GOOGIE TIKI PARADIS

    American Apparel tee, Scotch & Soda scarf, Levi's jeans, Vintage jacket, leather skirt, and boots. I've always had an affinity for the tiki/googie aesthetic (perhaps growing up in socal surrounded by these relics of cocktail longues and diners fostered this affinity?), and am always looking for ways to weave it into my wardrobe. I thought it was cool when fashion nodded to the look with Proenza Schouler's S/S 12 collection. It's been my go-to handbook for ways to googie-tikify myself, since I can't adorn my body with neon and rockwall. 
 Been shooting lots more, which means I've got a lot of slides to scan and manipulate, so expect to see consistent inconsistencies in hair style/length.   -Cruz

FALL INSPIRATION BOARD NUMERO 01

Slapped this together to paint a picture of a universe I wanna slip in and out of this fall. :)

-Cruz

BLUSHING BODY

      

Sorry I dropped out for a second, moving to my own place and the fall semester revving up have filled up time lately that I would have normally reserved for thoughtful blogging.

Anywho, as evidenced by hair length, these pics were taken a while back. I was going for something of a 70s-YSL-Parisienne-Meets-a-Member-of-The-Clash effect. I also wanted to see how much red I could wear. I don’t have any red pants, so I left it up to everything else on my body to blush.

Can’t promise any regularity in terms of posting these days, but I will check in more often than not if only with a mood board or something.

Thanks for stickin around!

-Cruz

BAGGY & BILLOWY

Levi's jacket, Ishi necklace, American Apparel tee, Vintage vest, jeans, belt, and boots

I took these photos some time ago, but the proportions are some of my favorite ever. I haven't worn skinny jeans in ages (in fact I may be done for good), I'm all about pants with baggy, billowy legs and that sit high around the waist these days.

Here's a snapshot of me stumbling caught by the self timer...


-Cruz

WENT WARLOCK

Levi's jeans, vintage top, leather skirt, bracelet, and boots

My friend picked up this awesome shirt for me at Goodwill some time ago. It reminds me of armor of some kind and it has a tattered vintage tag with a label that suggests that it was a costume used in a play. Whether it be armor or costume, I went warlock with my take on the top.


Lately I've been reaching for some Egyptian magic to finish off a look. I was fascinated by the Egyptian artifacts I studied while in art history this past semester, so I was jazzed to stumble upon this ankh pendant at a flea market.

Sorry I dropped out for a week, I was camping with my family. I've been shooting a lot with film and just got a ton of pics developed today so stay tuned!

-Cruz

SWASHBUCKLER SIDE

One of the many facets of my personal style is pirate (both sea & space haha), so I like to show off my swashbuckler side every once in a while.

-Cruz

MICHELE LAMY SKIRT

Levi's jeans, Michele Lamy skirt, Stacey Adams Boots, Vintage tee and cuff


I picked up this Michele Lamy skirt for dirt cheap the other day. Michele is one of my biggest style inspirations, so I was jazzed to finally get my hands on a piece from her line. I'm wearing it here like a Rick Owens groupie; I'm gonna explore all the different ways to wear it and report back.

-Cruz

JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

Shirt from American Apparel, Levi's shorts, vintage vest, bracelet, and shoes Just about everything that I reach for in the summer months is in this outfit. Sheer, vests, leather (somehow I manage that), ragged edges and loose threads; the white shoes are not entirely a new addition but they are if you consider the fact they've been only been recently rediscovered in some forgotten nook of my closet. My spin on the Givenchy S/S 12 lanyard look... gotta sneak my favorite video games onto my body somehow. (I know I took these pictures before I cut my hair but I wore this outfit the other day ok hahah) -Cruz

INTERGALACTIC QUESTING

               American Apparel t-shirt, Gap leather pants, vintage jacket, skirt, and boots

My quest for achieving the intergalactic genderfuck look has yielded some interesting looks. It's just become hard for me to get jazzed about getting dressed these days without a little humor in the proportions, conventions, etc. Expect to see a lot more funky proportions and skirts here as I continue my quest.

-Cruz

LEATHER AND LAYERS

American Apparel sweater, Levi's jeans, vintage jacket, tank, necklace, and ostrich leather boots

I always like bustin out my sloppy shoulder sweaters for summer to show off strategically placed tank top straps and things. When I'm twisting tank top straps I'm thinking of old Helmut Lang polaroids, dunno how much it shows though. Same instances of minimalism from last post around my neck and at my feet. Will probably sacrifice and sweat underneath my leather jacket all summer long.



-Cruz

SUBVERTING CHAMBRAY

American Apparel shirt, Gap leather pants, vintage jacket, necklace, and ostrich boots

I don't wear very many button-ups on this blog, but I've become pretty partial to a few chambray shirts I've picked up recently. It's really hard for me just to wear a button-up outside of a professional context without desperately trying to subvert it, which I am trying to do here by layering on black leather and nylon textures and by crowning it with my metal and leather necklace.


Finally on summer break, which means I should finally be able to consistently post new content! Yay!
-Cruz

INSPIRED BY ICHI

Levi's jeans, vintage sharkskin shirt, coat, bracelets, belt, and boots

I’d rather get dressed for the inside of comic book panels and video game overworlds than anything I actually get dressed for these days. For this outfit I was aspiring to look like Ichi the Killer’s wimpier twin. The movie adaptation of Ichi is one of my favorite cinematic instances of sharkskin, definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it (though you may want to gauge your threshold for blood and guts and all that fun stuff).

The busted backlight on my MacBook made a liar out of me, but see! A new post!

-Cruz

SUMMERSPIRATION BOARDS

Remember when I said I was really busy these days? Well it's true, because I haven't had time to get my pictures edited for posting. So here's some other photos plastered together, when I had time for editing at some point, that paint a picture of my summerspirations.

All pics I yanked from my tumblr, which are of course from somewhere else

Pictures should be up by next week. Should be.

-Cruz

LONG BEACH FLEA MARKET APRIL 2012

I always bring my camera along for this one...

ON MY MIND, ONTO MY BODY

   Levi's jacket, Kill City pants, Broken tee, Justin's boots, vintage everything else 
I don’t really like to wear skinny jeans, but I will for these tie-dyes. I will probably make some modifications to them with a steak knife this summer. 
 A lot of the outfits I’ve been posting lately seem to have been riffing off each other. A tiny detail of an outfit I wear one day can inspire all the details of an outfit I wear the next day. I think it’s good to get whatever’s on your mind onto your body and out of your system.
-Cruz

AMERICANA AND 50'S NOSTALGIA

Levi's denim jacket, vintage everything else

Despite all the clothes I've amassed over the years, I always find myself reaching into other closets when I'm on the spot. I reached for my brother's plaid shirt again and grabbed my dad's hat and boots while I was scrambling to make it out the door on time for dinner plans. I always like to serve a hearty helping of Americana and 50s nostalgia once and a while. I'm a fan of big cuffs and baggy blue jeans akin to those worn by James Dean and Eddie Cochran, two personal style icons of mine. I don't even remember if the denim on denim was deliberate but lets say it was.


Borrowed this belt buckle from my dad. My collection of belt buckles is so shamefully small. Gonna keep my peepers peeled for some cool ones.


-Cruz

SOME OLD STANDBYS

Scarf is from American Apparel, Levi's jeans, everything else is vintage

I'm always challenging myself to play around with different patterns and textures, this time I've revitalized some old standbys. I'm not really a plaid shirt kind of guy, so it's fun to pair it with something wacky like tie-dye and snakeskin. The scarf has quickly become one of my favorite things. I guess that's because black and white tie-dye and billowy scarves were already two of my favorite things to start with.


I cut my hair! I'm so glad I did it. I'm gonna try to play around with it some more. :)

-Cruz

CAN-CAN GAMS

Everything I have on is vintage

I was pretty stoked to find the vintage tee equivalent of the lamp from A Christmas Story. There's something so cheeky and iconic about fishnet-clad, can-can gams. The graphic gave off some New York Dolls vibes to me, so I thought it'd wear it like a doll-off-duty. I thought it'd be funny to layer my fishnet jacket under my black nylon trenchcoat to give a nod to the fishnet on the legs graphic. I wanted my belt with infinite loops and boots with stripes to resonate with the multiplicity of the fishnet loops as well.


-Cruz

STACKED STRIPES

I think the t-shirt is from a brand called Broken, everything else is vintage

I thought it’d be fun to see how many stripes I could stack on top of each other. You can’t really see it in the photo, but the corduroys have vertical lines running down them as well. I thought it’d be a neat way to recontextualize my red-white-and-blue boots too, clear the air of any lingering Americana vibes for once.

-Cruz

FISHNET OVER FUZZ

Gap leather pants, Kenneth Cole Reaction boots, vintage hoodie, necklace, and fur vest

My dad has been buying lots of vintage clothes for the record shop he's working at these days (Pepperland Music in my humble home town of Orange), which means that I get first dibs on what he finds! One of the pieces he's picked up lately is this fishnet hoodie, which I was instantly drawn to for its kookiness and transparency. The mesh style reminded me of a few collections, like Alexander Wang's collection for next fall, but one in particular it made me think of was Jean Paul Gaultier's fall 2009 show...





I thought it'd be fun to try my hand at the fishnet over fuzz look. My take's a more scrappy kind of glamour than Gaultier's. There's also some Stiv Bators vibes convecting in my look I think.


Thanks for reading guys!

-Cruz

CHEETAH SPOTS AND CROCODILE SCALES

Everything I have on is vintage :)

Playing around with different patterns and colors with a Nigerian funk and disco soundtrack. I wanted to try to wear my cheetah spot hat with something more colorful for once, so I decided to evoke some African wildlife with cheetah spots and a shirt with scales like a crocodile. I also wanted to match the yellows of the hat with my shoes, which I think is fun because I don't see many guys wearing matching yellows.



-Cruz

STAR STOMPERS

Levi's jeans, vintage, vest, shirt, and shoes


Can you believe someone would donate these chic, timeless, practical shoes to Out of the Closet? And that there was another matching pair in burgundy with tangerine colored stars? Their loss! Every step in them is like taking a walk down the Hollywood walk of fame!

When you get past the dated shape, they’re actually pretty easy to get away with. The creamy white keeps to itself for the most part, and other than the shape they’re just a normal pair of lace up shoes. I’ve been styling these star stompers a few different ways lately- I’ll keep you guys posted on new ways I’ve been wearing them!

-Cruz

SAC AFRICAIN

American Apparel t-shirt, Miss Sixty pants, vintage sweater, boots, and bag


I picked this bag up a while at an antique mall a while back. I've been pleasantly surprised to find myself reaching for a finishing touch of African savannah to complete an outfit since my purchase. It was a part of a set of luggage, all with matching safari print - insane! I like that it has a quiet humor to it, the print aside, it's not like you're gonna see me carrying this while jet-setting off to an African safari anytime soon (sadly). I also like the juxtaposition of the whimsical print and the battle-tank-tough construction, which is good because any bag I carry has to be able look cool and suffer a lot of abuse.

-Cruz

TWO IN ONE

Levi's jeans, Vintage jacket, shirt, and Doc Martens

What Glam Guy Cruz wears on his day off. The jacket is reversible, which is one of those great fashion innovations which I can't understand why everybody doesn't do. What's more fun than two-in-one?



-Cruz

AVIATION FASCINATION

Fluxus jacket, GoodOn shirt, Levi's jeans, vintage hat, belt, and boots

I'm fascinated with aviation gear, my fascination probably has roots in my childhood aspiration to pilot an X-Wing. My grandpa gave me this pilot's hat ages ago, but I finally found it in the depths of our garage back home! I'm not sure of any other details, because my grandpa was in the army but he was also in a lot of plays so I have no idea where it really came from.

I thought I'd style it for the blog in a way that wasn't too on the nose, cos I'd be pretty lazy to style it with a bomber. So I opted for a jacket with a sprawling collar, a raggedy old handkerchief, and tie-dye that looks like noxious green clouds for some aviation vibes. Not sure if I look like I'm ready to take flight or take a ride on the short bus, but I like it.


Here's the look without the hat...


... and a detail shot.

-Cruz

RED RACER

Levi's denim jacket and pants, Kenneth Cole Reaction boots, vintage nylon racer jacket

I scored this vintage racer jacket at a flea market for two bucks. It's a large, and I usually wear a small, but for two bucks I don't mind. The material to spare makes it perfect for layering in the rain. It’s great because the material is so light; it's layering that doesn't have an adverse, straightjacket effect. I guess wearing it over a denim jacket may give off some Midwest, NASCAR vibes, but hey, it's all relative to your perspective.



I got these motorcycle boots at Crossroads in Silver Lake. I've always had a hard time finding a pair of classic motorcycle ankle boots, so I was happy to finally land a pair.

-Cruz

GLAM GUYS

American Apparel tee, Levi's jeans, Doc Marten shoes, vintage shirt, coat, bag, and fur vest.


Once in a while I'll mess around with pops of color, and I always find color pops most successfully at my feet. I like the blue on these because they pop and all that fun stuff but they're not Dayglo diarrhea blue.

I wanted to style them in a way that I thought would deviate from what you might see blue Doc Martens styled with. Somehow, I ended up dusting off some stale Prada S/S 11 wedge inspiration and color coordination, as well as fur ball Olsen twin looks and glam guy inspiration, like from Brian Jones wandering around Monterey Pop in a fur trimmed wizard's coat.


-Cruz

INSPIRATION & REALIZATION

Shirt from American Apparel, Levi's jeans, vintage tie, watch, belt, and calf hair boots.

I saw this photo on tumblr and was inspired to try the stlye out for myself...


Photo from
Contextualize


It was one of those instances when at once you're jolted with inspiration, you're jolted with realization as well, that you have just the right pieces to recreate a look. I knew I had just the right sheer shirt and tie to make a rough copy of the outfit in the photo. I added some thick leather accessories in my rendition to make the look more masculine, and calf hair boots just because they’re awesome.

I love how cheeky the styling in the photo is (this is the second post in succession I've used cheeky to describe the fashions on this blog and I guess it's because they are!). Neckties that stray beyond the realm of a suit often become captive to fashionable ambiguity (much like berets, which I blabbed about last post), but to me the confines of fashionable ambiguity are fertile ground for new ideas and new twists. I guess that's why I get so excited and inspired over styles that make you go "huh?"

Thanks for reading guys! I've started a Facebook page for DOD. I thought it'd make reading DOD easier if new posts showed up in your Facebook subscriptions, so my charming mug will only be a click away!

Click to like Denim on Denim on Facebook!


-Cruz

THE BERET CLICHE

Levi's denim jacket, tanktop from American Apparel, beret, Popman jeans, western shirt, and snakeskin boots are all vintage.

I shot this look a little while back, I figured Denim on Denim's third birthday would be an appropriate time for a look so heavy on the denim. I was inspired by 70's David Bowie and sailor motifs. I love playing around with berets, they've become such a cliched notion in the realms of fashion and style (especially for guys, and I mean your average joe guys, not card carrying frenchmen), but I love how that gives berets a tongue-in-cheek effect.




I thank my lucky scales everyday for these boots!


Thanks so much for reading and for your support of Denim on Denim!
-Cruz