After Ben’s fashion rant last week that had everyone flaring away, its style soapbox response time:
First, I am going to comment on “not Ben” pictured in Ben’s column . Keffiyeh scarves, Ray-Ban Wayfarers, and buffalo plaid flannel shirts are what I call Uggs for hipsters. These are standard accessories that have become too mainstream to be deemed particularly cool. There is nothing wrong with sporting these styles, but they are basics - nothing more.
Next, allow me to give props to the indie boys of DC that have their shit on right (their shit on tight). I have seen my fare share of lads sporting some ill beat-up shirts circa early 90s grunge era, discontinued vintage Nikes, perfectly torn hats. I am digging your styles, sirs. And those itsy bitsy bikers’ hats are pretty rad too. These boys don’t give a damn about fashion, but they sure as hell know style. And they may not go beyond the thrift store aesthetic, but they know what looks good. Identically, awesomely cute is what they are.
But for every stylish indie boy, there are a handful of poser boys dressed in some gimmicky costume bullshit. Hey guy, I am seriously going to kick you in the ballz if you tell one more person that you found your ironic, two-seasons-too-late, Urban Outfitters graphic shirt at Goodwill. “It’s vintage, I got it for two bucks.” Uh, no. If you shop exclusively at Urban Outfitters, you are not indie; you are a Readymade Hiptard. Remember the Ramones shirts? Yeah, enough said.
This transitions into my thoughts on DURKL. Holy shit the responses to Pandahead’s DURKL interview / were brutal. But I must say - eek, sorry guys - the comments were justified. The competition amongst independent brands that specialize in streetwear is fierce, and any brand that fails to produce the sickest designs will eat it - i.e. DURKL. Let’s just say DURKL is cooler than Urban Outfitters but not nearly as cool as Crooks & Castles, King Stampede, 10 Deep. DURKL is DC’s Dim Mak; their styles are alright, but their shameless self-promotions piss everyone the hell off.
( Side Note: We love DURKL and their shameless self-promotion. We do. -ed)
As for the rest of DC’s indie style scene - the cutesy D-I-Y boutiques may fill some sort of void, but you still won’t find boutiques that carry higher-end, avant-garde designers here. (Yohji Yamamoto, anyone?) This means you will have to “take the Chinatown bus up to New York with a couple hundred bucks in hand” or embrace online shopping. Online shopping gets a bad rap, but it can be a wonder if you know the brand and know your size. Not to mention, most sites hold private seasonal sales for their email subscribers, so do check out oaknyc.com, sevennewyork.com, aloharag.com, refinery29shops.com, and caliroots.com. And of course, we’ll always have eBay.
All in all though, being a fashion-conscious indie boy is about going beyond the generic indie aesthetic. Take Georgetown, for example. Barneys Co-op carries a huge selection of lesser-known designers, and not everything costs an arm and a leg. And what is your beef with Ralph Lauren, Ben? The men’s sweaters are pretty amazing, and believe it or not, they can compliment one’s indie ensemble if worn correctly. Also, why pay five dollars for a shitty-quality basic shirt at H&M when you can pay five dollars for a better-quality basic shirt on sale at Banana Republic? Okay fine, Banana Republic isn’t exactly cool, but you get the idea.
The point is to look everywhere - online, offline, here DC, and there NY. Check out the thrift stores in Maryland. Go nuts at Marc Jacobs in West Village. Bid on a Bernard Willhelm jacket. Splurge on a Moncler parka. But please accept the fact that style options in DC are limited (relative to New York, at least). We’re still cooler than Baltimore though, so we shouldn’t feel too bad about our city now should we
I think I dated that boy in the cartoon.
As for keffiyehs, every time I walk by someone wearing one on the street, I proudly yell “Who the fuck wears a keffiyeh?!!”
December 6, 2007 at 12:26 pmNice article - especially for the links provided. I do like UO for a couple of things (Penguin and Paul Frank shirts I can wear to work), but hate them for cowboy flannel and t-shirts with shitty slogans.
But you can get that stuff in most other places too.
Also, my problem with Ralph Lauren is with the pink-Polo wearing crowd that reigns in Georgetown. Gross.
December 6, 2007 at 12:29 pm“Let’s just say DURKL is cooler than Urban Outfitters but not nearly as cool as Crooks & Castles, King Stampede, 10 Deep. ”
i’m going to have to disagree with you on that one. those brands may be “cool,” but they look horrible. they have the worst designs imaginable. DURKL is 10 times better than those brands because they’re not trying to be “cool.” DURKL revels in their ridiculousness. the brands you mention make it their sole quest to make it to the top of the cool ladder. who’s interested in being cool?
style options for men are not limited in DC. neiman marcus, sak’s fifth avenue (sak’s for men in mazza gallerie) and barney’s co op pretty much have you covered with EVERY major desinger - yohji yamamoto, prada, gucci, armani, etc. i’m in NY numerous times per month and i rarely make any purchases. the aforementioned stores, in my opinion, rival bergdorf goodman, barneys and the numerous boutiques in the city. with tysons galleria and mazza, my days of want are long over. no longer do i feel a need to rush to new york to make a purchase. everything’s here.
case in point: you mentioned splurging on a moncler coat. i recently dropped $800.00 on one. guess where? neiman marcus in tyson’s corner. not barneys on madison ave. and, there was significantly less traffic and easy parking ;o).
December 6, 2007 at 1:13 pmThere also needs to be a column about how to dress once you turn 27. Durkl and this out-there other shit is fine for indie boys, but when you hit your late 20s looking like a graffiti artist from Wild Style is just pathetic rather than cute.
I’d also like to see every dork wearing a keffiyeh get detained by homeland security and jailed with all the hippie chicks from 2002 who wore bindi because Madonna did.
December 6, 2007 at 1:41 pm$800- that could have bought an indie kid a lot of Pabst.
December 6, 2007 at 2:50 pm“indie” : the word to destroy an entire modern civilization…or at least make the hairs on my back stand on end. the most hip, fashionable, indie kids i’ve seen and admired are the ones who hold delicious conversations on shit they actually like, know and can seriously appreciate….and then it’s cool that their shirt happens to have a certain design, etc. i once asked my “indie” brother if he really liked the zombies and he was like “huh. who are the zombies?” then i pointed out that he was wearing a shirt by the famed classic band. btw, i LOVE baltimore. i think mostly because indie, if indie exists, just is. it’s not “out-together”…same goes for pittsburgh.
December 6, 2007 at 4:13 pm“put-together”
December 6, 2007 at 4:20 pmDJ STEREO FAITH - “the brands you mention make it their sole quest to make it to the top of the cool ladder. who’s interested in being cool?” that’s sort of the point though. streetwear brands try to appeal to the “cool” kids by creating a sort of hysteria. and it works. this is why most of these brands carry their stuff in limited quantities. and about your comment about neiman marcus and saks - point taken, i had no idea. but the question is, who is carrying henrik vibskov? his sweaters are where it’s at.
ECC - i love you because 1) i completely agree with you about looking indie vs. being indie and 2) i was going to do byt’s five artist recommendation thing - possibly the most hated column - and recommend odessey and oracle. marry me, please.
Mike is the best thing to happen to BYT.
December 6, 2007 at 5:07 pmthat was a different mike.
December 6, 2007 at 5:10 pmIf I ever spend $800 on something it better have two wheels and go fucking fast.
That said I did pick up a Brooks Brothers Camelhair “Polo” (what you would think of as an overcoat) coat for $10 at a yard sale. It retails for $800. Only worn twice…
December 6, 2007 at 5:26 pmbtw, i do love dc, you know. where i’ve met many a person who has turned me on with their passionate talk of passions. but i was just defending bawlmer, and throwing some pittsburgh into the mix. i’ll give a shout out to nyc too. and philly. heck, why don’t i just say that i love the eastern seaboard……………………………..and find san diego and LA utterly chill-inducing.
December 6, 2007 at 5:27 pmwell then, everyone come to the DURKL/BYT/GARUTACHI New Years Eve party at Rock and Roll Hotel. you can wear/drink/act whatever/however you want.
December 6, 2007 at 9:13 pmI think that this whole matter is being oversimplified into typical “DC sucks, and if we had more so-called cool stuff available, life would be grand”. Fashion and style aren’t the same thing, and style is more often than not innate; those with a solid sense of style create cohesive and original outfits with what’s available to them, be that DC or Bumfuck, Nowhere. Sometimes, it’s a matter of got-it-or-ya-don’t.
December 7, 2007 at 9:24 amfor those into more discussion of this variety this past, archived, and quoted in everything from “wash.post” to wonkette post should be a treat too:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/style/discuss-dc-a-hotbed-of-style/
December 7, 2007 at 9:33 amthe thing about a lot of streetwear brands (10 deep, crooks, etc.) is most of them run on the great american hype machine, a lot of these hypebeasts live off being the first person to sport whatever brass knuckle/dead rapper/allover gun print graphic gets thrown at them as long as there are matching nikes and new era fitteds, stores like major and the lesser-known district 51 thrive off this culture. it’s gotten to the point where even skateboards have become an accessory. case in point: at one of major’s many midnight launches, i saw this kid decked out in a lemar and dauley shirt, new era fitted, nudies (worn super low so you can see the stitching of course), some random nike sbs, carrying a skateboard around like a security blanket, except as soon as he got his shoes he LEFT IN A CAR.
as far as finding high-end designers go, the bloomingdale’s in chevy chase carries the marc by marc jacobs line, and barney’s co-op also carries some yohji yamamato (though i’ve only seen the footwear) and recent collections like 3.1 philip lim, and i’m surprised no one’s mentioned denim bar yet. they’ve been getting more collections lately, ranging from pieces by the swedes at cheap monday and the oh-so-french designers at surface to air, although i’d reccomend checking out the bethesda location, since they have more stock there than arlington.
and lastly, can i just say how much i love la-based thick as thieves? because that’s pretty much how i want to look when i get a real job. they sell stuff online too (hint, hint).
December 7, 2007 at 4:32 pmI am going to wear a keffiyeh every day until I am finally kicked in the balls
December 8, 2007 at 1:49 pmI’m going to let you lost souls know the next big fashion trend for 2008: Kittens on tshirts! They were huge on the internet in 2007 and they will be even bigger on tshirts in 2008! Just imagine how killer you will look rocking a tshirt with an adorable kitten image on it staring out at the world. Cute kittens are like a siren’s song to women. You can not not get laid wearing a kitten tshirt. Get it while the gettin’s good!
December 9, 2007 at 3:20 pminvisible sandwich will be all the rage!
December 10, 2007 at 4:10 am
Yohji Yamamoto is readily available in Friendship Heights.
December 6, 2007 at 11:43 am