Random Observations #012
Lamenting about social media, one pick for Black Friday, and reissue of the perfect sneaker.
There are so many things I wish I could write about one day. In the Random Observations series, I attempt to put together my random thoughts and observations on clothing and related subjects in a shorter, more approachable format. This is one way for me to capture thoughts before they sink into oblivion. If you find any of the subjects helpful or questionable, do not hesitate to share your feedback in the comments below the article — I’d be happy to continue the conversation.
In the twelfth episode of Random Observations, I share my one pick for the upcoming Black Friday, complain about Instagram ads, challenge menswear writing on Substack, and celebrate the relaunch of the perfect sneaker.
Let’s get it!
The One Item I’m Watching This Black Friday
Gone are the days when I scrolled through hundreds of pages on dozens of websites in search of high-quality garments from niche artisan brands no one of my friends had ever heard of. Oh, the carefree times of my youth! I’d love to tell you that I grew more conscious over the last 15 years but the truth is that quality garments do indeed stand the test of time. Meaning that, for good or for bad, they don’t wear out fast enough to free up space for the new cool stuff. Welcome to the adult life, friends!
But I still love to shake things up from time to time, you know. Like, add a few things to my wishlist here and there. Nothing serious.
This Black Friday I only have one piece on my mind though — Story mfg. Station Jacket in Brown, quickly sold out on the brand’s official website. As it often happens to me, I fell in love with a garment I wouldn’t pay attention to online when I saw it in person. I could have repeated the brand’s own story about how this jacket was hand-dyed with natural dyes and adorned with naive, wonky pockets inspired by vintage workwear. I’m a fool for a good story but this sweet item description wouldn’t sell it to me online. It was this fellow I saw wearing the jacket who did. He was tall, with long, surfer hair, in washed-out denim. Of course, it was his natural handsomeness that made the look, not the jacket. But I like to think that if only I could cop it, I would be able to at least touch to his level. Not to mention those wobbly pockets sound exactly like the missing element to my never-worked-a-day-with-my-hands-but-not-your-regular-carhartt-detroit type of outfit.
I haven’t seen the jacket on sale so far but I’m watching Graduate, Highsnobiety, and Canoe Club. Feel free to buy it ahead of me, you’ll do me a favor.
Ads Kill The Allure
Am I the only one who gets turned off once a brand I follow starts targeting me with ads?… I mean I get it. We spend so much time on socials, that there is no way we can find about makers elsewhere. Brands have to advertise one way or another to reach their audiences. In no way am I blaming them for doing this. And it’s not even brands, it’s very sophisticated algorithms created by the smartest of our kind that think that if I followed a page I now need to see its ads like 30 times to convert to purchase.
Still, there is something wrong with it. You see, I somehow discovered a brand and followed its page, meaning that I already find it intriguing and beautiful. By nudging me with ads, algos spoil this very idea of intimate 1-to-1 relationships between me and a brand, if only in my head. Yes, it might be silly and naive to think about social media in this way. But the concept of converting to purchase because you’ve been shown an ad times and times again is no better. Not to mention that brands have to spend money on targeting me, a person who is already hooked, instead of doing more of the cool stuff they do.
With that being said, I still love the ephemeral, yet timeless aesthetics of L.E.J London. Will I convert or drop off though?
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Is Substack The New Tumblr For Menswear?
If you’ve been following menswear Substacks for this past month, there is one name you probably noticed all over the place — Aaron Levine. Earlier this month, he announced a collaboration with Drake’s themed around his signature style, which is worn in black outfits. Last week, Mr. Levine launched his eponymous label after about a year of teasing it on Instagram.
I won’t repeat the story of the deserved creative director with 20 years of experience behind his back — there is no original thought I could add to it, and commenting wouldn’t be appropriate in this case. But ubiquitous coverage of Levine’s projects on Substack reminded me of a phenomenon I haven’t seen for more than a decade — menswear blogging on Blogspot and Tumblr.
It started in the late 00s and came to its peak in the early 10s. I guess, its growth coincided with the spread of mobile internet, although the writing surely happened on desktop. It was at that time when I got hooked on menswear. I hadn’t witnessed the forums thing that came before that but self-publishing platforms like Blogspot and especially Tumblr allowed previously unknown menswear enthusiasts to express their tastes and find audiences online like never before. Many of those early bloggers grew into the leading figures of today’s industry. I’ve already mentioned Lawrence Schlossman who is now co-hosting Throwing Fits, the number #1 global men’s fashion and lifestyle podcast. Jian DeLeon, a writer at Complex and Four Pins at the time, went on to the editorial director position at Highsnobiety and is now, a men’s fashion director at Nordstrom. It’s hard to imagine but JJJJound used to be just an infinite mood board of inspirational images. My all-time favorite menswear writer Derek Guy is now known as “the menswear guy” with 1.2 M followers on Twitter.
The point I’m trying to make is that the first wave of menswear bloggers was important and influential. It’s left its mark on the industry. It arose at a time when the information was scarce and kind of faded away once the topic got bigger.
In the last few years, a similar thing happened here on Substack with the only difference that now information is everywhere. There is even too much of it. You don’t have to dig anymore, social media suggests the new micro trends along with memes about them at the speed of light.
Maybe it is for this reason that enthusiasts started to search for meaning. With an infinite supply of content and product, it became harder to discern what’s good and what’s not. Somewhat counterintuitively, the answer came not from breakthrough AI technologies but from the outdated human curation that strives to bring back exploration and making connections over common interests.
There is an elephant in the room though: unlike 15 years ago, we all have the same sources of information. You can’t just post about the latest release because people already know it from socials. Your curated selection rarely brings anything new, it just reassures me of what I already know. The originality bar became higher.
What does it mean? You don’t just post how good is Aaron Levine — you tell the behind-the-scenes of how his collection came about.
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The Perfect Sneaker #2: Fursac x Mephisto Dribbler
Now, that I bluntly stated that you can’t just post the latest release because people already know about it from socials, I’m going to do exactly that. Well, almost. Two years ago, I wrote an essay about what goes into a perfect sneaker. My top pick for the role happened to be a collaborative sneaker from a traditional French orthopedic footwear company Mephisto and Australian relaxed tailoring brand P.Johnson. A very unlikely combo, I know.
The only problem with the collaboration — and honestly, part of its appeal — was its limited availability and an almost prohibitive price of $450. The marketing copy made me think the model was developed from scratch for P.Johnson which is unheard of for any footwear brand, not to mention the French orthopedic specialists (I told you I’m a fool for a good story). But it turns out it’s an existing sneaker called Dribbler from Mephisto archives. Which is very fortunate because now it’s brought back once again.
This time, under the creative direction of Gauthier Borsarello for another French brand Fursac. While I’m not a big fan of the latter, the shoe itself is still the same comfortable, luxurious, made in France, and rare sneaker. What’s even better, it comes at a lowered price of €295. I’m seriously tempted.
Mystery Links
That’s a wrap for the twelfth issue of Random Observations! As always, let me know what you think in the comments section on the blog, ask questions, and share the article with friends who might benefit from it.
this 💯% "gets turned off once a brand I follow starts targeting me with ads?" and i can see myself becoming more and more radical overtime btw. like 'an ad out there in the public space' (think: bus stops in france etc..) 💥 right away i tell myself i'll never buy anything from it. etc. etc.