17 November 2010

Style Defined

Bill Blass & Nan Kempner at the Plaza Photo NY Times from the book, Bare Blass

"Building a personal style, creatively understanding oneself, seeking out those whose work and vision coincides - this is not something that can be accomplished overnight, or by giving in to the ever-changing whim of the moment. It is the work of a lifetime. And it is only possible when a sense of self is present: knowing every facet of oneself, trusting one's "eye" and heart, and being fearless."

I wish I had said that. Instead, the above was a comment on Cathy Horyn's blog by Visone or, as I discovered through Twitter, a Ms. Susan Crawford from somewhere in the Hudson Valley. I tried Twitter several months ago and was underwhelmed by the president of Zappos describing his hotel room in Dallas or where ever. But I'm going to try again, if for no other reason, than to listen carefully to Ms. Crawford.

10 comments:

LPC said...

Tintin - I'm over there, @AmidPrivilege. I am probably not hanging with your crowd, per se, but there are an awful lot of literate, interesting, and amusing people to be found. My advice would be to look at who Ms. Crawford follows, and who follows her, and then emulate. She also may have made "lists" which you can follow whole hog. The brands about which you regularly write may also be there, however, they will certainly be there in varying degrees of non-robotness.

Patsy said...

If I didn't like Susan for her insightful commentary, I'd like her for having a Thurman Munson jersey.

Anonymous said...

Tin,
Great quote. I have an unrelated question: Where is the best place to buy tatersall shirts? Mercer has them for $150. Orvis sell the Viyellas at an inflated price? Didn't know if you had any suggestions?

Thanks,
Matthew
mr510281@sju.edu

La Maison Fou said...

Really makes one think?

Food for the thought and creative process.
Twitter sends me a fluster! One day I may make the jump or is that dive???

For now, enough is enough...thanks for the words of inspiration!
L.

Anonymous said...

As they say, "Puh-leeeeeze".
"knowing every facet of oneself" and sharing every last bit of it on twitter all day long.

TRVS said...

That is one of the most insightful quotes about style I've read in a long time. I'm printing it out and it's going on board.

Twitter has made me a lazy blogger. 140 keys strokes doesn't leave much room for blah blah blah. It is great for quick updates without creating an entire blog post.

tintin said...

LPC- Great advice. I'll check it out. I gave earlier 'cause so much of it was so boring. Of course, a lot of people say that about this blog.

Patsy- I missed that. Thanks for pointing it out.

Matthew- Try Orvis. Here's a nice one:

http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=77C9&dir_id=885&group_id=2685&cat_id=15589

$70 though. Not bad but not so great when you figure in S,M,L, XL and most likely made in India. Not to be critcal but sticking with the "Less is More" theme around here, you can get a knock out Mercer for the cost of 2 od these Orvis shirts. Still, I understand if you wanna save $70 and have one tattersall.

Also, check the Brit tatteralls. Pakeman, Cordings, even Rugby have some colorful patterns this year. There's a nice Cordings in Blood red and Forest Green.

La Masion Fou- I refuse to let twitter onto my phone. For now it's catching up on line.

Anon- Sorry if it bores you. To clarify, she didn't Twitter the comment. She posted it on Horyn's blog. It's an excerpt for which I provided you a link to read in full. If you can read.

TRVS- In some ways Twitter is perfect for writing about clothes. You can only say or write so much before things get pedantic. Even Vreeland's memos at Vougue are perfect Twitter length.

Here's an example: "...this is the first really dull face we have ever had at Vougue. It is a great shame but the girl really is not our cup of tea. Don't let's use her again." April 8, 1969

See what I mean?

TRVS said...

Re: Diana Vreeland quote
That poor girl, whoever she was....

Anonymous said...

Many thanks Tin. I like the Cordings shirts, and Pakeman has some nice stuff as well. I agree with you on the Mercer. It comes down to spending money on quality products--no way around it. I owe you a drink if I ever run into you at a bar here in Philadelphia. By the way, love the piece you did on the city a few weeks ago.
Cheers,
Matthew

Anonymous said...

Sorry to upset you so much. I wound up on her twitter account, where she tweets her feelings and wisdom every few minutes. "...if you can read" is a brilliant put-down.