"Occasionally Clothed" is an ongoing series in which Paul Beirne builds outfits for life's many occasions.
This week I figured I'd chat with friend, Lamaze coach and amateur mustache grower Jay Arem. We discussed what to pack and how to effectively "stunt" in preparation for my annual trip to to visit the multiple menswear tradeshow clusterfuck collectively known as Market Week.
Paul: So I'm packing my duffel right now for the trip up to New York for Market Week. I copped it from J.Crew the other day. Something about that well-worn canvas patina really spoke to me about traveling, stories, building memories, heirlooms, you know, all that good nostalgia you can buy instantly. Anywho, I'm trying to figure out what clothes to bring, what are your thoughts?
Jay: Let me pose this existential question: are you dressing for other bloggers, industry folks, bloggers who have later become industry folks, street style photographers, bloggers who think they are street style photographers, Japanese magazines that will later use said street style photographers' images, or to impress girls?
P: Come on, bro. Bro me like you know me—I'm dressing for the girls that'll inevitably be crawling all over that menswear tradeshow floor space among the male bloggers, street style photographers, Instagrammers, Japanese dudes in American duds, etc. I wanna stand out, but how do you out-pee a peacock in a pissing contest?
J: Beware of those Tumblr girls, man. They all want that dude in the wilderness with a well maintained beard and faded jeans. The one that makes them say stuff like "le sigh" and "future husband," even though the guy is Yugoslavian, speaks no English and has no Internet connection—the type of guy that exfoliates with glass, makes his own quiches from foraged plant compost and gets plenty of hardbottom when he is wearing his hardbottoms. You've got your work cut out for you.
Paul Beirne is a blogger and menswear enthusiast living in Washington, DC. Follow him on Twitter here, or check out his personal blogging here. Jay Arem is co-owner of The Knottery. Follow him on Twitter here.
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