Guess the era!

This week, we’re going to test your spacial-temporal abilities and see if you can visualize the gentleman’s coat from the pattern pieces below and match it to one of the coats below:

Your choices:

A. A two-piece fitted doublet with lower tabs worn with “bag breeches” from 1630, Flanders.

B. Men’s frock coat with deep back pleats from the 1830s.

C.  The Justaucorps, a French coat from the early 18th century.

If you chose C, you’re correct! The Justaucorps, an excessively pleated, stiffened, and decorated coat of French origin,  worn during the late 17th and early 18th century period when aristocratic men were at their fanciest and most extravagant. This period for well-to-do men was completely over-the-top, putting women’s costume to shame in Europe.

This coat was collarless and heavily trimmed in  ribbon, braid, and embroidery, and covered with dozens buttons connecting the back skirts, a line in front to fasten the coat, and useless buttons adorned the pocket flaps. The enormous cuffs, running the length the wrist to the elbow, into place on the “pagoda” sleeve.

This heavily-adorned, deeply-pleated coat topped a long, stiffened, skirted sleeveless waistcoat – the first three-piece suit! Shirts made of linen or silk had showy lace cuffs, worn with a loosely knotted 7 -8′ long neck cloth (forerunner of the tie).  Sometimes a sash tied around the waist. Breeches and hose  covered the trunk and on the gent’s feet were heeled shoes or boots with red soles and heels. Men wore long, curly wigs and carried tricorne hats (with three points) under their arms because the tall, curly wigs prevented the hat from sitting firmly on the head.

Men carried ribboned walking sticks and took to wearing fur muffs to keep their hands warm in cold weather, often with little pockets inside to carry their snuff boxes. Colours of the period were bright – yellow, green, and red, getting away from the dark, dull colours of the Commonwealth era.

Both men and women painted their faces with powdered lead and/or arsenic to make their skin white, and applied rouge and lipstick – sometimes a false beauty spot was applied to the face for ornamentation and in some cases, to cover facial scars from ailments like small pox. Whitening the skin signified the class of the wearer – the aristocracy didn’t work / didn’t outside where his skin would have become darkened by the sun’s rays. However, a pristine, lily-white face didn’t come without a price.

Although this era was known as the Age of Enlightenment, most fashionable men and women poisoned themselves with red and white lead make-up and powder.  The make-up they used caused the eyes to swell and become inflamed, attacked the enamel on the teeth and changed the texture of the skin causing it to blacken, it was also not uncommon to suffer baldness… It was known that heavy use of lead could cause death. (Source.)

The simple two-button suit that modern men wear is an extremely boiled-down version of the grossly elaborate 300-year old suit that required assistance to put on. Attendants dressed the gentry in coats and waistcoats made of heavy satin, silk, and velvets which I imagine must have weighed a ton and no doubt affected the joints of the wearer.

In the modern era, we might have our wardrobe problems, though they’re miniscule compared to the lengths that men of the early 18th century went to in showing themselves and their wealth off. The excessiveness of this period is a shining example of the human ego knowing no bounds.

Note – Immediately following this post, In the Key of He is scaling back posts to release every two weeks.

The magic suit

Here is a question for you: when was the last time you thought about magic and who did you think of? Harry Houdini locking himself in a milk can full of water? Gentle Doug Henning’s colourful clothing and wild Styx hair? Perhaps the handsome David Copperfield making large objects disappear?

I happen to have met a couple of real life magicians recently and found myself fascinated by their craft and curious that I could apply image principles to what they do and what they wear for their jobs. For the next two weeks, I will be discussing modern magic in ways that you didn’t expect, in ways to delight and amaze you, and before your very eyes, dear reader, I will draw parallels between what a magician does and what I do as an image consultant, for we both work magic!

James Alan, Magician

James Alan, Magician

Magic and the performance of magic is older than we commonly think it is. Although its roots go back thousands of years to shamanistic practices, what we currently think of as a “magic show” dates back at least to the 1800s, and has gone through many incarnations. Today, there are illusionists, mentalists, sleight-of-hand entertainers, and impossibilists, but a few are true to the original tradition and uphold the practice of old-fashioned magic. Toronto-based  James Alan is one of these magicians. He practices old school magic, modernizing timeless classic tricks for current audiences, and pays homage to the respectful dress of the magician and the magician’s tools.

I met James at a Pride party last month and he wowed all of us with card and coin tricks. I don’t like to be fooled but there was something so astounding about what he was doing that I was floored – i.e. I was told to pick a card from the deck, shuffle it back in, and then found the same card tucked into a book of matches James had given me several minutes before I had chosen the card. Other party-goers were also in awe except for Jonathan who needed further proof.

“You want to impress me?” he leaned in to ask, “Pull the 10 of hearts out of my underwear.”

“Stand up,” James responded confidently (much to Jonathan’s delight).

Laughing, Jonathan obeyed.

“Unzip your fly,” James commanded (much to Jonathan’s delight).

“He showed me both hands which were empty, and then he “went to work” on my fly. Out came his hand, and folded up in his hand was the 10 of Hearts!” Jonathan explained, “Hilarious!”

When wardrobe is part of the show

A magic show is very theatrical and requires special garments and props to do it properly. To illustrate the importance of functionality in a magician’s wardrobe, James told me about being a guest performer at a Victorian séance in St. Cameron, Ontario at the end of  this month, where he will carry 4 lemons and a bottle of champagne on his person without looking stuffed or fat and make it look natural. The magician is much like an actor this way, integrating his wardrobe/costume (with all of the props stuffed in) into his stage act and make like nothing about him is different. Imagine how much you would have to be aware of to pull that off.

James believes in the self-fulfilling prophecy in his dress and chooses to dress like a gentleman in fine Hugo Boss suits and quality Allen Edmonds shoes, dressing at a level just above what his audience is wearing in an effort to show respect to his audience, his craft, and also to draw respect from the crowd.

Suit

His wardrobe must be about fashion and function, and the more pieces he’s got on, the more magic he can perform. Adding a third piece to a suit raises not only James’ confidence but the magic bar: with more places to stash props, James can perform longer with more tricks. Also, he has some pocket modifications done on his new suits and has a secret extra pocket sewn in somewhere to contain extra magic wonders.

“Part of being a magician means having what you need at your fingertips,” James explains, “so I try not to work with bags or cases when I perform – everything I work with is on me, waiting to be used in my show. That’s where the functional advantage of wearing a suit really comes in.”

James also believes that wearing a proper suit gives a better show. I agree with this because I know what wearing a suit can do to boost a guy’s confidence. Also, The Temptations and all of your favourite Motown acts agree that “you play better in your suit – neat, dignified.” (Shout out to Roddy Doyle for this Joey “The Lips” Fagan line in The Commitments.)

Business casual

James sees dressing at a level just above his audience as advantageous, making him stand apart and look more professional. I know that in the business world, we’re quickly moving from formal wardrobes to business casual dressing which has its good and bad points, but there is no doubt that spiffing up draws good attention and makes an excellent impression on people. (I always feel nice around well dressed people, don’t you?)

Even though we’ve been moving into the casual-for-business realm for going on 20 years, I think that many men are still confused by the “business casual” concept and some tell me that they long for the ease of a stylish suit. A casual wardrobe also impacts James, making his magic shows shorter because when he loses pieces, he loses pockets, and the fewer pockets, the fewer magical hiding places, dig?

Prop substance

James is not only dressing well for what he’s doing, but uses unusual and substantial props in his act (what I think of as wardrobe accessories). He showed me the coins he uses in his act – real silver dollars from the 1870s, silk hankies, lengths of soft Italian rope, and decorative silver cups. James pulled a heavy and elegant platinum and resin pen from his inside pocket, explaining that accessories were just as important as the clothing they’re worn with.

And with that, I have a confession. James whipped out his gorgeous writing instrument while I sat sweating in the heavy heat of July, scribbling notes with a plastic mechanical pencil that I’ve had since university. The contrast shouted at me and I knew that my cheap pencil could be considered an “image breaker”, but I knew it and owned it. I like writing with a pencil and I like writing with that pencil, so I write with it, speaking of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Complex simplicity

“What is simple to an audience is complex to me,” James says.

When we talked about his suits, I delighted to know that he works this idea into his wardrobe by wearing tone-on-tone striped suits “for the sake of irony,” he calls it, “what appears simple is actually complicated.”

Sounds familiar.

In my business, what might seem like an easy change on the outside has a lot of very complex preparation behind it. I take time to learn about my client and put into practice the principles of dressing, balance, proportion, and colour, influenced by the client’s lifestyle and personality (the research) before we shop and tailor (the transformation). (The research paper comes a little later in the form of personalized image/dressing notes.)

James and I know about the power of clothing and work suitable and workable wardrobes that reflect the occasion or the task at hand into our acts, so we’re both practical this way. We work behind the scenes and we’re technical, we understand that the parts of the performance and the parts of the image are equally important and all work together to dazzle and amaze!

So what I want you to understand is that behind all magic is a whole lot of work. The trick is making it look effortless.

Your feet in summer

People seem to think that just because it’s hot outside, they have license to dress like a slob and slack off on grooming. Do you see ratty old t-shirts walking around in public? Have you ever had the misfortune of being downwind from someone who has slacked off on bathing? How about people who interpret “summer business casual” being the same thing as “cottage wear”?

Run on us, jump on us, but don't forget to clean us!

There are guys out there who wear sandals or flip-flops and whether unconsciously or perhaps out of spite, show off their filthy toes. We don’t want to see this and in fact, it’s a bone of contention with me. There is no reason not to have clean feet and this week, lads, we’ll discuss the state of your feet and how to make them not only nicer to look at, but nicer to live with. Allow me to pass on some easy and practical tips on keeping your feet neat, how to wear summer footwear, and how to tend to summer foot ailments.

Don’t be lazy – pay attention to your feet

I had a boyfriend once who never washed his feet. He insisted that the water and soap lather used to clean the top of his body was enough to clean his feet as it ran over them. The concept of cleaning in between his toes with lather was somehow preposterous, so he never did.

I’m not sure that I ever actually saw his feet; they were in beaten up Blundstones or wool socks most of the time, but if I had seen his feet, or the way I imagined his feet would have looked without cleaning between his toes for an extended period of time, I’m not sure that I could have lived with it – women are more sensitive to things like this, I find.

Anyway, the point is, please make an effort while you’re in the shower to bend over and clean the top and bottom of the whole foot, then clean between your toes, otherwise the infamous toe jam begins to collect. Toe jam, the ” grey-brown shit that accumulates between your toes. Primarily composed of dead skin cells, sock fluff and sweat.” (Urban Dictionary).

Dirty feet and the smell of dirty feet is not welcoming to anyone so please take the time to bathe and groom your feet, using the following tips to get you there:

A nail brush is an excellent grooming tool any time of year.

TIP #1: Go to the drugstore and buy a nail brush or a brush with a handle. Soap it up and give your feet a good going over  - the brush, soap, water, and friction, cleans your feet, cleans under your toenails, sloughs off dead skin cells on the surface of your feet, and it feels good! Lean against the wall, hold your foot up and do it standing up, or sit on the tub floor and reach to clean – mind, there may be some flexibility needed for this method.

TIP #2: Regularly trim your toenails with a toenail clipper – they’re wider than fingernail clippers and easier to handle.

TIP #3: Sand, yes, I said sand your heels to file down your callouses. Soak, smooth down the hard skin, and follow with a moisturizer. You could use a pumice stone or find a paddle with an actual piece of sandpaper on it – the Body Shop used to make these but they don’t seem to carry them anymore. Check the drugstore or specialty spas for items mentioned here.

TIP #4: A clean foot will not make a filthy flip-flop look better. Scrub both sides of your rubber or plastic flip-flops  (with your new nail brush if you want to) and get all of the crap out from the treads and surface texture. Do one at a time and compare – which one would you rather be seen in? Which one makes you feel better?

Summer socks 

Nothing looks more uncomfortable than a guy in shorts with mid-length calf socks on, especially if they’re dress socks. Different socks for different reasons, lads: dress socks are for dress wear (i.e. suits), and for summer, should be made of  cotton to keep the foot cool by wicking away perspiration.

Wearing ankle socks make fools look cool.

Athletic socks (usually white) are worn at the gym or with sporty clothes and convey a youthful, energetic message, but don’t really work with casual looks if you’re not wearing gym shoes, and this includes shorts.

So what kind of sock to wear with shorts and a casual shoe to avoid looking like a dork? Men’s shorty socks, of course, also known as ankle socks or low-rise socks. They really make a tremendously cool difference. Also, because you’ll only see a whisper of them outside of your shoe, it may not matter what colour they are = less to think about/easy.

Blisters

With heat comes sweat. Each of our feet contain 250,000 sweat glands. Any kind of friction on moist skin will case discomfort, wear at the skin, and maybe cause a blister. These are terrible and painful and can get infected if we don’t keep them clean.

TIP #5: To keep your foot drier and reduce friction on the foot, sprinkle powder on your foot after the shower to better absorb moisture – i.e. baby powder or Gold Bond powder.

Be aware of your foot in new seasonal footwear and be mindful of pressure and anything rubbing on your foot – this is where blisters and corns are born. There are lots of ways to remedy chafe, pressure, and blisters (before they start) like adhesive bandages, blister pads, and moleskin.

Moleskin pads give comfort to blistered feet.

Moleskin? Not the real skin of moles of course, but a heavy, densely-woven cotton fabric that is sheared on one side to give a short pile, mimicking the skin of a mole. It is very durable and soft, used to make clothing (it’s windproof you know) or adhesive pads used inside of dance shoes or over blisters.

TIP #6: The moleskin is used much like an adhesive bandage roll, cut to the size you need and applied over the blister – good info here on this hiking website about how to prevent foot blisters.

Think of your foot as the state of your shoe – polished and well-kept, it reads respect – self and otherwise. I hope that makes your summer a little more comfortable and a little more stylish, fellas. Best wishes!

Tyvek, a decades-old textile you’ve never heard of

I took a stroll along Danforth Avenue last week and popped into a cute little gift shop to buy the leopard print umbrella in the window. As I wandered around the store, I spied an extremely cool men’s accessory that prompted this week’s post. Gents, this week I bring you tales of an old, largely unknown textile that has many uses,  a little number called Tyvek.

What the feck is Tyvek?

Look for "Tyvek" on the white sheet surrounding buildings under construction.

Tyvek is a durable, lightweight synthetic textile created by DuPont in 1955. It is a highly breathable, water-resistant material made of high-density polyethylene fibres that water vapor can pass through. It’s a material that may sound foreign to you, but I’m willing to bet you’ve already experienced it in some form or another.

Tyvek is used for products like courier and mailing envelopes, car covers, protective clothing, labels, wristbands, graphics, packaging, and house wrap, used in construction as “a weather-resistant barrier… [to] combat water, moisture and air infiltration that are any structure’s worst enemies. Allowed to penetrate behind siding, wind-driven rain and moisture can saturate walls, creating a breeding ground for mould, mildew and wood rot. The properties of DuPont™ Tyvek® do not support the growth of mould or mildew” (from the DuPont website).

How Tyvek is like felted wool

Polyethylene fibres of Tyvek

I reckon that Tyvek is the chemical alternative to felt in that it is made in a similar way. Felt is made of wool fibres compressed with pressure and heat and made into a usable textile. Similarly, Tyvek is made by the same process but with polyethylene fibres. To bring the fibres to a near-inpenetratable bond, Tyvek is created through a process called Spunbonding – polyethylene  filament is extruded through a spinneret, then heat is applied to fuse the fibres together. Neither felt nor Tyvek is woven – felted wool is not very strong and can be pulled apart, but Tyvek cannot be ripped or torn – it is virtually indestructible unless you take a blade to it and slice it up.

Can you recycle it?

I certainly hope so. It’s made of petrochemicals and it will be around longer than I will be so I think it’s a good idea to be able to deal with it responsibly. I started looking around and the information I found on the web complained of recycling with DuPont only if you were hip to shelling out for postage, but these sites are a few years old and the DuPont website insists that users can order their Waste Management Recycle Kit that comes with a prepaid return envelope.

Sounds great, but you have to pay $15 to order the kit. If you’re a conscious consumer and like to take environmental responsibility for products you use, you just might order the kit because $15 won’t break the bank and you can send back up to 250 square feet of Tyvek products – a good move for busy offices. Interested? Find out about the DuPont kit here.

Wearing Tyvek

Tyvek can also be made into clothing. Tyvek is used for protective clothing for people who might work with hazardous materials and chemicals, but did you know that those thin, blue hospital  shoe coverings are also made of Tyvek?

During the 80s, people gave Tyvek clothing a go, but it didn’t really pan out: somewhere around 1987 or 88, I was working in the Eaton’s casual menswear department at the same time the Beach Boys were making a comeback of some sort. One summer day while unpacking the stock for the Regina SK store as selected by Toronto ON buyers,  I pulled out six blue bomber-style jackets with ribbed cuffs and waistbands out of Tyvek with Beach Boys graphics all over them. Hard on the eyes and in a foreign, soft papery-plastic material that just felt plain weird, these jackets didn’t go over very well and I think I remember almost having to give those suckers away at the end of the season clearance.

I think Tyvek has to find the right people and the right people have to find Tyvek. In the late 1970s, this age of plastic material found its soul mate. New Wave syth-geek band, Devo, moved on stage like robots in their notorious two piece Tyvek suits topped by those kooky, stepped red hats. No one else could have pulled it off.

(For anyone interested, I found a concert video of Pearl Jam performing Whip It in full-on Devo costume!)

A super cool Tyvek accessory 

Devo immortalized in a Tyvek Dynomighty wallet

What caught my attention in the store were the most fun, lightweight, indestructible, $15 hipster wallets made of Tyvek by Dynomighty. These wallets have no glue or thread to hold them together – they’re folded. And they expand to cater to all of the crap that you know you’re going to stuff in there and you can keep on cramming because the textile won’t rip. Bonus!

You’ll have a hard time choosing a favourite with so many graphics available – will it be the map of the London Underground? The Campbell’s soup cans? The U.S.S. Enterprise? The sheet music? Or the Fonz? If you’re in Toronto, you can find Dynomighty wallets live an in person at Drysdale & Co. on the south side of Danforth and Broadview or online and global at drysdaleandco.com.

Another cool feature of the Dynomighty wallet is that it is recyclable, or at least that’s what their product videos say. This is a great website that discusses the wallets from a responsible ecological point of view and features the Dynomighty wallet video for your information.