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Trial and Error with Laura Arnold
66 Plays1 year ago
On this episode, we talk with Laura Arnold about photography, what style looks like, the clothing world as a community, and more!
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Transcript
Introduction of Hosts and Guest
00:00:00
Speaker
Yeah. I'm Connor Fowler. I'm Matt Smith. Woo hoo. Welcome to, welcome to another enlightening episode of a Bible of Studs. Today we are joined by the peerless Laura Arnold at Reverse Sower on Instagram. Laura is a photographer, JPress creative, and easily one of the best dressed people we've had on this show. Laura, how do you do? I'm good. Thank you for having me. Yeah. Thanks for coming on. Yeah. You're, uh,
00:00:30
Speaker
I think the best dressed thing is definitely a true statement. Oh, thank you. Yeah. We're not yanking your chin. And this is a reputation that you have. So please. We're not a hostile environment in any way, shape, or form. But I understand it's hard to take compliments from people.
00:01:00
Speaker
for a lot of people. So yeah, we're happy to have you.
Laura's Background and Philadelphia Roots
00:01:06
Speaker
And you definitely outdressed both Connor and myself, so. Which at least is the point of the show is to have people who are better dressed than the losers who host the show. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So I did just, I'm sorry. No, I was gonna say Connor did send me his outfit earlier today. And I thought that that was really good.
00:01:29
Speaker
Hey, thank you. Well, you know, Matt was asleep, and so I had no one to ask. So we discussed this a little bit before, but where are you from, Laura, and where do you live now?
00:01:46
Speaker
Um, so I'm from about 15 minutes from the, uh, Philadelphia border, uh, kind of like direct, if you just drew a straight line north of Philadelphia in that kind of little area. And I'm about 30, like 25 to 30 minutes from center city, Philadelphia. There's all, which I like to clarify because there are a lot of people who are like, Oh, I'm from Philly. And then they're from like two hours north of it. Um,
00:02:17
Speaker
like very close to Philly in Philly. I know the city very well. And then I left and went to college at Fordham University in the Bronx in 2016 and have kind of been here since then. So now I feel like if people were to ask me like where I'm from now, like a stranger, I would say New York, like I kind of identify more with New York than Philly, but I do have a soft spot for that.
00:02:37
Speaker
But yeah, no, I grew up.
00:02:47
Speaker
Yeah, totally, totally. Yeah, you can put in the work. Yeah, exactly. So I have to ask, as someone that absolutely loves Philadelphia, what is your favorite cheesesteak spot? Well, I think back when I actually lived through high school and stuff, I would have said De Los Andros. OK.
00:03:17
Speaker
now having gone home, um, and tried a few like places that I guess were up and coming. I feel like now they, they are actually fully established. Um, but Tony Luke's is pretty good. Yo, I went to Tony Luke's that place is fucking crazy. Yeah. But I would say like that it's always like the great debate between pets and Genos. And I just don't think either of them are okay.
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah. I'm vegan now, but I have had them in the past and they're fine. That would not be the thing to break edge over those, certainly, right?
Life in New York and Personal Style
00:03:54
Speaker
No, no, definitely not. If you're gonna eat meat, that would not be the meat to eat. Yeah, no. Yeah. I mean, they're like, in my opinion, they are like the tourist trap of cheesesteaks. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. They're like industrial. Right. They're like the capitalist cheesesteak.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, like the place that I always loved was a spot called Giannis. I can't remember what street it was on, but it was close to South Street and they have like vegetarian shit. And then Gavinda's also was a pretty solid spot when I was vegetarian for that. But like, yeah, Pat's and Gino's are just kind of like,
00:04:39
Speaker
Yeah, they're cheesesteak. They're where everybody goes. But, you know, I feel like the real Philadelphians that I know don't eat there at all. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with that. And I feel like I also have a soft spot for Lee's Hoagies. OK. I grew up, they were like down the street from us. So we just always got cheesesteaks from there.
00:05:02
Speaker
Um, but I feel like, uh, so I'm also like a fun fact is that I'm from the same town as I'm Bradley Cooper and he, he does a great. A Philadelphia accent, um, like speaking through the Lee's hoagie commercial. I kind of, I like that one the most nostalgically. Yeah, that's kind of awesome. Uh, I have a follow up question to this sheets or Wawa. Oh, I like Wawa.
00:05:32
Speaker
Okay. Solid. Yeah. Yeah. It's sheets. The good thing about sheets is that all of the food is made out of plastic. Wawa has the best tea selection of anywhere I've ever been in my entire fucking life. Yeah. I feel like I just feel like you can get anything at Wawa like that. Totally. Totally. That's the one thing that I wish New York had. Yeah. Apparently they're in Florida now and like I'm in Georgia, but I had no idea that expanded there. Like,
00:06:02
Speaker
We, when I was in bands, like we would always stop at Wawa when we were in like Virginia to New Jersey and Philly. But it was always just the fucking best. Yeah. Also very easy to steal from back in the day. Probably not anymore. But you know, you know. So Laura, if you don't mind, how old are you?
00:06:28
Speaker
Um, I am 25. Actually, now that I'm like thinking about my birthday, it was, I guess my half birthday 10 days ago. So like 25 and a half to be exact. Nice. Wow. Well, congratulations and happy half birthday. Yeah. Yeah. Same. Also, it's kind of rad that you're like, like that you're in New York and have been for a while and are still like, um,
00:06:57
Speaker
still in a, you know, younger compared to me and Connor type of age. Yeah. That's an accomplishment. Yeah. Yeah. It's definitely like I really have appreciated being here young. Yeah. Totally. What part of New York do you live in? The Bronx still? No. Now I, after graduation, I moved to the East Village. Oh, hell yeah. Yeah. Where, where in the East Village?
00:07:26
Speaker
like general area, obviously. Um, like why, I guess technically alphabet city. Okay. Um, but I, like kind of the border of it. So just the, I would just say the East village. Okay. Hell yeah. Yeah. I lived in New York for years and worked on the, uh, or East side. So that was that like anywhere under 14th street was always like home to me when I was there. Yeah.
00:07:55
Speaker
So we have a little segment, I guess, the ensemble investigation. We were going to ask you what you wore today.
00:08:07
Speaker
Yeah, so I feel like when I was talking to you about this earlier, and I was saying, I personally think it's kind of like a meh outfit. But I was wearing an old, I think it was 90s, Lands End rugby, like a gray and burgundy stripe. Ooh, the rubbies are really coming back.
00:08:35
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Carter's been obsessing about getting a rugby for the past, what we can have. Shout out Zach. Yeah. I have way too many rugby's, but
00:08:49
Speaker
But that, and then I wore that over at Drake's White Spear Point Oxford that is too big for me.
Fashion Industry Journey
00:08:59
Speaker
One of my friends was trying to get rid of them, and he was like, you just want these? So I'm a 14 and a half neck, and this is a 16. Ah, yeah.
00:09:08
Speaker
I kind of it's my it's my like wear under something shirt and then some I don't I don't know the exact style but like made in USA polo chinos like olive colored and then some white sambas
00:09:30
Speaker
And then, yeah, and then I had, if you like going like the full nine yards, then I had a black barber jacket. I forget the style, but. Nice. That's a reasonable outfit for any person to wear. Yeah, totally. I was expecting, I was expecting a little more dressed down, I guess. Like that's dressed up, you know, but I don't know. It's put together.
00:09:58
Speaker
Right. I guess in my mind, it's, it's, that's like, not necessarily, not that I think of everything in terms of like, like, if it's photo worthy, but to me, it was kind of like, okay, this is like a, a solidly average outfit. Right. I mean, you're not wearing a tie or not wearing a jacket. I mean, you're not wearing like a sport coat. So yeah. Connor and I were talking about this earlier and like that for a, you know, a quote unquote dress down.
00:10:28
Speaker
look is so much, like, better than the vast majority of people. Not that I'm judging. Like, I truly don't give a shit how people look, but literally 15... talking about this.
00:10:45
Speaker
I saw someone in the fucking onesie, like legit pajamas. And I was just like, yeah, yeah, there's absolutely no way that anything, someone that gives a shit about clothing dresses, even for like a very casual day is gonna be lower than that. Yeah, yeah, I agree with that.
00:11:09
Speaker
Yeah, I understand sweatpants, like sometimes you're wearing separate garments, separate garments and that's good. Yeah, you're not wearing a onesie and Crocs, so.
00:11:20
Speaker
Yeah, right. But it is interesting to me. I guess how like my perception has changed in terms of like what is dressed up or dressed down because like in college, like I would wear to class just like a sweatshirt and like the Adidas soccer pants with sneakers or less or sweatpants. Whereas like now I'm kind of like, oh, I would I feel very weird leaving leaving my apartment wearing sweatpants.
00:11:51
Speaker
what this show is about, which is style evolution and giving a shit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, cause when I was a young buck, when I was like 18, I wore a tie every day. I wore a tie and jacket every day for like five years. You know, I had this congressional internship, this and that. And I was like, this is how you dress if you are like a man of accomplishment. But of course,
00:12:20
Speaker
not exactly right and so i have come back to it in recent months i guess like and it's interesting i mean to see it with different eyes yeah yeah it's it's i feel like it's it's always very interesting to hear how well i guess one where people are at in terms of what
00:12:44
Speaker
they consider appropriate or dress down or casual or or like even like what someone considers like I guess quote unquote like fancy um depending on where they are and their understanding of of clothes generally. Damn that's a great that's a great question we got to add that yeah what is casual what is casual for you?
00:13:10
Speaker
Are you actually asking? No, no, no, no. We know it's casual for you now. Unless you have a different answer. Unless you have a different answer, which we would happily listen to. But if you don't, then we can move on to the next part. Yeah, I would say the answer that I had is pretty spot on. Excellent. Also, just side note, those old wins and rugby's are like, if it's the one that I'm thinking of, they have such a cool tag also. Yeah.
00:13:39
Speaker
Yeah, like they're, they're very, uh, I don't know. They're just like a good staple of an item. And then the tag just makes it so much, just cool to me. Yeah. I miss, I miss good tags. Oh, same here. Same here. So it's just a lot.
00:14:01
Speaker
No, go on, go on. I was just gonna say, it's like, it's yet another thing that has fallen by the wayside, not to be like an old cigar chomper, but like, they're used to truly be thought put into almost everything. And now look at almost every label looks the same, whether and I mean that brand to brand, like almost every label looks the same, it just tags.
00:14:26
Speaker
A lot of the times probably split half and half, Serif, sans Serif, but it's a shame. It's really a terrible shame. Cause I guess it used to, it used to probably cost something too, to put a nice label inside of something. Right. Yeah. Anyway, that's my, that's my input on that. So, Maura, we saw on your, uh, your Instagram, uh, in our, you know, endless research.
00:14:56
Speaker
every fucking episode that you felt as a photographer first. So what did come first? The camera or the clothes? I mean, well, I guess the camera in the grand scheme of things, but they kind of developed in tandem. But also, I think I used to have
00:15:24
Speaker
my like the little tag thing on Instagram as like content creator or something like that and I was kind of like well that I got to a point where I was kind of like that seems like I don't know maybe less professional than I want it to be not that that's not professional but so then I ended up changing it to photographer um
00:15:46
Speaker
But I remember I got my first DSLR my freshman year of college and I didn't really start seriously getting into clothes until my junior year. So I guess in that sense, the camera led the way. Yeah. How did you get your start in the clothing industry?
00:16:12
Speaker
Um, kind of by accident, I, I always jokingly say like, I kind of like fell headfirst into everything very quickly and very unexpectedly. Um, because it kind of started my senior year of college, which was 2020. That's when
00:16:35
Speaker
Probably a mere time to get into coding industry. Yeah, and I, so we, it was kind of like one of those things where with the pandemic that it was kind of like one day we were at school, and then the next day, literally the next day we were gone.
00:16:54
Speaker
And so then I was kind of like, okay, well, I need something creative to do to kind of like fill that void of wanting to make something. So that's when I started the Instagram, which really kind of at first was just me putting together flat lays of outfits that I would have worn.
00:17:16
Speaker
if we weren't all locked down in the middle of Pennsylvania. So and then I through that kind of accidentally fell into what I call and I guess what people like affiliated with it call like the denim and heritage goods community. Okay.
00:17:38
Speaker
which was kind of my really first introduction into clothing as a community. And I like still like, like right now, even though I'm a bit less involved in that, like that's my favorite group of people on the internet.
00:17:57
Speaker
because they are they're all so generally speaking they're all so nice to each other and so like non-competitive um
00:18:09
Speaker
and like genuinely there to kind of like help people that just have even like the slightest interest. And so that's when I started kind of connecting with people through that and then it being my senior year in college like I at that point was working for New York State and was kind of pushing them
00:18:31
Speaker
to give me a full-time job after graduating, which they just couldn't really offer. So I was like, OK, I need to find something else to do. And I really like this community and the clothes that they have. So I went and was just kind of messaging around to people who seemed like they were established professionally in it. And I was like, hey, if you know of anyone looking
00:19:00
Speaker
for help or anything like graduating. And at that point, I wanted to do graphic design. And I ended up connecting with this one guy who's my friend now, Charles, who owns CMB Denham. And he was like, yeah, actually, my friend Lucas, you came up on his radar, and he was telling he and his wife about me.
00:19:30
Speaker
And they're like, we would love to have you do a few sketches for an accessories box that we're putting together. So not a full-time thing, but also getting some experience. So I was like, yeah, sure. And then I did that project. And then from there, developed a very good friendship with Lucas Fitzpatrick.
00:19:56
Speaker
who is very kind of well connected in that community. He does a lot of communications and brand consulting. And he was kind of like, oh yeah, that kind of opened the floodgates in terms of meeting people for me, where he was like, yeah, do you know this guy or this person doing this? You should talk to X, Y, and Z.
00:20:21
Speaker
And then I ended up on a panel for like women in like heritage goods in denim. And that's where I met even more people. And then eventually, like through all of those people, I ended up at Upstate Stock in Brooklyn, which makes like they're not really like a fashion brand, but they make knitwear like hats, gloves, scarves, things like that.
Fashion Photography and Social Media
00:20:48
Speaker
And and I ended up doing
00:20:51
Speaker
all of the marketing, branding, website building, photography, like graphic design stuff for them. And also kind of around that time, not that I moved on from the denim world, but I initially, like my first love, like how I've kind of talked about briefly like on my blog and like Instagram and stuff was tweed.
00:21:20
Speaker
And I was kind of like, okay, this denim stuff is great, all of the leather and everything, but I still just love wool. And that's kind of overlooked among those people. So then I kind of took a step back and was like,
00:21:39
Speaker
okay well I really love like vintage stuff and at that point and still to like to this day my favorite era is like the 20s and 30s but I kind of started branching out like wanting to be more knowledgeable about vintage which after talking to a few um
00:21:59
Speaker
like good friends in the industry and stuff. They're like really like the way that you learn is like by being around it. Like they're like, there's, there are very minimal resources that you can kind of read and stuff, but you just have to like immerse yourself. So I was like, um, and then at some point in that I found Ivy style. And, um, because one of my friends like recommended their Facebook group as a resource of like, this is a pretty,
00:22:29
Speaker
built out community of people that talk about vintage. So I was like, okay. And I was kind of skeptical about it. Because I was like, I had the perception of like, oh, it's just going to be kind of like old, curmudgeonly white men who just kind of like sit around and talk about the old days.
00:22:49
Speaker
And so I joined and then kind of like lurked for a while and saw that a lot of it was people kind of like posting like their outfit of the days and things like that. And I was like, okay, I'm going to take a stab at this and just see what feedback I get. And I remember like the outfit that I posted by my standards today was really not great. Um, I think I was wearing like Cole Han.
00:23:15
Speaker
Oxford's with like a burnished toe and like gray flannels so like that I got that correct and then a pretty long um like navy jacket it wasn't a blazer but like a jacket and a very very thick tie um with an Oxford shirt and I and now looking back I'm very surprised by the uh
00:23:44
Speaker
few negative comments that I got or criticisms that I got from that outfit with knowing that crowd now. But at the time- Are people commenting? Are people commenting? Yeah. Yeah. Jesus. So people post their outfits and then everybody is either kind of like, oh, this is great. Or they'll be like, this isn't Ivy.
00:24:09
Speaker
Um, yeah. And so all these like old guys were like, this is great. This is like the best thing I've ever seen, but like you should adjust this and this and this. And so as, so I was kind of like, okay. And then I kind of started viewing the style as more of a puzzle of kind of like, okay, like, well, what, what exactly does this style look like?
00:24:36
Speaker
Because I think that that's still something that a lot of people, not to sound very judgmental, but a lot of people get wrong, is that just because something fits within the itemized list of what makes an Ivy wardrobe, when you put it all together, it could look completely off. Oh, totally, totally.
00:24:58
Speaker
So then I kind of made it my mission of being still kind of like recovering from the pandemic and figuring out what I wanted to do of like, okay, this is gonna be like a fun little side quest of actually like perfecting this look. And it went from there. And that's when through that Facebook group, John Burton, who runs the Ivy style, well now owns the Ivy style blog, he was the moderator and he ended up
00:25:28
Speaker
messaging me through Facebook and saying, like, Hey, I'm kind of friends with the chief merchandising officer at J press. And he asked if I could connect you to like, just so you guys can like hop on a call. And I was like, Oh, like, that would be interesting. Um, so I said yes. And that's how I met Robert Scalero, who's now my boss. Oh, Robert. Yeah, I know him very well.
00:25:57
Speaker
Oh, okay. Yeah. And then I was like, so then it kind of snowballed from there where he was like, well, what do you do? And I was like, uh, that's a loaded question. And then, and then it kind of
00:26:14
Speaker
the rest is like kind of history, I guess, like he was like, well, you're seem very interested in the style, which a lot of it's hard to find people young and wanting to actually work in the industry now. And so it took a few months, but then he got me an offer letter and then I left upstate stock and went there. And then now I've been there for almost a year. Robert is hands down one of my favorite people that I've ever met in the clothing industry.
00:26:44
Speaker
I worked for a brand that was based in New York called Epaulette. They're based in LA now. Robert was basically, we used Southwick for Taylor clothing back in the day. And like Robert is just like the coolest motherfucker that I could imagine in like so old school New York and so like
00:27:11
Speaker
like one of the only old school guys that actually gets it. So that's fucking awesome that he took a chance and like helped you out in that way. That's fucking rad.
00:27:25
Speaker
Yeah, that's something that I always have a lot of respect and credit him with, is that he really took a chance. Because he was basically kind of like, okay, well, if you love clothes, I'm going to have you come on as a merchandising assistant. And I was like, okay, I have absolutely no experience in that.
00:27:46
Speaker
I'll try my best. And then it just kind of evolved from that. Now it's to the point where I really have very little involvement in the merchandising. Right. Well, you're the creative voice behind the shit. So that's kind of rad. Yeah. Yeah. Does JPRS still have like the store on Madison Ave?
00:28:14
Speaker
not well so not the the heritage store we like within the the business we kind of refer to what is like j press j press as heritage and then we have the pennant label and that's kind of how we differentiate between them so we don't have a heritage store on madison it's on uh 44th right next to grand central and the yale club okay gotcha gotcha
00:28:36
Speaker
Um, but we do, we have, we are opening on, uh, I think March 1st, um, a pennant label store on Madison at like around 58th, I think. Okay. Yeah. That's cool. I thought the original one had closed like a few years ago. So I'm glad that they're still, you know, still trying to do the thing in a physical way.
00:29:05
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, actually, it's it's funny, a lot of the customers that we get that come into the Yale Club store are always kind of like, oh, I thought you guys disappeared because I remember the Madison store. Right, right. Then one day that was gone. So yeah, it's it's changed a lot in the past decade up that way.
00:29:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of funny now, like the old Brooks Brothers location. I always say it kind of looks like it's become an old folks home when you look inside because it's a cafe, but it's like the space is way too large just to be a little cafe. Right. Yeah. Because the old Brooks shop was like four floors, five floors, something like that. Yeah. Like it was huge. And it was such a sad moment when I heard that that closed.
00:29:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely. So I wanted to ask about the style of your photos, which I guess sort of were the beginning, right? We see them in your fit pics. We see them in your portfolio. I was curious what sort of location scouting you're doing. Do you have time of day you like?
00:30:26
Speaker
Um, well, I always kind of say that like my, the photography that I actually shoot
00:30:36
Speaker
is not really reflected by my Instagram because I'm not the one taking those photos. Sure. I kind of, like my girlfriend and I have kind of like gotten down a system by this point where it's kind of- Oh, I see. I thought it was a drive-by. Always helpful to have like an assistant to do this. Yeah. Well, I always feel bad because then I'm like, I promise it'll take 10 minutes or like, I'll be like, she'll take a few and I'll be like, oh, like, can you take like one more? And then it's like,
00:31:06
Speaker
Yeah. And then, and then I'll come back and be like, Oh, okay. Like one more actually. And she's like, it's, it's never just one more. Um, but she, no, like we've, we've done it so often now that it really only takes like 10 minutes. And I, because of that, like, and I, and I don't want to, um, like abuse her time.
Ivy Style and Personal Identity
00:31:25
Speaker
I, it's, it's become very, uh,
00:31:31
Speaker
like, almost like a template. Like it's like, I look in the same direction. Yes, no, that's what I noticed. I was like, I mean, so you come up with these things through trial and error, right? Like I'm experiencing this now that I'm finally using my fucking tripod that I have had. Matt suggested, just go outside, go outside, go outside. I have a porch which is covered. I have a backyard which is not covered. The backyard I didn't even consider.
00:31:57
Speaker
right occur to me it didn't occur to me at all and now it's like oh how fucking easy is this right right it's like i if i if i really wanted to everything would look different and i and and in a perfect world i i would have it do that but also like i am very conscious of
00:32:18
Speaker
that Emily, my girlfriend, that this isn't exactly what she wants to be doing on a Saturday is spending an hour trying to get a different photo. But that's how you know that she is a good person because she doesn't fucking know.
00:32:37
Speaker
Right. Well, but but so it's it has become it's really, I always say that it emphasized that it really is just kind of like an archive of outfits and less so a photography account. Yeah, yeah. Because like, I'm not a photographer by any stretch of the word. But like, I want my photos to look decent, at the very least. But what I am taking
00:33:04
Speaker
down with the fifth picks is like how I was feeling that morning like what was going on yeah yeah it's a diary it's a visual diary
00:33:17
Speaker
right and I always try to it's also something where like to me because I've gotten to the point now so in the winter when it gets dark early and I can't like I miss out on the daylight after work I really only take like two to three outfit photos a week and so it's and I and I always try to kind of like
00:33:45
Speaker
view the Instagram as something that I just continuously want to enjoy as opposed to feeling like I have to do it. So like it's something where even if it's a Saturday like family and I are going for like a long walk if I just feel that stopping to take a photo would not ruin that but
00:34:09
Speaker
like take away from that, I'm always kind of like, you know what? No, I don't need this right now. So I try to kind of update it at least two times a week, but at the same time, I like that it's a very casual thing and not something that I have to put a lot of effort into. So that's why I kind of have decided not to take it in the very photogenic photography route.
00:34:37
Speaker
I mean, you say not very photogenic, but it looks fucking sick. Oh, yeah. It truly is. It truly is very good. Yeah. As someone that, for a long time, took a lot of fucking outfit of the day photos for various internet things, it's nice that you can parse it out.
00:35:03
Speaker
that it's something that you enjoy, but it's not something you feel compelled to always do. And yeah, I mean, it comes off like in a very aesthetically pleasing way. So, you know, like the fact that you just kind of do it as you see fit and it, you know, it is fun for you that like that's rad because it also looks great.
00:35:33
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just like isn't that old adage like you're supposed to put on the clothes and then forget you were wearing them or whatever. Right. Like that's what's going on. It looks like obviously ever has been put into the photos but it doesn't look like you know it doesn't look try hard. Yeah. Anyway. Yeah.
00:35:56
Speaker
Yeah, and that's kind of like the goal that I want out of it too, because I also try to keep in mind where it's like, I don't like dressing for a photo. It's kind of like, okay, if I'm wearing a good outfit that I really like, I'll take a photo of it. But I don't want to be hyper fixated on like, well, this should be an outfit that gets photographed. Right.
00:36:21
Speaker
It's a very natural just extension of how you're feeling on whatever day that you take photos. Yeah. Yeah. So I wonder if I'll be able to sustain it every day. I guess we'll see. Good luck. Good luck. So you kind of touched on this a little bit. But you know, you seem like a pretty confident
00:36:48
Speaker
user of the internet and marketing, which I guess speaks to your background on doing things. But what were your early experiences with internet clothing subculture, for lack of a better word? Before the Facebook page,
00:37:13
Speaker
Had you paid any mind to that whatsoever, or was that kind of like your, your introduction into the whole thing. Um, in terms of clothing specifically I never really
00:37:29
Speaker
delved into anything before that Facebook page and honestly even afterwards. Some of my very close friends now in the classic menswear scene have very strong connections to MFA or style forum and stuff like that.
00:37:51
Speaker
remember hearing about that and being like, what is that? One for them, a lot of their career interest was built off of those things. So now I did recently make a Reddit account.
00:38:07
Speaker
and have been kind of like lurking on MFA and like Navy Blazer and stuff. I will admit that I do, I like to lurk in a lot of places. Yeah. And to be quite honest, a lot of it is mostly just to see like what people are saying about J-press and- It's for work, right? Yeah. But also just to see like how people are using it and like what people are saying about
00:38:37
Speaker
current industry trends or things that I might know a different side of. But really, I was influenced very little by menswear communities. But then in generally the internet and internet culture, I was a very big Tumblr user through high school.
00:39:02
Speaker
And I like, it didn't really have a theme, but I eventually kind of like culminated in like 30 something thousand followers. And that's when I was like, oh, maybe I'm pretty good at this. And I kind of always was a little obsessed with like the idea of
00:39:25
Speaker
building a brand, whether that's like as a person or an actual brand online. And so like similar to like photography and clothes and stuff. Like I've always been fascinated by, well, what now is kind of like social commerce and how that works and like what, like not how to beat the algorithm, but like
00:39:50
Speaker
Like what even is the algorithm and how can, how much leverage, like, can you leverage, uh, like an image and on Instagram or different platforms and see how it does. So like with my own Instagram, it's, it's both like, I enjoy it from the, the clothes aspect and kind of posting that, but also using it really as a.
00:40:17
Speaker
uh, like experiment and seeing like, okay, well, this, this does work. Uh, like these tags work this time, like this schedule of posting works. What does that say? And how can I take that information and kind of like apply it to J press? Um, so it's all kind of like trial and error and experimentation and,
00:40:42
Speaker
that's kind of how I view the internet and internet culture, which I like to think is healthy, as opposed to being obsessed with numbers and things like that. Right, right, yeah. It's a little bit more humanitarianism is the right word, but like humanist maybe, to kind of like view it from the standpoint of like,
00:41:11
Speaker
I'm not solely trying to do X number. I'm trying to figure out why people like certain things. It's a little sociological in ways.
00:41:24
Speaker
Yeah, and it always surprises me like that the outfits that I personally think like how is it like what you discussed about like the rugby shirt and stuff like how I kind of think that that's kind of maybe not the most interesting thing. Like I'll post that and that will blow up as opposed to an outfit that I like personally think is way better and not doing worse and I like to kind of like think like well like why did that do that?
00:41:51
Speaker
No, it's funny, like when I, cause I take a picture of my shit every day, right? But when I think it's a good one, like a lot of people do not. And then when I think it's like fine, a lot of people like it, you know? To the extent that there are a lot of people who see the outfits that I post, but
00:42:17
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting. It is a little experiment. It's like a social media experiment every day. Yeah.
00:42:27
Speaker
So we talked about Ivy Style. I was going to ask, one of the things that stands out to me about Ivy Style is the little tweaks and affectations, the go to hell attitude, the socks, the Nantucket Reds, all this stuff that people did, I guess, to stand out, right? From
00:42:48
Speaker
a million other Blazers, a million other Navy Blazers, khakis, what have you. So I was wondering what you were, I don't know what you thought about that kind of things that you have adopted over the years, safety pin in the tie, this sort of stuff. Um, hmm.
00:43:11
Speaker
Well, I, to be quite honest, I'm not a huge, like, so the, the go to hell stuff, like, especially like, like critter pants or like bright pastels and things like that. I personally am not a huge fan of, at least at this current moment. Like I, I definitely gravitate towards.
00:43:32
Speaker
very muted things even when I even like when I think that it's something colorful and then I see it in a full outfit and I'm like oh this is still just very muted um so like the go-to-hell stuff I am starting to get more into in terms of like bright colors in some like in some form or another specifically like socks um
00:43:59
Speaker
and maybe even like with ties, but I personally always like a good club collar with the safety pin. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I really love that. I always think that it just has to be very subtle. Like I think it goes back to that kind of like just wanting to exist in the clothes, not necessarily like doing it to look photogenic or like stand out or something because then it ends up looking like gaudy.
00:44:29
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's where a lot of people, uh, either like make it or break it, where it like with Sprezzatora, like the whole point of it is that you're not trying. And I think.
00:44:46
Speaker
I think when people try to try to do it, then you just fail like it's it's kind of like you just have to like not notice it, which like I did the like the other day like I washed an Oxford shirt and the buttons came undone and then I just put it on to go to work and then realized halfway through the day that the buttons were undone. Oh, like that probably looked pretty cool because I didn't think about it.
00:45:12
Speaker
right and I think that there's also kind of like a there are a lot of like misconceptions surrounding Ivy and like the and canonically like what actually was common because so much of the photos that exist were all cherry picked and so even things with affectations like like yes it was captured in a moment but I mean depending on the photo I'm sure that the the person wearing it was unaware that
00:45:42
Speaker
like the collar was unbuttoned or that their tie tail was longer than like the front blade and things like that. And that's what makes it look cool. So not that I think or suggest kind of like staying away from those small affectations is better, but it loses the magic when you're aware of it. Yeah, there's definitely ways to like
00:46:12
Speaker
pick up on certain things and they feel natural to you, but there's also like, you know, a thousand other motherfuckers that are trying to do the same thing to stand out and make it a thing. And it's like, yeah, that's not really what the origins would really be. Like, personally, I don't, if I'm wearing a
00:46:38
Speaker
shirt and jacket, I don't button my sleeve cuffs because it's uncomfortable. That's just something I've done forever. And it's like, yo, you know, yeah, there's, there's certain things that you can adopt and that you pick up over time, but it's not a, it's not like you're trying to be out on fucking fluster. Right. And it's also, I think really like the,
00:47:06
Speaker
the quote unquote best affectations or like small details really come from either like trying to achieve comfort or out of necessity. Oh, absolutely. Even something that I do, like how I've said previously that I have all of these shirts from my friend who is like two sizes larger than me. I can almost never get the sleeve length
00:47:33
Speaker
right on anything. So even with some of the shirts that are just like way too long, I'll just take the cuff and clip it back and then button it. So if I were to take like my jacket off, like you would see that it's kind of wonky. Right. Yeah, it looks like a little it looks like a little French cuff though. I've done that before. Yeah. Yeah. But
00:47:58
Speaker
I feel like the ones that I gravitate toward, the standard ones are the collar pin, bright colored socks, mostly those two. OK. Yeah. And you obviously don't put a shitload of thought into it, but you like these things and you've worked them into your clothing arrangement.
00:48:29
Speaker
Right. Yeah. And it's always funny to me too, like what, what exactly I always come back to because I have so many now bright colored socks, but yet I always choose like the blue and I, and I still, I've had like yellow socks for over a year and I've only worn them once. Yeah. You got to break them out. Yeah. It's all about trial and error.
00:48:56
Speaker
and just figuring out what you like and some things that you think you like, like yellow socks, you end up just not giving a shit about. Yeah.
00:49:11
Speaker
Granted, I also understand that a lot of people like don't have won the money to the interest in buying a ton of socks just to see that only one works. Right. Yeah, true. Yeah. I'm a big fan of like all cotton white athletic socks. So that's, that's where I, where I usually go. Yeah. So you kind of, you know, you kind of belong to,
00:49:41
Speaker
a part of a subculture within like table of clothing, right? Like you're not, no offense, the most traditional kind of person that works in the industry, at least from my experience. How have you navigated that as being
Wardrobe Management and Future Campaign
00:50:00
Speaker
someone that obviously has a passion for this, but is not your everyday Joe Schmoe that you're romantic?
00:50:11
Speaker
Yeah, so the one question that I constantly kind of am asked, whether it's in an interview or if it's DMed or just in conversation is like, like, so like, what's like, like, explain being like a woman in menswear. Right. Which there are a lot of. Yeah. In my experience, they're just not always as forward facing as you are. Yeah.
00:50:42
Speaker
And I, and I, sometimes I lately I've been not taking issue with that kind of like terminology, I guess. But, but I do identify as non-binary. And so I, and there's a very different, um, experience from that and the way that I present myself versus someone who is a very feminine. Um, and so it is,
00:51:11
Speaker
unique like I had a conversation with one of my co-workers last week I think like where she is very feminine and kind of comparing both of our experiences as just generally like a non-man in the industry but also then the differences between
00:51:30
Speaker
my experience as someone masculine and hers as very feminine. And both of them kind of have their similarities and differences that I think make them very unique experiences.
00:51:45
Speaker
and is a reason why I don't really like to comment on what it is like being like a woman in menswear because I truly don't have a lot of those experiences that define that um but as someone who is non-binary in classic menswear it can it it's definitely been interesting because you kind of fall at least for someone like me who is
00:52:13
Speaker
traditionally like a bit more masculine and feminine, between being not like, quote unquote, not a woman, but also not being like one of the guys. Right. Which is a very odd place to be. Because it's it's almost kind of like cherry picked what you're you are included in culturally.
00:52:44
Speaker
even down to just my peers in the industry and some of the conversations they have, or if it's an event and it's kind of like, oh, let's all get a bro pick. And I'm usually not included in that. And I don't see any kind of malice in that, but there are still a lot of
00:53:11
Speaker
kind of blind biases that people have. That even if you are the most or what you feel is kind of like the like quote like wokest person like they're just it's just societal so it's it just exists. Exactly.
00:53:34
Speaker
And I like to kind of point out occasionally, like just in conversation with like people that I'm a bit closer to, like if they say or do something where I'm like, well, that's not really like, not appropriate, but I, this is my perception of,
00:53:51
Speaker
that and then they're they're always kind of like oh I would have never thought about it from that point of view like even something as simple as like speaking of Robert not specifically like Robert Scalera but like the his um like the menswear industry that he grew up in
00:54:09
Speaker
and the type of people that kind of existed in the industry then. I was talking to one of my other colleagues kind of around the same age who has also been in the industry for a very long time. And he was like, yeah, I mean, there were always a lot of straight men, a lot of gay men, a lot of various diverse ethnicities and stuff. He was like, but I really can't remember anybody who
00:54:38
Speaker
was either a lesbian or a non-binary person in the industry. And so I think that it's really a new phenomenon for people to be involved in the industry that aren't just traditionally a man. And I think that people are really open to that. But like I said, there are a lot of hidden biases that come out. Oh, totally.
00:55:07
Speaker
I also I'm all of them being and like it's it's one of those things that like I know for for people that are made the worst back in the day and so like the fact that the fact that you're thriving as someone of that identity in the modern day is kind of amazing
00:55:35
Speaker
Yeah, honestly, me too. I was kind of, and it's always talking to people, like one, I'm very bad at taking compliments, but two, talking to people who are like, oh, you're such an inspiration, and I'm kind of like, am I? I was like, I'm just existing, but I guess that is insane.
00:55:58
Speaker
Yeah, but it is also kind of like interesting too. Like I do have somewhat of a background in like queer theory and things like that, just in the industry as a whole and the way that men's wear and women's wear is kind of like seeping into or kind of becoming inching closer and closer to each other.
00:56:23
Speaker
where for a long time, like what was considered unisex clothing or like androgynous is really just boxy, traditionally men's cuts of things. Like ugly shit. So ugly. The stuff is so, so ugly.
00:56:38
Speaker
Yeah, and you wouldn't see like a skirt in that. Why not? Because it's just a piece of clothing. Like why does androgydian and unisex have to really primarily just reflect men and menswear as opposed to like femininity. And so like stuff like that or even things like
00:57:02
Speaker
Like again, going back to that, my weird kind of like relationship with like being a woman in menswear, it's kind of like, and again, like a lot of this is never really intended to be harmful. It's just an unconscious bias, but people referring to me as like the best dressed woman in menswear. And it's kind of like, all right, maybe. Why can't I be the best dressed person in menswear?
00:57:31
Speaker
It's really not fucking difficult. Yeah, and it does. It's kind of unconsciously puts people into boxes. Because then it's like, okay, well, is, is my limit of success, just reaching that threshold of like the best dressed woman in menswear? When there's more being that breach the glass ceiling? Yeah.
00:57:57
Speaker
So, and that's just, those are just kind of two examples of many that I've seen. Of course, of course. With anything, you know, in the modern age too, it's gonna get past this stupid point that we're somehow stuck in. And, you know, you're like, hopefully people in...
00:58:27
Speaker
stop doing that shit. Like you're making a name for yourself. Right, and also kind of the expectation of what
00:58:40
Speaker
someone in the industry looks like, like how I was saying, like my one colleague and I were kind of comparing our two experiences and this is something that I'm not gonna say like would never because anything's possible, but like there's a very slim chance that this would happen to me, even though I'm also like not a man, but she was at an event and someone came up to her and they're like, oh, are you someone's girlfriend?
00:59:09
Speaker
And she's like, no, like I'm in, I work in the industry. And so it's just like those, again, like unconscious assumptions that just because it's like, you're a woman and you're here that you're not involved. Right. Right. Cause you would never ask that question. Like you, you would never, um, you know, like there, there are plenty of women and non men that have designed
00:59:39
Speaker
menswear over the years. You would never go up to a dude at a Ralph Lauren party and be like, oh, what are you doing here? They're fucking dudes on women's wear collections. Like, can't we just get past this shit?
00:59:57
Speaker
Yeah, and I think it's always those unconscious assumptions. Because being someone, again, who's not a man in menswear, it is kind of...
01:00:13
Speaker
always a battle of proving yourself until you get to a point where like you're someone like Emily Bodie where you're very identifiable and and people know who you are as opposed to someone like if you if like a guy who's like an assistant merchant at like Todd shows up to an event people are just going to automatically assume that you work there and kind of engage with you
01:00:38
Speaker
as opposed to being like a woman and then having to kind of really push to be noticed. Man, that was a very enlightening discussion about being a non-man in the clothing industry. So I thank you. Yeah, I enjoy talking about that and I kind of rarely do
01:01:09
Speaker
Yeah, that was one thing that we wanted to be sure you had a space for. Yeah, we're, you know, we're, we're just people that love clothes, and I don't give a shit what anyone's gender or anything is, as long as they like clothes, and they're, they're cool. You know, like, that's kind of
01:01:36
Speaker
that that's kind of how we approach things and how I wish we have no barrier, no barrier to entry. Absolutely.
01:01:50
Speaker
So to kind of wrap up, we have a series of questions about stuff, your stuff. So I was going to ask you for my own sort of reserves. Do you have any eBay search alerts set up? Do you have a white whale you are constantly seeking?
01:02:12
Speaker
Um, so again, going back to the, going back to that, I'm, I'm maybe not the kind of like archetype of someone who's an enthusiast in menswear. I have no search alerts set up. I kind of, I always say I like to like window shop on evil. That's the most fun.
01:02:36
Speaker
Yeah, where I kind of I don't have search alerts set up, to be quite honest, because it might be just because I'm too lazy to take that extra step. But there are like a few like, like, I always kind of go in and I'll search like 1950s small, and then see what pops up or like, like vintage polo. That's a big one. The best things come from like the most generic of searches.
01:03:04
Speaker
because you find something that someone else has not seen yet because the listing description is absolutely terrible. And it's just like, holy shit, this is something that I love and no one has bought it for the month that it's been listed. Right. However, me and my ADHD and
01:03:27
Speaker
filling the void with clothes. I always end up, I'm always like, oh, like this is something like that nobody's found. Like I'm gonna, I'm gonna buy it just because they haven't found it yet, which is not the way to go about building a wardrobe. And that is also how you get stuck in a very small square footage apartment with clothes in every corner, like me. But, yeah, but in terms of like a white whale,
01:03:58
Speaker
item like I am always I always it I guess it's kind of a love-hate relationship like I've always wanted like a 30s beltback jacket however then I I did recently find one that was pretty much like perfect and then I was like do I like do I actually need this right so I I feel like I
01:04:24
Speaker
I feel like I'm constantly kind of like creating white whales just to give me something to search for. Yeah, it's the hunt. It really is. It's like you're searching and searching and searching. It's in brain chemicals, too. Matt is subject to my manic searching. It's so invigorating. Yes. But that's also like my...
01:04:52
Speaker
friend and colleague Nick and I were kind of talking. Sure, sure I met him. Yeah he's great and he we were both discussing like how many shirts we think we own and oh that was in the discord I asked that question in the in the sad discord. Oh well then so then I was like I don't want to be both of us were kind of sitting there we were both kind of like I don't want to even be thinking about this question because I
01:05:18
Speaker
He, he, I, I was kind of like betting that we have about the same. He thinks that he has more, but I think personally I have to have like, like combining t-shirts and like sports, like button down shirts. I probably have to have like 200. Oh my God. No way. See because even Wong said he had 65.
01:05:44
Speaker
Oh, that kind of surprises me. Me fucking too. And there's this dude on the chat who has like 60 some. I have about that many. I mean, not all of mine are like, are like, nice, you know, but they're here and I have called the ones that were unpleasant to me. But I think it's a very valid question because it's like shirts, probably people have the most of. Yeah.
01:06:08
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And again, that's not even me. I'm sure Emily, my girlfriend, would probably even say that I have even more. Because I've been trying to sell off stuff. And I probably sold maybe 15, 20 things over the weekend. And it hasn't made any difference. Yeah. Yeah. Such is the life for a connoisseur.
01:06:36
Speaker
A float source. Yeah. A float source. Yes. Yes. So Laura, what is your favorite and or oldest piece that you have? I think the oldest that I have is probably, I guess maybe this one sweater that's from the turn of the century. Oh, wow. Yeah.
01:07:06
Speaker
a shawl, collar, pullover, not cardigan. I wish I had a white whale. I wish I had a good 1920s shawl, collar, cardigan. Okay. I'm going to have to remember that. Yeah. But that's probably the old, at least the, of what I know the date to be, the oldest. Right, right.
01:07:33
Speaker
I don't think I have, actually, I think I actually have like an Edwardian, like tuxedo vest, but it's just like, it's missing the rest of the tuxedo. Right. And I just kind of acquired it through someone, like half the things that I own are just things that I've, that have been given to me. Of course, of course. But yeah, that's definitely the oldest. Okay. And one about favorites.
01:08:03
Speaker
Uh, if you can name it, I know. Well, I was going to say, I feel like I always kind of view, like there's a difference between like favorite and then most worn thing. Oh, totally. Totally. Yeah. Absolutely. I think my favorite thing that I have, actually I know what it is. It's, it's, um, and it's a recent thing. It's my Fox flannel, uh, two-piece suit that I got for free, um, from J press.
01:08:32
Speaker
Nice. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the only thing, like, my room is a total, like, or, like, where I keep on my clothes, like, a total disaster. And that's the one thing I, like, that's on the singular wooden hanger that I have that, that I'm like, the shoulders on this can't get messed up. And then it's just, like, hanging on the closet so that nothing bad ever happens to it. Respect. Respect.
01:08:58
Speaker
I have also never been one to really organize my shit as much as I should. So I just put my final thing on to a wooden hanger. So it just I don't know. I don't know why the fuck I do the things that I do. I don't have anything really that needs to be on a wooden hanger.
01:09:18
Speaker
I mean, obviously the tailored stuff should not be on plastic hangers in general. I mean, as long as you're not using wire hangers for shit, then I think you're, it's acceptable. I feel like I also, I think everything should, in a perfect world, everything should be on a wooden hanger. Right. Right. Exactly. Yeah. It's just not, it's just not plastic. Oh.
01:09:43
Speaker
Well, Laura, this has been a really fun conversation and thank you for coming on. We always like to give our guests a chance to shout out something. So this is yours, have at it. Oh, like anything? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're, we, we set your Instagram account in the, or Connor set it in the intro, but you know, whatever you want to shout out, you're, you're good to go. Oh, I didn't, uh, Oh, now I'm like,
01:10:10
Speaker
No, no, no, no, it's okay. Yeah. No pressure. No pressure. We're just, you know, we're just letting you promote whatever you want to promote yourself, something else. I don't give a shit. Yeah. I guess if I, I was going to say, I guess if I want to use this as like maybe like a mild self promotion, but also like constantly thinking of J press, we are, there is a,
01:10:35
Speaker
pretty fun photo shoot that I have now put together and like campaign that I'm shooting in like the next couple of weeks that I think is very different from what we have done in the past. And so I would say be on the lookout for that because I'm hoping that that gets some notice. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, we will. Well, we'll certainly promote it on our
01:11:03
Speaker
scheduling Instagram. And yeah, that's, that's rad. And what's your, what's your Instagram handle again, just in case people see your phenomenal Fitbit. It's at Reaper Sower. Awesome. Awesome. Which is a great one, which is truly a great one. I mean,
01:11:21
Speaker
My girlfriend was like, that's probably a religious person. Well, it's really funny because I, as so many people are like, Oh, like, like, where'd that come from? Or like, why that? And I'm like, honestly, it was kind of a complete accident. I was kind of like, in college, like I really someday want to have my own brand and maybe jumped the gun a little bit in college of like trademarking Reaper and company.
01:11:47
Speaker
because honestly just because I really love Halloween and I was like okay that's reminiscent of that and then the sewer part kind of came in because I was like okay from like keeping things cohesive like if I if I were to have a blog like what would I name it where it's still somewhat makes sense with Reaper and company so I was like well Reaper and Sower go together
01:12:15
Speaker
That's a solid handle. Yeah. I will give you that. Yeah. It is very funny though. Now to me of people identifying me as my handle and not my name. Right. Yeah. Comes with the territory. Yeah. The life of an internet celebrity. Right. Well, Laura, thank you again. Um, everyone keep an eye out for the JFS campaign. It's going to be sick.
01:12:43
Speaker
I am sure and much better than the, uh, York street chip they did in like 2013. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yes. Uh, that's a, that's an entirely different conversation. But anyway, um, everyone, thank you for listening. Uh, we're at apocalypse does on Instagram, uh, apocalypse studs at Gmail, which thankfully we finally got in a message.
01:13:07
Speaker
We got a couple. We got a couple of emails. So I will, I will retire this stupid rejoice. Um, I'm Matt Smith at rebels rogues. And I'm Connor Fowler at Connor Fowler with one. Yeah. Thanks everyone for listening and we'll see you soon.