Sorry, 'Stylist' in its meaning of being one devoted to style in a Modernist sense. Not a personal shopper or one who works on photo shoots.
It was to draw out any stray Modernists out there... which it did... but only by email so far!

I try...

t.

I'm a big fan of Mr. Roest.

Never even swapped an email with the man. But I'm a keen reader of his works.

I like Bomber's historical take on it all, since he was actually *there* during the heyday.  Between him and Tom McCourt setting the stories straight for their respective eras, it's a good representation from guys who were the real deal.

Last edited by Alex Roest (2007-02-02 06:40:41)

As a bit of a foretaste :

The very term Stylist was born out of the need to reclaim some exclusivity. It's basically a very elitist attitude I suppose although I find it's more a case of feeling trapped when people start and put a label on you. I like to think I still carry some of that with me although I'm much too old to be a Stylist the way I see them, but that aside.

The first true Stylists IMO ( as in a certain traditional sense ) were some of those kids Jason put up via a few '50s Teddy-Boy links. Incidentally some of those ( London ) people would join the ranks of the early Modernists in search of something new ( and exclusive ) again and found it in Jazz and the accompanying duds.
Early Mod(ernist)s like Mark Feld ( Bolan ) were obviously Stylists, as were the early Skinheads ( Peanuts really ) of whom some would later become Suedeheads/Smoothies.......some even went on to become Soulboys/funkateers indeed....
Many early Punks ( among them Tom McCourt BTW ) were Stylists too I think and the early Casuals were Soul Stylists which is a nice catch-all phrase in itself. The key word here is tradition though and then adding your own thing to it is part of the game....

Thing is when you're getting older and you're still serious about it all those ITK ( both young and old ) will always recognise that fact in one way or another as I've stated so many times on the web.....

I'm convinced there are still lots of true young Stylists to be found all over the globe who are probably better at evading attention. And as such staying underground......some of them may have joined a traditionalist cult like Mod or whatever, but my true guess would be they'd rather not....

Ever since Acid Jazz/Hip hop and all that things are sartorially very much a potpourri which I personally like a lot. They just pick what they like and make their own style with just that tiny little hint at the past in their outfit.....to be continued......

Alex

Last edited by Alex Roest (2007-02-03 06:17:09)

In my vision a true Stylist is a sartorial explorer first and foremost. There's a nuance to it, but an important one nevertheless. No matter how well dressed one can be in a readily recognisable style, it has little to do with Stylism/Individualism as such. If you look at things from a subcultural point of view that is.

Any straight or defined style should be considered as a starting point rather than the aim should consist of perfectioning that style.
Of course if a 'dresser' feels really at home within their chosen style ( be it Mod or Skinhead or B-Boy ) and they won't ask themselves just exactly how much room they really have to manoeuvre, that's fair enough. If a certain style suits you like that, that's fine. As in remaining true to a cause I mean.

You'll see the occasional guy in the street who stands out like that, but an Individualist he is not. There has to be that mix of tradition and idiosyncrasy to accomplish that. Inventiveness, creativity when it comes to schmutter combined with a bit of an image obsession are most certainly motivators. One could even argue to add a healthy dose of arrogance ( re-f**k you attitude ) to all of that.

The instinctive use of, in a broad sense, formal garments, sportswear and country gear ( perhaps even all at the same time ) and making it work without looking like you're trying too hard. Let alone becoming artificial. That's the eternal challenge for those who seek not to find, but for the sake of it.

It'll sound a bit restless an attitude, but a result will give the Individualist an inner calm that you can almost, but not quite, call religeous. Then again he will know he'll have to move on again soon.

New ideas will come flooding to him from fashion mags, papers, books ( ! ), a detail on a window dummy, a character in a film or someone he has noticed in a club or in the street. Now those will keep him *sharp* as well as ( give him an ) ( on ) edge. It's his reason to be.

Alex

Last edited by Alex Roest (2007-02-03 06:18:44)

Last edited by Alex Roest (2007-02-04 04:25:47)

The Stylist of course is a Dandy at heart. To counterbalance the foppish connotations surrounding the latter the need for an edge to the Stylist's image arises. How to achieve such a thing is another tricky bit of what he has to accomplish that's not to be underestimated.

For one thing he doesn't want to be mistaken for a cheap villain and furthermore he will have to look hard convincingly, or people will force him into proving what they think he isn't. Now he doesn't want to ruffle his feathers or mess up his appearance for no reason, so subtlety will do the trick once more.

Being too obvious is not what he's about anyway and isn't it true that "anything exaggerated is meaningless" ? So what does he do.....?

In most cases the Stylist will have paid his dues in life, but think about the fact that there's more to him than just looks. Almost as important as the threads he wears are the sounds he listens to, the films he watches and the books he reads.

He'll have studied some of those characters he's come across in a novel or has seen on the screen for sure. Because there's great knowledge to be gained from classic pages and movies alike. Just think of Steve McQueen in "Bullitt" for instance.

He'll be able to value the worth of such characters knowing his stuff when it comes to such matters also. The Stylist is no mean cat by any means. He'll be educated, perhaps ( also ) in a traditional sense, but even more likely in an alternative one. It's all part of his eclectic attitude. The Individualist is an Internationalist as well naturally. How can he not be, given his preference for a deep black urban soundtrack to his life.

Alex

Last edited by Alex Roest (2007-02-05 02:24:04)

Alex Roest - Thank you for your response. Would it be too much to ask if we can know who are the greatest stylists of the 20th and 21st Centuries?