Artist/Rebel/Dandy at RISD - Last Chance!

Patrick McDonald at the opening of Artist/Rebel/Dandy, April 2013

The wonderful Artist/Rebel/Dandy exhibit at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum is up only till Aug 18, so I implore you:  GO!

It is a very special exhibit years in the making, the likes of which we won't see again any time soon.  Anyways, make a little road trip to Providence - it's a great town!  Have some clam cakes and a Narragansett beer, then go enjoy the amazing array of suits and artifacts collected to celebrate the history, style, and character of dandies past and present.  You will see three prints there by me!

Enjoy these photos of the opening weekend festivities!  There are a lot more here.

Waris and Natty in front of their ensembles at the exhibit opening.  Suits by Against Nature, naturally.

Tom Wolfe makes a cameo

I looked longing for most of the time at Fred Astaire's white tie and tails.

The gala dinner took place at the historic Providence Public Library

Natty finally got to meet Dr. Andre Churchwell

Favorite photo of the night:  Churchwell's oyster colored dinner jacket. Wow.

Ignacio Quiles and Iké Udé chat after the gala dinner.  

After the tweed ride, out front of the RISD Museum

My portrait of Doran graces the entrance to the main exhibit hall.

Guy Hills and Dashing Tweeds were prominently displayed in this section devoted to tailoring and craftsmanship.  Notice my portrait of Hugo Jacomet on the far right (and below).

And to find out more about the Artist/Rebel/Dandy exhibit check out this great video Andrew Yamato made for A Suitable Wardrobe.

Natty's View

Visiting James Sherwood in Bloomsbury, London

Artist Paolo Canevari in front of his 1940s Japanese hand painted screen, NYC

Night shooting with Winston Chesterfield around his picture perfect neighborhood in Westminster.

The writer, Nathaniel "Natty" Adams, and I have been having a wonderful time on new shoots for the book.  He finds the same joy in discovering amazing characters and stories as I do.  In recent months we have been in high gear, and have been on most of the shoots together, interviewing and photographing at the same time.  It's extra fascinating to be able to hear their stories as I shoot, because normally I'm kind of quiet and focused.  Certainly whole books could be written on individual men!  

Taking a look back at all the shoots as I edit them for the book has raised the question, what do all these men have in common - and, essentially, what defines a dandy for this project?  There are a lot of differences, but seemingly just as many similarities.  I've certainly tried to avoid hard and fast answers in favor of the view of an explorer into a new world.  But the question has come up time and again, and because I've never been able to "answer" it,  it has propelled me deeper into the project.  I've been so immersed, and now I am attempting to try to understand what someone new to the series or concept might think.   I would love to hear your thoughts - if you have just stumbled across this, or have been following from the beginning - what are your definitions, what are your questions, why is it so hard to define?  

All photos by Natty, of course!

Cleverley Bespoke: Dandy Enablers

The George Glasgows, father and son,  NYC,  Oct 2012

Cleverley bespoke shoes are works of art.  Like little sculptures I can be enjoy for the sheer beauty of it...because I (probably) will never wear them, or own a pair.  They don't make ladies shoes.  I asked, of course, when I met the father and son team at the helm of the legendary bespoke shoemakers of London on their most recent visit to New York.  They smiled at the question.  But a lady can appreciate, can't she?  

I was charmed by the stories of George the elder.  Not surprising - he is known to be a colorful storyteller.  It helps so I can be quiet and watch.  But I naturally like to hear stories.  When he starts to talk he gets a little smile on his face and his hand rests itself  on his chest just under his lapel.  It could be Napoleonic, but instead it's very relaxed.

Glasgow told me how he started out long ago apprenticing George J Cleverley, and eventually came to own the company, and about how a lot of young people are interested in bespoke shoes now, but sometimes want them as quickly as they want everything else.  The old timers, though, the lords and royalty who have always been customers, never mention anything as pedestrian as time, or, god forbid, money.  A simple note is passed to announce the shoes are ready for pick up, and that is all.



Much love and mending.  Made in July 1980, this pair shows wear, but I'll bet they feel great!



The signature "suspiciously square toe" styling.




It might seem odd - that this customer is smelling the shoe, but not if you knew why...

They are made from the famed Russian reindeer leather that has been rescued from the cargo of a 1786 shipwreck.  How utterly romantic, how rarefied.  Even though this exclusive material has been mentioned by many blogs and magazines, it really does still have an air about it.  And the smell…in person…I loved it.  It should be a cologne, if that's even possible.  It's incredibly masculine and smells of smoky leather and metal.

They made a hefty travel bag from it as well.   I wouldn't mind this for my guy, not at all.




Alex Rodriguez came by for the fitting on his first pair of shoes.   Hopefully this marks the end of trainers?



Cleverley, as you can imagine, has been enabling dandies for decades: current bon vivants Tom Wolfe and Ed Hayes, Andre Churchwell, as well as those legends from the past like Bunny Rogers (he liked those difficult button up boots that require a contraption to get into them), and "aristocratic aesthete" Baron De Rede.

All the while I was hearing the stories from the elder, George Jr was talking with clients, checking in with his phone, arranging fittings, and fluttering back and forth between all the rooms of the presidential suite getting orders ready for customers.  He's the new generation, and quite business minded and tech savvy.  That's a great compliment to the legend of Cleverley - and I wish the Georges all the best!

Classic Summer

Michael R Davis, aka "The Kid", plays trumpet in Dandy Wellington's band

A dapper party-goer, Michael R. Davis, and Dandy Wellington at the Seersucker Social

We made our way down to Washington DC once again for the Seersucker Social put on by a purely social endeavor:  Dandies and Quaintrelles.  I don't think we have anything like this in NYC, do we?  It's not a club, not a business, but a social group that puts on events to get people to, well, socialize.

There have been a lot of summer activities and I've been getting out more than usual (yay!), so "Classic Summer" seems to be the theme here on The Dandy Portraits.  A bit of vintage, bit of dandy, bit of Americana - whatever you want to call it, the men I'm meeting strive to dress well no matter what the god awful heat.   By the way, why is a boater a summer hat?  They are so hot to wear!


This man with the great stripes came up to say hello to Wellington, and it turns out he is a fan of The Dandy Portraits!  Now if I could just remember his name.... Help me out if you know him please.

A Bit of London in New York

Ray Frensham visiting NYC, June 2012

At The Jazz Age Lawn Party

Michael Arenella after his show, Governor's Island, June 2012

On Saturday we headed out to the Jazz Age Lawn Party for the first time since it began in 2007 (!).  It happens now twice every summer, and the crowds are growing.  Here is just a few snaps of the gentlemen I found...

Matthew Karl Gale

Matt Fox of FineAndDandyShop.com looking adorable 

Robert E. Bryan

A dapper Italian fellow with an unusually colored straw hat

Working Class Dandy from Philly, David P. Lochner