Welcome to Evolution of Style
This past weekend we successfully fit a new client from the great state of Alaska. This completed our mission of having a client in every state and the district by the end of this year.
We will continue our diligent work to slowly convert gentleman across the country into clothes that fit them properly!
I’ve been asked numerous times about how to fold a pocket square. In the first of this series I am going to start off with my personal favorite, the Winged Puff fold.
In America the tuxedo has almost been ruined by the rental market for them. Thankfully men are beginning to understand the power of owning a great bespoke tuxedo for their wardrobe. When I work with a client to make them their own tuxedo I start with this approach and work in their own personal style.
When you only want to own one in your lifetime it is best to stick to a classic style.
We have a lot of different options to fit everyone’s style but if I had to create one Tuxedo this would be it.
I would do a two button jacket with a peak lapel for a more formal appeal. On the back there would be a single middle vent. Since these pants are made for you, always go with a flat front and all tuxedo’s have no cuff’s on the bottom.
Get a solid white shirt or one with a slight textured stripe and leave a standard collar on it. This way as styles change from bow-tie’s and neck tie’s you can easily wear both.
This week we profile entrepreneur Matt Jackson, owner of Boscus Designs.
We met with Matt at his workshop in Hermosa beach to take a few shots of his work and learn more about the creative process behind is woodwork.
Where are you from and what brought you to LA?
My entire childhood, adolescence, awkward prepubescence and college years were all spent in Colorado. I grew up in south Denver and went to the University of Colorado at Boulder to study architectural engineering. At CU I specialized in architectural lighting design and came out to LA for a job in 2004 after I graduated.
What is the best advice you ever received?
Aim at the center of the bowl – can’t thank mom enough for that one. Kidding. I think the best advice i ever got was from a college professor who once told me to, “do the most you can in the time that you have.” I think this could sound like a cheesy high school graduation if taken out of context, but the context here was project oriented. If you waste your time worrying about the deadline you have, you’ll never get anything done.
Matt, how did you come up with the idea for boscus?
I’ve got to thank mom again for this one. And Dad. For being incredibly cheap. If it weren’t for that I never would have grown up watching PBS. Two words. Norm Abram. The godfather of wood. I can’t tell you how many cabinets, gazebos, desks, tables and chairs I’ve watched this man make. I have always loved design – especially more minimal and contemporary styles, but I never really did anything about it until one day in 2008 I decided to make my own natural slab wood table. I went out and bought the most exquisite piece of cocobolo, a box saw and a sanding block and spent the next 3 weeks sawing, sanding and buffing that piece of wood until you could see your reflection in it. After that a design spark went off in my head and I started designing jewelry with the scraps. All of it was just gift ideas for family and friends, but it turned into a real passion and Boscus was born.
Where do you draw inspiration for your designs?
The minimal designs really just come from the complex nature of the wood. Most of the pieces I work with have so much character that all I want to do is showcase their natural beauty. Working with architects and interior designers from all over the world definitely played a roll in helping me with ideas.
What has been your favorite designed item so far?
(If you have a picture I can include it in the post) There are a lot to choose from. I have a bunch of favorites (Large Verawood Ring, the custom Menorah and the belt buckles), but I think one of the more simple designs I’ve done and the one I spent the most time on is still my favorite. The Bubinga coffee table that sits in my living room has such an amazing grain and the color is unlike any other I’ve seen. This was one of my earlier pieces and it was built entirely with a hand saw and a block sander – a lot of blood sweat and more sweat went into this table.
What’s next for Matt Jackson?
The next step with boscus is fabricating more custom furniture and jewelry. There are so many creative people out there that want something unique. I love working with clients to create something that I can be proud of while also have their visions realized. I still enjoy creating my own designs and I’ll continue to do so, but I think more and more people are inspired by Etsy, Pintress, etc. and can turn to a craftsman, like myself, to fabricate that idea.
Almost 5 years ago I traded the concrete jungle of New York for the beaches of Santa Monica. One of the first people I met was Dan Frazier, who in my eyes seemed like the unofficial mayor of the city. From the beach to the bars it seemed Dan knew everyone!
Last year, Dan put together his passion of beach life and music to create the Free Bike Valet music blog.
In our new series highlighting entrepreneurial clients, we had the chance to sit down and ask him a few questions.
EOS: Where are you from and what brought you to Los Angeles?
Dan: I grew up in Tennessee, went to college in North Carolina, and decided to move to L.A. after I worked for the Vans Warped Tour as their official tour blogger. A few friends I made on the tour asked me to live with them in Echo Park. I tried to be a hipster, but failed and eventually moved to Santa Monica. Once I fell in love with the beach, never looked back.
EOS: How did you come up with the idea for Free Bike Valet?
Dan: I’ve been writing about music for magazines ever since college but I wanted to create my own online outlet. I’ve always been a large supporter of local music scenes so I created a music blog that only covers bands from California. I also wanted to place a strong emphasis on the beach lifestyle that is iconic to the culture here so I chose the name “Free Bike Valet” after the actual service that is common at street fairs, farmers’ markets, and pier concerts here in Santa Monica and other coastal cities.
EOS: What has been your biggest challenge with starting the blog?
Dan: There are too many amazing bands in California and not enough time to write about them all. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego all have very vibrant scenes and it’s tough to keep up with them all. But it’s also very fun.
EOS: Can you give us some insights on what is next for you and Free Bike Valet?
Dan: For now, I just need to write, write, and write. I’ve have the privilege to sponsored some shows at the Santa Monica venue The Central so I hope to continue that and maybe help with some other local events.
EOS: Who are your favorite bands most of us haven’t heard of?
Dan: The bands that really excited me this past year were The Ross Sea Party, The Dead Ships, and Blondfire. I expect big things coming their way, and I’m glad I heard them first.
EOS: Thanks again Dan for taking the time to sit down with us and do the photo shoot in Santa Monica!
One of the reason’s I love Twitter is the random but sometimes surprising interactions you make. Yesterday I posted a picture of one of my new pocket squares and was complimented by @3eeve (AKA Jay). When someone goes out of their way to pay a compliment I like to spend some time to get to know them a little better. I clicked over to Jay’s blog and it turns out he wrote a fantastic post on how changing his attitude towards his clothing has had far reaching effects into his life.
Thanks again @3eeve for letting me re-post this!
In the past two years or so I’ve become more and more interested in men’s style. Some of it has to do with my regular visits to New York. While that sparked the interest, it hasn’t maintained it. When I began to dress differently, I noticed that people treated me differently. More importantly, I began to treat myself a little differently. And maybe most surprisingly, I’ve started treating other people differently (but maybe not the way you’d think).
It’s a bit hard to describe because frankly I’m not sure what happened first. When I started paying attention to my appearance, I began getting compliments. At the same time, I’d look at myself in the mirror and realize that I could actually cut a pretty impressive figure in a suit, or that I could be comfortable and casual and still look sharp. It was a good feeling, one I’m not used to (I’ve never been very good at self praise of any sort). It gave me a lot of confidence. I began to notice that people responded to that confidence. I’m not much for self-help, power-of-the-Secret type bullshit, but all that stuff about people responding to self-confidence? Seems to be true.
And once I began to notice details about myself, a funny thing happened–I began to notice details about everyone else. Not in a finicky, sneering fashion elitist kinda way. Rather, because I felt good about my appearance, I began to look at people to see how they felt about their appearance. What they obviously liked to wear. What made them uncomfortable. What made them walk out of their doors in the morning and say “Fuck you world, here I am. Come at me.”
When I noticed something I liked, I felt compelled to say so. Maybe “compelled” is the wrong word, but I felt that I needed to tell the person something positive. Man, woman, it didn’t really matter. Even if I had no personal interest in something, I had no problem offering a compliment. A shirt pattern that struck me, a suit that fit well, a woman’s scarf, someone who’s lost some weight: I am happy to point out any of the above, and anything else I might happen to like.
Ten years ago I was too timid to do something like this. I was too worried someone would think I was weird, or gay or something else stupid that insecure college idiots think about themselves and other people. (By the way if someone somewhere mistook me for gay now I’d probably just smile, politely correct them, and secretly congratulate myself for being fucking put together enough to be lumped in with a stereotype about well-dressed men.)
So basically all of this results in a kind of ouroboros feedback loop of confidence. I look in the mirror before I leave in the morning and feel good about myself. Others see the way I feel and respond positively to my confidence. I respond to their responses with my own positivity.
People like to be noticed. People want, maybe even need, to be noticed. George Bernard Shaw wrote “The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.”
Its not the 90s anymore. Acting like I don’t give a shit is not just unacceptable, it’s downright fucking weird. I’m a grown man, and I realized that if I wanted to change the way people respond to me, I had to change the way I responded to myself.
This isn’t some mystical feel-good bullshit. I’m not saving the world. I’m not feeding the homeless. I’m not pulling people out of burning buildings. I’m fully aware that in the great grand scheme of things, personal style is pretty much at the bottom of the list. Maybe you think that this whole post is just an excuse to indulge my narcissism. And maybe you’re right. (Though I probably already failed the narcissism test when I decided to start a blog.) All I know is, I’ve spent most of my life trying to figure out where I belong, and if a nicely tailored suit helps me get there, I’m gonna follow that road and see where it leads me.
(Spoiler alert: it’s working out so far.)
This spring is going to be full of bold windowpane patterns. On Friday, a client (Thanks Antwane) sent me a link to a picture from GQ that has inspired him to start working on his fashionable man cave. He pointed out the chairs in the background as something he is using as inspiration. My eye immediately went to the bold navy and brown suit and took a trip to downtown Los Angeles to see if I could find something similar at my high end fabric store.
I scored this amazing Loro Piana fabric that is very close to the inspiration picture. It also has a bit of burnt orange in it which helps tone it down a little.
If you want to step into something a little bolder this spring this would be a great option. It’s very versatile because you can wear the jacket and pants separately as a more casual option. The jacket would actually be perfect to pair with jeans and a light blue or white based shirt.
I only have ONE available so if you are interested please email me at sales@evolutionofstyle.com immediately to reserve it.
Our first commitment to you will always be high quality, classicly styled clothing, with the fit details that will set you apart. We also want to make it easy for you to round out your wardrobe with one stop shopping option either online or by coming to the studio.
Pocket Squares - After a small test run we did during the summer these really took off. We will be introducing a few new styles this week and additional styles each month.
Bespoke Belts - After purchasing a great pair of walnut Allen Edmonds shoes I had the hardest time finding a belt to match. A friend of mine in Santa Monica wanted to get back into leather making so we tested out a few belts. It’s a very interesting process to watch (A video will be coming) but also works perfectly since I already have all of your waist measurements. We will be able to match the color of any shoes you own to a belt that will be made for you.
New Suit Styling options - Over the last month I spent a lot of time researching classic men’s suiting styles. One of my favorites is a classic English turn back cuff on the jacket sleeve. Personally this is my favorite as it adds such great detail, but does it in a very subtle way.
Video - We will be producing some in house video to help answer your styling questions. We will also give you some examples of how best to style the basic suits that most of you already own. Hopefully I will also have some of my influential clients give me a few minutes of their time to talk about the benefits bespoke clothing has given them.
These are just a few of the things that we are working on this year, as more come into focus I will make sure you are the first to know!
Jonathan
Other than learning the Mayan’s were just messing with us, I want to take the time to thank everyone for their continued support of Evolution of Style. We received amazing from feedback from many of you in 2012 and we used that to make great strides in the quality of our clothing. I want to share some of these and how we addressed them.
One of the biggest issues that came up was the buttons. We received a lot of emails that they would become loose and fall off. This was actually a simple adjustment from a parallel to a X stitch. This year we are working to improve the actual stitching material to ensure the buttons are locked on.
My personal endeavor last year was to improve our shirting fabrics. Early in the year we partnered with Tessitura Monti and launched the new fabrics during the summer. In December two of my first and most vocal clients both sent me raving emails about their new shirts. This is not the end, we are already working on an additional partnership for 2013.
Late in the summer, with the help of Peter Vilkins, we launched our Neckwear and Pocket squares. Details are key when developing your personal style which is why we include a complimentary tie bar with every suit. These two relatively inexpensive items go a long way in making you unique on a daily basis and were important to compliment the suiting and shirts.
Many of you started requesting higher end suiting fabrics and we were able to parter with B Black and Sons of Los Angeles to help bring them to you. From Lora Piana to my personal favorite Zegna, these fabrics help bring a sophistication to our offering that we never had before.
In 2013 we have a lot of exciting things in the works to help you build your personal style. Please keep the feedback coming because as you can see it only helps us provide a better end product to you.
Jonathan Mustich
A few days ago a great client of mine sent me an email with the photo below.
It highlights something that all people in fashion know, your binder clips are not just for binders! Fashion photographers use it to pin the clothes so close to the body that if that model moved those clips would pop off sending lighting assistants running for their lives.
This photograph actually highlights some of the key aspects we use to make you look better when we design a suit made for you.
1. The curve in your back, this immediately will make you look slimmer by eliminating the cape effect of a off the rack suit.
2. By making the arm slim and raising the armhole we create open space between your arm and your body. This accentuates the slim effect and also helps create the desired “V” shape in a suit.
3. Not pictured, but just as important is the slim leg. By slimming the leg you create open space again which makes you look slimmer and taller.
We know you might not always have the time to get a custom suit from us. So next time you see an ad stating “You’ll will like the way you look, I guarantee it”. Remember this image before rushing to the store to pick up your suit, 4 sportcoats, 3 pants, 5 sweaters, and 5 ties all for the price of a suit.