all photos: Chris Svetlik

Filmmaker Eric Brewer's (of Dissident Display) attention to detail isn't simply reflected in his clothing; It's also in his home. As soon as we left his warm and relaxing place, photographer Chris Svetlik expressed how inspired he felt. "Frankly stated, his house is among the cooler I’ve ever seen. Great vintage furniture, cool artifacts, and all soundtracked by the constant soft play of great music," he later wrote in his blog. Here are a few words I shared with the Best Dressed List:DC finalist himself.

BYT: How would you describe your style?

Eric Brewer: It’s probably changed the last couple years, but…For me, I used to kind of describe it as mod from, you know, the 60s, the 60s era…London mod. But, no way am I that subscribing to a certain era or look…but, aspects of an era that made sense to me. So…vintage, post-modern vintage with, I guess, a tailored aesthetic, as much as possible.

BTY: Would you say that you’re a planner in terms of putting together outfits?

EB: I love to be a planner.  Like, every time I take a shower, I get in the shower, I’m thinking, I’m going to plan in my mind what I’m going to wear….But, I kind of enjoy the shower too much and have five minutes to throw something on.  So, I don’t plan, but what I try to focus on is having enough things to where I kind of can’t go wrong….which means I shop a lot.

BTY: Right, you need those choices.

EB: Yeah! Yeah…

BTY: What is the weirdest thing in your closet?

EB: The weirdest thing…I have two floor-length, leather trench coats that are, you know, sort of superfly, Shaft…And some things that, I guess to go with that I definitely have these 70s polyester pants and things like that…that are perfect for a Halloween outfit, but not clownish…I think you could wear it on a regular day, if you can pull it off.

BTY: What color are they?

EB: The polyester pants are like electric blue.

BTY: That’s so great.

EB: Like, electric. They’re one of the first pair of vintage pants I ever bought.

BYT: You enjoy vintage shopping?

EB: Yeah, I love it.

BYT: Do you have a favorite spot?

EB: Moonshadow in Tokoma Park is probably one of my favorite places. I’ve had a lot of luck there and the lady there is just a gem, because she has an eye. When she goes out looking for things, she has me in mind sometimes, because I frequent it so much.

BYT: Amazing…

EB: Yeah! I’m kind of lucky that way. So, she’ll call me and she’ll say, "I have…" Like, that’s what happened with one of my leather coats. She’s like, "I have this leather coat that you’ve got to look at." So, I went and checked it out. She’s like, "I know it’s going to fit you blah blah blah…" And I’ve found some really cool pieces there that are, like, favorites.

BTY: Where would you say you spend most of your money? Are you a shoe person?

EB: Well, men’s shoes…if you shop, they’re expensive…like a quality shoe. If you get something in this city that’s sort of in fashion, you have to spend some money. I don’t know if it’s different with women’s shoes, but it’s so easily to tell with men’s shoes if it’s really cheap…

BTY: Or not…

EB: Or not. So, I did spend some good money on some shoes in the last couple of years that, you know, I except to hold up, they’ll be timeless and they’re comfortable, which is most important. But, I’m really all around…I don’t know if I have a special- well, I guess ties, I spend a lot of money on. I spend a lot of money on ties….I don’t know. I just learn to not focus on anything in particular, but I also went through a lot of jacket phases for sure. I couldn’t get off the idea of having a new leather jacket, like, every other month or something….Vintage, you know. Just because they’re so cheap. You get great quality for like nothing…That feeling is addictive.

BTY: You talked about things being "in fashion." How do you determine that?

EB: Ummm…I read GQ, I read Details Magazine and that helps sort of give you a perspective…what the designers are doing for every season. And I used to hate it, because they would say you can’t wear this anymore or can’t wear that anymore.

BYT: The ins and outs…

EB: Yeah, the ins and outs. I hate that kind of stuff. But then, for one season you end up buying the trendy shoe or whatever and you know you absolutely look ridiculous a couple years later…but they’re comfortable and you don’t want to let them go. But you have to…You absolutely have to let them go. And a lot of guys don’t want to be told you can’t wear this or that. So now, I think I’m at this point where I hope to be buying the sorts of things that aren’t as much trendy as they are classically styled.

BYT: Timeless…

EB: Yeah, and timeless. And it helps that, I think, we’re in an era of fashion that goes back to classic styles, like the 50s. Those guys never stopped looking cool. Never once did you look at Sinatra in the 50s and think, he looks out of style.

BYT: That’s what Jake from US Royalty was saying in their interview, that it’s going back to the 50s.

EB: Yeah, and that’s great, because I can imagine not changing my style for the next 30 years and being one of those old guys that people look at and think, that guy has classic style.

BYT: What’s your fashion pet peeve?

EB: Baggy clothes. Like, that whole baggy, super baggy hip hop era.

BYT: For both men and women?

EB: Well, women sort of got out of it a lot sooner than men.

BYT: I’m imagining Aaliyah. She looked cool.

EB: Yeah…It’s really men. Like, they can’t let go of that sort of hip hop aesthetic…the jeans are really baggy, the sneakers are big…you see these people, they look like their clothes are just dripped on them. That was sort of considered mocho for the longest time…until certain rap icons or whatever started taking chances and were more in tune with what was happening outside the rap world. So that’s sort of a pet peeve…

BYT: What about women?

EB: Women more so than men that’s a pet peeve is women with brand name objects. So, they’re paying more attention to status associated clothing than having actual creative flare. And you see that a lot in certain groups, demographics. Oh if I buy this bag, I’m suddenly cool. And they don’t have any sort of idea what fashion is really about or how to be creative with it. It’s a shame, because they’ll spend money to look safe. So, anything that’s not, sort of, creative, but just follows the pack.

BYT: How are you creative with fashion?

EB: I look at how colors can go together and how fabrics can go together….You have to think more like a creative designer outside of clothing. Like, what sort of colors just look well. And you’ll never see them on the mannequins or advertisements. Sometimes you’ll see them in shoots in magazines, but just start laying colors next to one another and see if they work…Fashion is an easy method of creativity. You just, sort of, buy the color that you want instead of fixing it. And you match it.

EB: What do you think is the ultimate New Years outfit?

BYT: Depends on what party you go to…You know what it is? Something you’re not going to be upset about when the jerk sitting next to you with a cup of beer, and he’s wasted, spills it on you, and it won’t ruin the beginning of your year. That’s the perfect outfit. Seriously…

Check out finalist Holly Thomas' style profile here. And come back for more!