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A Fear of Dying with Ethan Wong
317 Plays5 months ago
On this week’s episode we had the pleasure of hosting Style and Direction’s @ethanmwong. What does the M stand for? We talked about his clothing origin story, how to dress when it’s hotter than hell, Inspector Gadget’s trench coat, gatekeeping, “Dapper Day” at Disneyland, cinematic dressing, being a podcasting OG, being addicted to getting stuff done, and a whooole lot more.
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Transcript
Introduction and Humor with Ethan M Won
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome, everyone. Here we are again. Here we are. You can count on our next guest to straighten out your tax return, but he's more interested in straightening your tie. Our next guest is the Navy Blazer of creative endeavors. He thinks he writes, he photographs, he podcasts, a composer, an amazing station of content creation, a mastermind of managing, a maestro of marketing. We're honored to be graced by someone who may actually have menswear
00:00:40
Speaker
as their middle name ethan m won welcome i can't believe i've never made that joke yeah was sure that you would have made it yeah seriously it would have been tread territory you know what i am i i like to think that i'm i'm a very funny and a witty and smart person but there are just things that i that just escape me and That's so good. I can't believe it. like mentors i I can't believe it. That's crazy. Dude, that's funny. you don't even have to You don't even have to credit it. You can just take it. You can have it. That was Connor's idea anyway, so he's he's just given it to you. And we're all about free use. We're all about everything. Nothing is copyrighted. Open source, man. Open source. open source Yes. Yes, exactly. Exactly.
00:01:28
Speaker
Ethan, he how you doing today? It's 8.14 on our coast and oh I guess 5.14 on the left coast.
Ethan's Fashion Insights and Influences
00:01:36
Speaker
That's right. ah You know, for those for keen listeners who love to listen to me across everything, um I've had a couple of interviews with my pal Reggie at the ah the Fashion Geek podcast, he always teases me about my weather over here. And you know, it's and so the way the place that I live, um I guess that my house has bad insulation. So it's hot when it's hot, it's cold when it's cold. yeah And you think, you know,
00:02:02
Speaker
I'm a little chicken because, you know, I live in California, but I swear like it is my like my also like my my window is facing like the sun. as can see You guys can see it in like, you know, and you look like like the the light is coming in. And so I am kind of toasty, which is why I'm wearing ah for the spoiler that I'm wearing a T-shirt and not a sport coat today. You know, that's so it's so funny. I was wondering what you were going to wear. it It is funny that I wear, you know, I feel like I always I always, you know, subvert expectations every once in a while, you know, usually the Tuesday, you know, you should go to trivia. My question. Yeah, of course, of course, of course. And everyone knows about the trivia league.
00:02:46
Speaker
ah Yeah. what is the What is the secret? We're going to be asking you about a lot of your secrets. so I love it. What is the secret to dressing when it is hot? Because you wear some shit and I'm like, he's got to be baking and he's not even sweating. I okay, so I think number one, I don't sweat as much as people as like a normal person does, but that could also be just be wrong. Like I've maybe my sensitivity is different. However, I like to wear, you know, open weave, you know, clothing, you know, open weave, wool as much as possible, big breezy linens, big high waisted, but very breezy, full cut pants. um And I think as I've, you know, as of 28 years of life on this earth,
00:03:34
Speaker
um I feel that I sweat more when I have more skin contact when it's hot. Yeah. Oh, I agree. Yeah, it's it's like it's a weather thing. It's also like a sensitivity thing where like, you know, like I just get like, you know, like I'll get like a weird not like a rash, but I'll i'll get kind of weird if like things are like kind of too weird on my body. um So like i I tend to wear, ah which is crazy. I know like like V neck undershirts and like, you know, regular cotton because ribbed tanks sometimes rub me kind of weird on my body and I will sweat more because of that so but they little even one thing i have ever published is an is it was an article in my school's newspaper about undershirts understanding undershirts of course is the title of the piece but like the point is you should wear the v-neck you should wear the v-neck because it's more versatile right and i didn't think at the time be for versatile but it is it just makes more sense
00:04:39
Speaker
You know, yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, you wear an OCBD, you know, during the day with a knit tie or whatever. And then as your day goes on, you unbutton it and it still looks good. Although I will say the crew neck T-shirt underneath an OCBD. That's very classic Ivy. Also, I just like a little bit of sex appeal. If if you can call the two or three buttons sexy, you know. it's It is. It is. I wish you guys size at school. One of my colleagues who's been on this program said, where does Mr. Connor think he's going with his shirt buttons like that? And I was like, this is only like, this is only a few down. This is only a few down, but. Yeah, you're not going navel on this, you know, let you know you're not going down to the belly button. right you know yeah ah I am also in the always covered camp. Like I get weird tans because I roll my sleeves up, but I always have long sleeves on. I learned it from a guy that I used to work with when I delivered batteries.
00:05:37
Speaker
And he was like, yeah, man, if I'm wearing long sleeves, like my my skin is not as hot because it's not getting as much sunlight. I think that's it. I think that's the thing. It's real. I think. Oh, yeah. No, I mean, it's this I'm sitting with like pants. I feel like I sweat more with shorts because of like skin contact to the sun and to like when I'm sitting down. But like when there's pants, I'm like protected kind of. I don't know. It's weird. i I don't know. I think it makes like a very intuitive sense almost. I think so too. You should have more protecting your epidermis from the world. Well, I mean, it's large. We have sun hats and things that are supposed to like you know keep you cool or whatever. so Why would that concept not ah you know not replicate on other parts of the body that arch your head?
00:06:30
Speaker
We really are breaking new scientific ground. We are breaking new scientific ground. People should just be like me. Just wear a bunch of clothing. Come on, guys. That's right's that's all of our goal. ah I always always tell everyone, I'm like, I'm going to be hot either way. And this way, I don't get sunburns. so fuck Exactly. You don't look like you don't. Neither of you looks like a hog. Like, neither of you looks like, because then I'm like, right now I'm like perspiring slightly, and it's like, I'm in my house with a fan on, but it just- Are you drinking enough water? Yeah, dude, I only drink water, and I don't drink alcohol, so I'm drinking soda water right now. This is probably my eighth soda water of the day, at least.
00:07:13
Speaker
breaking other new ground. Right, there you go. Never come for my hydration. Yeah, it's true. Connor is very hydrated. So, Ethan, to kick things off, do you have, we asked this question a lot, but do you have an item or a style or something that first made an impact on you as far as clothing goes? Oh my god, you know, I feel like every time it's such a great question because I i' i feel like I'm continually trying to find like the the impetus for everything that I do. Like every blog post is like me finding something new about myself and finding some new thing and ah from the past specifically. And I, you know, at first it was like, oh, like, was it like a like a suit that I wore to church? You know, there was there was a thing when I was younger where my mom told me
00:08:08
Speaker
that a blue button up shirt is more casual than a white one. And it kind of makes sense, right? Like, as we know from like menswear rules and everything. um But I remember that I'm like, Oh, cool. So like, if I wear this, I'm like, still wearing a button up shirt, but I'm not really fussy. And then like I thought about that, I'm like, oh, but also like there was the Inspector Gadget trench coat that my mom's ah like my aunt made for me. But I would wear all the time ever since that movie came out. And then like these old photos of me wearing it like to like family trips. And you know it was made of like this like really thin cotton that you know my aunt found you know at the Joann's or whatever. And so there's a lot of photos of me wearing.
00:08:45
Speaker
that and then like an actual jacket on top of it because my parents don't want like a five-year-old kid you know getting a cold or the flu and so like maybe like that's it but then there's also other stuff too where like I you know I if we want to take this to like when I was like a teenager when I was in college I got like one of my first suits was like uh one of my first fashion suits i should say like at h and&m they had like this like navy and red window pane but it wasn't like a hard window pane it was very like vintagey looking i'm sure it was like fully polyester but it had like a like kind of like this like texture to it like kind of like a you know
00:09:25
Speaker
like, I don't know what you call it, almost like Crisp Air that you you would say nowadays, but it was like really cool, like, you know, two button suit, whatever, but it looked kind of vintage, you know, like and that was a really big thing. And I wore that, you know, before I started getting into vintage. And I remember seeing my vintage, like a belt back in the, what you know, for the first time, like in those 1930s stuff. So there's always been like things that I see that I get like obsessed with. I mean, that's, that's the whole thing with menswear, right? It's like, you right You find the thing that you like, and you're like, holy shit, that's the thing. And then you do that, and then you find something else or whatever. In my case, it just adds. like i don't i don't I don't abandon things. It just continually, the the the list of things that I enjoy just gets bigger and bigger. Totally, as it should be. you know and yeah Yeah. Well, it's amazing because you have all this to those who don't know.
00:10:13
Speaker
You have all of this photos of all this yeah You have the photos for this you have essays you've written about this like just amazing just ah the depth of it is amazing I Know you can call me weird. It's okay. Yeah, that's another same way of saying no no no no not at all I think part like but Portrait perfect guest like you have the whole thing you think about it all all the time Yeah, I know it's it's funny. I don't even know where that even kind of got started. I mean i just I always like taking photos I've always been kind of like a I guess like a blogger or a dire diarist I guess, you know what tomb blao The photos came very like far away
00:11:03
Speaker
I would say, I mean, you know, you know, I i loved, you know, taking photos as a kid, like like getting my, I guess my photo taken, like my parents would, you know, would always have their film camera. And then I remember, ah you know, like in high school, I got a DSLR that like begged my parents to give me because at first I wanted to make videos and DSLRs um could shoot video and take photos. And so like, oh, ah you know, if if you give me this, I could do both. And then, you know, obviously I can't be making videos all the time. So I would just use it to take photos. And I was like, on the school yearbook and I was also like the media person for the student association so taking photos of like every school event stuff like that um and then of course getting a tumblr back in like 2008 when I was like you know 12 or 13 years old
00:11:47
Speaker
I would just like post stuff there. And of course, I would like consume photos that I would see on Tumblr. And so photos as a way to document whatever I'm up to, to document friends, has always been around. And then I'm like, well, I should like write about what's happening. And so like eventually, I would like just blog about my day. Usually, it's about having a bad day where like kids at school would make plans in front of me and then not invite me to the mall. And so I'd just be like, today was kind of sad. you know um And hey, all of that kind of plays into the what but Eventually became a little bit of rest in
Community and Inclusivity in Menswear
00:12:19
Speaker
the podcast. So kind of funny No, it is kind of I don't know. It's remarkable. It's like You I'm not very much older than you. I'm 34 but like there is a difference in our ages in terms of Computers right and social media. It's significant. I think like
00:12:43
Speaker
um Yeah, I mean, Tumblr was big and useful. I mean, Matt was extremely involved with tumbling. um But I think, yeah, I mean, my the clothing thing is, ah is a like you were saying, is a combination of things. It's a combination of a lot of things. Oh, yeah. It's additive. Yeah, I mean, you know, I've always had conversations with people about like technology and especially, you know, for me as someone who.
00:13:16
Speaker
has been so in tune with it. um I feel like, I'm sure I've said this before on my podcast, we're kind of hinted at it, but I feel like for me it was because I didn't have like a lot of friends. And I know that in most cases, people would use that to like find IRL so ways to connect with people. um But you know, growing up ah Christian and everything, or specifically Seventh Day Adventist and having a very insular experience, like the only outlet was like embracing the internet. You know what I mean? it was kind of like there was There wasn't a lot of stuff. I feel you 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. because it's yeah it's It's a replacement for, you know, I don't want to say like, you know, that
00:13:56
Speaker
everyone do it, but I know for me, it kind of taught me that, that way I like kind of embrace social media early on. And I still try and use it in a positive way today as a way to like make friends as opposed to like, just, it's not a means to an end for me. I mean, I mean, you guys know that at the point, you know? Yeah, and you're you're not a tool about it. It's like, it's about fostering community. And that is good in every case, I think. um Yeah. Yeah, so I mean, I guess we see there are some bad communities, but right that's true. The menswear one in like, you know, Connor mentioned I i like.
00:14:33
Speaker
I lived in New York in kind of the the golden age, like 2011 to 2014 of the like tumbler era. But, you know, the menswear community as a whole seems, you know, seems less susceptible mostly, especially now to like douchebags that are just like trying to be, you know, trying to be mean to everyone. It's like, oh, cool. Like we're, we all just realized that we're nerds and like we connect on some level. And it's like, okay, everyone's on the same page here. Yeah, that's that's something I always found, like, really nice about men's rallies, or at least the people that I've met and hung out with and the people that we that we were all mutuals with. um Because, yeah, I mean, yeah, the, the, it can seem intimidating, right? I know it to a lot of people and it can and it can still look intimidating, you know, and it's kind of,
00:15:26
Speaker
Like even today like my I've been told like um Like my friends can seem intimidated. I'm like, that's crazy because if we're like the dumbest people there are dude seriously and it's buts I mean like it's you know, it's a combination of like, you know seeing people who are confident and people wearing clothes that the way That we do and like the of course is gonna be some kind of like, you know preconceptions there Um, but I'm like, man, that's how I felt about like real people, like people are like in bespoke or whatever, you know? So right it's just kind of funny how like there's always levels to this and, you know, we can't escape it, but the hope is that you try at least to show how open you are. Um, and yeah.
00:16:06
Speaker
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00:16:47
Speaker
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00:17:04
Speaker
And it's certainly much more open, right? Like I feel and even in the past, like even in the past year, there is there have been ah There's been diversification of the menswear space ah to include all sorts of people, which is tight because what is the point of being exclusive? Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, like, I i don't see it. I don't see what the positive point is in like gatekeeping or whatever. like I never i I never understood it. Like, I mean, and that's maybe because I again, like I said earlier, I never really belonged to a, you know, social group. And so maybe what I'm saying is kind of like heresy to a lot of stuff. But it's like, wouldn't you want other people to get into this, too? You know, yes, yes. Like, you know, I.
00:17:54
Speaker
ah I think we talk about this a lot. you know A lot of us come from various like types of subcultures or communities, you know and and gatekeeping has never been something that makes any sense to me. It's like, yo, i wouldn't like I want someone to have the same reaction to whatever the fuck I'm interested in that I do. And it's like, oh, when I find that person, it's like, yo. you You care about this like incredibly niche thing too? That's how it should be.
00:18:27
Speaker
Absolutely. No, yeah, that that's that's exactly it. I mean because i just yeah get i never understood why what was the point of gatekeeping. like who like You're going to keep it a secret, but you also want people to feel good about it. You want people to respect it. I just don't understand it. It's the same thing that happens all the time. right It's like you people stay away. You people stay close to me because we are the same, but you people fuck off. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, finding, finding community is important and that is always like anything that I've ever been into from, you know, from clothing to like music or whatever. I just want to be around people that, that give a fuck about the same thing. And if, if anybody shows interest, you can, you can separate the wheat from the chaff. You know what I'm saying?
Exploring Unique Fashion Concepts
00:19:22
Speaker
Like, yeah, there's not a, yeah, there, but there,
00:19:26
Speaker
there shouldn't be a bear, like a barrier of injury. If, if you see this person doesn't care, then you don't have to associate with it. Yeah. Yeah. Like it's just, yeah. Like anybody that wants to be into the incredibly like nerdy stuff that we are all into at I'm game. As long as you're cool. Like if, yeah if you ask like a douche bag, fuck off. But other than that, you know, Like there's a, there's a pretty low bar, like just show, you know, show all of us that that there's like a passion there or an interest there.
00:20:03
Speaker
Absolutely. I definitely, I definitely agree. I mean, it's kind of the idea too that I, one of the things I believe in is like, I think that anyone can get into it, you know? Totally. And so it's like, it's like, if they just, if they just find out how cool these pants are, like they're going to love it just as much as I do. That's my toxic trait, actually. It's just like, if I just tell them this cool thing about how the way this lapel goes or how this interacts with this, like, I know they're going to be obsessed with it like me and, and like, 50% of the time I'm wrong, but right I'm like, yes. you get there and Again, it's it's a particular, it's a niche kind of thing. yeah If you get it, you get it. you know There is this like there is like a unique sadness to trying to get someone interested in something that they like really don't give a fuck about that I think with clothing is even more, I don't know, like
00:21:00
Speaker
I have people have bought things on my ah request that they probably didn't want, you know, and it's just as like, that sucks. But like, you know, you had to try something new. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's why I'm always like, if like, don't you don't have to spend the money if you don't want to. Like, if people ask me for recommendations, I'm like, just to be clear, you can go to the mall and buy whatever you want. You know, like, you don't have to you know buy the thing that I'm offering to you. But if you do, here's why it's cool. But, you know, and then i didn let them do it. one point To get them to buy the stuff. Yeah, I would say this would be flattering on you. It would look nice on you. And then they would get it and they would not wear it.
00:21:46
Speaker
Yeah, unfortunately, but it's life, right? Well, Connor, this is the other side of the coin, that the things that I sell you not to buy, you buy anyway and enjoy. Right, right. get out wait We all exist in this world. We all have people that give us random types of either encouragement or discouragement, and then we do whatever we do.
00:22:15
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's I mean, I always wonder what that is. I mean, I think I'm usually my friends know what my taste is. And so I feel like I do lean into them if I I'm i'm seldom on the fence. For me, it's like if I if I pick it up, if I share it with you, I'm probably going to buy this thing. I'm just andm waiting for you to be like, yes, Ethan, buy that. I'm waiting. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. there There's been very few times where someone's like, you don't need that. it's And that's usually because I find something that's close to what I already have. and I'm like, okay, you're right. But if it's like something if it's something I don't own, I'm probably gonna buy it because I don't own it, which is crazy, considering the amount of clothes behind me, you know, like there's there's not that much that I there's not there's the the list of things that I like and don't own is not that big.
00:23:05
Speaker
ah Right. Yeah. yeah Right. if Everyone needs a hobby. Yeah. Yeah. And clothing is a good one. Clothing is a good one because you ah you need it anyway. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you can't just be naked. I mean, you wrote you know you i mean maybe you can if you work from a home, but ah you're eventually going to need clothing. program but That's been that's been like a day one guest idea. Also, like find a nudist. What's the deal with that? like um last When was the last time you wore clothes? Yeah, that would be really my my concern with with nudists is is not is not the embarrassment of being nude, but it's more so like, are you ever concerned of getting something
00:23:58
Speaker
dirty when you sit on it. You know what I'm saying? It's like, I can see it is like I'm cooking with boiling oil. Yeah. I don't want that on my body. Well, do you do nudists wear clothes? Yeah. But do nudists wear protective clothing if they need it? Like if they're out in the sun. Now we're asking the real question. Yeah. Nudists wear an apron or a welding mask. Yeah. is apron I mean, apron is clothing kind of, but it's not like a fit. It's not like an everyday thing. We don't wear aprons out. So know that maybe that's their Sabbath exception. They are allowed to wear service clothing.
00:24:44
Speaker
That's so I never even thought of that is so good Yeah, I think must be must be able to do that in under 25 minutes. We have devolved into so many different parts That's the Ethan effect. That's the whole thing Dude, I love it ah fucking love it. It's uh, yeah, we're breaking new ground constantly here on the pop upstairs I love it. Well in who I mean who is who's ever can see it considered that I Yeah, this is true. I haven't thought about that a day in my 40 plus years on this planet.
00:25:14
Speaker
so ah I would like to meet a nudist. That would be kind of fun just to chat with them. Never really thought about their cooking or welding or whatever. There's one in Annapolis. There's a nudist community in Annapolis. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. So Matt, it's closer than you think. Yeah. I'm not a nudist. I'm like a never nude, basically. Yeah. I am also a never nude. I'm going to be close all the time. Yeah. I wear long pants and long sleeves all year round. sir um um I'm also on that um not tip.
00:25:54
Speaker
ah Where the fuck do we go now? um I have a question. i mean Hit it. Yeah, let's hear it. I don't know that there's an elegant way to break into this, but like the first piece of tailoring that you thought, like this is correct. Like I have finally done this correctly. oh ah i I mean, I would say it's like an ongoing thing. I feel like, you know, honestly speaking, like I always, I love going to my tailor. You were happy with. Oh, happy with it. um I mean,
00:26:35
Speaker
You know, when I when I put on like a vintage suit for the first time, there was this one. This is like, you know, I went to the store called Paper Moon Vintage. They still exist. Shout out Nicole. um I went to the physical location back on in Los Feliz a long time ago, and I remember. When I went in there, they had a brown like three piece suit and I I didn't need to tailor it. I didn't buy it because it was just you know, I was I could not afford it. But I put it on and it was like everything was so good. Sleeves are perfect. Shoulders are perfect. It was like a 40s suit. So not like my not not not like a super 30s thing, but like, you know, kind of like a normal pretty close to normal ah suit that but was right before the bold era where things started to get really low buttoning and and stuff like that. But it was
00:27:18
Speaker
It was like spot on and I was like, holy shit, this is so good, you know, and I like that's I mean, I'm sure I had tried on some stuff before that, like, you know, I tried on pants, tried on jackets, but I was like one of the first ones to trade on like a full suit. um There might have actually been a time before that where there was a thing called the set shop, which is like um but one of the vintage guys in L.A., he had like a basically like ah a warehouse in downtown where because he would like this he was a cassette or production designer or something like that. and But he was a vintage enthusiast and so like once a year he would bring everyone together to do kind of like what Alfaro goes is, just kind of people selling different stuff. And I remember also going there very early on when I had like no idea what vintage was and I just kind of like, I had bought a couple of vintage ties and so like the guy selling me the ties was like, hey, you should go to this thing.
00:28:09
Speaker
So I went there and I also tried on a suit there. That one was double breasted. And that was like, oh, man, my God, that was so good. Also didn't buy it because it was very expensive back then. I'm sure it would have been over a thousand dollars today because it was like a three piece belt back. But back then it was like maybe five or six hundred bucks. But right. So to like an 18 year old, that's still impossible money. You know, might as well be um it might as well be thousand dollars. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. What a what time period would this have been? ah in my life like what year was yeah this is maybe like 2012 2013 if you might be getting a little bit late um so for for some uh some added context here i graduated high school 2012
00:28:56
Speaker
And then I i got into i got to college 2013. That's when I had free dress for the first time in my life. Because mike my um i went mc K through 12, I had a uniform. yeah so And in my free time, I would wear what kids wore in 2008, which was like a dumb graphic t-shirt with like plaid shorts and flip-flops. So going to college, you know yeah i you know like like the original Milady kind of a thing. right like That's what you would like. That's that's what like I wore. I wasn't cool enough to wear Like, you know, that that's when, like, skating was kind of really big for, like, ah like teenagers. I know, like, the 90s already existed, but, like, in the 2000s, it was more mainstream, and people were wearing, like, vans and, like, Hot Topic. ah Like, it was, like, it was all mollified, right? But, of course, I didn't really know that. I also, being an Asian kid, parents didn't want to take me to places if they didn't have to. So, like, I just, again, I wore, like, a bagggie baggy shorts, flip-flops, and a baggy shirt. That's what it was.
00:29:52
Speaker
But of course, going to college, then my parents were like, Hey, you gotta, you gotta to dress, but you gotta to have like some kind of intentionality. And I'm like, well, you guys didn't teach me that. So I have like, no idea. Eventually, yeah, I got into vintage because like, yeah I got like, you know, button up shirts from Abercrombie. I started wearing like, she knows with like, Aldo leather shoes. I'm like, okay, like, of course that school or yeah, you know, like kind of, not like hashtag manager but definitely like tumblr hipster-y or like you know like like what like a nice person wore like like Ted Mosby right like ah a plaid shirt untucked with jeans and like a leather shoe or something like that and then immediately like shortly after that you know 2012 I think I started college
00:30:32
Speaker
And then all of a sudden, the Gatsby movie came out. Then Gangster Squad came out. Dapper Day started being a thing at Disneyland. I got into more of like, I started to see more than just like fandom stuff on Tumblr. I started to see like fashion on Tumblr, you know, and then I because i was like the rise of the influencer at that time, like the beginnings of it. And so like all that together, I was like, oh, man, this is kind of crazy. And so, you know, everything since then has been so exponential. But even like back then, it was like, you know, okay, I'm wearing untucked shirt and jeans, boom, I got the H and&M windowpane suit. Okay, then I found a vintage ties, then I went and I then I saved up and I bought like a vintage, you know, so navy suit or whatever. And then started getting custom shirts because of the shirts, you know, I you can't you can't wear an H&M tiny collar shirt with a 30s suit just doesn't look right. Right proportions. And so like,
00:31:24
Speaker
Yeah. So a lot of my money, you know, went to that. I did not go in any concerts or anything cool in college because all my money went to clothes. Oh, hell yes. Wait, we got to back up for a second. Yeah. for Dapper day. I love it. Yeah, no, Dapper day is really great thing. um Shout out ah ah Justin Jorgensen. He's like an artist or designer or something like that. But anyway, he started this event on ah that was kind of about Disneyland. He was like looking at inspiration. you know He's an artist and he would look at old
00:31:56
Speaker
um concept art of Disneyland where people were drawn and going to Disneyland wearing, like, sport coats and ties. There's some illustrations of, like, teenagers. There's, like, you know, 1950s, like, college nights or or grad nights where people would wear, you know, like like, dinner jackets to Disneyland. And, of course, back then, Disneyland was, like, a food cart and a carousel. you know like it was right It was like a regular thing, but people would dress up and he is Justin was like, oh, like why don't we just why don't we do that? you know And this was also the time where like like Disney had a bunch of unofficial meetups. like These are not official Disney things. These are like community things where people would just go straight to Disneyland. They would spread the word out through Tumblr or you know maybe Instagram at that time. But like there there were furry days, there were gay days, there were
00:32:42
Speaker
um there was pirate days and again all unofficial um Disney I think at the time did not like it because like they just didn't expect it they were like who are all these people and Disney doesn't like people like you know they're not a convention center there's you know so it's like that day became a thing and it like blew up like again go coinciding with hashtag menswear with madmen Um, with Gatsby, with every, it was like the perfect time for it. And so I heard about it by seeing like photos of people blogged on, on Tumblr and and people, but also this is a side note too. This is also the rise of a thing called Disney bounding, which is, um,
00:33:20
Speaker
which is I know a lot of people don't like it.
Disney Bounding and Cinematic Dressing
00:33:22
Speaker
But for those of you who don't know, it was it's a it's a term for dressing up like a Disney character could be animated, could be live action, but using regular clothing. So, for example, Mickey Mouse, you know, where you would wear like a black shirt could be buttoned up, could be a T-shirt with red pants, red shorts, whatever, you know, and it was a way for people to like cosplay at Disneyland, again, turning it into kind of a convention, um but without being in trouble for wearing a costume because you cannot wear costumes at Disneyland. So it was like, and of course, that that got caught up by, by like ah fashion bloggers. It was a and the Disney bound. Someone had started that and this girl like influencer became that. She was like a, I think like an ex-punk or whatever. And there's a lot of punks who go to Disneyland because
00:34:07
Speaker
Like if you look up Disney gangs, like there were, there were like local wholesome gang, like like a reformed gang members, like biker gangs who would go to Disneyland and they would have like patches on their like denim, uh, denim like cut off vests and they'd be like, like Mickey's crew or like Donald's Donald's dudes. It was, and it was so funny. That is the most yeah wholesome wholesome. What the fuck? Why can't you wear a costume? I mean, I kind of understand. It's all about costumes.
00:34:41
Speaker
Well, it's because I think the reason why they said it was they don't want to confuse park goers. Because Disneyland has a mix of obviously, I think Mickey Mouse is different, but if you dressed up as Aladdin, but the real Aladdin's walking around, there is a potential that a kid could get confused or that guy could take advantage of looking like Aladdin. potential Aladdin confusion. Yeah, exactly. It's kind of a Times Square Elmo situation. Exactly. That's exactly it. Yeah, like, but but i to be worse like, I didn't go to Times Square often, but I always always wondered, like, I was made time for Elmo. Yeah. Well, now it's just like, and so as a as a parent, how do you trust this random person on the street dressed up as a character? Yeah. The whole concept is crazy. Right. Like, its absolutely. You know, like the faceless person. Yeah.
00:35:38
Speaker
It's so weird. Even even here, right? Hollywood is Boulevard. Same thing. There's just a bunch of like, I remember like I recently, this is a rant. I don't do influencer events like ever, but I went to one because they gave me a free ticket to watch the watch Pulp Fiction at the TCL Chinese Theater. ah Oh, yeah I saw that. I saw that. And I was like, that's the randomest thing. The randomest thing. But I was like, I had to walk down Hollywood Boulevard to get there. And I'm like, I'm wearing a fucking tuxedo. I feel feel weird, you know, and there's people like hustling. I'm like, you know, they you know, keeping my hands to myself. And there's like Iron Man just walking around. I'm like, who who's walking around here? It's like, I'm going to come here and get a photo with iron like a knockoff Iron Man. Who's doing that? I don't understand this. I don't I don't get it. Oh, weird. But yeah, fuck fucking fucking bootleg characters.
00:36:24
Speaker
exactly exactly but that's why yeah that's why Disney doesn't want that and I think also people and people kind of forget this too like when you walk down Main Street in in Disneyland or on Buena Vista Street in California Adventure people are dressed like the 30s and 40s or like the 19 teens to 20s because like that's like the shop owners looks like that they have like you know they have like the dapper dan performers who do acapella there's like the car cab drivers that they can take take you on a little tram ride so there is a potential for also like getting confused with like a regular disney staff person right right yeah is there a tie-in with roger rabbit
00:37:00
Speaker
I feel yeah. That makes sense, right? That's kind of prolific. Yeah, I mean, I that that ride is still popular. I think, you know, it's like in such a random spot. I mean, it's it's a pretty I mean, it's a kid's movie, but it's also kind of an adult Disney. Oh, it's absolutely. a Yeah, I'm not mad. I'm strong that way. Yeah, right. Right. Right. Yeah. Is like they there were so many weird like legal requirements for that movie like oh yeah time and stuff what yeah that's right they couldn't show Donald Duck and Daffy being better than each other while playing the piano they had to be equal amounts of prolificness and that's why they both get taken at the end ah because they're you know they're they're equal yeah but you can do that
00:37:51
Speaker
Yeah, just unbelievable. The 80s and 90s, as far as pop culture is concerned, was was so unhinged. ah And so, so ridiculous. and Like, I don't think that anyone but that didn't mean it through that experience understands. Oh, yeah. So much innuendo. So many, like, adult themes in, in quote unquote, children's shit. Just wild. Oh, yeah, it's kind of it's kind of well, yeah, it's well to think what they got away with, you know. Oh, totally, totally. I mean, apparently, according to that Nickelodeon documentary thing, you know, I guess we're we're finally realizing just how weird that shit was, you know. Oh, yeah. And some of it like it's not good. Yeah, it's not good.
00:38:45
Speaker
but that So, Ethan, you know yeah you're you're very much into vintage um yeah as we have uncovered and as you have talked about at length. um What's the vintage to modern ratio in your portrait? Mm, that's a good question. I feel like, you know, ah people love asking me that and I feel like it changes. I think it gets a little bit more modern each time just because I I don't really wear vintage suits as much just because
00:39:19
Speaker
I want things the way that I want them to be. One of my recent purchases, and I feel bad for even saying this, is because like I got this like Calvin Klein, 90s Calvin Klein suit. and I love the way the jacket is, but the pants are weirdly tapered. and The drape is really good on it, and I've worn it a couple times, but I'm like, you know what? i don't like how tapered these pants are, you know? And they're, they're plenty high-waisted. I'm sure it would have been fine and for me like a couple of years ago, but like for me, I'm like, I want every pant to be like 10 inches wide, you know? And so, and of course I could find stuff like that for vintage, but then sometimes like the jacket is, you know, it's like, like I like 50s pants, but I don't like 50s jackets, which have like, you know, very slimmer lapel, square ah quarters, kind of lower buttoning point. Like I'm not a fan of how that looks. And so,
00:40:09
Speaker
And then there's also a thing of like fabric where I'm still even even 1930s and 40s like just regular wool like not even like flannel Like that can still be very very heavy if not itchy Yeah to wear and so a lot of my suits themselves have been custom So those are all kind of new now, but some of my sport coats I still thrift some um a lot of my pants are secondhand um Maybe not like vintage vintage. Although I have been getting kind of lucky lately with like Hollywood waist trousers um for less than $200, so that's an incredible win. you know um ah But a lot of my shirts are our vintage or secondhand. On the theme of no secrets and open source, I've been wearing Calvin Klein 90s or early 2000s shirts that have a little bit of a longer collar. They're softer. If you can find them that in a fit that's not slim and you get them we know without the non-iron,
00:41:07
Speaker
um They're pretty good. I mean, obviously, they're not going to look like exactly like a 30s shirt, but they look pretty good enough to me and they're long enough to put a collar bar there. So I've been wearing that a lot. I've been finding them on eBay or thrifting those ones. um All of my OCBDs are like, you know, vintage or secondhand brooks. And of course, all my so all my camp collar shirts are 40s or 50s and some 60s rayon shirts. And so those are all there. um My outerwear is all vintage or secondhand, too. You know, I've got like a 40s overcoat, you know, like a 70s or 80s duffel coat. Got my 40s, 50s leather jackets. um Obviously, all my milserp stuff is vintage. Yeah. um And so, yeah, I think it really depends on where like what category we're looking at. But it it is like not like ah people assume I wear a lot of vintage suits and that's not
00:41:59
Speaker
true because they're all made by either Hellmadden or a Tell Your Fugue, shout them out. um But then everything else, obviously all my ties are vintage, like those are, you know, you don't, outside of like, you know, like three or four Drake's ties that I got um from the sample sale or from a homie, like everything else was like true 30s to like 60s vintage. um But yeah, it's new, it's never really about the fact that they are vintage. it's like just They just have the details that I like. They just happen to be from an old era. If they if everything today, if if the mall had clothing that was made like this, I would have i would have shop i would have kept shopping at the mall, but I can't. What are you going to do? Search, that's I guess. right like You'd start searching
00:42:48
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to ask about the vintage scene in l LA. I mean, it is sort of off-discussed, but I was just curious. um Yeah, I guess. You can kind of you can compare it to the New York thing, but I just your assessment of the vintage scene, I guess. Yeah, no, I mean, it's it's an interesting thing because, you know, there's there's like the swing dancing aspect of it. I never swing dance, but of course my circles crossed with theirs because they're the people who were the tailoring the most um here.
00:43:24
Speaker
um But obviously, when people think of the L.A. vintage scene, they think of like ah the trade just like inspiration, vintage rendezvous, which are all like these like like vintage markets that, um you know, are mainly workwear, Milserp, casual wear, etc. um And that's kind of like the main part here in L.A. I mean, most vintage stores here have that kind of tone to them, um obviously, because a lot of them are ex-punks, ex-skaters, or are still punks and skaters. And so like, there's this kind of like this, kind of like, you know, slang and vintage kind of vibe to that. And, um you know, I have, I'm like, I'm friends with some of them, I've only just seen some of them, I follow some of them on TikTok.
00:44:09
Speaker
um But yeah, I mean that's kind of like what it is like, you know And and the more you go the more you buy or the more you'll you know Interact with these people at like the flea markets or whatever the more you'll you'll see the same characters over and over, you know and um You know with a lot of kids now trying to get into it like it's kind of cool to see um but you know, it is it is still kind of like a a business and it's still very much like not like a club, but it's very like, you know, it's and I don't want to use the word incestuous, but it's kind of like, you know, they all they all know each other and they all kind of sell to each other. And, you know, and it's kind of it's kind of wholesome in that way of like, oh, yeah, that like that like type one that used to be mine. And now this guy has it. and Now he's selling it to this person. So you hear all these stories. um But they're all they're all you know, they're all they're all very cool. They're all very nice.
00:44:59
Speaker
um ah But yeah, it's it's kind of it's kind of it's kind of great to see here, um even if I'm not really a part of it as much anymore. I don't think I'm in like any like style scene specifically anymore, just because I feel like I've gotten a little bit older and I finally have friends for the first time in my life. oh God, ah you know, so ah yeah, you know, but it's great. You know, I mean, I have I have some vintage friends. It's it's great to see them at the markets. How? yeah um So when we were leading up the interview with you, Connor and I, uh, we're talking about cinematic dressing and how that was like your, if you, if you Google that, I think Connor, you can confirm, but like your, uh, the first thing that comes up in that. So it's your idea mean yeah, it's your, it seems like your idea. And, uh, can you tell us a little bit about that?
00:45:56
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think I might have to credit Spencer on that specific terminology because we were trying to come up with like a nice name for what is essentially like costuming, but also kind of, I mean, I wanted to say cosplay, but he was like, absolutely not. Yeah, there's connotations to that word. there's cut Yeah, I mean, yeah. And you're kind of hinting at with Disney bounding, right? But like, yeah, no, it's basically like kind of approaching approaching dressing through a like a film-costumer mindset. You're dressing cinematically. It doesn't mean you're dressing in a way that is photographed or whatever, but it's very intentional. There is a narrative through what you are dressing for, what vibe all of these pieces kind of create. and
00:46:38
Speaker
you know, the more and the more I think about this stuff, the more I read about other things, the more you realize that every piece of clothing has is coded in some way, and or has some kind of connotation. And that's kind of like, I mean, I didn't study film costuming. But like, to me, that's like what a film costume would think like everything is so intentional, everything can can can be indicative of ah a a profession a vibe a background etc and you know there's so many great blogs specially bampfstyle.com um which goes into all of these ideas and it's like you know wine like you know i realize i've always kind of dressed in that way
00:47:16
Speaker
um and And personally for me, as someone again as someone who like didn't have a lot of friends or social group, it was kind of a way for me to kind of show my interests through my clothing. And that's something that has probably come so natural to other people who dress for their subculture because they're in it, right? like you When you're in a band, but or you're you know you're into skating, whatever, there is a uniform. um But for me, it's like, okay, like how do you do that if you want to dress like you like movies? you know like I don't really know, but like you look at like what a film critic wears, sometimes they wear sport coats, and you think of what hipsterys wear. There's like a lot of different things you could do with it. um and so
00:47:49
Speaker
you know there like that was such a like That was such a big thing for me. It's something that I guess me and Spencer, and I'm sure everyone has kind of done. i'm like well wait We should like just kind of like canonize it, at least for us. That way, if someone asks us, we just send them that podcast or send them that article, like, hey, this is this is it. Let's get into that. um But that's kind of like what it is. And I'm sure it it does it has my connotations to cosplaying, because it's like, And Disney bounding because one of the fun games I would do when I would go to Disneyland and back again back to this little side note I used to have a pass because before Disneyland was way more accessible to people who lived in Southern California if you had a zip code you could go there like the pass to go like any day was really cheap and that's why you have like the wholesome gangs and the Disney bounding and all these convention stuff because local people would just go all the time it's only recently that they've just like
00:48:40
Speaker
you know, jack the price up to make it of such a big money maker. But anyway, one of the things I would do is, you know, you you know, you go to Disneyland after college, you know, for like an afternoon because it was free because you have a pass and, you know, you get your little churro, you know, get your little big mouse churro or whatever. And you'll see a kid, you know, whatever walking around in like a like a purple t-shirt and green shorts and like, is this kid dressing up like Ariel? or are they just happening to wear these things together and it's hard not to think you're in Disneyland it's hard not to think that right or someone wearing like yellow pants and a red t-shirt is that Winnie the Pooh like and so like to me like that's like you know so like nowadays you know you see someone wearing like a bucket hat and then and like a corduroy suit like are they trying to be ivy like or are they just you know and it's like
00:49:27
Speaker
Well, even if they're not intentionally doing that, it still looks like an Ivy League professor guy or whatever. And so that's kind of another way of of like going about this where like, even like, you know, when you wear these things that might seem disparate or seem agnostic, the truth is that they're not. And so cinematic dressing is just about embracing that idea and leveraging it um to to make an outfit that just kind of just says something because it's always going to say something. You know, I don't i I personally don't believe that there's anything that is just truly agnostic unless you wear a T-shirt that says where you work at, you know, like that. That might be I mean, that's still saying something, but that might be like the most simplest way of doing it. You know, like I work, you know, tech guys, I work at Google, I work at SpaceX or whatever. OK, that is telling you. But then, you know, you got.
00:50:14
Speaker
You know, you got Connor here wearing like, you know, the like the batik print with like a khaki jacket and the cap. What is that all saying here? You know, that the jackets unstructured. It's like a tropical vibe to this, right? You know, there's there's a there's a cap here. Like, is is it the weather? It's what I'm saying. Yeah. So there's there's a lot that goes into this. And I think that's really fascinating. It's like, why and why not just take advantage of it? You know, it's fun. It's supposed to be fun. Well, that's one of the main, I don't know, that's like one of the strengths of clothing is that it speaks for itself. Absolutely. it's ah It is an amazing way to communicate and it's like sort of up to you, like how much you, cause I definitely get away with, or maybe I get away with, I think I get away with ah stuff more just like the school teacher thing. It's like, you can look a certain way.
00:51:09
Speaker
Yeah, it's not like people don't look at me like I'm totally crazy if I'm wearing a bow tie. Yeah, it is funny how that kind of happens. I mean, it's I just read this book about pretentiousness and people always, um well, the book kind of argues that like the the accusation of being pretentious is kind of just accusing them for, you know, trying to rise above or leave a an expected appearance or expected social group or whatever and there are some there are some professions like being a school teacher professor or whatever where like certain modes of dress aren't pretentious because like it just seems correct for what that is but like if you were like there's there's a lot of vintage guys who were like
00:51:51
Speaker
you know, blue collar workers, there were guys who were like auto mechanics or whatever, but they loved swing dancing. And so like, when they get off work, you know, they would change into their suits and go to the local dance hall and start playing or start, start, start swing dancing and wearing their, their, you know, belt back suits or whatever. And I always thought that was really cool. Like, you know, and I know that they would always tell me that they would get, you know, if someone found out like, oh, why do you do that? I'm like, well, like, who says that a guy who works with his hands can't wear a suit, you know, or vice or vice versa, I guess, you know, so. Yeah. Yeah, they're there've been so many like different ah parts of that over the years. like i i have Since I was a teenager, I loved traditional skinhead culture. And that was basically the same thing. like Doc workers you know would would put on a suit and go dance to 60s and 70s rock and roll. and
00:52:47
Speaker
ah like ah Wreckay and things like this. And it's like, yo, yeah, they just like these people wear what they wear because of their day job. But like, then they might wear something different on a Saturday night, because that's that like feels right. Yeah, yeah. it's it's you know It's just about, I don't know about code switching, but it's more so like dressing for the occasion, I guess, you know? Totally. And some places, yeah, that you have to wear what you have to wear to work. I totally get that. I think i think what what what is more crazy now is, you know, the or maybe what has contributed to all of these conversations about authenticity and pretentiousness or whatever is that you can wear whatever you want to work. And so now people are confused about, like,
00:53:35
Speaker
not knowing what you are when they see you, right? Like, that's just, and I think that, you know, it's supposed to have been something that's super positive, but I think nowadays it makes it kind of like another, a very, an untold game of one-upsmanship of like, I'm more authentic than you because I play into whatever society expects or whatever is the accepted, socially accepted idea of what this person should wear. But it should be a kind of a fun thing of like being like, yeah, like this guy wearing a tuxedo is a metal head in his free time or or whatever. Like, I think that that's really awesome. Like, it's okay that people can contain multitudes, you know? like oh that's totally It's kind of the whole point. this whole yeah that is the whole yeah
00:54:14
Speaker
yeah right Yeah, absolutely. But yeah, no, it's it's it's interesting to see how we've kind of been forced to go to do that with like the demise of like dress codes or or, you know, people working from home and and also just like how subcultures might not have have might might no longer have a strict appearance nowadays, you know? Yeah. Who knows? Which personally, I think that that's a good thing. Yeah. Yeah. Like it's it like none of us are, you know, none of us are monoliths. No one in in any particular interest is a monolith. Like why, why the fuck should there be you know rules around this stuff? Well, if I had to wear a tie, I would not wear a tie.
00:55:05
Speaker
Yeah. i yeah then If I was required to wear a tie for work, I would absolutely not be caught wearing a tie. Right. But yeah it's because i it's because it's like, who the fuck does that, you know? Yeah. No, absolutely. absolutely I can't. I always wonder. yeah Yeah, that'd be that's really funny. No, it's like I I'd always wonder what would have happened if I had to if I had like an actual corporate job or whatever like I wonder how that would have changed my whole thing, but I've never had like an overly corporate strict thing and so I've always had this freedom to kind of wear whatever I want within reason never have like a Taco Bell like ah coals like a
00:55:51
Speaker
No, I, I know, like, I'm not attaching anything to this. I'm just saying, like, you never had to follow just because. No, I mean, yeah, I never really. I think it's because I didn't I didn't drive and I would always like hang out with my grandparents. And so like, I mean, it's very it's very I was very blessed to like not have had a teenager job. And then in college, I. and see i got like I see like office work, I got like a campus desk job at like a yeah you know like a teacher's assistant kind of a thing. I was like a tutor. um And so and like even then like you just kind of wear what students wear. I wasn't even fully into fashion at that point.
00:56:32
Speaker
um And then, yeah, I mean, I worked at Banana Republic, and of course, Banana Republic, you don't, there is no uniform. ah They don't even require you to wear, at least at the time, it't you didn't have to wear the clothes from the brand. Although I did get talking to that I was a little bit too dressed up, you know, like I study they encouraged me to make more modern choices. You know, like, oh, why don't you wear a jean with your jacket instead of like, you know, pleated trousers or whatever. But they didn't really enforce it. It was totally fine. And I eventually became like the suit guy. Obviously over there, you know, and so yeah, yeah, but I've never I never had to like do like full-on ah Uniform, you know like work uniform You lucky duck Hey, do you like clothing that's well-made and listen to us? We assume you do our longtime comrade Ava Kuehl is the founder and creative behind a gnarly brand called Evelyn and
00:57:28
Speaker
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00:58:07
Speaker
So we're, uh, we, we have talked endlessly about like Carter and I's connection and, uh, where this show started, but I was, uh, wanted to ask what the origin story for style and direction. who Yeah, that's really, oh man. It's it's really funny because obviously the the blog, a little bit of rest, which was not, that's not what it was called back then. It was called street expreza.wordpress dot.com because I was a cheap person who didn't want to pay until I had to.
00:58:44
Speaker
Um, but yeah, I, uh, you know, the blog obviously predated all of this. That was like my way of of doing something. And I'd always like entertained the idea of like Spencer contributing a little bit, but, you know, Uh, you know, we just never really had the idea and eventually like the blog really just became like me as like my it's like my zine of like me Writing my ideas out there that I was like, you know Maybe it's fine if he doesn't do it because that way like the blog is completely my point of view But I still want Spencer to do something, you know And i and we always talk about and we were like, you know what? Why don't we do a podcast? And it wasn't because every guy had a podcast back then um like this was
00:59:21
Speaker
I guess maybe like 2016, 2017. I guess, you know, the idea of like influencers having podcasts wasn't as big back then. It was still very like it was post like radio, but like not, you know, it wasn't super big. like yeah you know It was still true crime was still a thing. But anyway, like we both love this podcast called Comedy Bang Bang. which is by Scott Ackerman. It's basically a fake talk show where Scott, the host, will talk to eight a character played by a comedian. And it just it's just really, really funny. It's you know it's full of like fictional versions of like Andrew Lloyd Webber. It could also be like, I'm talking to a pretzel spellish pet a specialist. you know and a guy like That could be like a very thinly veiled improv character. And then they flush it out. And then they have a whole lore. And then the guy comes back in the future. It's crazy. It's a really fun episode. But I was like, you know what? I kind of want to do that.
01:00:12
Speaker
And at the same time, I think Handcut Radio was like announced. I don't know if Handcut Radio had come out yet. I think Blammo had kind of done some stuff. And so I was like, well, they're they're probably gonna get all the guests, they're gonna do all the interviews. Why don't we just talk about what we like, what we do? And we just started recording. We just were like, okay, we'll do this. We ended up buying some microphone or at least we we bought, he had he had a headset, I had i bought a microphone and and we just started you know making po making podcasts. um It wasn't very regular until I think shortly before the pandemic where we kind of decided to do one every two weeks.
01:00:47
Speaker
um and And yeah, we it's just a way for us to talk about stuff that, because I know Spencer again has a lot of opinions about the same things that I do, but of course I write the blog. So we would always kind of like do a twofer, which is what we do now where we have a topic, we do the the big discussion on the podcast, and then I have like my follow up or my version of it on my blog, which says a bit more about Excuse me, my personal point of view um and stuff I maybe didn't get to do on the podcast. And that's kind of yeah that's kind of how it was. like you know i've I always liked the idea of doing something with friends. um Even the blog got started um because I wanted to make a fashion blog with my friend. and
01:01:26
Speaker
I was going to be the sprezzatura part of it, the mentor part of it, and then my other friend Tim was going to be the streetwear because he was like, you know, he was like a, not really a sneaker head, but he was kind of like into streetwear. And he never wrote anything. And so that's that's why I eventually the blog just became more and more about me. But even back then, I was like, oh, i man, it'd be really cool to do a thing, to do a thing with friends. And so the podcast was just kind of like that outlet. And I'm very glad we got to bring MJ on um because I value his thing. And, you know, he also lives close and he's he experiences all the stuff with us and he can be like the the new eye to everything that we're doing because me and Spencer at this point have been doing it for nigh a decade. You know, so it's like, you know, so i having MJ on there who is relatively new is like
01:02:12
Speaker
been really great. And, you know, these are two of my best friends in the world. So it's like, you know, why not? Why not do that? And it's just it's just surprising. I always feel like I just started it, but we're, you know, like a couple hundred, not a couple hundred, but like a hundred episodes in. And like, yeah, it's been like five years, you know. So, yeah, it's it's been a fun. It's been a fun
Ethan's Energy and Productivity
01:02:34
Speaker
thing. You know, I like the blog. I did it. We did it because we wanted to do it, you know. And so far, fingers crossed, haven't run out of steam. So far. So far. Yeah. I was going to ask way up in the ah list of questions like, yeah how do you have so much energy? This isn't a like, are you taking stimulants question? But it's like, how do you have so much energy? You exercise too?
01:03:04
Speaker
I try. You can play some music and you're exercising? That's crazy. you know it's just I'm sure there's there's some anxiety thing behind here somewhere, but yeah I don't know. You're making it for lost time. yeah i mean yeah you know like you know what Hamilton, he writes like he's running out of time. like That's kind of like how I feel. like i'm i aint know We recently had ah had a party, this just party for a friend, and um yeah we had to talk about like our our fears or whatever. And you know it's like it's it's like a fear of dying is and something that we all have. But specifically, it's because I don't want to run out of time. And it's not that I'm... I and know a lot of people like, oh, they they have a bucket list because they're not going to get to it. My thing is I'm actively doing things and I don't ever want to stop doing these things. And so like that's why it's like, if I don't do it, ah
01:03:54
Speaker
I'm going to miss out on it. And so I just try and do everything as much as possible. um And and but and also so far, the ideas haven't stopped coming. There's always something that I at least want to respond to, something that I find inspiring, you know, something I haven't talked about. And even with like music where it's like there is just these melodies in my head that I I mean, yeah, they're in my head, but they're not done because they need to be written out and not even just written out. They need to be orchestrated and they need to be exactly the way I think of in my head. And so it's like, I got to do that. I got to find time to do that. But of course, there's a bunch of books I still have to read. The list doesn't stop. The list doesn't stop. I can't stop it.
01:04:38
Speaker
And here's the thing, I don't take naps. So like that's- No, neither do I. No, neither do I. And I still don't get nearly have as much shit done as you and I get a lot of stuff done. Yeah, I'm like addicted to getting stuff done. And the good thing is like- Are you like a GCD person? Are you like a life hacker? No, no, I mean, I, I, I think I must, yeah, I must have some kind of like, Like, not a lifehacker, but I try and be efficient, if that makes sense. Like, I yeah yeah i don't like doing two things. i I don't like going back and forth, you know? So it's like, if I'm gonna if i'm going to go pick up dry cleaning, I'm gonna go to the gym at the same time because I don't want to go back and forth. And so it's like I try and find a ways to kind of like just get everything
01:05:26
Speaker
You make a circuit. Yeah, no. and Yeah, exactly. Yeah. When it works, you know, and you have like five different errands stops and you do them all and nothing gets fucked up all the time, then you're like, yeah, um yeah which is why when it doesn't work, I am the most miserable person in the world. fuck i owe me yeah Right. You know, I mean, like I get it. People have different stuff like I, you know, like I'll i'll go to my tailor. My tailor is is a very old ah man. He's like the best. But, you know, some days he's old, some days he'll just walk home and he won't, you know, I should, you know, call ahead of time. But like, usually he's there, but I'll go there and be like, oh, left home at like three o'clock. And I'm like, fuck, I just drove all the way over here. And it's like, it's fine. I live close if I can go tomorrow. But that's like another errand circuit. I'll have to try and figure out tomorrow. That's so funny. I've never met anybody who has that.
01:06:17
Speaker
Yeah, I do here too like if I'm if I'm like cooking food and I know like nothing's gonna burn down I'll wash dishes while my food's cooking like it's like I might as well I might as well just do it because I just it's not about like I don't like being idle and so it's and it's not to fill up time it's just that there's always something to do like I think you know it's like i don't i know I don't know, like if I'm gonna be at the gym, I'm gonna text my girlfriend about what um what plans we have. you know like there's There's always something that you can do at the same time. you know And so you might as well just take those opportunities.
01:07:00
Speaker
Yeah, that's um that was a more succinct answer than I thought I would get. But I'm slightly relieved and then also horrified because I'm already doing the thing and it's not enough. I mean, hey, eventually we'll see what happens if I just combust, you know, we'll see what happens, you know, knock on wood. Yeah, right. um Well, we've adored having you on the program. Are those all the questions? I thought you had like a bunch more. I have time ah if you want.
Trivia, Social Media, and Recommendations
01:07:35
Speaker
We can... du Where's Matt? Oh, is Matt... ah I don't know what happened.
01:07:47
Speaker
um But it is late here. Oh, that's true. I'm here. I'm here. I don't know what happened out there. That's okay. I mean, if you're comfortable wrapping up, we do have more stuff to talk about. I mean, um, let's, yeah, we can, we've been doing something where we have, uh, you know, past guests on. So we'll just, we'll plan to you, you know, plan part two for, uh, yeah, let's do it sometime in the near future. And you got to get to trivia, right?
01:08:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's still, you know, it's only 619. It starts at like 730. So there's there was still some time. Gotcha. Gotcha. I don't have to, you know, i' I'm going to win anyway. You know what I'm saying? So its it'll be OK. wait What's what's your ah what is your like best trivia category? Just out of curiosity. I mean, it's you know like and like any menswear or any person out there. It's usually some kind of like history pop culture-y thing. right I can tell you my weakest one is a music, absolutely. Really? That's shocking to me. It sounds shocking, but let me explain to you why here.
01:09:02
Speaker
And I'm about to out myself in front of a bunch of all all the listeners because I'm like the worst person. But for me, you know, again, as someone who is this will make sense, I like looking at my own inspo, right, for clothing. And i you know i get I get inspired by myself a lot. And so the same thing with music is I listen to like the same music all the time. And so I don't know actually a lot of music. And the second part of that is also as someone who likes to write music, um Lyrics or so let's say vocals are kind of like an instrument to me. So I don't even I don't even hear like words I just so like that I just hear the music and so like that So if someone were to like show me lyrics like oh, that's this song by Ariana Grande. I'm like, okay I can tell it's Ariana Grande I have no idea what song it is because I don't listen to the lyrics and I don't and you know, that's the whole thing You have you have to always guess at trivia
01:09:53
Speaker
the song a title and the artist and so you know like it can be kind of tough when like yes it's of course it's Destiny's Child but which one I don't know like I just I can't like I you know or or oh it's you know I forgot like and i We did something. Oh, rock me like a hurricane. And ah I think we put deaf leopard, but I think it's scorpion. Yeah, right it is. for that and so But I'm like, yeah you could have put a gun to my head. I would not have been able to tell you what that was. Yeah. Oh, again, that's why my friends are there. My friends are there to answer anything I can't answer. This is what trivia is. You know, yeah it's it's a collective effort to and all of you hopefully have a different ah
01:10:40
Speaker
a category get your real knowledge base Absolutely. I mean I love um all my friends are incredibly smart and cultured people um in their own right but also just in general and i I I Mean like that's the reason why we do so well, like it's not it's not me It's like they they bring some random stuff to this you know, like I mean someone will watch they definitely watch more sports than I do like I don't watch any sports, you know, but if you like i don't Yeah, it's sports ball, you know, but I'm like if I don't I don't even know what I answer. Like, I just I feel like what I answer, we all know. I just happen to have the most thunder behind it. And so I'm like, they'll be like, all right, let's go with it. I'm like, yeah, exactly. And then we do it. And so that's how it's done. Oh, yes. So we'll see. We'll see. We'll see. And that's how it's done. And that's how it's done. Hopefully, ah hopefully you guys win tonight. Ethan, thank you so much. we'll We'll definitely have you back on to
01:11:36
Speaker
to expand on our previous conversation. But we want to give you a chance to shout out whatever you want to. So I've had it. Yeah. um So if anyone who's listening to this who doesn't know me, ah please follow me ah at EthanMWang on Instagram. I have a blog called ALittleBitOfRest.com. I do a podcast with my two best friends, Spencer and MJ. It's it's called Style and Direction. um And also, again, here's a random shout out ah that i that I feel like will ah explain more about me. There is a catalog of all the Star Wars themes but by by ah Frank Lemon or Lehman. It's L-E-H-M-A-N. He's like a music scholar. And if you if you read his articles on anything about Star Wars or even he has a really good one about um the music of Indiana Jones, it's called like Why Action Music Should Have Action in It.
01:12:34
Speaker
Um, I think that that is kind of, if you read that with an open mind, you can kind of see how I approach things where, um, because basically he's like, you you know, when John Williams, when the boulder is rolling, he have like frenetic trumpets playing staccato and it's like mimicking this, this idea that the, that the bowl is coming after you and you know it's expressed musically instead of just generic action music. And so it's like that idea of using things to express vibes, emotions, um characters, places is so important. And um that's you know and tied to cinematic dressing, it's tied to me as a composer. um And yeah, shout out Frank Lehman for being a really great guy, making being being that articulate about John Williams. So look him up if you guys want, really cool. Very quickly, I was forbidden from doing this introduction, but Ethan,
01:13:28
Speaker
what do you call a potato that has gone to the dark side. ah darth tater ha Thank you. Thank you. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I should have known that he would do it. You need
Humor, Gratitude, and Episode Farewell
01:13:47
Speaker
to know it. This is why I said. This is why I said. This is dumb. And yet I haven't thought of Ethan menswear Wong. I don't know why I've never thought of that. That's crazy.
01:14:01
Speaker
I can't believe that I mean that's like that should be like that's like it's gotta go on your business card and I know the M stands for menswear like that yeah oh my god that's crazy that's so much fun I can't believe it holy shit holy shit yeah well thank you guys for having me this was so much fun hell yeah yeah and we will definitely have you back on ah this has been this has been fantastic and I love it yeah open source he asked me whatever you want I will answer anything fuck yeah With a number of people, the number of people who are willing to come on our show is ever decreasing. So ah you're like kind of a guaranteed 80 percent yes, maybe. So nice well i this is great. This was this was fantastic. um Everyone listening, you should check out Sound Direction. ah Ethan is, as we said, the Navy blazer of creating content.
01:15:01
Speaker
So anyway, you can't stop me. Right. Fucking fucking can't stop this. Anyway, once again, Ethan, thank you. If you like what you heard, please listen, rate, subscribe on your platform of choice. Don't know what that does, but hey, please do. No one has any idea. No one has any idea if You have questions, comments, concerns, email us, apocalypsestudsatgmail.com. Follow us on Instagram at apocalypsestuds. I am Matt Smith at Rebels Rogues. And I'm Connor Nunez, every O'Connor Nunez. But I guess I'll probably change that. Yeah. We'll we'll get into it later. Yeah. Anyway, thank you for listening and we'll see you next week. Cheerio. Bye.