CarrollBlog 4.28
A fan of Simon Haden (maybe it was even Haden himself in disguise) sent a link to a website that made me smile. It's called "The Sartorialist" and run by a guy who loves men's and, to a lesser degree, women's fashion. He walks around the streets of New York taking photos of well dressed people and then posting them with short comments on his site. Besides being witty and insightful, what I like best is his obsession/passion for the subject. Whether it is postage stamps, armadillos, meerschaum pipes, or fashion, it's always a happy moment to meet up with someone who's obsessive in an original way about something. That's one of the reasons why I chose to write about the very real Josef Kyselak in GLASS SOUP: I just loved the idea that someone could be obsessed with the usually mundane act of writing your name. What's enjoyable too about The Sartorialist are the expressions on the faces of his subjects. They're almost all smiling in happy, unposed ways. It's obvious they're delighted to have been stopped for this picture. Flattered that someone in the know, a stranger, said to them out of the blue you're dressed wonderfully today. Can I take your picture to post on my website? There isn't an ounce of smug in any of their expressions. In fact many, no matter how old or sophisticated they are, are smiling with real delight. They're thrilled by this nice surprise and the expressions on their faces are an inch or two away from the joy of children.
www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com
an excerpt from THE SARTORIALIST:
"Why I Love Luigi Borrelli Shirts
I was talking to a menswear buyer the other day, and he told me something that he had heard while in Italy during a Borrelli appoIntment. As we all know Borrelli is famous for the handwork on their shirts: hand sewn buttonholes, interior collar band, yoke, etc. Apparently this work really is done by little old Italian ladies at their homes in the nearby countryside surrounding the Borrelli factory. When the ladies send the shirts back to the factory, the shirts have to be vigorously washed because they are covered in cigarette ash, dirt from the natural oil in the women's hands, tiny drops of blood, and the shirts smell like food."