Styleforum recently re-introduced their Friday Challenge, which is a weekly competition for members to dress in a theme and win internet points. I generally sit these out, but this week had a theme that I couldn’t help but try – emulate an album cover. I decided to throw my hat in the ring, and this is the result.
When I was college I studied jazz piano along with engineering, and as a result I listened to a lot of jazz music. Bill Evans was always one of my favorite pianists – his moody music, exceptional technical skills, and beautiful compositions are no secret, and he is considered one of the greats by many. But as my interest in clothing grew, I began to become fascinated by his style as well. Evans almost always dressed in simple business clothing of the era – classic trad attire like sack suits, repp ties, browline glasses, and the like. This simple clothing was pretty ‘boring’ and commonplace at the time, but Evans had a way of making it his own. He always looked effortlessly cool, even though he was wearing the clothing of an IBM employee. In a sense, that’s how I aim to dress – boring enough to not stand out, but hopefully with enough attitude that I come off as cool, competent, and put-together. Needless to say, Bill Evans is better at it than I am. You can read more about Evan’s style (and see some great photos) here.
I decided to emulate one of his most popular albums, Portrait in Jazz. Released shortly after his famous collaboration with Miles Davis on Kind of Blue, this was his first trio album with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. It’s a great album for this time of year (if it’s feeling like fall where you are) – I encourage you to give it a listen.
Blazer – Beckett & Robb | Shirt – Proper Cloth | Tie – Breuer | Glasses – Garrett Leight
