Code Of The Streets Or I Did It My Way

Biggie Smalls in US six-color desert camouflage photographed by Martina Hoogland in 1997

A Yankee fitted, Chuck Taylors, polo shirt, selvedge denim, military jacket... Baseball, basketball, polo, mining, military... Timeless staples of America. What makes this country what it is, is the blending of cultures. What makes New York what it is, is the blending of cultures. What makes style what it is, is the blending of cultures. This whole idea of "authenticism" in style is the complete opposite of what style is. Style is sampling. Style isn't a costume. It's a re-appropriation of cultures by the *individual.

* Biggie and The Clash's frontman Joe Strummer never served in any kind of military outfit... yet they wore them all the time. (Next level word play.) Militant authenticity would never be questioned for these icons, nor should it. They are authentically cool and forever timeless.

Individualism is at the core of style. Losing self-identity in the search to be "cool," fashionable, or on trend is an incredibly strange phenomenon. What makes us human is the desire to be a part of community, to fit in, but sadly often times we sacrifice a little bit of ourselves in order to achieve that goal. And no matter how much money you have there isn't a price of admission to true style.

Ironically, at the end of the day the masses celebrate the rebel. The outsider that didn't fit in. The one that didn't give a fuck about being authentic. He knew who he was and didn't have to prove it to anybody except himself. He stole from whoever he felt like stealing from and never apologized for it. He didn't wait for a magazine, a trend forecaster, or a fucking blog to tell him what time it was. He always knew the time. And was merely waiting for tomorrow for everyone else to catch up... And didn't care if they ever did.

If he wore a baseball cap he didn't worry about whether he was an authentic baseball player. The idea sounds pretty ridiculous in itself. So the next time someone questions your authenticity, your swagger, or what you've sampled to create your own individual style... tell them to go Straight to Hell...

Comments

[Mighty Crown]

well done!

[JukeboxLuke]

I was just talking to Amy Ray (from Indigo Girls) about this. She came to town a few weeks ago and we laughed because she'd only brought camo pants and combat boots and we ended up hanging out with a guy who was very ex-military. He said he was actually comforted to see civilians in camo, he'd felt so isolated for so long, so separate from society that it sort of brought those worlds together for him when he got home. That was my interpretation.

I find myself falling foul of this all of the time, I've made some awkward choices that seemed natural at the time. I used to live and work on an Indian reservation and slipped into wearing cowboy boots, lots of denim and leather and aviator shades. Eventually no one wanted to go anywhere with me because I looked like this cowboy fed. I learned my lesson with that one...sort of.

It's true about the outsider. I say "do it." (As long as you're culturally aware!)

[rain]

Love it.
Cheers, Jake!

[Jake Davis]

Ralph Lauren used to get made fun of for his cowboy garb when he was young in the Bronx. I think he's having the last laugh.

I was having a conversation with Mister Mort at the Beatrice this weekend about how amazing this look is...

http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/2199TentMisterMortWeb.jpg

And how some people didn't get it because it wasn't full trad. Supreme camo pants go with a tweed blazer because it's authentic to Mister Mort. Respect. Check him out here if you haven't already...

http://mistermort.typepad.com/

[JP]

Preach it.

[JukeboxLuke]

I did spot this look when Scott posted it. It took me back to my days at boarding school in England. I would wear camo pants and either a black turtleneck or a flannel shirt and a tan corduroy blazer. We didn't have a uniform, but I sure did. Mistor Mort's Barbour is an excellent touch! I didn't get one of those until university. Great posts!

[R Hood]

- "Nothing is orginal. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration and fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to you soul. If you do thism your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: "Its not where you take things from - its where you take them to." - Jim Jarmusch

[jonathan]

I totally agree. It's way more about the person wearing the clothes than the clothes themselves. Just don't try too hard...

[Marcus Troy]

Just great! Style is about paying attention.

Macus Troy

[ad]

Let's get it Jake!

pushin' truth like no one else around here

[Chris Mueller]

Jake,

Thank you for raising this point. Quality post again, brotha. I want to push this conversation further.

I agree with your sentiments; of style as the blending of cultures, as sampling, and style innovation via appropriation. This is a linguistic perspective; of style as linguistic medium, and as the orchestration and expression of this semiotic language, in a widely varied discourse. This is only one lens through which to understand this notion of authenticity, and without bringing light to other perspectives, it leaves the conversation short.

There has to be close attention paid to the power of context, and the historical, social, and cultural contexts in which meanings are encoded through stylistic choices, and the physical and material forms that style works upon when it threads its way into the fabric of culture. And we're going beyond textile here, to include skin, hair, and the nuanced manifestations of the spirit, i.e. how you walk, talk, etc.

With that said, we'd do well to look through the spiritual lens, in which we'd reason that style can also be born out of the "essence" of the individual and/or group. This would include the beliefs, morals, values, opinions, self-knowledge, and other knowledge (cultural, historical, social, etc) that inform our stylistic choices. I think this is the point at which we distinguish the authentic from the inauthentic, which you alluded to in the latter part of your post.

You said, "Ironically, at the end of the day the masses celebrate the rebel. The outsider that didn't fit in. The one that didn't give a fuck about being authentic. He knew who he was and didn't have to prove it to anybody except himself." That's an excellent point, though it seems to counteract a point you made previously, that "This whole idea of 'authenticism' in style is the complete opposite of what style is. Style is sampling. Style isn't a costume. It's a re-appropriation of cultures by the *individual."

If style were simply sampling, we wouldn't revere the rebel with such high regard. We revere them because they went to war with mediocrity, convention, uniformity, and the status quo. We celebrate the outsider because the substance informs the style, not the other way around. Why else would Ivy Style and G. Bruce Boyer agree on this: "IS: We live in an inauthentic world. BB: That’s exactly it. There’s a lot of style and no substance, and that’s what we’ve come to. The clothing doesn’t reflect what it used to."

Today many people do it backwards. They dress up the surface and have little to no substance to correlate with the cultural, social, historical and spiritual implications of the aesthetic. This is why we pull their authenticity card. And we are just to do it.

If you wore an Angela Davis tee, afro spread wide across your chest, but had zero awareness of the history of Blacks' struggle for power, and how the picked out afro signifies that struggle, you'd appear ignorant. It's the equivalent to using big words and having no idea what they mean.

So in ironing this idea out as I type, I think we've come to a safe conclusion: that "authentic" style is having some degree of correlation between who you are, what you know and how you appear. Sure, you can appropriate and sample freely, but we give more credit to those that possess self-knowledge and actualize it fluidly.

What are your thoughts?

Chris Mueller

[ad]

^ damn long essay

[rain]

Style plays into making films, music...everything artistic - style is more than 'just' clothes. One has to be one's own authentic self. Otherwise, what's the point?

[Alex]

Made me think of:

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.’”

Jim Jarmusch

(B) for Blog
http://www.createbuilddestroy.com/wordpress

[Vinny]

Brilliant post Jake.

Re Chris: Perhaps we have a student of Barthes here? Much of what you brought up is in fact what Barthes discusses in his "The Language of Fashion." I think you have to distinguish between style and fashion however. Fashion, if read as text, is indeed a semiotic language. Although I can't really tell you what style is (I don't know if anyone really could to be honest), I think associating "style" with "fashion" under privileges the broader meaning of the word. It seems Godard said it best when he stated, "Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul." Then perhaps style is innate, or perhaps it is learned, or perhaps it is part nature part nurture. Regardless though, style is embedded in who we are, and once cultivated remains somewhat solidified (in my belief at least). Fashion is ever changing, and if the claim that fashion is a semiotic culture holds true, then fashion merely signifies and resignifies myth after myth.

Anyway, those are just some random musings. Again Jake, such a thought-provoking post - thank you for that!

[Chris Mueller]

Vinny! Thank you for that. Its funny you mention Barthes, and that specific title, because I've been meaning to purchase it for months now. I have a pile of about 30 books sitting next to my bed that I need to read before I can really justify buying more. I agree with your assessment, and I know Barthes will help bring clarity to these ideas.

In re-visiting this idea of style, I think it emerges from the spiritual realm, the imagination, our worldview, the biological, the behavioral, self-knowledge, culture, the contexts that influence us, human interaction, and many more places. Ultimately it manifests in physical form, as we can agree.

Nonetheless, I appreciate your response. And indeed to Jake for raising a great topic.

Peace!

[Mordechai]

good stuff

[moncler]

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Thank you for that. Its funny you mention Barthes, and that specific title, because I've been meaning to purchase it for months now. I have a pile of about 30 books sitting next to my bed that I need to read before I can really justify buying more. I agree with your assessment, and I know Barthes will help bring clarity to these ideas.

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