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Where to begin. I suppose for myself it was the vintage formal party I attended in September of 2009. I decided to go to the extreme. A quick trip to my local menswear store and I found myself in possession of vest. A secondary expedition to a op shop provided me some older styled clothing. After the party I found myself looking at the vest and thinking. 'Why isn't it common place to wear this kind of clothing?'. I began wearing the vest more often. Dress pants quickly replaced baggy jeans. Although I stood out more, I did not care. This was the way I wanted to dress. After taking up a dance class my partners would comment on my clothing. The vest was the most compliment gathering item of clothing I have ever owned. However, when the day returned I would don the more contemporary style of clothing. Granted I had continued to gather more clothing it was only worn out on nights out or special occasions. Always nagging at my mind was that question. 'Why is this not a more common form of dressing today?'. Then one day whilst sitting having a coffee in the courtyard of the University hub it hit me. Looking around I saw a girl wearing all black, a bowler hat, lace stockings and fingerless gloves. At another table, there was a Rasta. Another table contained a group of hipster looking individuals. The answer to my problems was given to me. Start a Subculture. After all it is a fact of modern life that you can pretty much get away with anything if you claim it's a subculture. More over you get to play 'the emperor's new clothes' routine if someone does not know your subculture. Elitism and fashion. Nice combination I thought. I shared my idea with a friend and the idea found support. So then began the slow march of progression. Rather than a jarring change it was more subtle. Firstly it was a matter of wearing dress pants, then transiting to wearing dress shoes and shirts. The vest became a more common item of clothing. All the while trying to gather inspiration from classic movies such as; Public Enemies, Casablanca, The Black Dahlia etc. Whilst researching fashion my friend turned me onto the TV show Madmen. It definitely added to the body of knowledge surrounding the new subculture I was trying to launch off. The best part of this subculture is there is no music you have to love to join, no particular pop culture or attitudes you have to subscribe to. It is just having a love of dressing well even if what you like to wear looks more at home in Rick's Cafe than the average nightclub. If you are afraid of copping flak for wearing said style of clothing, i'll give you the response my friend youtube linked me, 'What's the matter with you, you can act like a man' - Godfather. Besides it certainly opens more doors than a pair of dickies or a hat with a foil sticker. Now if I could only secure a hat like Dick Tracy I would be happy. |
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