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Neck Deep with Romain Lastrolab
315 Plays1 year ago
This week, our Parisian Correspondent, Romain Lastrolab. We talk collecting (Romain’s enormous collection of ______ inspires and horrifies), the supposed death of thrifting, Parisian Ivy, French geography, egalitarian secondhand shopping, the gateway drug of tailored clothing, et beaucoup plus!!
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Transcript
Introduction of Guest Roman Valer
00:01:16
Speaker
Hello and bonjour. I am your host, or one of your hosts, Connor Fowler. And I'm Matzba. Welcome to Apocalypse Duds. Today we bring you reporting deep within the bowels of the Apocalypse Duds virtual studios, a real live Frenchman, Roman Valer. Welcome to the show. Hello. Hi, everyone. How are you guys doing? Hopefully well. I'm relieved to be talking to you.
00:01:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And hearing your voice and seeing you is very nice because finally the stuff is working. This is our second attempt at this interview. Roman has been very generous with his time to come back to do, to endure this again, but we are very happy to have him as our first repeat guest.
00:02:05
Speaker
I'm very happy to be here. It was a pleasure the first time when it kind of worked, but now it's even better. Ross, man. Yeah, yeah. We're excited. Yeah, excited to have someone that is non-American again. This may be our third or fourth guest. And yeah, we're international motherfuckers. Yeah, we're racking them up. We're getting those French listeners in this batch.
00:02:37
Speaker
Yeah, let's do the whole show in French. You can hear me pronounce every word badly in French. Yeah, yeah. As we spoke to Roman pre-show, we are definitely Americans and have zero clue about a French accent. So he's gracious for putting up with us. But anyway. Now you're doing fine. Tell us a little bit about you, where you're from, where you live now. How old are you if you want to disclose that?
00:03:00
Speaker
Yes, yes. Shall we do it in French?
Roman's Background and Education
00:03:06
Speaker
So I grew up, right now I've been living in Paris for a little over 10 years. Before that, I was born and raised and studied in a city called Marseille, which is the second city of France in terms of inhabitants.
00:03:27
Speaker
which is by the sea a very relaxed and casual city but a bit frustrating when you're very into clothing because you know France being a very centralized country Paris is where everything happens and Paris is where all the good shops are and Paris is also the place where
00:03:52
Speaker
You feel less judged by other people when you dress a little bit weird, like I think all of us here tend to do. Surely. Yeah, so I left Paris for... I left Marseille in my bed for...
00:04:08
Speaker
for finishing law school and then I just never came back except for I did leave Paris for a year when I did a degree at the University of California, Berkeley.
00:04:23
Speaker
Oh, wow. Okay. And it was, yeah. And I passed, it feels like a job interview, but I even passed the New York State Bar Exam, which means that although not a US citizen, I did pledge to protect and serve or uphold the constitution. So don't be too... Yeah, that's a hard one too. What gears were you in California?
00:04:53
Speaker
It was 10 years ago. I graduated 10 years ago this year in May. Oh, awesome. Awesome. So it was great. Yeah. But I wasn't into, I mean, I was already, how do you say it? Like neck deep into clothing, but on a student budget.
Thrifting Challenges and Evolution
00:05:14
Speaker
And I was, every day almost, I am hungry at myself because I was not really into vintage clothing at that time. And I'm thinking about all the thrift shop and secondhand stores. I didn't even visit, I think there was once, there was once on campus that I was working past daily. Now I'm just thinking that I'm a fucking idiot because I spend all my time scrapping for,
00:05:43
Speaker
ebay us listings for right right as someone that is in thrift stores and secondhand stores very very often in my life it sucks so bad on a daily basis yeah on a daily basis it sucks so bad when you think what did i miss out on because i wasn't necessarily paying attention or or in my case a lot of times like what did i miss out on when i didn't have the money to spend and it's like oh yeah
00:06:12
Speaker
If you can't, you can't. Yeah, totally. Go ahead, sorry. Yeah, but it's a mistake I'm still doing to this day because actually within a five minute walk or even less from my apartment, there are three thrift stores, but they are not very curated. They are like, I think what you would call the beans.
00:06:39
Speaker
like Salvation Army and this kind of stuff where you can find all the shitty stuff with mouth holes and this kind of stuff. But also sometimes, I mean, I don't know about you Matt, but I think this is where like professional resellers go to source sometimes their stuff. And I think to this day don't, I mean, maybe I went into one of these stores maybe once or twice.
00:07:06
Speaker
right it's so hard it's kind of yes and it's depressing because you go through the rags and you see all the shitty clothing and it's like damn this was shitty 10 20 years ago and it's still shitty now and it's 90% of what has
00:07:23
Speaker
But when you find the gem, then it really makes your day. Absolutely. You're digging for gold, essentially. With probably less success than gold diggers had years ago.
00:07:43
Speaker
I find hardly anything now. I mean, Baltimore used to have a ton of thrift stores, and now there are no thrift stores. We've talked about this. Blah, blah, blah. Thrifting is going away. The resellers are taking it all. Blah, blah, blah. Is it? True, I think.
00:08:00
Speaker
In France, there is some sort of salvation army that is related to the church. It's an association founded by a monk or a priest. And they started to make advertisements so that people actually don't sell their stuff online because now they are very easy way to do it. And so they don't have enough donation anymore. So thrifting maybe is
00:08:30
Speaker
Not dead, but starting to become something else. It's definitely changing. I mean, it's being devoured by capitalism. Yeah, we could do a whole episode of this, and I will refrain from ranting about this, but it's different than it used to be for sure, but in my opinion, shit is still out there. You just have to work harder, which we all adapt to change it.
00:08:56
Speaker
And it's a way to make sure that, you know, the ones who find it are either extremely lucky or the most motivated ones.
Roman's Thrifting Philosophy
00:09:06
Speaker
Exactly. It's kind of a Darwin goes through thing. I mean, in a way, but from my perspective.
00:09:14
Speaker
If you know more than the average idiot, then you can make it work for you. Yeah, it's definitely like less of a, I don't know, it's less of a success than it once was, you know, 10, 15 years ago for me personally, but it's still, it's my therapy. And even when, even when it sucks really bad, like it's an ebb and flow, you know? So I think that like, like you said, finding that once a community,
00:09:44
Speaker
Totally yeah, I think the people that actually give a shit. It's a community The people that are just trying to make a quick buck. They're not gonna last they're not gonna You know, they're not gonna be here 20 years from now because they don't they don't understand anyway. Sorry I mean if drifting was a way to to getting rich that would be Absolutely
00:10:08
Speaker
Absolutely. In my opinion, I want to be like the 80-year-old that's been selling antiques since the 19th. You know, like it's a long game. They're in it because they love it and
Origin and Significance of Laster Lab
00:10:20
Speaker
they're passionate about it. And that is essentially what I care about, like the passion. And do you do mostly like
00:10:29
Speaker
military or do you rent out to a lot of like hunting camo and things like that just because I sell what I like mostly if I think something is cool I'm gonna sell it like I'm not trying to you know I'm not trying to like fleece anybody I try to price things fairly and you know I like so you're not into cartoon t-shirts
00:10:55
Speaker
I mean I am because I grew up in the 90s so if I think one is funny as shit like yeah I'm gonna grab that but it's also like I'm gonna sell up for $20 whereas like some you know some dork is gonna try to sell it for 60 and it's like dude that's not a $60 t-shirt.
00:11:13
Speaker
400 million of these in the world right now. Like, it's not rare, but you know, I think it's funny. And I think it's like, it's nostalgic for me. So that's not my main business. But hey, man, 20, 25 bucks like selling. I'm cool with that if I pay a buck or two for it.
00:11:32
Speaker
Mm-hmm get a code I try I try you know Because it's like sometimes Matt will send me something that is like oh That's kind of fucking cool and Matt is like no I'm never gonna sell that I would never sell that that just is not that just is like so against my whatever I just think is awesome
00:11:55
Speaker
I try. You were going to ask you about, yeah, dude, you are. Um, I was going to ask you about Laster lab. Um, so yeah, this is the handle, the unknown, the unknown individual.
00:12:11
Speaker
uh what is it what is the etymology of the word i guess i don't mean like you know what i mean it's not a word spelled backwards i googled it it didn't come up with stuff so we're putting you on the spot it's
00:12:27
Speaker
Well, first of all, it should be written with, it should be spelled with an E at the end. But that handle was already taken because it was my original Tumblr name. And so what does it come from? Yeah.
00:12:46
Speaker
It comes from the name of my street when I first moved in Paris, which was called Villa de l'Astrolabe, El Apostrophe Astrolabe, which is an astrolabe, as you already know, is an astronomical tool that was used a while ago by sailors. Yeah, like a sextant.
00:13:16
Speaker
Yes, exactly. I think it's used in coordination with the sextants. Yeah, see, we're getting the vocab words out now, hell yeah. And so it was the name of a boat in the late 18th century from
00:13:37
Speaker
I think there were two of these boats that went to, I think, the Americas for exploration purposes and for scientific research, which actually, I think, got wrecked.
00:13:57
Speaker
But since then, there has been several other ships from the French Navy called the La Strollab, and I think there is even one still afloat these days. There is a French Navy icebreaker. Yeah, exactly. I thought maybe, I don't know
Influence of School and Marseille Culture on Style
00:14:15
Speaker
if you know this joke, you're shaking hands with someone, you say, how much does a polar bear weigh you know this?
00:14:23
Speaker
No, I don't know. Just enough to break the ice. Haha, right? And I thought perhaps, I thought perhaps Laster Lab, it's a pun because the ship is an icebreaker. The name is an icebreaker because everyone asks you, what the fuck is up with the name, dude?
00:14:39
Speaker
So it's like in this like in the in this how I met your mother episode when they say let's let's start about we should make a bar and the name is puzzle what's the puzzle well that's the question and that's you know the name I'm sorry I see no no
00:14:59
Speaker
And so, yeah, it's, so that's where it comes from. And it sort of is an icebreaker, right? Because we're well, we are into the show now. Ice broken. Yeah. So, yeah, it's, sometimes I, it's far from where I live now, but whenever I have the chance, I go there and just take a photo of the plague, or if I'm with someone that's asked them to take a fit pic and say, back to the source.
00:15:26
Speaker
Nice. Right. Solid. From whence you came. Yes. Yes. Cuz Zach Newton Street Vintage is also, that's his first dwelling in Boston City, you know? So that's funny. Yeah. And we have the same tie. I don't know if you noticed. That Ralph tie, right? No, it's a Brooks Brothers tie with the Brooks Brothers shirts all over it.
00:15:53
Speaker
Oh, right, right, right, with the fun shirt. The tie with the fun shirt on it, which is just insane. You're both in great company in this respect. We were talking about fun shirts and at some point he sent me a listing of shirts, this kind of tie, but from, I know there is an activist center who, I don't know, has some internet presence as well.
00:16:20
Speaker
but he's selling this type for like 200 euros or two dollars or the smaps third price then i said hold on i'm sure i can find some much cheaper ones and i found a couple one for him one for me
00:16:41
Speaker
I sent him the link. It's something I like to do when I know my Instagram friend's size. Sometimes if I find something nice and it's in their size, I will just send them the link instead of just someone else getting it.
00:17:00
Speaker
oh absolutely well keep your beavers peeled keep your beavers peeled for a linen tweed jacket okay three two roll patch pockets uh what size i don't know it all depends you know what i mean it's a it's a it's a and even when the site is right it's just not right you know right i got this one
00:17:23
Speaker
Yeah, and it was the same tag size as the Ralph one that I already have and it was way too small It's not like a strength in the fucking wash and I measured it. I consulted with my Taylor, you know Matt looked at the measurements. We decided probably this will fit
00:17:40
Speaker
It's the cost of doing business though, you know, if you want to buy shit cheaply, you have to suffer through getting stuff that doesn't fit you. Your revolution is egalitarian secondhand shopping. This is a big deal. This is how we should all approach it. Make your friendship. I appreciate it.
00:18:03
Speaker
Yeah, menswear, comrades, and arms. Yeah, good brothers and garms. Brothers and fucking garms. So, Robon, we wanted to ask you what your first clothing memory is. I'm not sure. I think...
00:18:21
Speaker
The further I can think of is maybe being a kid like five years old or something and watching movies with the bad guys, the mobsters who are wearing sleek suits with the suspenders and thinking, wow, I want to be like them and be all cocky with my nice suits.
00:18:46
Speaker
So I think that's like the really oldest one and one that's more recent, but I think has impacted me was when I was in middle school and high school.
00:19:01
Speaker
And I had this strong sense of the way you dressed was a way to position yourself in this micro society that is high school. If you dress one way, it means you're part of this crew. But if you dressed like that, but you're not really part of this group, are you really part of it? And would it change? I mean, I just,
00:19:27
Speaker
remembered how vividly that, or at least that's how I perceived it, clothing had an important part into the social game of high school. Maybe it was just all in my head. No, it for sure does. And it's all about, you know, what we talk about on the show, the way that clothing signals things. And in high school, it's like, as brutal as it gets, you know, if you wear like the wrong
00:19:55
Speaker
It doesn't even matter if the thing is wrong, you know, but it's like the thing is, and we do this with the Ivy style shit, right? It's like, he didn't really forget to leave his shit unbuttoned. Like that is inauthentic. I don't like it. Oh, nice button down, but is it a line color? Oh my God, you're such a dumbass. You're a loser. You turd.
00:20:22
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And so it's vicious. It's really mean. But I still have kept some some clothing from my high school years.
00:20:37
Speaker
like I think I have a pea coat still in my closet and a few also like a Ralph Lauren cap, also like the white baseball hat, very basic but that was very popular and really meaning that you're one of the cool kids and it's like completely torn out or
00:21:05
Speaker
at the on the visor oh nice you can see the plastic inside the brain yeah yeah that's lucky mine always just get destroyed mine always just get like this sweat stain you know just it looks like i don't i mean i and then i tried to dye one with turmeric ones and now it looks like it was soaked in urine so the white cap is nice but it's at a cost
00:21:35
Speaker
It needs to be washed very frequently and that very warm water. Yeah. Yes. Yes. So you were talking about Marseille growing up in Marseille and we were wondering what sort of style you saw growing up there, right? As the second city. Is it kind of like, I was going to ask this earlier, is it a little bit like New York, LA?
00:22:03
Speaker
I would say it's a bit of both because you have weather that is more similar to LA, very sunny, very hot, especially in the summer of course, but also windy.
00:22:20
Speaker
which the legend, according to the legend, there is so much wind that it drives the people there crazy, which is what makes it close to New York. Because in Marseille, you wouldn't be surprised if the person sitting next to you in the bus or the subway just starts talking to you, which is something that normally doesn't happen in a big city with normal people. Like in Paris, nobody talks to each other.
00:22:49
Speaker
It's very much more friendly, but also sometimes you don't want the best people to get too friendly either. So in terms of style, it's very laid back, very relaxed.
00:23:06
Speaker
also very show off. Not everyone, of course, I'm just making a big picture. But there is this kind of stereotype of very vulgar men or women
00:23:23
Speaker
that is actually kind of famous. It's almost a mythical figure. I don't know how familiar you are with Simon Rachmus, a French designer who makes mostly female women's clothing, and he's from Marseille, or London from the south, and he made a couple of collections in honor of
00:23:53
Speaker
this type of woman called La Cagol. I don't know how... It might not ring a lot of bells because it's very very French specific.
00:24:08
Speaker
So in terms of style, it's not the city where you can take photos of very well-dressed old men. They are awesome, but not so many. And being a
00:24:24
Speaker
It's not a small city, but it works in small groups, in small circles. And so going back to what I said about high school, if you belong to a certain group, you will dress a certain way. And if you belong to a group but don't dress that way, then it will be perceived in a bit of a strange way.
Fashion Trends in Paris vs. Marseille
00:24:48
Speaker
Sure. Like when you are a high schooler or a low student and wear a tweed jacket in a Mediterranean city where everybody's just wearing a t-shirt.
00:24:59
Speaker
Yeah, you're out of place. Well, it would be a little bit like me trying to explain to you the intricacies of the relationship between Washington DC and Baltimore. Like it's very sophisticated, but it's irrelevant to you, right? So I guess this is a bad question on my part a little bit.
00:25:19
Speaker
It's interesting because it's not a city where people dress formal and you don't want, if you look too uptight, it's like something's wrong. You need to be relaxed or if you want to be successful in terms of speaking. Is it kind of like a working class city? More working class than Paris if there is such a... Paris has...
00:25:45
Speaker
Like I said in the beginning, France is very centralized. So all the higher jobs are in Paris. And like in Paris, if you are a lawyer or a doctor, you are middle class. But in Marseille, then you are in the highest.
00:26:06
Speaker
So you don't have, sorry, I don't know where I was going to. So it's not a working class city, although, I mean, it kind of is, but it has also a high unemployment rate. It's famous for having some frequent drug related shootings as well. Yeah, which I imagine shootings in general are not common. Not so common as here, certainly.
00:26:36
Speaker
It's your joke to make. I don't want to be the stereotypical European guy making fun of me. I mean, we're probably always saying hands on this. So you went from this type of very casual, very laid back, not a whole lot of people dressing in Ivy or French or Italian tailoring,
00:27:05
Speaker
Basically the fashion place, which is Paris, since the dawn of fucking time. What do you see now on your day to day basis as someone that wears a tie or a jacket or a suit every single day? Is that very common in the fashion capital of the world?
00:27:23
Speaker
So there are two different things. There is Paris as a fashion capital or fashion major city. But honestly, it's something that you don't really experience unless you go into the really central parts of the city or
00:27:45
Speaker
If you are in Paris during Fashion Week, then you will see more either very classic French people or you can see the weird fashionistas and all the menswear crowd.
00:28:06
Speaker
In the day-to-day sense, living in a very popular area and going to work in a very office neighborhood, it's not very fashion-friendly, I would say. There are some young
00:28:27
Speaker
I mean, that's because I consider myself still young at 35, but some kids, I mean, not kids, but some guys were from 20 to 40 wearing like the modern high beasts, like whatever they can get that is kind of similar to the latest Emile Endor lookbook, like New Balances.
00:28:54
Speaker
But things that I am also guilty of, I would admit it. And in the office, just to give you an idea, I work in a 40-story building and there are probably...
00:29:14
Speaker
I must see like four or five ties in a day. Really? Yeah. I would have figured that everybody was putting in the work because they were an attorney and they just wear a tie. That's like my family. They wear a tie every day.
00:29:29
Speaker
I don't work in the law firm anymore, but even in law firms, you could see the thing with lawyers, and I don't know if it totally translates to American lawyers.
00:29:45
Speaker
branch lawyers have a highest team of themselves and they some of them like to dress up and dress in a respectable way but most of them would be actually like any other office worker and just want to wear
00:30:05
Speaker
comfortable pair of jeans, comfortable pair of sneakers, and I remember a guy I was working with who had just his suit hanging on the wall, and he would change whenever he had a client meeting, but other than that, you're just... I mean, it's not wrong. You don't need a tie and cufflinks just to type emails and align bullet points on your PowerPoint memo.
00:30:38
Speaker
So that's why Paris is, I would say, not better or not worse than any other major city. I don't want to be the guy who just complains about, ah, people don't dress well anymore. I know the guy who shares the photos of men's fashion. What happened in the 50s? Cary Grant.
00:31:01
Speaker
In the 2020s, I don't know some guy wearing a pink shorts or Timothee Chalamet in a dress and like, what happened to men fashion? I don't really care. People don't like to dress too formal and I mean, it's their choice.
00:31:18
Speaker
But what's nice in a city like Paris is there is also a menstrual enthusiast community that is active and living all in the same city. So maybe it's not like monthly meetings of the sartorial Parisianites. Right, right. But sometimes it is, but it's
00:31:48
Speaker
But it's nice to have people who understand you. Like what we're doing now, if my normal friends share the same interest in clothing, we would probably not be talking today. Right, right. So this is a question though. Do you, are your friends interested in clothing? I don't know how many real life friends I have that are interested in clothing. When I was in college, it was like,
00:32:16
Speaker
Oh, let's hang out with Connor. Like he'll take us to the thrift store and like get us in suits and shit, you know? But now it's like I rely on the internet. True. True. And you know, when I developed this interest and my real life friends would ask me like, what do you recommend for a shoes or for a suit?
00:32:37
Speaker
And I will always point them to the most expensive solution option. So they just, or the most complicated option as well. So they just stopped asking me for recommendations. And nowadays, no, I mean, they, I'm sure they like, they have an interest in what they wear, but maybe, and hopefully for them, it's not as excessive as mine.
00:33:06
Speaker
But I have a friend who is by his work adjacent to the kind of high priest community. I see. Last time he sent me a video of him trying on, you know, the red mischief boots.
00:33:32
Speaker
It's great because he's the only one with whom I can make this kind of jokes.
00:33:38
Speaker
Right. Yeah. I told him next time, yes, exactly. Maybe we don't like the same stuff, but we share the culture or at least part of it. Yeah. Because it's good, right? Because you are on opposite sides of the world, sort of, but you still have that, like,
00:34:01
Speaker
whatever it is, you know what I mean? It's like the waiting, waiting online to like buy whatever thing at whatever hour. Yeah, it's good. And it's it is good. It is community based.
00:34:14
Speaker
And I don't want to be very ring fenced to just wearing a suit and a tie. So what's nice about it is to be aware of stuff that are happening outside of your comfort zone and be able to enjoy it from a bystander standpoint.
00:34:38
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. My clothing is so disjointed in a lot of ways that like is one of the reasons why it makes it cool. You don't have to wear or appreciate the same things as someone else, but you can you can connect on a level that you both give a shit about how you look, whether it's whether it's the same or not. And like that's kind of one of the things that makes this stupid hobby fun.
00:35:03
Speaker
Yeah, it reminds me of an old advertisement TV ad for the French Soccer Referee Association that used to air during a sports broadcast and it was like
00:35:20
Speaker
soccer referee associations. We don't have the same jersey, but we have the same passion. And it's the same here. We don't have the same jersey. We spend too much money into clothing. It's the way I want to see it.
00:35:38
Speaker
Totally, totally. That's a very like, yeah, that's a very good way of thinking about things and like something that I also try to embrace. Like, I like what I like. If you like what you like, and it's not just like buying shit from H&M, then fuck yeah, man. Like, I'm stoked for you. I just want you to be happy. And I want us to connect on a level that like, we're both interested in looking, looking how we want to
00:36:08
Speaker
And we don't have to like the same thing. Like if someone comments under one of my post, like, you dress like shit. I mean, I won't take it personally. If he says your face look like shit, I might. But otherwise, I mean, you don't have to like what I like. And it's a good thing because more for me.
00:36:27
Speaker
Exactly. Right, right. So we can get into men's
Exploring French Tailoring and Ivy Style
00:36:33
Speaker
wear. I mean, we've sort of been there, but so everybody knows about the houses of men's style, Italian, English, American even. What are some things that set the French house apart? I mean, it seems like the Italians and the English get all the glory
00:36:52
Speaker
And there is at least one other thing. Are you talking in terms of really tailoring houses and suit style? Yeah, basically. I mean, I know that there exists a French way of making a suit, but I'm not an expert really.
00:37:14
Speaker
I mean, I'm not an expert either because really, really high-end bespoke French suits are extremely expensive. There is no, or maybe they are, but you need really to turn every rock to find a cheap local tailor that would make a good job. So, and it's unlike, for example, in Italy where you have a lot of
00:37:43
Speaker
tailors who have apprenticed with older tailors and then made their own workshop. Like my tailor, the one who makes my suit. Actually I'm gonna meet tomorrow. He's a Napoleon guy and the reason I went to him for the first time was because it was cheap and also I enjoyed the type of suit he was making but on a regular basis I could not go to a French or Parisian tailor
00:38:13
Speaker
that would charge me 7,500 euros for a suit. That's just... Wow. That's even more than I thought. No, that's like the four or five major tailoring houses in very sour in this ballpark.
00:38:35
Speaker
But the reason why, my first Parisian real estate, of course, and also in terms of quality finishing, it's allegedly because I have not been in their workshops. I have seen some of the suits made and very extremely high-end. I don't know if you're familiar with what is a Milanese buttonhole.
00:39:04
Speaker
Right. Which is a way of hand stitching the buttonhole but in a more refined way than it's the one you get on the label. Sure. But it's made differently than the other buttonholes. It's more refined and suits made from this
00:39:25
Speaker
these brands that are like Smalto, Comstrelucia, Cifonevi, there are also some independents who have worked there and then made their own
00:39:39
Speaker
made their own workshop and stores. They all have a... I'm sorry. I think I need to be right back. It's going to be five minutes, I think. Okay. No problem. Be right back.
00:39:58
Speaker
Alright, that was Marius, my son, he's 10 months old, and sometimes he needs a little drink, just like his dad. I was gonna say, relatable. Yeah, that's great though, that's great. Look at this, we're a family-friendly show.
00:40:24
Speaker
Yes, I think that is back as well. So let's just pick it up where we left off. We were talking about French Parisian tailors and as I was feeding my son, I just remembered something because I don't want to discuss
00:40:49
Speaker
in length of what makes it better than an English suit or an Italian suit. I don't know English houses that much so I cannot really say. I've heard that maybe quality may have decreased over time but I've never seen an English tailor so I don't want to say anything about that. You'd have to ask Derek next time he's coming.
00:41:14
Speaker
You know how it's a common thing to say that for Italian suits, Italian artisans, but it's more maybe a marketing thing. They say, oh, it's imperfect because it's handmade. Here it's the opposite. It's perfect because it's handmade.
00:41:34
Speaker
interesting so uh see so this is what we were looking for that's interesting that's great yeah i mean because i like the only french tailoring that i can name off the top of my head is cipinelli and arnitz uh both of which are from my very limited experience with both in in fucking credible but that
00:41:57
Speaker
there has to be more to that side of French clothing than those two bring.
00:42:06
Speaker
Yes, and especially because Chiffonnilly and Arnees both have very distinct styles, house styles, and there are a lot of... most of the other tailors are in more neutral land, I would say, but you would still have
00:42:28
Speaker
You can still have the specificities of a French suit like, you know, a fish mouth label, or... Am I saying that right, label? L'appelle is how? L'appelle, yeah. I'm trying to over-Americanize words.
00:42:54
Speaker
English is the dumbest fucking language on the planet because we pronounce things a million different ways in every category. So I do not fault you for that at all.
00:43:03
Speaker
I think it's the same for every language. When I was in law school in the US, at some point, I couldn't understand something, so I had to ask a question in the middle of the class in front of 100 or 150 students, because it was a sentence where the word sanction was used, but as in French, sanction means that you punish something.
00:43:33
Speaker
Okay, but apparently in you in English it means you punish something or it means you allow something right which are opposite meanings so I Had the meaning in mind that made a sentence that made no sense I was like, but why would it and it was obvious for everyone else, but I
00:43:54
Speaker
But me. So anyway, the Fishmouth Lapel, which is a very typical French way of doing the notch, which is something that you can find. You can ask all French tailors, and they will have their own version. But Arnie's, for example, has or had, because I don't know if you know, but the brand has been bought by Berlouti.
00:44:23
Speaker
Oh, really? 10 years ago. Okay. Yeah. Yes. And yeah, it's, if you were familiar with Ornie's before that, it was very colorful, a bit eccentric, but also more, more city appropriate suits, but in the same time, also very
00:44:49
Speaker
18th, 19th century inspired patterns with flamboyant colors which is very incredible and I remember passing in front of the store windows and looking at all these colors and I was too intimidated to go inside but at the same time when I look at the books from that time
00:45:18
Speaker
And this is great, but kind of unwearable at the same time. Which is why this kind of clothing was mostly worn by old intellectuals with big beys.
00:45:36
Speaker
That's my, uh, aesthetic. That's exactly what I want to look like. It kind of sounds like the American version. Yeah. It's like, it's like Paul Stewart, but French at this. That's, that's a reference. I don't know what it's because I say the name, but.
00:45:51
Speaker
Yeah. Paul Stewart, I don't know what the French version looks like exactly. I want to look it up. I'm very curious. I think that that sounds up my alley. Yeah, yeah. I mean, mostly what I know about Arnise is the poor Sier and their other kind of, I don't know, just very solid outerwear pieces. I found the tailoring here and there, but I mostly relate them with really cool outerwear pieces.
00:46:21
Speaker
Yes, they had some very strong piece of outerwear. It's something that is extremely sought after, especially by the Japanese collection amateurs, which pulls up the prices. Nowadays, you cannot find a 4STF for less than 600 euros.
00:46:51
Speaker
Right. Yeah. They've been kind of at that for a while. Sadly. Yeah. It's the Japanese. They are two steps ahead. Oh, 100%. So I guess this question also kind of hits on that point. How did you get into Ivy style? And is that type of thing readily available in Paris? Or are you mostly shopping online?
00:47:22
Speaker
So the style, I was aware of it. I knew it existed, but it didn't really appeal to me that much. Even in 2012, when I was in the US, I knew it existed. I knew it was oxford cloth button downs and penny loafers.
00:47:47
Speaker
but I wasn't really looking into it and then I think someday I'm not sure why I looked up for vintage Brooks Brothers shirts and it took me a while to buy one because I wasn't much used to... I looked it up on eBay and I wasn't really much used to buy used clothing online so I wasn't sure what size to get
00:48:14
Speaker
I wasn't sure what measurements would fit me but I ended up getting a nice one which was a yellow six button Brooks Brothers makers so the good kind of shirts. Unfortunately it was slightly fought on the sleeves because I had no idea how the sizing worked
00:48:38
Speaker
But other than that, I fell in love with the shirt. So I ended up selling it. But since then, I just kept buying and buying. And I had one in the mail last week. And I have two coming, crossing the Atlantic, as we speak.
00:49:01
Speaker
It's an... I must... I think I have... It's so good. How many do you have? You're about to say how many you have, how many do you have? Well, like any enthusiast, I'm not sure. Of course. But I think it must be between 60 and 80. Oh, you can't! For US Made. Yeah, it's not... And those are just Brooks Brothers?
00:49:29
Speaker
Those are just oxfords. Those are only Brooks Brothers oxfords. You have 60 to 80. Only Brooks Brothers, mostly the makers line. But not in the difficulties to try and find new patterns that I don't already have.
00:49:51
Speaker
Yeah. I was going to say, what is your favorite pattern? Because I have a lot of shirts. I probably have 50 shirts. They are not all Brooks Brothers. But the Brooks Brothers shirts that I do have are more or less the same. So I'm wondering which rare, weirdo ones you have that you are especially holding on to and not revealing in a fit pic. You have them in the rating.
00:50:17
Speaker
My favorite one, and I don't know if it's the rarest, but I think it's pretty cool. And it's not a button-down shirt, it's a tuxedo fun shirt. No way!
00:50:34
Speaker
The front placket is white and the wing color is white as well. But then you have a sleeve striped in one color, the other one the other color. The front that is not the, what do you call it, the placket. Around it is also another color and the back as well. So and I found it I think two months ago and it was
00:51:00
Speaker
for less than 20 bucks. So I immediately hit buy it now, you know, you buy first and then you look at the measurements. You look at the measurements once it's done. I knew this existed now. I knew it existed and it was like the first time I saw one in a good price.
00:51:27
Speaker
Okay, so I have to do a shout out to a friend of mine that listens to this podcast. Chris Roy, stop fucking asking if you got too many shirts. This dude has you beat.
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah. And these are just the button downs and the Brooks Brothers shirts because I have the normal shirts that I can wear with my suits. Yeah, because you don't usually wear it. You don't usually wear a button down color anyway. I love everything about this scenario. I'm just being honest.
00:52:02
Speaker
This is easily the best part of the interview. I mean, because this is like a shamed admission of like hoarding, you know, which is just great.
00:52:14
Speaker
I used to wear them a lot when it was in the middle of COVID because I was staying at home and then it's a perfect shot to wear at home to where you can wear it. What I love about them is that they have this very long or V-shaped tail.
00:52:33
Speaker
Oh, tell away. That kind of look a bit weird, but I love it when it's untucked. I don't know, I just love the shape. So I like to wear them untucked. Sometimes I'm also a tucker, but it would depend on the pants.
00:52:54
Speaker
But it depends on what I'm wearing and also in the summer it's perfect because it's very loosely fitted so you can wear it and feel the breeze going through the cotton and you don't have a very slim bit shirt like the one I'm wearing right now that's making me sweat
00:53:18
Speaker
but no I love it and well like I commented on the post under Derek Guy's episode you know I said because I have some very very not not the very very old ones but I think from 60s are my oldest ones but even from the
00:53:41
Speaker
Mark's and Spencer dread day. They have also a boxier feet with drop shoulders and more of a like all G crew style, you know? Which makes also sense in a way.
00:54:00
Speaker
So I think each one can find the Brooks Brothers' shirts they like. And no, I wear them on weekends because it doesn't go very well with the worsted suitings. So it doesn't go well with the shiny or sleek fabrics and even the slimmer cuts.
00:54:22
Speaker
So, and going back to your question, Matt, about Ivy style, what got me into it is the gateway drug was the Brooks Brothers shirt. And then once you get into it, you know, you start to get to look at what was happening in the same era and what to wear with it, because it doesn't really go well, I think, with
00:54:46
Speaker
with modern suits or at least modern European style suits. So you have to look at slack jackets, high-rise chinos and the things that
00:55:02
Speaker
naturally go with it. But to be honest, I really enjoy the Ivy look, but I'm not sure I want to be an Ivy cosplayer. Yeah. That's a perfect fucking way to put it. There's a fine line though, right? I mean, there's a really, really fine line, I think.
00:55:25
Speaker
And also, maybe it's less, I appreciate it, but maybe it's less in my culture. And if I want to wear a suit, I think I will want to wear it in a more European way, ideally in a more French way. So that's why I...
00:55:47
Speaker
I have a few sack jackets, you know, but they are actually from a French brand called J-Cage. I don't know if you're familiar with it. Yeah, yeah. I didn't know that was actually a French brand, but I do now. Yeah, yeah, it's, I'm not sure when it was founded in the, probably in the 1990s. Right, yeah, they seem to be in that kind of like, LBM 1911 vein.
00:56:16
Speaker
But with very referencing the IV codes. Totally. And yeah, throw in a couple of penny loafers and some shell-called event shoes and there you go. Without even noticing it, you have an IV wardrobe. Right, right.
00:56:37
Speaker
And of course, a couple of narrow ties because you need to have the ties that match the shirt. Like you need to have the pants that match the shirt or the jacket, et cetera. All part of the costume. Yeah. So I wanted to ask, and this I am always curious about, and I feel like I have not gotten really gotten an answer at all, but I think I will get one from you.
Capturing Fitpix and Collection Highlights
00:57:00
Speaker
So you're in Paris, which picturesque, right? I mean, Paris is the city beautiful, you know?
00:57:07
Speaker
How do you plan your Fitpix? You just walk around and do it. Do you have an idea in your head? As you're walking around, you see a good door and you're like, that is a fucking Fitpix. Do you have a document?
00:57:20
Speaker
I try to not take the Fitpix at the exact same spot for... Like a loser. Twice in a row. No. Oh, yeah, right. Okay, you got me. No, no, no. I mean, because... No, because I take my shit in this spot every day.
00:57:41
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. No, you have continuity and consistency. Everyday in the same place. No, I just don't want to have, you know, every day a different spot. And then when you look at my Instagram page and then you see, oh, that's twice in a row at the same spot. You have to choose one, I guess.
00:58:07
Speaker
You have to choose to either do it in a different location all the time or do it in the same location. Or commit. Yes. But no, so I try to change the location and it really depends on.
00:58:25
Speaker
I think, based on my strong experience as a fit picker, I would say that the lighting is the most important. I mean, you know, you take some photos and your photographer as well, so you know that light is the most important thing in a photography. Oh yeah, and I fuck it up all the time. Somehow I only take pictures at the worst times.
00:58:52
Speaker
Exactly. So now I know that if I want to take a Fitpix in it, because it's the summer, I would have to either do it in the morning or in the evening. So going to the office or coming from the office, because otherwise, you know, I will have the strong sunlight coming on top of me making weird shadows of my skirt or my glasses. Yeah. That's why I look so legendary all the time.
00:59:24
Speaker
So you need to think about the, you need, the first is a light second, because I don't work all day with a tripod on my back. So I need to find some sort of a ledge where I can put my phone. So you're doing this, you're doing the self timer. You're standing it up against something. Yes. I don't use the timer. I used, I use a nap.
00:59:47
Speaker
That is called, it's not sponsored, but. So do I, so do I, yeah. I heard about that from a guest on this show. That to me, it's very good. It's extremely good.
01:00:06
Speaker
because it makes better quality than the built-in timer. Yeah, I agree. It's less blurry. I just put it wherever I can put it in a place where I have good lighting and try to have a good outfit. But sometimes you need to go out because
01:00:33
Speaker
if you don't make the, you need to make the trip to scoot for a location. And the thing is, I live in Paris, but I don't work actually in Paris, which is why you can see on my Instagram that most of the photos are taken in building, office building area, which makes interesting architectures. So I'm not totally complaining about it, but not as
01:01:03
Speaker
picturesque or as a postcard worthy. But now that I get to work from home some days and I live not far from Montmartre, I get to make more Parisian or Parisian looking fit pics. But again, if you have a good outfit but the weather is shitty and you have bad lighting, then you don't even bother.
01:01:32
Speaker
I don't anymore. Stay in the ring. That's what I do. I have some feedbacks stored in my phones and I was not satisfied with it. So they are just sleeping on my phone and they will never be posted online because I have like origin taters, I have very high standouts of quality.
01:01:56
Speaker
Yeah, well, I have no quality control except for sometimes I send Matt. Sometimes I send it to Matt and Matt will say, like, you can't leave the house like that. But then sometimes Matt says, like, good outfit. But that's usually if Matt has assisted with the outfit. So, you know, there's a bias.
01:02:15
Speaker
Yeah. Sometimes I would ask my wife to take the photo, but she hates it. So, and I am a bit scared to ask her. So it's only when like this weekend I had, I was wearing an outfit that I liked and there was, it was end of day, perfect golden hour. And there was a real flight. I was like, okay, you need to take my photo now.
01:02:40
Speaker
I even had props because we were going to dinner party so I was carrying the bouquet and the flowers. You need to make it interesting, whatever for the algorithm. So what did she say? Did she say no or did she take the picture? You don't have to, if this is going to cause you trouble...
01:03:03
Speaker
She accepted it because we already thought about it a while ago, so now she knows it's important for me. See, look at that. That's a happy ending to the story. That's all understanding. Yes, exactly. Less photos than a lens, but the timer takes more photos.
01:03:29
Speaker
Yeah, you got to say I want you to take 10 pictures of me, please. Exactly. So, but yeah, it's, I'm, I'm not even embarrassed to say that I put a lot of effort into my feedbacks.
01:03:45
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. The more people that can admit that, the better, I think. Yeah, I agree because it is fucking work. It's really effort. And I know like people, sometimes it looks like they have put no effort into it, but they have. It's a bunch of us trying to impress other nerds on the internet, which I'm back in this.
01:04:11
Speaker
So to end things, we wanted to talk or ask what your oldest, rarest, most expensive, or best deal in your collection of wonderful things.
01:04:29
Speaker
I think one that's high on the list is the Tuxedo Fun Short I mentioned because it's rare. We're going to have to get a picture of this. And you know what? I will send you a picture of it, but the seller even included a written vacuum note in the package. Oh, yes. That's perfect.
01:04:55
Speaker
The oldest ones, I don't have a lot of old stuff because what I get is from eBay. It's hard to find stuff that are older than mid-century.
01:05:16
Speaker
Herringbone twill shirt, you know, from US Army, the one with the 13-star button. Yeah, yeah! Speak my language! Also one that's pretty cool is still in the military, is some Belgian paintbrush camo paratrooper overpants.
01:05:42
Speaker
You got all the shits. The funny story about it is that I bought it, didn't tell my wife, of course, because I'm an adult and I can make my own bad financial decisions.
01:05:58
Speaker
I wanted to wear it and I washed it twice because it smelled like grease and it was stored basically in the army warehouse for 40 years but it still wreaks grease and they are big pants and they make noise when you walk like when you're wearing ski pants.
01:06:22
Speaker
Exactly, I wear them, I get out of the room and my wife looks at me with eyes like what is going on? She didn't have to say that she hated it.
01:06:42
Speaker
But nevertheless, I wore it throughout the day. And she was like, oh my God, it even smells bad and it makes noise. But I stuck to it. It's like total sensory hatred.
01:06:59
Speaker
Yeah and because it's aside from smelling bad but we are going to no smell now and the noise I mean I can't say for sure but it's also very big it's like MC Hammer pants. You have to be able to appreciate that for sure.
01:07:21
Speaker
Yes, so that's one interesting stuff. I don't really own it because my family has had a house in the countryside for so many generations that we are not sure since when, so basically 200 years at least.
01:07:44
Speaker
Oh, wow. So, you know, that's where you can find the cool sheets. Unfortunately, the closets have been emptied every, I don't know, 50 years or so. So there isn't a lot of cool stuff, but I did find a fencing jacket in twill. I don't know if it's linen or a mix of cotton and linen and dating from
01:08:09
Speaker
I would say early 20th century and it's pristine condition still with the pencil markings in it. So that's I think the coolest, I mean most interesting and oldest item. And it's not really in my possession because it's just in a drawer.
01:08:29
Speaker
But I think that's the nicest I have encountered. Yeah, it has got a story behind it. The meaning is historical too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I kind of like also some of the original peaceful jackets or sport coats that I thrifted in the recent years as well, because it's very, like I said, very nicely made in a very specific
01:08:55
Speaker
cut, but what's a bit dumb is that there are four or five jackets made with brownish shade squared patterns, so they are all kind of like the same but different but still the same, you know? Yeah, yeah, sure.
01:09:15
Speaker
That's a very nice grouping of thrift fights for you to chant. Well, thank you so much for coming on.
Social Media and Engagement
01:09:27
Speaker
We always like to give our guests a chance to shout out whatever they want to. So here's your chance. Have a.
01:09:36
Speaker
Follow me on Instagram if you don't already do it. I am Lastrolab at L-A-S-T-R-O-L-A-D. Follow my analog photography account that is Lastrolog, L-O-J at the end. Which is good, which is a good one, by the way. Oh, yes.
01:09:56
Speaker
It's a double follow for sure. And what you can follow as well is the Instagram page of Les Antisponsables Paris, which is a website or blog for which I contribute sometimes. LES Antisponsables is so long. We'll make it on our page for sure.
01:10:22
Speaker
Yeah, it's like we put the link. We are trying to do something there. And that's it. I'm afraid I don't have anything to sell, but my own face. We just like, dude, we love your fit pictures. And if anyone is looking for some categorically different fit photos, Roman is a great person to possible. Yeah.
01:10:48
Speaker
yeah we could talk for hours about all of your various tastes and things so maybe we'll have you back on you're going to be our fridge correspondent at this point so yeah be happy to hell yeah um well uh thank everyone for listening um at apocalypse studs at chino.com if you've got questions comic concerns uh we still don't get any fucking emails but
01:11:16
Speaker
I don't know if anybody actually uses e-mail in a non-professional way anymore.
01:11:31
Speaker
And yeah, check in next time. We'll have some more cool last guests. To all of our listeners, we appreciate you following along. We appreciate you following on whatever platform you use and rating the show on whatever platform you use.
01:11:48
Speaker
At this point, we've done 20-some odd episodes, and we do this as a labor of love, but it ain't free. And so, if you would like to contribute to the apocalypse duds, uh, Kitty, if you like what we're doing, if you like the guests that we're having on, um, we would surely appreciate it.
01:12:09
Speaker
We're going to keep doing it either way, but we pay for a service to host this and record it every week or two. We pay for some new mics that hopefully make it sound better. But yeah, if you'd like to make a contribution, either Venmo or PayPal works, and I'm going to throw it over to Connor to give his contact.
01:12:31
Speaker
Yes, my contact info. So my Venmo is, um, my name, C O N O R dash bowler F O W L E R. Um, so you can send me whatever you feel like, uh, even if it's. Yeah. Right.
01:12:51
Speaker
We're not asking for anything particular, but hey man, if you want to send us five or ten bucks, it helps us to... Or one dollar. Or one dollar. We don't give a shit, but at this point... Yeah, but a closed mouth doesn't get fed. Isn't that what they say? Something like that. So we're talking our shit. Also, what's your payback counter?
01:13:12
Speaker
It's my email address, which is my name at gmail.com. Okay. So Connor Fowler at gmail.com or PayPal or Venmo. And we appreciate it so much. We don't even care. But, uh, you know, if you like and listen and rate the show and want to throw us a little bit of, you know, a little bit of money, we're not opposed to it. So thanks for listening. We'll be back soon. Thanks very much.