#jasperl

[tench]

First you need a gem at the core of your being.  Then you need a body that can turn into light.  Then you need a partner you can trust with that light. 

[nomanwalksalone]

INDIGO WITCHES

by Jasper Lipton

There’s a difference between plain old ‘blue’ and indigo. Good indigo has a richness and a shine to it; an iridescence that connotes sea and sky. Good indigo makes you dream of mortars and pestles in small cottages; of scoured deserts; of midnight and flowers and green, growing things. It’s a color that’s full of life, and full of power. It’s my firm belief that no self-respecting witch would ever wear black. Oh, no; there’s no better color for getting down and sky-clad with the local coven than indigo.

Fitting, for a dye that, for centuries, was associated with royalty worldwide - with magic and religion, even; I’m talking Pharaonic embalming, cuneiform dye recipes, or Vishnu - before the invention of synthetic indigo turned it into the color of blue-collar workers. This means that whatever your own internal fantasy, be it 20th-century French industrial worker or Edo-era farmer, indigo has you covered. And that fantasy comes in part from the process historically required to produce the dye. Once the dried leaves of various plants (the well-known Indigofera tinctoria being just one of several species used to create the indigo color, although indigo-producing plants are found - and have been cultivated - all over the globe) have been harvested, they must be soaked and fermented. Skeins of fabric are then dipped into vats the color of the sky behind a full moon - upon removal, the color starts out green; reminiscent of oxidized copper, and slowly turns to blue over time. I’ve been lucky enough to do this by hand - it’s an incredible transformation to watch, and really does feel a bit like witchcraft.

Not all of the magic’s in the dyeing. The finished product, if it’s done well, is equally impressive. Indigo is a dynamic color, and as it ages it only becomes more beautiful. I’m not just talking about denim, because there’s more to indigo than a contrasting warp and weft. Part of indigo’s beauty is in the wonderful variation in tone that the dye can exhibit: as indigo-dyed fabrics fade you might find ocean blues or greens, storm-grays and delicate purples. Take a look at what brands like Blue Blue Japan or Post-Imperial are doing with natural dyes (and with well-done synthetic applications, sometimes), and you’ll realize that the blue clothes you’ve been wearing aren’t really blue at all, they’re just some boring shade of not-quite-indigo. No, if you’re going to commune with the stars, you’ll need the proper threads - which you’ll remove later while howling at the moon, of course.

[nomanwalksalone]

FIVE GIFT IDEAS: JASPER LIPTON

Jasper Lipton is a rare individual. He is Styleforum’s editor-in-chief, has been to Pitti Uomo more times than he has neckties, Instagrams as child_of_scorn (and its mate disdain?), and has even written for the No Man blog. And yet he gives every appearance of being a well-adjusted person. He once even mentioned having a girlfriend, although I’m pretty sure that was fake. Anyway, here are his gift picks from the No Man store.

1) Document Shawl Collar Robe Coat.

Jasper’s Notes: I am all about outerwear like this. It looks great, it’s warm, and it’s impressively cozy. Since I skew towards the streetwear end of the style spectrum, I’d wear it with a long, band-collar shirt (hey, Camoshita!), and some trousers and shoes that would take the louche silhouette and just roll with it (Geller flight pants, I’m looking at you). If you’re gonna be a #CozyBoy, you might as well go all-out. Wear it over a tee and you’re gonna like the way you look. I Guarantee It.

2) Frank Leder Great Coat.

Jasper’s Notes: If you’re not going to go for the robe-coat, then take a look at the opposite end of the spectrum: specifically, this Frank Leder great coat. It’s a coat that would look perfectly at home in a fantasy from another era; maybe a story involving a charcoal-burner and a lady with a fox’s tail. Plus, despite that huge lapel and masculine cut, it’s essentially a really thick wool blanket masquerading as a coat.

3) Kanata Hand-Knit Cardigan.

Jasper’s Notes: Here’s a not-very-secret secret: a Kanata knit like this one is just about the best deal you can hope to find on a Cowichan of this quality. Stunning wools, beautiful patterns, and wonderful heft make these pieces more like heirlooms than clothing. Seriously, buy one. They’re so manly it almost hurts.

4) Niche Delgado Trousers.

Jasper’s Notes: I’ve been looking for a pair of pants with this exact cut for years now: cropped and tapered, they’re one part Patagonian horseman and one-part down-on-his-luck aristocrat. If you can fit into them, they’re damn near the best pair of pants I’ve seen in a while. And if you wear them with a tall boot, so that the hem falls halfway down the shaft, you’ll look like the coolest no-name this side of Tatooine.

5) Buttero Distressed Side-Zip Boot.

Jasper’s Notes: Speaking of boots, I’ve just realized that this pair from Buttero would go perfectly with the trousers I just finished talking about. How about that? Of course, they’ll also look great with well-worn jeans (blue or olive!) - or, if you’re Kyle, you could probably wear them with shorts and tube socks and look smashing. If you don’t have the necessary confidence in your ManLeg to pull of that particular look, don’t worry - the beautiful waxed leather will more than make up for your pale, hairy limbs.

[nomanwalksalone]

THE DELIGHTS AND DANGERS OF WEARING WHITE

by Jasper L

If you’re a regular patron of No Man Walks Alone, my guess is that you’re a man who enjoys the curiosities of clothing and style as much as the clothing itself. And, that being the case, you’ve probably read one of the innumerable articles on the invention of the “No White After Labor Day” rule (feel free to Google) for tailored clothing. I, however, am going to ignore the very existence of that rule, since 1) Who cares? and 2) I don’t wear suits and ties anyway.

Let’s start from the bottom up: white pants with a jacket are, of course, excellent for warm nights, but white jeans are also an excellent alternative to your usual dark slacks or jeans. My only tip is to avoid an overly skinny cut, because you’ll probably be wearing them in the heat (skinny denim is no fun in any kind of humidity), and because white’s not as slimming a color as black or even blue. A slim white trouser, such as these from Big John, are flattering without veering into weisswurst territory (although they are perfect for wearing while enjoying weisswurst and a cold beer).

White pants also look really good with blue shirts (themselves very good for summer), and with shoes or boots of just about any color. Crop them and wear with sockless loafers if you want people to think you’re a jerk; let them stack atop your slim boots if you want people to think you’re a musician - but don’t stack on top your loafers, please.

White also looks great with olive green, which is a combination that moves the look towards multi-pocketed travel journalist and/or Pretend Safari-Goer, neither of which is a bad goal. Wearing white pants with chukkas and an olive fatigue jacket is an excellent way to let your peers know that you are much more worldly than they are. Or invert the same look - for example, with a Niche “Paraguas” pullover and Monitaly tent-fabric fatigue shorts (keep the chukkas on) - to make any naturalist or urban revolutionary proud. Don’t forget your neckerchief.

Wearing white does present challenges. The greatest of those is stains. Food stains in particular. I don’t blink at the occasional dirt-stripe or paint fleck, especially on a pair of white pants or trousers, but a ketchup stain on your chest (or thigh) isn’t a good look. Eat the burger, but use a napkin.

The other, more minor danger is that if you’re wearing all white casual clothes, you can end up looking like a house painter. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a house painter. It’s just something I have to warn you about, like the whole Carmen San Diego issue with wearing all red - learned that one the hard way, so if anyone wants to buy a red trench coat, let’s work something out. Anyway, instead of a white t-shirt, white pants, and white sneakers, add a sharper element, like the aforementioned slim boot. That way, when your clothes inevitably get dirty, you can just brush it off as summertime sprezz.

[nomanwalksalone]

CLOTHES BEYOND BEDSHEETS: AN INTERVIEW WITH GHOSTFACE

by Jasper L

It’s rare to find someone who blends styles, silhouettes and designers with as much whimsy and as much ease as Styleforum’s ghostface. He has an incredible eye both for texture and for color - and he’s perhaps unsurprisingly erudite, which comes across in his responses to interview questions as well as in the way he dresses. 

What drew you to clothing? Did you have a long gestation period, or did you roll out of bed one day and think, "You know what, I need a change"?

I’ve always been drawn to beautiful natural materials, weird textures, clean lines, and organic shapes. The earliest manifestations of that attraction drew me to alpine mountain environments and, when back in civilization, to amateur interior design. In both cases I was seeking and finding a certain kind of aesthetic experience, a sense of harmony that included elements of risk and imperfection. It was only natural for this interest to spread eventually to clothing, since choosing what to put on our bodies is just a more intimate, direct version of shaping our personal environments. But I only made that transition in a deliberate way five or so years ago. I suppose that does make it a long gestation period.  

One of the things that No Man Walks Alone has discussed in the past is dressing in a manner that suits your context. Is this something that you consider?

Absolutely. I’ve been working on a Ph.D. in philosophy over the past few years, so I have no real constraints on what I wear. I could dress in a folded bed sheet and no one would tell me to stop. But I do dress differently on the days when I’m teaching, or when I’m presenting a paper, than on the days when I’m just writing in a café. One part of that choice comes from the recognition that clothes have meanings for the people with whom you’re interacting, however contingent those meanings may be (2000 years ago, of course, a single sheet of fabric would have been a fine uniform for a day of cultivating young minds). Another part is that dressing within a given set of constraints can allow for different types of creativity or playfulness than you could achieve with no constraints whatsoever.

You’re very happy to play with colors - sometimes many at once. How do you make sure you don’t come out looking too busy?

Hmmm, I guess I just look in the mirror and make a judgment? I’m something of a minimalist at heart, so I normally want colors and textures to complement each other such that everything hangs together in a kind of organic, coherent whole. 

Let’s go the other direction - you also seem quite at home in black. What place do black garments hold in your wardrobe?

Yeah, black is very central to my wardrobe. I wear black pants probably four out of five days. That’s partly just to keep the color palette from becoming overwhelming. But I will also wear all black, or something close to it, when I want to emphasize form or silhouette. Black doesn’t have quite the same cultural cache it once did—identifying the outsider, the rebel, the mysterious stranger—since so many regular style-conscious people have recognized how good it can look, but it is still a very powerful “color,” aesthetically speaking.

Do you have a general approach or focus when you’re getting dressed?

I’m sure I dress according to mood to some extent, though I think that operates as a kind of subconscious filter rather than a kind of conscious, deliberate method. I’ll wear more colorful or experimental things on days when I’m feeling more outgoing, and vice versa.

Is there a particular set of inspirations - a time period, a design movement - that you look towards for inspiration?

A lot of my Comme des Garcons jackets reference 19th century peasant-wear, but with a Japanese twist. There’s a strong connection here to wabi-sabi—a kind of weathered elegance, an embrace of imperfection and impermanence—and also a reference to a time and place when people had a different, perhaps more intimate relationship with nature and with personal objects. I’m also interested in various kinds of monastic uniforms. On the other side of things, I’m also drawn to the work of designers like Helmut Lang and Rick Owens that seems to reference a near-future dystopia. There’s also a connection to impermanence here, though in a more pessimistic vein.  

[nomanwalksalone]

DE-CODED DRESS

by Jasper L

You’ve cultivated your business wardrobe, you’ve spent hours and hours matching fabrics and taking measurements and reading up on tailoring traditions, and at last - at last! - you’ve nailed it. You cut a fine figure at the office, you wear a suit like a second skin, your ties are complementary and oft-complimented. But Friday afternoon leaves you at a loss, and by the time it’s the season for barbecues and weekend brunches (or wintry evenings on the town), you’ve backed yourself into a corner, unsure what to do when not dressing for business. There is a vast world that lies between hard science of business attire and the clockwork slump of chino shorts, old college tees and flip-flops. It’s less prescriptive than the Church of the Suit and Tie, less focused on rules and regulations, but equally enthralling, and equally full of beauty and expression.

Constraints, such as those we might find in the office, can allow room for personality and can even allow a measure of creativity to blossom. However, I find myself at my most expressive - and by extension, my most stylish - when I’m not clothing myself in order to impress or to fulfill an institutionalized requirement, when I’ve got the time and the desire to think about and enjoy what I’m wearing. It’s equal parts self-expression and self-discovery. Yes, we all have to make tradeoffs for the sake of social convention, but we all wear a multitude of masks as we walk through life, and the one you wear while at the office isn’t the only one that defines you.

There is no single measure of stylistic success - style is less an entrance exam than it is a way of being. The pursuit of a single ideal - whether in art, in business, or in dress - can lead to stagnation as often as it leads to genius. Weekend clothes are cool for all the same reasons that work clothes are cool. They can make you look and feel great, they can be well-made, they can help you present yourself as you want others to see you, and they can open your eyes to new aesthetic traditions and new interpretations of beauty. You can get as much pleasure out of wearing weekend clothes as work clothes. In the pursuit of - and because of - those pleasures, you may find a new aesthetic, and embracing that pursuit may teach you something about yourself.