Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Read All About It
Since last September, I made a dramatic change in my commuting habits. I stopped taking the bus after an horrendous 1 ½ hour ride on a 25-minute journey and switched to the much quicker Tube. Now I’m not a massive fan of the Tube; it’s always too hot, it’s stingingly expensive and more often than not, it’s FAR too full. But I have been hiding myself away in my own world when commuting, ears encased in some noise-cancelling headphones, and eyes focusing on a book. I used to read Metro, but when it dawned on me that the substance of Metro is mostly a) utter rubbish, and b) exceptionally Conservative, I decided to cultiver mon jardin, in the words of Voltaire. Since then I have read most of Paul Auster, some Ballard, and some odd things I found in the British Library (Scheerbaart) and second-hand bookshops (Cocteau’s ‘Maalesh’). But it was my Mum who got me onto Ian McEwan. I’d previously dismissed him (no idea why), and also I’m not a fan of period novels (Atonement), but on pressing a copy of ‘Saturday’ into my hand, I was hooked. The setting is all around where I went to uni, and the writing is clinically precise, but still warm and engaging. I quickly followed this up with a couple more of his; the beautiful ‘On Chesil Beach’ and the pretty disturbing ‘Cement Garden’. Now I’m back on to one of my favourites, Colette ‘The Pure and the Impure’. There’s nothing like some nineteenth century Parisian high society, debauchery and opium dens to liven up the commute. Get down to a good indie bookshop (Foyles, London Review Bookshop, Daunt, the Owl in Kentish Town, Prospero’s in Crouch End – anywhere but Tesco’s or Waterstones basically) and grab a book – guaranteed to improve any journey. Other Staples this week:
Reading Ian McEwan on the tube
Seeing The Whitest Boy Alive twice (Coalition in Brighton; Koko in Camden)
Getting out of London for a beautiful wedding
The Camden Arms
The ‘Great Gatsby’ look – Liberty print with chinos
DJing at the Fly on New Oxford Street
Being able to leave the house without a coat
Reading Ian McEwan on the tube
Seeing The Whitest Boy Alive twice (Coalition in Brighton; Koko in Camden)
Getting out of London for a beautiful wedding
The Camden Arms
The ‘Great Gatsby’ look – Liberty print with chinos
DJing at the Fly on New Oxford Street
Being able to leave the house without a coat
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
A Turn-up for the Books
So summer is once upon us again, however briefly, and I’ve cracked out my shorts. Once again, the intellectuels at APC have seemingly infiltrated my brain and created precisely the garment I was looking for, supplied by the buying genius at Selfridges. But I think I have eulogised enough about APC of late. This week’s Staple concerns a styling detail, which has also been pointed out recently by both The Sartorialist and Style Salvage, and is particularly important where shorts are concerned. With these shorts, and indeed my cuffed 501 cut-offs, the length of fabric on the leg is crucial. While the rolling-up of sleeves on T-shirts has been commonplace for a few years now, on trousers and shorts it is a little more directional.
On T-shirts, it makes the fit a little snugger, especially on baggier Ts, and somehow updates an old T. As for shirts, sleeve lengths have varied, but I am currently wearing my sleeves cuffed to half-way up my biceps. Again, this has the pleasing quality of modernising an old shirt - where an elbow-length could look a little office-y - as well as falling at the most aesthetically pleasing part of a man’s arm.
I have just begun to cuff (NB: cuffing is the folding or turning-up of a garment; as opposed to rolling, which is literally rolling the cloth) my jeans to a couple of inches above my shoes. This has both a pleasingly modern effect as with shirts, but also makes for a much cooler (in temperature terms) outfit. In addition, it demonstrates a personal adaptation of an item of clothing, a more daring approach to dressing. Especially important on dress-down Fridays in a no-shorts office.
As the acceptable length of casual, and indeed tailored shorts gets shorter, turn-up lengths become more important – I have been experimenting with various lengths, but I have found that I can comfortable cuff as high as 3 inches above the knee. This does need a smart(ish) pair of shorts though, and I have only paired it so far with polo shirts and cuffed shirts –with T-shirts, some of the impact is lost. Anyway, the Staple here is to be a little more daring with shorts, especially while the sun is out. Oh, and by the way, flip-flops are for Australians or the beach only. The rest of this week’s Staples:
Cuffing of shorts and trousers
Drinking cava in Regent’s Park
Gilles Peterson’s fantastically summery ‘Back in Brazil’ compilations
Pre-Festival excitement & the return of summer
Cocteau’s ‘Maalesh’ – diaries of his theatrical tour to the Middle East
Bangface Festival at Camber Sands
Soulwax’s documentary ‘Part of the Weekend Never Dies’
On T-shirts, it makes the fit a little snugger, especially on baggier Ts, and somehow updates an old T. As for shirts, sleeve lengths have varied, but I am currently wearing my sleeves cuffed to half-way up my biceps. Again, this has the pleasing quality of modernising an old shirt - where an elbow-length could look a little office-y - as well as falling at the most aesthetically pleasing part of a man’s arm.
I have just begun to cuff (NB: cuffing is the folding or turning-up of a garment; as opposed to rolling, which is literally rolling the cloth) my jeans to a couple of inches above my shoes. This has both a pleasingly modern effect as with shirts, but also makes for a much cooler (in temperature terms) outfit. In addition, it demonstrates a personal adaptation of an item of clothing, a more daring approach to dressing. Especially important on dress-down Fridays in a no-shorts office.
As the acceptable length of casual, and indeed tailored shorts gets shorter, turn-up lengths become more important – I have been experimenting with various lengths, but I have found that I can comfortable cuff as high as 3 inches above the knee. This does need a smart(ish) pair of shorts though, and I have only paired it so far with polo shirts and cuffed shirts –with T-shirts, some of the impact is lost. Anyway, the Staple here is to be a little more daring with shorts, especially while the sun is out. Oh, and by the way, flip-flops are for Australians or the beach only. The rest of this week’s Staples:
Cuffing of shorts and trousers
Drinking cava in Regent’s Park
Gilles Peterson’s fantastically summery ‘Back in Brazil’ compilations
Pre-Festival excitement & the return of summer
Cocteau’s ‘Maalesh’ – diaries of his theatrical tour to the Middle East
Bangface Festival at Camber Sands
Soulwax’s documentary ‘Part of the Weekend Never Dies’
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Broken Stapler
I have to admit – and apologise – that the Staple has been a little lacking of late, and for that I can but apologise to my regular readers…all 3 of them. I have had various stuff going on throughout April with my Grandad (as no doubt you’ve read), and then a holiday, a festival, some premieres, seeing some brilliant DJs, being a professional DJ, meeting a bona fide rock star, a fantastic mate leaving London and related celebrations, Bank Holiday weekend, a birthday or six and also a rather sketchy Internet connection. Ultimately, my aim of one article a week has been well off-target. Rest assured that from next week, things will be back on track, and I will be Stapling like mad once again. I'll leave you, if I may, with a particularly 'Skins +10' photo of myself, and the first instance of my shorts in 2008...
Friday, 18 April 2008
Stapler's Question Time
After my recent ode to APC, MR Style commented that APC is a little expensive. I'd like to open this up to debate; Here's my take on it...
For me, buying APC (or really any 'expensive' item) has two main advantages. Firstly, the buying experience; making a purchase in Liberty with space to breathe and wander around without queueing or fear that some 15-year old might steal your bag, is infinitely preferable to H&M's poorly-designed shop on Regent Street. In addition, there is a sense of the 'reassuringly expensive' from this kind of purchase. The act of buying something like this is a luxury; the pleasant assistants, heavy card embossed bag and feeling of indulgence that engulfs you as you swish out of the plate-glass doors. A guilty pleasure with a short-term high. The long-term high comes from buying an item that is well-made and ethically so (in Tunisia), to a design which is both fashionable and rare enough that every second person won't be wearing it. Further, this quality means that it will last for longer than my current falling-apart coat. My APC coat was expensive (£155), but the combination of the above factors, in my eyes, makes it good value for money. I've also had many flattering comments about it as well. As a young man with no real committments, a relatively high disposable income and more than a passing interest in fashion, these purchases are made only at the culmination of a lovely thought process, and though I am the first one to scoff at stupidly expensive purchases, I also believe in paying for what you get. In short, I reckon that some items from the current APC collections are worth the premium, and I reckon MRStyle would too...What do you think? How much is too much? Is it better for the short-term to buy Primark, or should we all be buying clothes hat last longer than two weeks? Let me know via the comments...
For me, buying APC (or really any 'expensive' item) has two main advantages. Firstly, the buying experience; making a purchase in Liberty with space to breathe and wander around without queueing or fear that some 15-year old might steal your bag, is infinitely preferable to H&M's poorly-designed shop on Regent Street. In addition, there is a sense of the 'reassuringly expensive' from this kind of purchase. The act of buying something like this is a luxury; the pleasant assistants, heavy card embossed bag and feeling of indulgence that engulfs you as you swish out of the plate-glass doors. A guilty pleasure with a short-term high. The long-term high comes from buying an item that is well-made and ethically so (in Tunisia), to a design which is both fashionable and rare enough that every second person won't be wearing it. Further, this quality means that it will last for longer than my current falling-apart coat. My APC coat was expensive (£155), but the combination of the above factors, in my eyes, makes it good value for money. I've also had many flattering comments about it as well. As a young man with no real committments, a relatively high disposable income and more than a passing interest in fashion, these purchases are made only at the culmination of a lovely thought process, and though I am the first one to scoff at stupidly expensive purchases, I also believe in paying for what you get. In short, I reckon that some items from the current APC collections are worth the premium, and I reckon MRStyle would too...What do you think? How much is too much? Is it better for the short-term to buy Primark, or should we all be buying clothes hat last longer than two weeks? Let me know via the comments...
Grandad
There has been a bit of a sad delay in my postings recently, and that's mostly due to the recent death of my much-loved Grandad. He was a lovely, kind man, who I talked to regularly, often from the pub. He was the sort of person with whom you feel very comfortable, and I'd spent many happy Christmases, birthdays and holidays with him and of course the rest of my family. His death was a shock; he had been active and independent right until his heart attack. There was no slow mental or physical decline, which I've witnessed several times before and is as far from a Staple as you can get. He was very proud of my professional achievements, and believed that I was following in the family tradition of journalism; in turn I looked up to him for guidance and support. We were very close, unusually so I suppose, as he was the last remaining relative on my Mum's side. Never fussy or imposing, he was a man of great humour and lived a socially useful, fulfilling and brilliantly rounded life. He is, and will be, greatly missed. Grandparents are your family history and support network; they are what makes you who you are, and in this way, they are above a Staple. They are your genesis.
Bonnie Scotland
I'm writing this from the summit of one of the highest railway passes in the UK. Corrour in Scotland, on the line between Fort William and Glasgow, at just over 1400ft is just staggeringly beautiful. There's still snow on the ground, mottling the palette of browns to a frosted chocolate. Although the clouds are low, the light across the glaciated terrain is clear and crisp; the rough grass has seemingly not been touched in millennia. The senses of both emptiness and remoteness are all-enveloping, and it's easy to forget that you are in Britain. It's a million miles from Oxford Circus, in every sense. And it's so heartbreakingly beautiful, especially with the light icing-sugar dusting of snow all around, turning to a thick covering as the altitude climbs. Dropping down a little lower, a fine mist covers the train and turns the clear sun into a hazy squint. This is so beautiful, so still and so superlative that I've run out of appropriate superlatives. The train is mostly empty, with a couple of tourists like myself and several locals who seemingly make this commute a few times a week. It's impossible for me to imagine making this journey without staring open-mouthed through the window, my eyes and brain struggling to compute the scenery unfolding. Extended train travel always provokes this reaction in me: I know I've said it before, but the most civilised and simple way to appreciate your surroundings as well as have time to think and just be , is on a train. If anything was a Staple, this journey is.
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