The other day we were in a vintage store and all of the clothes had been arranged by what seemed like a genre or period: laces and linens, a tribute to early 20th century summer garments, and a western section with heeled boots and cowboy shirts. But our favorite was what looked like the French section—a whole rack of striped blue and white shirts a la mode de Paris in the Sixties. We had no idea that there were so many variations on the same idea: blue shirts with white stripes, thin stripes, fat ones, loose collars, cropped shirts, we could go on and on.
Days later we saw this gentlemen standing outside of East Village Radio while we were hosting our weekly show. Although he seemed a bit stand-offish at first, he quickly realized our enthusiasm was genuine. His stripes are a bit more subdued, an understated style that fits nicely with a summer hat and suede shoes. It’s not screaming “FRENCH,” or “HIPPIE” or “BOHEMIAN” the way a vintage store with its sectioned period pieces might. His is more of a personal statement like, “I hate frog legs and only smoke in the evening but I take my Espresso with a bit of steamed milk and enjoy reading Foucault.” Or at least that’s what we think he’d say.