quondam @ archinect/79/7901p.htm
TASTE
in yesterday's underwear and barefoot 2003.08.21 15:50
To: design-l@lists.psu.edu
Subject: re: tailoring sense
Date: 2002.06.28 11:41
It's interesting how much of what Hollander says about suits at barryland.com/suits.html is really actually about the advertising of suits. Hollander makes much mention of who are wearing suits, and what kind, on TV. There is no mention, however, that all these suit appearances are at base paid endorsements of suits. Even Charlie Rose lets us know he is wearing Ralph Lauren Purple Label. Funny how the guys (mostly paid actors) on TV basically get these 'great suits' more or less for free, simply for wearing a 'label', while the rest of the guys, who are not on TV, have to pay large amounts of money to again basically advertise the same label. This leads me to be very suspect of any analysis of suits that is based on what suits are being worn of TV--it's no different than analyzing suits by looking at what suits are being advertised (by the suit manufacturers/designers) in other media.
The real 'genius' of branding is that (regular) people will eagerly pay large amounts of money for the opportunity to be walking advertisements. Granted, most of the people that wear designer (label) clothes think they are advertising their own (so-called) good taste, but that's not really what's being advertised (at the same people's expense, no less).
The contemporary artists Gilbert and George make a fairly consistent mockery of the suit via themselves and their artwork--somewhat related to the mockery that the uber-wanna-be TV characters of Fraser and his brother make.
Jim Williams of Savannah always wore Dunhill suits. Jim always had the Dunhill buttons removed from the jackets, however, and had them replaced with buttons depicting the Williams family crest. Jim loved telling the story about the time his friend Lance asked if he (Lance) could have the Dunhill buttons to sew onto his non-Dunhill suits.
The first time Jim took me for a night ride in his green Jaguar (the same Jaguar you see Kevin Spacey and John Cusack driving in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), Jim said he wanted to replace the Jaguar medallion in the center of the stirring wheel with a medallion of the Williams crest. Of course I immediately asked if I could have the Jaguar medallion for my car. (I loved making Jim laugh.)
The first time I took Jim for a ride in my car, a 1979 blue Toyota Corolla Liftback, after meeting him at Philadelphia International Airport in 1985, while on the road I asked Jim to get something out of the glove compartment. When Jim opened the compartment lots of crumpled dollar bills came spilling out onto his lap and down at his feet. I just wanted to make sure that Jim knew the car I drove was very classy and rare as well.
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