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

TWO BOOTS TSHIRT

Lee jacket, boots shirt, Levi's jeans, Eddie Cochran pin, Arizona pin, and paint splattered boots, all vintage

A "What are you wearing today?" post, but in my case it's a "What were you wearing the other day and recreated in your backyard?" post.


I got this shirt at Out of the Closet in Atwater Village around New Years. I'm a big fan of boot motifs, I love the colors too. And no, I haven't tried calling the phone number on the shirt. Dave should be thankful I'm giving his business such ~lucrative exposure~.

I found the lucite necklace at a Wiccan shop on Sunset. Always happy to get more glass!

-Cruz

DARK CASHMERE

Levi's denim jacket and jeans, vintage cashmere sweater, vest, belt, and boots

Despite tenacious efforts made by me and fellow fashion enthusiasts to emulate our favorite runway looks, sometimes you wind up hitting a dead end. I remember when I first saw Balenciaga's Fall/Winter 08/09 show, I became frustrated when I realized I could not materialize the inspiration I received from the show's avant-garde, space age materials (I even considered purchasing a wetsuit and carving it into my own rough vision haha).

Luckily, some materials are easier to come by, so if you're reading about denim, leather, and cashmere used in Rick Owens pieces, you actually have a shot of coming by them (Granted they're not gonna be in his signature cuts, that's when it's up to you to make it interesting). So that was more or less what was going through my head this time, reading about the unbridled luxury of Rick Owens' designs inspired me to seek out some dark cashmere to warm me this winter, by which I mean yanking a sweater from my brother's closet.

I wanted to throw in elements used in Rick Owens' collections like dark denim to help create the illusion. I like pairing my black denim vest over my blue denim jacket because you don't really see those two so closely paired. Despite the Rick Owens fuel, to me, this outfit looks more like a Karlheinz Weinberger subject, which is fine too. Kind of a wordy post for a casual outfit but I think it's fun to retrace my thought process.



-Cruz

THE MAN WITH NO NAME AND HEATHER GREY

Vintage jacket, necklace, bracelet, jeans, and Doc Martens, shirt from Urban Outfitters

I was excited to stumble upon two of my favorite things united on a t-shirt: the man with no name and heather grey. I love the idea of wearing your idols and inspirations on a shirt, like these shirts here...


What I would give to get my hands on one of these shirts!

Because the shirt is from such a large retailer, I decided to style the shirt in a more individualistic and self indulgent way to figuratively mark my territory on it. I was thinking seventies and western while putting it together, with the pairing of denim, suede leather, and corduroy. I threw on the Docs because I'm always trying to achieve that gritty spaceman look.


I borrowed this necklace from my dad. Great pendant, perfect length, lustrousness etc.


I'm really into mid-century tiki and surf stuff so this bracelet was a great find. I'm always into wearing sunny motifs in the middle of winter.



Happy 2012 everyone - thanks for reading!

-Cruz

A LOVE LETTER TO MARTIN MARGIELA

Vintage jacket, lucite necklace, jeans, and boots, t-shirt from American Apparel
Although a pair of leather tabi ankle boots elude me (I'm hoping to one day buy a pair, I'm pretty sure they're only for women, but I've been told I have the same shoe size of Paris Hilton, so I figure there's bound to be a boutique that caters to foot-size anomalies), I still try to express myself in as many Margiela ways as possible. Kind of the fashion equivalent of the kid who broke his arm trying to fly like superman. Even with the man himself gone from the house (I call it Maison Missing Margiela), my respect and love of his work still runs through my own. One way I pay tribute is by tucking my nude tee into my pants to create a maybe-fleshy, bodysuit illusion. I was instantly reminded of the flaking, painted boots Margiela did when I saw my paint-splattered boots in the store. Throw the nude and boots together, and assemble with other parts faintly reminiscent of elements peaking out of his ready to wear and artisanal shows, give it a good squint, and you have your own private Margiela look.

-Cruz

CHILLY CIRCUMSTANCES

Vintage t-shirt, jeans, belt, and doc martens, Converse jacket

A personal rule of thumb of mine is that just about any oversized, dark-colored, sheltering garment seems to me to go with what I have on, and reaching for such garments under chilly circumstances leads to some interesting looks. For instance this Converse jacket belongs to my dad, but I like the length and proportions on me (I enjoy warming my hands in the comfort of sleeves of unduly lengths).
I styled it with some lingering influence from my spiel on armor from a few posts back. I have to tell you guys that the tucking-in of my jean flaps came about from a misunderstanding of which side those tattered flaps would expose, I wanted to show off the buckles of these boots, turns out the buckles were on the opposite side that the jeans would expose, but I like it this way too. If you follow me?




I like this look a lot with the skin shed too. I found this shirt at a vintage store downtown, I like it a lot because to me it's the equivalent of haphazardly finding a cool piece of art at a thrift store or yard sale, but instead I get to wear it on my shirt! To me it looks like an escaped subject from Guernica haha (Don't know how many art history buffs I may have offended with that comment, I'm taking art history 101 next semester and will repent my sins).

-Cruz

MUSTARD GLINT

I took a stroll down to the neighborhood farmer's market the other day and bought... a pair of boots! I was elated to have stumbled upon this pop of yellow amongst the usual roundup of black and brown leather bores. I have a reckless insistence of trying to cram in yellow pieces into my wardrobe. Styling the color yellow can be like capping an outpour of golden rays, but in more subtle shades like mustard, yellow can be surprising easy to integrate into your day. Especially when you can stomp down those golden rays until they're just a mustard glint at your toes. Okay, even I'm lost in all this imagery - onto the details! Everything I have on is vintage, by the way!




These two buttons have joined harmoniously with my Lee jacket. I knicked the Eddie Cochran from my dad's collection, he's one of my favorite 50s rock-n-rollers. I love the green and orange combo on the Arizona pin and my love for cattle skulls is known throughout the moors and heaths.


I like wearing necklaces under really tight shirts, so that the pendant shows through subtly, but enough to occupy the negative space on my chest.


My attempt at making digital look like a photo you might scrape off the bottom of a chest in your attic. I'll take better detail shots next time I'm back home.


Thanks for readin!

-Cruz

MY FIRST STITCHES

Micro mesh top from American Apparel, vintage belt, necklace and shoes, Levis cutoffs altered by myself

I like to cram in as much art into my day as possible, even if that means drawing a crudely sketched mural on my English 101 notes. One way in particular I like to act arty, is by knitting!

I've posted some of my, uh, "creations" before. I usually start with a project, abandon it, then take the salvaged pieces and make them into something else! I knitted this mint green swatch you see dripping down my knee way back when I picked up my knitting needles for the first time. It was just a practice swatch, but I thought it was a perfect match for the split in those Levis cutoffs, so I sewed them together in DIY matrimony.






Very cool vintage medallion, most likely an Aries, zodiac medallion. I'm a Virgo, by the way, I just like rams.


This picture was taken by accident when one of my loose threads got caught on my tripod, causing me to stumble! So I guess if you're loony enough to wear loose threads like me, be forewarned that you may kiss the pavement.


-Cruz

TWISTED ORANGE

Vintage raglan, Levi's corduroy shirt, Maverick shorts, leather cuff, braided leather belt, and Stacey Adams shoes.

I decided to try twisting some Southern California vintage (Burnt orange raglan), beach (Sandy colored Maverick shorts), and skater (70's Levi's corduroy shirt) motifs. It's surprising how some small adjustments can make a familiar outfit make you go "huh?", like by coiling some braided leather around your waist. I gotta divulge to you guys that I was looking through the entire Balenciaga archive and thinking about classic aviation at the time of styling this too. Again, what makes sense to me is something you guys might be able to see, too?


-Cruz

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU

Vintage shirt and boots, Gap leather pants, Ishi necklace, and bracelet from a flea market in Big Bear lake California

Another outfit churned out through my tunes-to-threads personification mechanism. I figure the best way to capture Screamin Jay Hawkin's "I Put a Spell on You" is with African inspired apparel, black leather, and trinkets reminiscent of African, animistic religions.




-Cruz

UNUSUAL MINIMALISM

Another addition in what I'd call my quest for unusual minimalism, by which I mean throwing on a few very basic/casual items of clothing but giving it a strange twist so that you're not bored out of your mind with yourself. This time around, I've taken an outfit of cutoffs and a castaway vintage tee and tied a literal/figurative bow around it. I've been playing around with my grandpa's collection of hatbands and handkerchiefs he gave me, you combine that with my current obsession with 60s pop girl bands and you get a headband pushed ever so slightly towards the edge of my skull to try and create that 60/50's scarf-as-a-headband look. Well, the references make sense to me. This is more of what I'd call "Sart-ore-ial", which means it's a cool idea but will be much better after you have a place to shoot other than at the foot of the stairs to your apartment complex and beyond basic knowledge of photography (reasons to stay in college)!

Wish me luck in job hunting and in my math 230 class haha!

-Cruz

TIE DYE & POLKA DOTS

Vintage polka dot shirt and messenger bag, dead stock Maverick shorts, bone necklace by Ishi, Stacey Adams sandals, and Good On tie-dye shirt

Every year when the weather warrants baggy, unbuttoned shirts to flap about our torsos, I usually reach for this vintage, brown polka dot shirt I got at Out of the Closet in Atwater a few years back. It's always reminded me of something Marni-esque (other than screaming 60s) so whenever I wear it I take steps in time with the models of a phantasmic Marni catwalk haha.

I picked up the tie-dye shirt and Maverick shorts at the Long Beach Flea Market this past summer. I've been styling them an infinite amount of ways, expect to see them a lot, they go with everything, etc. etc. etc.



Trying to find a decent place to shoot now that I'm in LA, if (when) photo quality takes a nose dive don't say I didn't warn you!


-Cruz

CLUTCHING TO THE BAGGY BLUES

Why not open another can of fashionably-questionable worms by toting a "man-clutch"? I yanked this vintage find from our garage back home this past summer, I'm sure it's meant to be a plain old wallet, but I think I can have more fun with it as a clutch. It's not gonna fit in any pants pockets of mine anyway. Here's some ways I've been wearing it...



Worn with an American Apparel tee and vintage everything else. In a mutation of the baggy pants blues, I've cuffed a pair of baggy Levis into a pair of parachute-pirate pantaloons.





In this outfit I have on an H&M long-sleeve tee and vintage everything else. Just some no fuss, baggy strangeness for evening summer strolls.

Here's some detail shots of the wallet...




-Cruz

SHARKSKIN & SKIRT

vintage sharkskin shirt, a random crystal necklace and tee, vintage Levis and boots

Inspiration into fruition! I scored this skirt at a flea market some time ago, It was being sold with a lot of other sartorial goods from India so I have reason to believe it's from there, but I can't be sure. It reminds me a lot of boro textiles or something that'd turn up hugging the hips of a model walking a Dries Van Noten show. Wearing it this way more grunge than Dries, it seems to have infinite layering potential so expect to see it every-which-way this fall when I build my cozy layered shells.

I've just made the move to the Silverlake neighborhood of LA to go to school for a semester, maybe longer! I'm settling in and there is so much to do, but I will try to keep blog posts as regular as possible. Thanks for reading!


-Cruz

THE BAGGY BLUES

I've been trying on the baggy pants hat lately, a style I've eased into on hot summer afternoons raking the outer limits of my wardrobe for clothes to sweat in. I call it the baggy blues, when it's too hot to wear anything else, just grab a pair of the baggiest jeans you've got! Here's some ways I've been wearing these jeans...



A great wash on these Levis, no front pockets though haha, I'm wearing them with a vintage tee, fur bangles, an A&W root beer pin, and John Varvatos converse.

Here's another pair of jeans I've been wearing...




I like to wear these under my feet, they kind of slither around like two denim slugs. They tend to pick up things along the way - just think of all the things that you're walking over that you're missing by not wearing your pants under your shoes! I've got on a thrifted tee, a vintage watch and vintage Levi's.

Here's the back of the first t-shirt I'm wearing...



These vintage cuffs are a great way to bring together creepy and casual. Picture taken with the help of my pal Tanus Spijek.


-Cruz

PITCH BLACK GARBAGE

Sucking up the sunshine in pitch black garbage while channeling some sort of gothic pauper or jester. I blame those harlequin vibes on the fact that wearing sneakers makes me feel like some kind of nimble pest. In the spirit of nimble pests and spider spun sheer here's a photo of me framed by some bristly critters I doodled...




I didn't start the day with the arrowhead necklace, but bought it in a pact with some friends at an antique store up in Big Bear. I love the two tone colors, it's also pretty sharp, which means you have to make sure you don't fall asleep with it on so you don't stab yourself. Friendship necklaces that double as a weapon are the best!



-Cruz

THIS GARMENT IS MADE OF PURE SHIT

I uprooted this oil slicked, probably flammable, gem out of a clump of secondhand dregs. Rather than bore you with yet another manifesto about my love for garbage I'll just skip along to the moment I realized that the pocket canvas of the shirt would be a perfect place to fasten my 'This Garment is Made of Pure Shit' patch to. I've given the place to place the patch a lot of consideration, in case I put it on something that I couldn't wear somewhere with the word "SHIT" in glaring, red, capital letters stitched to my protoplasm. So I figure anywhere I can get away with wearing an oil slicked shirt I can get away with wearing the word shit.


Mechanic's uniform? Auto enthusiast? Someone who has escaped the clutches of kerosene combustion?




I was going to make a beanie with this mess of knit, but that didn't quite pan out, so I figured I'd adorn the pieces to the cuffs of a pair of cut offs. In the grungy spirit of this post, I should note those cutoffs came about from a friend of mine who was tossing his old pants and I offered to take them instead, not the first time. I'd love to make more of these someday, like in more colors and pairs that are more polished or even sloppier, but for now, as I say, "If it's crap, it can't fail".

-Cruz