This is a recap (and photo reference dump) of the latest podcast episode. You can listen to the episode below.
A Quick Note On AI
Even though AI is the last thing we discuss in the latest podcast episode, I’m putting it up first because there’s not much to say other than we are not a fan of AI. Well, generative AI in particular— especially when its proponents use progressive talking points to defend it.
It is wild to use arguments centered on “accessibility” when art is the most accessible and humanistic thing you can do. It even reminds me of the pseudo-progressive talking points used when people defend fast fashion! Cutting out the personal journey, let alone the actual artists who can be commissioned for their work (which is being stolen and fed to AI models), is incredibly abhorrent to me. Especially when its just for a quick piece of content for your IG story.
A few years ago, I wrote an article on AI when the discussion was primarily about having a program choose outfits for you. I definitely wasn’t a fan of that. One of the joys of Menswear as a Hobby is the call of Inspiration and using our skills to answer the prompts given to us by our daily lives…or even ourselves. The Process of making an outfit is what makes this so fun and rewarding. And even though it’s all quick microdecisions (to the point where I hope it looks effortless), I wouldn’t trade that activity for anything.
What’s funny now is that AI is being used to for style advice and recommendations. That means that AI encroaching on influencers’ space, which is a morbid and hilarious thought as this will exacerbate fashion’s race to the feature the lowest common denominator most socially optimizable outfits.
I love the internet and I love being inspired by what I see online, be it an illustration, an old photograph, or a real-life person (who I may or may not know personally). But damn it, I’d be incredibly embarrassed if I admitted I got told by AI to wear an outfit or to buy a specific thing. I want the journey, the story, the soul!
In The Bar Of A Tokyo Hotel
Let’s talk about real life art now!
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a play. Isabel, my ex girlfriend, was very keen on seeing plays (as she studied theatre in college) and I enjoyed each one we went to: Hamlet, Everybody, The Bottoming Process, Hungry Ghost— it was always a wonderful experience and often quite introspective; the discussions were the best part of the evening. Since she was the instigator for such things (I was the one who suggested classical concerts), I’ve missed going to them. Perhaps it’s because I don’t follow local theaters or have many actor friends, but I just don’t see these “come up” on my feed.
Enter Gator of Gator’s Vintage. I first met him a few years ago when he was selling at the PCC flea when I was relatively new to the vintage scene, let alone Los Angeles. Gator has since erupted in popularity with his specific interest in vintage western wear (among other things) which resulted in him being able to open a brick-and-mortar shop in Little Tokyo (taking over the old Raggedy Threads LA space). He’s also become one of my good friends and a frequent muse in my recent fascination with black and white photography. But back to the point: Gator is more than just a stylish guy with great curation (and stellar pricing). He’s also an intellectual and a creative. Or more specifically, a poet (with an almost-Ph.D) and a big man of theatre.
It was Gator who invited me to go see a local staging of Tennessee Williams’ In The Bar Of A Tokyo Hotel. I had never seen one of his plays before (I know that Edward Norton’s character in Asteroid City is loosely based on Williams), so I was elated at the idea. We ended up making it a small menswear hang as my friends Christian and Haocheng also came out. I enjoyed the play a lot! Seeing these actors bring Williams’ prose to life was a great experience with each of the characters, balancing pretentiousness with a tortured existence, which Gator mentioned is quite a common trope in Williams’ plays.
Seeing how the production tackled the costuming was fun for the menswear part of my brain. The play is set in 1969 in Tokyo and features four characters: a barkeep, a middle-aged woman, her artist husband, and an art dealer friend. The barkeep was in a Tang Suit-esque inspired tunic, which was miles better than the “vest + dress shirt” combo I saw on Google for other adaptations. The art dealer friend was in a vintage 60s suit (trim lapels, shiny yellow-green cloth), white horsebits, runaway collar shirt, cravat, and medallion; it came across a bit more 1974 , but I admired the effort. Finally, we had the artist, who wore a thrifted black suit and shirt covered in faded paint; he later changed into a white DB suit and blue striped runaway collar shirt (repeatedly referenced as his “clean summer suit”. I always admire storytelling through clothing!
I ended up looking up other stagings of the play to compare the attire, which led me to find photos of Donald Madden, Jon Lee, and Anne Meacham in the 1969 off-Broadway premiere. As you can see, the artist’s attire was mimicked perfectly while the art dealer was more trad in the original. Maybe now I’ll start diving into theatre costuming!
Real Life Attire
You guys know that I love giving myself prompts for outfits. It’s mainly been a lot of repeats (inspired by seeing old photos of myself), likely due to a nostalgic mood as I rapidly approach the end of my 20s. That being said, I will always appreciate an actual External Occasion where I can use my creativity in service of someone else’s whims (which doesn’t usually happen).
The first was an Occasion that was not mentioned on the pod, so be happy that you’re getting a blog post exclusive. My pal Christian and his roommate recently watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s and decided to have a little shindig at their apartment, with cocktail attire being heavily encouraged. It’s nice to have a dress code party that wasn’t set by Jay or me, so I was really looking forward to it! I had already seen the movie before (35mm at the New Bev), but I decided to watch it before I headed out to the happening.
My outfit was a bit less sleek than cocktail attire, but I expected to get a pass as I was literally dressed up like Paul Varjak (Fred Baby) in the movie. My clothes are naturally pretty close to the early 60s, just with an older silhouette: wider charcoal pants, a 40s cream sweater vest, and a boxy fleck jacket (instead of a trim grey herringbone tweed as in the movie). I always love making outfits inspired by a movie I just watched— and this was the perfect occasion for it!
There wasn’t much “early 60s” from the other attendees, but they looked nice and perfectly suitable for a fancy-inspired kickback. Haocheng was in a western-meets-menswear look, pairing a bolo tie with a club collar shirt and blazer. Myles had a flannel jacket and knit tie (props for the use of an OCBD). Gator had on a 60s-does-50s checked/flecked sportcoat with a fun pink tie. James was quite sleek in a 3PC grey peak lapel, his favorite ever since he commissioned it from Suit Supply. Lastl,y our host Christian was in a brown pinstripe DB, striped shirt, and geometric tie (patterns on patterns).
While it’s nothing new for us to be “dressed up” when we’re out at the bar, there’s something special about having a party (or kickback) with a fun dress code. It’s the sense of External Occasion that makes it.
James also spearheaded an event with a soft dress code: a birthday escape room. James and I get along really well due to our love of theatrics, cosplay, and general nerdiness. He’s always one to DM tabletop roleplaying or bring a good board game, so the Occasion made sense.
Like all good escape rooms, this one had a great theme and a copious amount of lore. The nerd in all of us was incredibly pleased. For this adventure, The Ministry of Peculiarities put on our gang to investigate a spooky manor marred by the tragic deaths of the original inhabitants: a wealthy family that seemingly never got along. The whole thing had an obvious Haunted Mansion vibe with shades of A Series of Unfortunate Events. As a result, James asked us to dress in a decidedly Dark Academia vibe, with a bit of the 70s-does-30s/40s mixed in. That’s a bit of a tall order, so he made a small Pinterest board to help guide his guests.
Instead of doing another tonal look with a sweater vest like I did for Jay’s recent Friendsgiving, I decided to copy a fit directly from James’ Pinterest board—a photo of young Howard Stark played by Dominic Cooper in Captain America: The First Avenger. I’ve always loved this interpretation of Stark and was delighted at the opportunity to dress as him for the event.
As you probably expected, I already owned everything he wore: a grey dress shirt, red striped suspenders, a burgundy geometric tie, and brown high rise trousers. For those of you who remember me from Tumblr, I actually did this look over a decade ago when I went to D23! My brother even dressed up as pre-serum Rogers. I feel like I’ve gotta rewatch this film and screenshot all of Stark’s fits; I definitely like his style more than his son’s. Maybe we need to cover this film on the podcast…
Inspiration LA 2025
Lastly, I have some coverage of the latest edition of Inspiration LA.
Like the most recent edition in 2023 I attended (I missed 2024), Inspiration LA was held in the Pasadena Convention Center, a stone’s throw from my dad’s place (but a longer drive from my new apartment). The vibes were interesting. It wasn’t dead but I felt like it didn’t have the same energy as previous years.
As we discussed on the podcast, previous Inspiration LA happenings felt big, almost like the Pitti Uomo of the West Coast, just focused more on workwear, militaria, and all things denim. It also wasn’t squarely focused on selling true vintage— you could find artisanal brands selling their wares in between vendors of old Big Mac overalls and Hercules D-pocket jackets. Hell, even Levis (or specifically LVC) was a sponsor of Inspiration back in the day! The lack of modern makers just makes Inspiration feel like another flea, which have all become overtaken by curated-vintage sellers with each passing week. In other words, Inspiration LA doesn’t feel special. It doesn’t help that Vintage Rendezvous (which had a lot of the same sellers) was about a month ago.
That being said, it was still fun to walk around and see what fun garments lay in the racks. I hesitate to call them “finds” because this is perhaps the most curated you could get with vintage casual wear. I saw long sleeve Aloha shirts (or floral print rayon sport shirts, same thing), true vintage type-2s, sweatshirts with crazy prints (collegiate, city, bands), senior pants, and more. It’s truly a playground for those who are looking for the best (and most fun) that vintage has to offer…and if you have a billion buckarinos in your bank account. That is not me, as I already own all the cool vintage I could want (and I have my own senior pants). I’m just there to look and catch up with friends.
I didn’t even get to go to the annual Inspiration LA afterparty at RRL because I went to James’ escape room. I guess the call to exorcise a house was too great! It was okay though because a few of the guys came out to celebrate with James once the party was over. It still ended up being a night with stylish pals, a lot of drinks, and two-too-many cigarettes. But hey, that’s an Occassion to dress for!
Now enjoy some photos of what we discussed on the pod as well as some nostalgic pics from previous Inspiration LAs!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon to get some extra content and access to our exclusive Discord. Oh and don’t forget, we do a podcast every two weeks!
Buh-bye!
Ethan M. Wong (follow me on IG)| StyleandDirection
The Podcast is produced by MJ.
Big thank you to our top-tier Patrons (the SaDCast Fanatics), Philip, Shane, Henrik, Alexander, and Mason.