattern has been woven into the silk, can also be dangerous. These are ugly:
Most men today don't wear ties; they often look for ways to dress down tailoring. When doing so, I encourage you to never wear dress shirts with black buttons or contrast linings, as these look cheap and tacky. Go for something more classic, like Gerard's skipper collar polo.
Additionally, when wearing knitwear, consider getting something that's a bit more textured. Texture is an easy way to add visual interest to an outfit, which is helpful when you can't layer with a coat or jacket.
They can also be warmer and more rugged. Here's Gerard wearing a heavy woolen Shaker knit with a collared shirt and cotton pants while feeding his son at a park. A good dad outfit.
Ultimately, you will look great if you choose clothes that fit and flatter, develop an eye for details, and add dimensions such as tasteful textures and patterns when possible.
It also helps to keep clothes clean.
To end, here are some of my favorite photos of Jean-Michel Basquiat. These were taken by Yutaka Sakano in 1983 when the artist was visiting Tokyo. As such, he's also wearing vintage items from Japanese designer Issey Miyake. Note the concept of "shape and drape" here.
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Any time I comment on these shoes, someone replies: "What am I supposed to wear? Those are so comfy!"
This is reasonable. But if you want to wear more traditional footwear, here are some suggestions on how to find a comfortable pair. 🧵
First, nothing is going to be as comfy as sneakers. Those are pillows built on marshmallow clouds. But it's also not true that traditional leather shoes have to be painful. For generations, men wore leather soles for sport and long walks.
In fact, John Lobb of St. James in London still calls some of their derbies "navvy cut." The term navvy is short for navigator, which is a working class laborer during the 19th century who worked on civil engineering projects, such as canals and railways.
I don't think this is exactly right. My guess is that a lot of AI art will be similar to what has happened in the clothing industry: technology speeds up production, benefitting consumers. Only enthusiasts will care if something is made by hand or not. Will give examples. 🧵
I should note this thread doesn't get into ethical issues about copying another person's work. I'm only talking about how I think it will impact the market.
As I've mentioned before, tailoring is about creating shape. For a jacket, a lot of this is done through pad stitching.
Pad stitching is when you pick up multiple layers of material, stitching them together in such a way that you transform 2D cloth into 3D forms. This is done to the jacket's collar, chest, and lapels. You see it demonstrated here.
Spring has started and soon you'll see a bunch of posts like this, extolling the virtues of linen. Once people learn about linen through short, simple blurbs, they think it possess magical properties. But the truth is more complicated.
Let me tell you about linen. 🧵
Clothing production is often opaque, especially for consumers. If you're lucky, a brand might tell you that they use Irish or Italian linen, such these J. Crew shirts that hit shelves every summer, carrying the Baird McNutt label (also, "McNutt" is objectively funny).
Both Irish and Italian mills today source most of their raw materials from outside their own countries, typically from France or the Netherlands. Even the prestigious “Irish Linen” label only requires that the fabric be woven in Ireland, not flax to be grown there.
The most obvs reason is that luxury and streetwear have been merging for the last 20 years. Cristóbal Balenciaga was known for these incredible dresses (pic 1). But in more recent history, creative director Demna Gvasalia, who just left the company, borrows from streetwear.
I actually like streetwear, although I'm not crazy about the top-down, corporate-led version of it in recent years (more about that for another time). A lot of streetwear is heavily logo driven. Look up the history of Dapper Dan, who made these incredible couture creations.
People who have followed me for a while may already know the answer to this. But I will explain again why steam is ruinous for tailoring, and how you can pack a suit. 🧵
To understand why steam is ruinous for tailoring, you have to first understand that suits and sport coats are not like other things in your wardrobe. They are built from many layers of haircloth, canvas, and padding, and then shaped through pad stitching and ironwork.
This is what makes tailoring so special: it's the unique ability to transform 2D cloth into 3D forms. You can read this thread about the difference between low- and high-end tailoring. Hopefully, you will walk away with an appreciation for *shape*
Meghan McCain's husband blocked me, so I can't retweet (also my mom got really excited once when I told her that Meghan McCain's husband tweeted about me). But this sort of attitude is why some people will never be stylish. Let's talk about Bernie Sanders's style. 🧵
When most people think of Bernie Sanders, they think of images like this: a grumpy looking man with uncombed silver hair wearing a suit that looks like it might be a size too large. He looks like a fledgling that has somehow climbed into dark worsted suit.
To them, it's absurd to suggest Bernie is stylish because they only think of style as the language of respectability: put together, middle class, successful, and so forth. As Ben put it, Bernie looks "homeless" (he does not, but the term is reveals Ben's myopia and ignorance).