bitch, you need to keep it real.
The funny thing about a lot of the fashionable guys you will meet on boards like StyleForum and SuperFuture is that a lot of them are also really, really, geeky. It's like, they still get really obsessive and passionate about shit, except instead of characters, plotlines, and power levels it's inseams, details, and design. It's ironic to be in a room full of well-dressed gentlemen and ladies yet at the same time be able to talk about shit like Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" and Band of Outsiders shirts in the same conversation without skipping a beat.
Geekery has changed significantly in the past few years. When I was reminiscing with asuka this weekend about our respective high school experiences regarding anime clubs and the con circuit, there was definitely a shift in the paradigm of fandom once it moved from shady little stores with racks upon racks of VHS fansubs to hordes of n00bs who caught Dragon Ball Z as part of a Saturday Morning Cartoon block and knew nothing of Ranma 1/2 (we agreed, that one's pretty much a "gateway anime") nor of DBZ's original Japanese "Cha-la, head cha-la!" theme song. Shit got annoying. I know, it's really pretentious, but when you grow up appreciating that modern-day fandom got started by groups of people painstakingly translating shows recorded off live Japanese TV (with the kickass commercials intact!), and suddenly find that your secret love is fast-becoming a profitable industry, well, shit kind of sucks.
I think that's why I kind of fell into the whole mopey indie-rock crowd quite easily, because stereotypically, those folks have seen that shit happen to bands for decades. But to get back to the point at hand, Farinelli's had a holiday shopping party on Saturday, which was advertised heavily on StyleForum, since a lot of those guys make up for a lot of the store's business. However, since this was a special occasion, many of the forum's "star posters" -- who are also freaking ballers -- decided to make it down to D.C., whether by plane, train, or automobile, to get fucking crunk with their fellow menswear whores. People came from Florida, New York, even as far as Costa Rica, just for one night of drunken debauchery and spending. Surprisingly enough, only three or so of them (out of more than ten) were gay, yet still just as awkward about flirting with folks as the straight dudes! Most of the people I met were chill, reserved men (until they had a few glasses of scotch or wine), and a select few were creepy, old, or both (as Sharon could attest to).
Included in the attendance was Magician (aka Natan) -- an honest to god professional magician -- who kept us entertained with intermittent tricks, and this guy Justin from NY who is total BFFs with Thom Browne or some shit, that guy is hilarious and totally gay, he also bragged that he got his apartment flooring stripped and replaced with sheet metal. Mauro really pulled out all the stops on this one, bottles of Cabo Wabo, Glenlivet, and other high priced spirits whose names I could not pronounce or was too far from sober to remember coherently, tons of quality shit on sale, including a Jon Wye belt depicting armed Mexican villagers fending off zombies and red-eyed laser horses. Shit got so real people even started to burn a few doobs in the alleyway behind the store with these cats who worked at Secret Service in Cali, including the head designer from Crate denim.
When we left the party, the store was pretty packed and the DJ seemed to be bringing it in full force. While it was nice to reunite with old friends from my days in retail, and making new ones from the incessant posting I do on the forum in lieu of actual work at my job, it all got quite taxing after a while.
Watch Natan do magic:
Click to view