Cooley High

It's August, it's warm out, and shorts are the occasion once again. It's been a year of resurrected shorts for me. Short and fit, loose and sort of baggy. Look at my previous post and you'll see what I'm talking about. I put these two shorts to work while hanging out at Fresh & Easy and at the pier. I'm learning that wearing shorts really isn't that bad and that not everyone is looking at my hairy legs.

These pictures remind me of a time when I wouldn't wear any jewelry at all. But after tatting my left ring finger I started playing with the idea of rocking manly bracelets. Now I have quite a collection thanks to various thrift stores. They come in handy when trying to get people to look at something other than your crooked smile and recently broken nose.

Because I find myself changing wardrobe throughout the day I added some other pictures of myself chillin' at the pier. Same shoes, hat, and bracelet only this time I decided to flip my baggy look to a more fit one. My eye tends to be attracted to things that are of contrast. So I flipped the script like an angry actor and went from paisley printed loose short to a bright solid fitted pair. Same went for the type of shirt. Only this time I threw on my new sunglasses that my friend/optometrist

picked out for me. I like them because they remind me of Malcolm mixed in with a little Spike Lee

(before the round bifocals) flava.

These two fellas were hanging out together down by the pier. They looked at home sitting there people watching. Perhaps they were home. The guy on the right was from Trinidad and his friend from Vietnam. I enjoyed myself listening to their stories of travel and fishing conditions. Such contrasting characters they were. I suppose that's why I felt comfortable chatting it up.

My Fashion Word-em'-up comment: Change is the healthiest way to survive.

L.A living

For this post the idea was to get out of South OC and so my Olive and I did just that. We went just about everywhere that day. From reminiscing through the city of El Sereno, visiting LAPD's training facility, buying fruit off the sidewalk and trocas loncheras, and wondering why in the world people go to Olvera St. to get in touch with Latinos when Los Angeles is filled with hundreds of Olvera Streets around every corner.

This time around I busted out my shorts again. Just as I did for my Palm Desert get away. My blue and white seersucker shorts are cool because not only are they comfortable but they are starting to do that wear and tear look toward the bottom of the shorts. Then for a shirt I used this yellow shirt from J. Crew (which you'll see me use quite often) that is really soft and light. As for my madras tie, well I had to use it because its fun to add some detail to an otherwise easily copied outfit. Plus I love madras. I love the crazy patterns but I mostly enjoy watching how others look at it. For me this look is pretty simple and it does so without evoking that bummy sensation that I try to avoid. Oh! also I wore my Purcells to give me look that summery feel. Okay well thats it for this post. Thanks for reading.

My word em' up fashion say-something-deep-quote: Connection to our details is what makes up our style. It will in the end be these details that give life to our sense of fashion.

Mo' Fiyah!

Let me just say that I love the heat of the sun, but only when I know that I'm going to be in the ocean. It's one of the few times that I know exactly what to wear...trunks and a surfboard! It's that simple.

On a recent weekend get away the only waves I came near were heat waves shimmering off the pavement from a 98 degree Palm Desert. The city was on fire. It was like walking through hell while wearing gasoline boxers.

And because I'm not a fan of the simple plain shorts and T-shirt look; deciding what clothes to pack was confusing at first. I knew I'd be visiting a zoo, then possibly taking the wifey out on a hike for some photo ops, hanging around Palm Desert's posh El Paseo Avenue, and then wrapping things up at the grocery store to set off my romantic side back at the hotel. I didn't want to be at my final destination looking like Discovery Channel's "Survivorman".

So as much as I disliked it I went with critter shorts, a simple v-neck freckled shirt, and my Top-sider slipons. All of which had contrasting colors because that's how I like it to be. I hiked without the shirt and beat up old smelly shoes (photos will not be seen). And that's how I stayed cool and Carl.

My fashion Word Em' Up advice: Outfits should be simple, but never plain.