Alain Delon was one of our first ever {STYLE IDOL} posts on The Eye of Faith, and quickly became and remains one of our most popular delves into classic timeless cool vintage style. It’s not a surprise – this guy just oozes bad ass nonchalant elegance, sophistication, and beauty!
He is always portrayed as a dangerous type, a rebel, a bad boy, a beautiful bad ass . . . but still very clean cut and classic.
So this year when we found out that the French bad boy would be honoured (and justly so) at this year’s Cannes Film Festival we were thrilled!
For his “wonderful presence in the history of film” the award is definitely just, but delving back into his timeline of wicked looks over the past 50+ years it is impossible to deny his presence in the history of style, as well!
So, in honour of this God of Style we delved deeper into our archive of looks from an icon who is on the level of James Dean or Marilyn Monroe. We are fortunate enough to have him with us still today!
Not all the rebels die young…in fact, you can watch his acceptance speech here (it is in French):
We checked out this brilliant list of 12 of his best cult classics from DW to find some super vibes we hadn’t picked up on in our initial post 7 years ago (yikes!). From baroque to gangster, from dapper to scuba, modern playboy to Victorian dandy…he does it all!
One thing’s for sure …
No one rocks a cut on their face quite like him!
Bless his soul
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What’s your favourite Alain Delon look? Let us know in the COMMENTS below!
Helmut Berger is what I consider a perfect artist – very serious in his craft, intelligent in his thoughts, without any time or patience for “bullshit” or empty phrases that litter many people’s everyday lives, conversations and relationships.
Helmut Berger doesn’t give a fuck what you think about him.
A icon of beauty, sex, and hedonism – the actor experienced great attention through the late 60s and 1970s for his work in film, most particularly with iconic Italian film maker Luchino Visconti whom took Berger under his wing as a muse in art and love.
How couldn’t he? When Visconti first cast the young and rebellious Austrian actor in his film Le Streghe (The Witches) in 1967, it was clear this was a rare star coming closer into orbit, and soon he was doing one iconic role after another playing Martin Von Essenback in The Damned (dressing in Dietrich drag in one of the film’s pivotal moments), King Ludwig II of Bavaria (earning him a David Di Donatello Award for Best Actor), and the title role in the flashy mod remake of Oscar Wilde’s classic – Dorian Gray.
He was also the first man to ever grace the cover of VOGUE alongside girlfriend Marisa Berenson – not surprising considering his classic beauty.
Those smouldering eyes, that golden blonde hair, his brooding masculinity mixed with a distinct dandy elegance – its a combination we don’t see in celebrities today.
On screen and off screen, Helmut Berger is definitely an idol of style we need to praise! So, here’s a classic {STYLE IDOL} collection of wicked photos of this bad ass legend of cinema to muse over and inspire your personal sense of style!
Helmut Berger
Yes, I am tainted by the beautiful things in life. But to all those who only want to see me as an agent provocateur and an eccentric I can only say: With every day of my life the number of people I don’t give a damn about grows and grows.
-Helmut Berger
As portrayed in the intensely provocative documentary by Andreas Horvath, Helmut Berger is a rebel without a cause – full of spunk, a lust for life, and a certain je na sais quois that really make a star ignite.
Not many people have the balls to to live as loud as this guy, so major props to him for that; and despite his seemingly reckless antics, we can’t deny the beautiful tapestry of work this man has created with his art and contributions to the legacy of cinema and of course, classic bad ass style!
For the most part, off duty, he’s a very classic jeans and oxford shirt kind of guy, but I love the extravagance and opulence he is able to pull of in many of his film roles, that I believe many other actors would have had a hard time making believable.
Tres chic and a bit of a rebel- Helmut Berger should definitely be at the top of your list for all-time style icons if you are into that kind of thing. We started this blog to help promote the beauty of the {past}, so hopefully we’ll be seeing a little more Helmut Berger realness in the near {future}.
What frightens you, what you see or what you don’t?
-Helmut Berger in Salon Kitty
Hope this was a good one for you! We love compiling these {STYLE IDOLS & DIVINITIES} for you guys, so let us know what you thought in the comments below!
Also, let us know if you have some interesting ideas!
When it comes to bad ass boho gods, I’m sure we could all name a few; but very little do I ever see the name Caetano Veloso pop up, and this is for us….OUTRAGEOUS!!!
We should be worshiping this icon of perseverance, elegance, rebellion, philosophical contemplation, compassion, counter culture, and activism. . .
Very few bohemian icons really get the credit they deserve when discussing men’s style . . . the mainstream would rather iconize GQ demi-gods Tom Brady or Ryan Gosling, and that’s all fine and dandy, but when it comes to that elicit feeling of cool. . . boho gods cannot be beat; and Brazilian tropicalia folk rock artist Caetano Veloso is on the top of our list!
Bad ass to the core, Veloso’s music touched a generation in the heart of Brazil with his inciting lyrics and enchanting melodies that brought a fusion of traditional Brazilian sound with psychedelic rock and folk helping create the “tropicalisimo” movement alongside best friend Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, and other bold and innovative artists of the time.
First premiering in 1965, fresh in Rio De Janeiro, Caetano won a lyrics competition for his composition “Um Dia”, getting him signed to Phillips Records. Two years later he received a standing ovation for his song “Alegria, Alegria” at the Brazil Popular Music Festival, marking the first time rock n roll music was ever played at the festival.
Him and his psych rock buddies were pioneers for a new sound, a new world, a new way of being; however, the powers that be would do anything they could to stop this burgeoning. Marxist students and communist supporters condemned the music for commercializing Brazilian culture, and incorporating musical influences from the United States.
The tensions between the Tropicalistas and the student left peaked in September 1968 with Veloso’s now-legendary performances at the third annual International Song Festival, held at the Catholic University in Rio, where the audience included a large contingent of students who were vehemently opposed to the Tropicalistas. When Veloso (backed by Os Mutantes) performed in the first round of the Festival’s song competition on 12 September, he was initially greeted with enthusiastic applause, but the situation soon turned ugly. Dressed in a shiny green plastic suit, festooned with electrical wires and necklaces strung with animal teeth, Veloso provoked the students with his lurid costume, his sensual body movements and his startling new psychedelic music, and the performers were soon being bombarded with loud insults, jeers and boos from the students, who became even more incensed when American pop singer John Dandurand made a surprise appearance on stage during the song.
Tensions would hit an all time high when he and his buddy Gilbert Gil were actually arrested in February of 1969 for little to no reason, and held in prison for three months, followed by four months of house arrest. Brazil’s military dictatorship which held the country under its grips until 1985, further had many and most of his songs banned or censored.
“… if you are the same in politics as you are in aesthetics, we’re done for!”
-Caetano Veloso
The two were exiled from the country for over a year, and spent most of their time in the dark and gloomy dims of London, England. However, by 1972 the pair were allowed back into the country quickly returning to their musical careers that have since landed Veloso 9 Latin Grammy’s and a Grammy for World Music Album in 2000.
Here at The Eye of Faith we always have great respect for people who stand for something. After all, if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing! And Caetano Veloso definitely exemplifies this.
Never fearing the opposition, never backing down on his own sense of self; apart from his penchant for wildly magical psych rock stylings, it is his character that truly makes this man an E.O.F. STYLE IDOL.
“I TALK too much…Everybody from Bahia is like this. We are always touching each other, too. We are a bit too much.”
-Caetano Veloso
Let us not forget this beautiful bohemian God and his willingness to stand for freedom, for beauty, and to live life to the fullest!
“Alegria means joy, or joyousness… It is the best-known song of any that I have written, and it was the opening song of tropicalismo, the first to use rock-and-rollish electric guitars. Whenever I sing it, it is just like the Rolling Stones singing ‘Satisfaction.’ It was the first anthem. It’s an affirmation-of-life kind of song, but it has an ironical hint to it.”
The song begins, “I’m walking against the wind, without handkerchief or documents in my pockets,” and ends with a chorus of “Why not?”
It’s about being able to walk and be alive and be real and feel the sun…It was against the dictatorship without saying anything about it. And everybody likes that ‘Why not?’ at the end.”
“They didn’t imprison us for any song or any particular thing that we said…It was a difficult atmosphere for them to understand, so they thought, ‘We might as well put them in prison.’ ”
The statuesque brunette of the classic Detroit girl group, The Pleasure Seekers, and sister to Suzi Quatro, Patti is a triumphant figure who put the power of beauty, style, and girl power to the forefront of our culture, and helped propelled the things we take for granted in our contemporary world.
Thank the heavens for E.O.F. correspondent John Wisnewski, who got the chance to ask this Girl Group maven some questions about her captivating life.
JOHN: What was the first band that you were in, Patti?
PATTI:First band I was in was The Pleasure Seekers, started in 1964 when I was 16 years old and Suzi was 14, in Detroit Rock City. We grew our talent jamming with all our home boys…..Ted Nugent, Bob Seger, MC5, Alice Cooper, Iggy, etc…….all honing our craft as we played the teen circuits together.
JOHN: When did you join Fanny?
PATTI: Joined Fanny in 1973 at Xmas time…….first gig was the Whiskey at which John Lennon saw our debut, and we did “Oh Darling” for him.
JOHN: Patti, Fanny paved the way for future female fronted groups- does Fanny receive recognition for this?
PATTI: All our roots bands receive recognition constantly from magazines, interviews, fans, etc…..people who appreciate us forging the road for women. Actually, Suzi and I started the earliest at 14 and 16 in Detroit……earliest heavy rocking all female band…1964. Others started later, and were more soft/girly sounding.
We had that Detroit grit energy from growing up jamming with Nugent, Alice, Iggy, MC5,Seger, etc. We all paved the way…..me and my sister and our roots bands, as well as Fanny. Suzi and I and our bands were recognized in Detroit/Michigan’s Hall of Fame awards last year and the year before.
Hopefully Fanny will be at some point. But, Suzi has had more than a few honours for her contributions.
JOHN: Have yourself and Suzi Quatro ever played any live appearances together?
PATTI: We just played together when she was awarded her woman of valor award from MEOW in March….a huge conference here in austin, Tx and we played together for first time since 1990’s.
JOHN: Of all the performers and artists that you knew, were there any that you were very impressed by?
PATTI: Bob Seger — his humility, songwriting talent.
Jeff Beck — his pure joy of his instrument and support of women musicians in an era when women did not rock guitars and till today.
Jimmy Page — his enormous creativity on his instrument — pure talent.
JOHN: Could you name some of your favorite bands, Patti?
PATTI: Nickelback, Jeff Beck, Zeppelin, Joe Cocker, Halestorm, Gary Moore . . .
JOHN: Will you be releasing an album?
PATTI: Already did two of our history. Don’t know what future holds.
THE EYE OF FAITH: Who does ? 🙂
Thank you to Patti Quatro for lending us her time and insight into her beautiful life!
And as always, thanks to John Wisnewski for bringing Ms. Quatro and The Pleasure Seekers to the forefront of our memory!!!
We are uploading new pieces every week, and keep getting new pieces on the daily to fulfill any style inspiration you could imagine! We are thrilled to have some pieces from Danielle Plester‘s LOST & FOUND VINTAGE collection in the store at 126 James North, and have been posting some key pieces in the {SHOP} since her arrival, so be sure to check it out!
So here’s some of our FAVOURITE FINDS to {GET THE LOOK}!
There is no doubt that the world would not be the same place if it hadn’t been for Alan Turing [b. 23 June 1912 – d. 7 June 1954]. In fact, you wouldn’t be reading this delectable morsel if it weren’t for the incredible genius of this British mathematician in developing the modern day computer.
A prophet of mathematics, with a natural inclination to numbers and science, Turing entered King’s College in 1931 and graduated Honors in Mathematics pioneering the working model for the Turing Machine, which operated on “Algorithims” that would make computing any mathematical problem conceivable. Obtaining a PhD from Princeton in June 1938, Turing furthered his concepts introducing oracles that could plan and solve complex problems that the Turing Machine was unable to compute.
It wasn’t until war time that Turing’s incredible genius would truly be implored, joining the German code-breaking team at Bletchley Park in September 1938. Using his profound wizardry in the realm of numbers, Turing was able to develop a statistical approach using computing machines to decode the impossible German Enigma-codes. This would ultimately provide the Allies with a major advantage in winning the war.
Turing was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services during wartime.
Turing also applied his mathematical brilliance in the fields of biology, imploring mathematical thought to the idea of pattern formation in nature. He also used mathematics to develop the foundations for the science behind morphogenesis – how biological forms come to be.
So in short, a {Hero}.
However, although interesting, it’s not his mathematic, scientific, or civil achievements that really caught our attention. It is, in fact, his mysterious and bizarre death.
It all began quite innocently – the way these things always begin. After being victim to a petty burglary of his home in January of 1952, police investigations opened the flood gates, revealing Turing’s homosexuality, which in fact was illegal in the UK at this point. Wanting to evade going to prison, Turing was able to go on probation after agreeing to a chemical castration that would require him to take injects of stilboestrol, a synthetic estrogen hormone.
Perhaps the injects caused moments of weakness or uncertainty, as various mood disorders and physical ailments have now been attributed to stilboestrol. And while he is recorded as throwing “such a jolly [tea] party” for a neighbour and her son four days before he died, he was found in the most macabre of circumstances: laying in bed with a half-eaten apple at his side.
If this sounds like fairy tale, don’t be mistaken, the past is a twisted and dark place, but there’s no denying the comparison to Turing’s death and the story of Snow White and The Seven Dwarves – Turing’s recorded favourite fairy tale. Novelist David Leavitt quotes that the mathematical genius took “an especially keen pleasure in the scene where the Wicked Queen immerses her apple in the poisonous brew.”
Many have speculated that Turing may have soaked the apple in poison as an homage to his favorite tale of dark pleasure and deceit, others (his mother particularly) have asserted that Turing was in fact just careless when it came to storing his lab chemicals. Whatever the truth may be, the circumstances surrounding Turing’s untimely demise are as fascinating as his science. His death was ruled a suicide, but recent discoveries seem to point in other directions.
Perhaps it was just a way to say good-bye to a cruel world, unwilling to accept the man, no matter how great his genius. He was but the innocent, and it was a truly unjust society that would poison the likes of such an incredible mind.
Luckily, Turing’s legacy lives on every we look. From this computer screen, to our televisions, and phones, the airplanes in the sky, the subway beneath my feet – all these things and more would not be possible without Turing’s ingenuity and courage to innovate.
You can see sometimes in the eyes of this strange boy; a burning fire that piercing your soul. Even past the screen, beneath the surface of every photograph of him, there is a brilliant mystery still waiting to be discovered and the very depth of the man named River Phoenix.
He was the most beautiful child you’ve ever seen, like a little Elvis.
-Iris Burton, River’s manager
It’s more the history of these awards that is so special to me . . .
His acting was top notch, and before the age of …. he found himself nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor with dozens of offers at his feet thereafter.
Fame was of little consequence to him, though, and instead he sought a life of refuge from the hustle and bustle of the business. The industry was not the priority, and from his very core, River was an undeniable artist who not only excelled in the art of acting, but was also an accomplished musician, humanitarian, environmentalist and animal rights activist.
You’ll never find him fur or leather as he was the original vegan style star- before it was in vogue or a trend. He had a soft and sensitive heart for world issues, the future of our planet, and most especially the well-being of animals.
While we think of the 80s for all its excesses, River appears the total antithesis to this vision of America. Even with his popularity and success, River defied typical Hollywood standards through what he wore; appearing at major red carpet events sometimes in only a graphic T-shirt, or a cool graphic sweater.
Plaid shirts, graphic sweaters, denim jackets, patterned shirts, and over-sized blazers were a staple for the young star, whose quirky style seems right in tuned with the vibe of the street today. And yet we probably never even realized that River Phoenix made his mark over twenty years ago in the same garbs we rock today.
Perhaps this was indicative of his adventurous heart, the way he dressed. A co-star in probably his most accomplished and enigmatic acting effort, My Own Private Idaho, Jimmy Reardon described a moment the two shared together shortly after filming the 90s art-house flick about a narcoleptic male hustler decked out in pure grunge glory:
One time we were up in the mountains, and the clouds came right up to the top of the mountain. River grabbed (my) arm and said, “We’re going to run and jump into these clouds and our whole past lives will dissolve, and everything will be new from then on. Hold on.” And we did that…it was incredible, and we landed on this soft iceberg kind of ground covering. But we jumped through clouds, literally.
It’s hard to imagine a star today who could even imagine being as fearless, but that’s just how River really was. Fearless.
Born River Jude Bottom, River grew up in a religious cult in South America known as the Children of God. He was named River after the river of life in Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, and Jude from the Beatle’s song. When their parents found that they were being embezzled by the cult and its leaders, they uprooted their children and moved to California where River was soon getting noticed for his movie star good looks, even as a boy.
He quickly began to take interest in acting and modelling, and it wasn’t long before his career took off. No one could deny the boy. He had a special edge that he never let go of until the very end.
Edward Lachman, superior director of photography for ‘Dogfight’ said:
When I first met River, he had very long hair and he struck me- as he came out of an elevator-as an angel, some kind of supernatural being. An angel could be Gabriel, but an angel could be Lucifer too. He could as readily delve in to the deep dark recesses as he would fly up to the lofty, illuminated (places).
There is no doubting his talents, but there’s also no doubting the foolishness of getting involved with people who do not have your best intentions in mind. River was the unfortunate victim to a brainless party mentality that is ever prevalent in our society. Was it really worth it in the end?
I don’t want to die in a car accident. When I die it’ll be a glorious day. It’ll probably be a waterfall.
-River Phoenix
This year the world was shocked by the death of another young star who kicked the bucket at the expense of his family, friends, fame, and fortune – Cory Monteith, who died of an overdose much the same way River did. Heroine and alcohol. The same toxic cocktail that took the life of many more before them including Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin.
It’s sad, so very sad, because these stars possessed such a zest for life and original spirit that didn’t need to compensate with heavy drugs and alcohol to make life interesting. They could have been resigned to just be themselves, and love every second of that.
This is why our advice at The Eye of Faith has always and will forever be to be yourself. Your truest self, beyond the effects of drugs and alcohol, you can have the most exciting and amazing life. You try to tread the line between reality and dream, and you can do this easily with the power of style and conjuring your idols to give you an extra boost away from the common day to day.
“You would have thought we was ninety and had died in his sleep. The people who were saying this felt tremendous guilt that they had contributed to his death.
He’s already being made into a martyr. He’s become a metaphor for a fallen angel, a Messiah. But he wasn’t. He was just a boy, a very good hearted boy who was very $%##$% up and had no idea how to implement his good intentions. I don’t want to be comforted by his death. I think it’s right that I’m angry about it, angry at the people who helped him stay sick, and angry at River.”
-Martha Plimpton on River’s death.
We recommend this state of mind for all days and occasions, to keep you safe and elevated beyond the strife of the street.
Most people don’t know, but River was also a talented musician in a band called “Aleka’s Attic”. Here’s one of his songs to send you off with. Hope I gave us all something to think about, and some wicked new vintage inspiration for the road!
“They say I live a fast life. Maybe I just like a fast life. I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. It won’t last forever, either. But the memories will.”
-Dennis Wilson
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This spring and summer we are all about Dennis Wilson, the infamous bad boy and drummer of The Beach Boys. The band brought the beach lifestyle to the forefront of popular culture in the 1960s , creating a romantic notion that still resides in the populous today. But without Dennis, the iconic boy band would have been lost.
It’s hard to think of that era without the The Beach Boys and their iconic sound, a mix of harmony, rhythm, soul, and blues all dedicated to Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and girls.
Hits such as Surfin USA, California Girls, and Good Vibrations, encapsulated the image we still associate with the notion of surf and beach living to this day.
Their music certainly came to define the dreams and musings of many who longed for the coasts and beaches of California, and the utopian recluse this magical land of surf and sun could provide (Don’t tell me it’s just us!)
Though his eldest brother Brian Wilson is accredited with much of the band’s creative and technical genius, it was the rebel bad boy drummer Dennis who lived and breathed the California that inspired the band in the first place.
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“I don’t do much surfin’, no I don’t. Actually, I don’t even know how to surf, but one guy in the group is a real good surfer, he’s a lot better than any of us, actually, all of us put together. His name is Dennis Wilson, of course, he’s our drummer, and he’s actually the inspiration behind this whole sort of surfing image for the Beach Boys. He encouraged me to write a surfing song a couple, 2, 3 years ago which started the whole thing moving.”
Brian Wilson, St. Louis 1964
Perhaps you noticed, but Dennis certainly had a different presence and a certain swag, as they say, compared to the rest of the band. Even his eldest brother Brian, who created most of the music during The Beach Boys’ hit making days, knew that Dennis and his SoCal rebel lifestyle was the clue to the puzzle of making a name for themselves.
Dennis always seems a mystery, a part of his embodiment of the surfing rock n’ roll image, you could say. Definitely an archetype of rebellion, desire, and thirst for danger. Behind his eyes there are stories and thoughts completely untold.
There are not many rock stars today who truly live the fantasies they suggest in their music. Dennis was not only a surfer, but also a pro drag racer, sailor, movie star, and notorious womanizer. These are the stories and tales written into almost every hit breaking, chart smashing song produced by the band.
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++”I wrest the waters, fight Neptune’s waters, sail through the sorrows of life’s marauders. Unrelenting, often empty, sail on, sail on, sailor.”++
-Sail on Sailors by The Beach Boys from “Holland”
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As much a piece of the puzzle to The Beach Boys’ success, Dennis never seemed to be able to stay far from trouble. As early back as childhood, Dennis was known for getting in fights, and failing classes. He married four times, and had developed a heavy habit for drugs and alcohol.
Most can definitely agree he had some demons.
Free-spirited Dennis would hit the ultimate heights of his notoriety when it was found out that he had housed Charles Manson and his cult for a time. Viewing the group as just a bunch of cosmically inclined free loving spirits with a itching for music, Dennis welcomed the “family” into his home, and housed them for several months.
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During this time Charles Manson and his groupies were hoping to become the next great music act with the help of Dennis. Dennis would indeed get some of their songs out there, but reworked for The Beach Boys, and in 1968 they would release the single “Never Learn Not To Love” written by Dennis, a reworking of a Charles Manson original.
Morbid, considering the message, and later the acts committed by the Manson Family in the Hollywood Hills…This attachment to the Manson family would always stain Dennis’ reputation, and only further instill his bad boy image in the public mind.
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His 1977 solo debut album “Pacific Ocean Blue” was a huge critical hit for the artist, which allowed him to demonstrate his very own unique and progressive point-of-view. Many fans and critics agree it is Dennis’ fearlessness, drama, and deep soul that almost eclipse The Beach Boys altogether.
These are the traits we admire in the man. The adventurer in all aspects. His music. His life. His soul. And the whole time, he wasn’t even trying. He just simply was the most pure form of himself at all times. He just was.
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His style is almost the same. It is not pent up in being cool, it just is…sounds silly, but most of the time Dennis Wilson was just chucking clothes on. His wardrobe is simple, always comfortable, and fitted just right. Classic, but he shakes it up with his rough and messy sort of way about him.
Wilson’s body was found curled up in a fetal position at the corner of the dock that once harbored his yacht, Harmony – one of his greatest joys, as well as the scene for many dramas in his life. He had spent the afternoon drinking and diving into the waters finding objects he had thrown over his boat and into the water.
At 39, Dennis Wilson was already a legend in every right. He had inspired his band to create an entire persona around him, and with that they became America’s most famous and beloved band in history.
His devilish grin, and candid charm kept him a favorite of the group, and with a wicked ability to adapt and change, Dennis kept the band going during the band’s hardest times. Sadly, no one would be able to help carry him through his own.
Dennis Wilson was given a burial to sea, his favorite place on Earth, and an honor reserved only to members of the military. The perfect resting place for a restless, wandering, and beautiful soul.
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We love you Pacific Ocean blue
Yeah we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh I we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
It’s no wonder the Pacific Ocean is blue
-Dennis Wilson, “Pacific Ocean Blue”.
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Experience it all yourself.
All it takes is a little guts and glory…bold, bad, and beautiful.
Here are some of the items at that can help inspire the look!
Seems like the whole world is talking Gatsby, and there’s not many moons before the curtains rise and the screens across the globe begin to flicker “The Great Gatsby” once again, this time in crystal clear 3-D. And while the effect might be just part of the movie, the filmmaker’s have made it possible to live the part in real life.
There is something magical about that moment in the novel when Jay and Daisy have just reunited, and in the excitement of the moment Jay finds himself touring Daisy through his home, and invariably ending up in his luxurious bedroom (Hint Nick, just leave already). From what it seems, Jay Gatsby really does have everything, and in a whirlwind of excitement he begins to throw his many neatly pressed and pastel coloured shirts into the air. They are so incredible that Daisy begins to sob.
I think Fitzgerald describes it best:
“He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher – shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of indian blue. Suddenly with a strained sound Daisy Bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily.
“They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts before.”
{Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby (87)}
I am always baffled by this approach to the situation, but also admire Fitzgerald’s willingness to lose himself in the spirit of his story. I love the way he describes the shirts, and its this attention to detail that is really matched by The Great Gatsby collection by The Brooks Brothers.
There’s something so modern and sophisticated about the collection, and yet the pieces are perfectly matched to the era they are meant to come out of in the story. The pieces look well crafted, and to be honest, to find 1920s menswear in wearable condition is very rare, so the chance to buy period proper pieces that are wonderfully crafted from the Jay Gatsby repertoire is impressive. All the classic Gatsby looks are available from the striped blazers to the slick black party tuxedo, and even the most iconic Gatsbyism of style – a pink suit.
Gatsby, a vision in pink, is a notion as classic as the story itself. It says a lot about his spirit, bravado and acute style sensibilities. I mean, for a fictional character, he has got to be the best-dressed of any of them. We offered the behind the scenes on the collaboration, now bring you some of the unique pieces inspired by the Gatsby spirit.
Really dig the straw boater hats. That’s something that would be worth waiting to find.
This week we were saddened to learn about the passing of 1960s surf film star and legend, Annette Funicello. Before Victoria Justice, Miley Cyrus, and even Britney Spears there was Annette Funicello who epitomized teen stardom throughout the 1950s and 60s.
Growing up in public is especially hard sometimes . . .
The Teen Dream Queen rocked it out in a bikini with a surf board surrounded by musclebound gods to become an icon of the surf lifestyle that the entire globe looked and aspired to. Granted, it was a more wholesome version of real California surf culture, it is still a cornerstone of popular culture to this day.
We love her sexy and sassy looks, and wanted to remember her with a gallery of some of our favourite looks and images of this surf style legend. Annette Funicello passed away at age 70 on April 8, 2013.
