This guy grows all alone next to our garage, in almost total shade. I’d say he’s done pretty well for himself, considering.
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Do you know one of the best things about being gay and in love? You can borrow one another’s totally adorable clothes and accessories. This pair of Kenneth Cole cufflinks was a gift to Brian from my mom, but I totally wear them every chance I get, which isn’t as often as I’d like, as I only own two French Cuff shirts.
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Image via XKCD.
So I just wrote a whole post about people who seem to have time in their day to argue endlessly over points of philosophy and politics on the internet. It was a little judgemental, and when I went to post it, something miraculous happened - the internet and its magic - and the post disappeared.
When that post vanished, so did my irritation, somewhat. I canceled my MySpace account a few months back because I was sick of people who listed "Acitivism" under their hobbies, because I don’t consider "Activism" to be sending out endless MySpace bulletins about how Hillary is 200% MORE PRO-GAY THAN OBAMA AND HERE’S THE PROOF!
To repeat something I read somewhere (forgive me, I don’t recall where) - arguing on the internet is a bit like jerking off to your own photo. So I’ll just say this: if you really want to be an "Activist," if you really care about the world and want to make it a better place, let me tell you about this homeless shelter I know about where you can volunteer every other Saturday.
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It’s rained on and off all week, and then yesterday the winds were insane, and as a result the sky filled with dust, casting a sort of frightening apocalyptic pall over everything. I took this as I was leaving the gym.
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I saw these novelty cocktail plates at West Elm in Dallas and fell instantly in love with them; they are now a permanent part of the place settings on my dining room table. They’re on sale at West Elm’s website for $12.99.
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Not really. They’re just mineral deposits that just so happen to make really cool black and white photographs, especially after a really fun round of Photoshoppery.
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I was looking at some photos of myself from high school recently, and earlier this week I posted a photo of myself in 1999 in Ireland. God - I was wearing a big, bulky Nautica coat and a tan American Eagle sweater with some bollocky green stripe across the chest. Commenter Paddy correctly observed that said sweater made me look like I had a rack. BUT A NICE RACK FOR A GUY.
I’ve recovered. I once worked at one of the world’s worst men’s clothing stores. The job was shit but the clothes had potential, and I had the chance to learn all about classical men’s fashion - charcoal pants, navy blazers and the like. I learned to love ties. This job supplied me with a lot of free clothing, and at one point my wardrobe was described as "the envy of any gay man in Oklahoma City." Which must be why that wardrobe is now in the closets of the gay men of Oklahoma City, who used to spend a lot of time hanging out at my house, um, "borrowing" things.
I managed to save some stuff, though, and as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned from my fashion mistakes. Now - I’m not saying I have any style, but I do have some clothes I like a whole lot. Same deal with stuff in my house; I’ve been showing you how we’re making progress on the house, and in the process getting a lot of questions about where I got this or that thing. SO, I thought I’d share - welcome to Okay City Style, featuring sub-category Gorgeous Little Things, because I love Absolutely Fabulous and wanted to gank something from it for this website.
Today I’m talking clothes. Because I’m back in shape, at least partially, and I’ve landed some stuff I like. Also, most websites that talk about style are mostly geared toward women. I know a bunch of guys who need some serious help. This is for you, fellas. (Or for you women who are wanting to sort of sneak style onto your men on the down-low. These women were my biggest client base when I worked retail).
Last Friday Brian and I decided we desperately needed a date. So, we got all dressed up:
Now. I’m not saying this looks great. I’m just rather saying I like it. Everything except my idiotic, "How do I take a photo of myself in the mirror?" expression. The hat was a free gift with purchase like 2 years ago at Express. I am wearing it because I’m growing my hair out, and I’m currently in the weird in-between stage with it, so it looks bad. Hence - the hat. Let’s break it down:
This lavender paisley tie is my favorite tie. It’s Brian’s favorite tie, too, and this sometimes creates a Situation wherein we both want to wear it. The deep green in it also makes it look fantastic with a certain dark-green blazer that I own. But this night I paired it with my lavender dress shirt and gray Express pinstriped vest.
Here’s the trick to pairing ties and shirts. Perk up, people, this is important. Choices like this one are obvious, right? But why? Because there’s harmony there. You know when you’re listening to a band and someone’s singing out of tune? You can’t put your finger on what, exactly, sounds wrong, but something does. Same thing with pairing up items of clothing - if you can’t look at two clashy things together and see they don’t belong, then ask someone for help. If you have no one to ask, then make it a habit, when you shop for clothes, of grabbing a salesperson and not letting them go until they’ve helped you pick out and memorize several combinations of things. Also, guys? Charcoal pants go with everything, if you’re ever doubting yourself.
I like this vest a lot in particular, and here’s why: I LOVE vests. Love them, and am glad they’re back, though I promise to keep wearing them when they’re not. I like this one in particular because I saw it at Express when it first came out, tried it on, and it didn’t fit. Then, two months later I went back and BAM! It fit! It looked cute! It held things in, mostly, and I got compliments. And when I saw it with this lavender shirt, I almost wet myself.
Because I’m a little bit country AND a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, I decided to pair it with my favorite pair of brown boots and my absolute favorite, wonderful, fabulous belt buckle.
My friend Liz borrowed this belt buckle from me on one of our drunken romps around New York City in 2002, right after I bought it. Three years later she made the mistake of wearing it to my house, where I promptly beat her up and took it back. It has never been far from me since that day. It looks fantastic with my favorite pair of boots, of which I unfortunately don’t have a photo. Also, fellas - pants with no belt are NOT OKAY. You need a belt. Just because your pants aren’t falling down doesn’t mean you don’t need a belt.
I paired the whole thing with my favorite pair of jeans - also Express - and we were out the door.
Two hours later after gourmet Mexican food at 1492, this whole ensemble was a little tight, so Brian and I came back home, rented Pootie Tang on iTunes and changed into our pajamas, ate leftover tres leches cake and lounged, comfortably, if not a little bit out of style.
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Undoubtedly the best photo I took on Saturday at the Medieval Fair. Sponge Bob looks absolutely terrified. If I was going to write dialogue, he would say, "Somebody made an awwwwwwful mess down here!"
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We went to the Medieval Fair in Norman this weekend, where we ran across this neat little guy. Would’ve been much more fun had he flung some poo, but oh well.
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