I recently received The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman as a gift (I know, I'm such a laggard) and feel compelled to rant about a few things.First, I'm now convinced a lot of it is staged. It was my understanding that Schuman's premise was to capture real peoples' personal style as seen on the streets of New York, Paris and, well, New York. I soon realized that "real people," according to the Sartorialist, consists of editors, models, stylists, buyers, scenesters, and other industry buffs.
Kate Lanphear appears 3 times in his book (I'm still counting); Matteo Marzotto, Anouck Lepere and Coco Rocha are just a few more recognizable subjects.
There's nothing wrong with Scott Schuman using famous fashion folk in The Sartorialist; in his defense, the book serves as a useful reference, a veritable lookbook of insiders, for those aspiring to look the part (despite his efforts to capture a sense of "individuality," there's a clear pattern -- almost unfiorm-like -- among his subjects).
Heck, if I wanted to differentiate myself from the masses of street-style bloggers, my strategy would be to exploit my network. It lends credibility to what you do and sells (cough, Charlotte Ronson).
The second part to this rant has to do with Scott Schuman's unintentional senese of humor. The Sartorialist does a good job a capturing style. He can even take a good picture. What he fails to do is tie in relevant copy to his subjects. Here's a passage from his book, where he describes the subject on his cover:
Julie, New York
This is Julie. She is one of my favourite subjects to shoot for the blog. Often when I post a picture of her she receives comments like, 'Oh, she is soo perfect, so chic, a modern Audrey Hepurn.' Well, she is very chic, but she is far from perfect, physically at least. Julie has one leg slightly shorter than the other, has very slim arms, and walks with a very slight limp. However, she has never let her physical challenges alter her appearance or diminish her presence... In a world of fashion that celebrates a certain kind of beauty, I have so much respect for the people who don't let their non-fashion-world physique stand in the way of expressing the beautiful person they know themselves to be. I find that type if inner strength the most captivating of all, and it is a major reason why Julie is on the cover of this book.
There's nothing wrong with Scott Schuman using famous fashion folk in The Sartorialist; in his defense, the book serves as a useful reference, a veritable lookbook of insiders, for those aspiring to look the part (despite his efforts to capture a sense of "individuality," there's a clear pattern -- almost unfiorm-like -- among his subjects).
Heck, if I wanted to differentiate myself from the masses of street-style bloggers, my strategy would be to exploit my network. It lends credibility to what you do and sells (cough, Charlotte Ronson).
The second part to this rant has to do with Scott Schuman's unintentional senese of humor. The Sartorialist does a good job a capturing style. He can even take a good picture. What he fails to do is tie in relevant copy to his subjects. Here's a passage from his book, where he describes the subject on his cover:
Julie, New York
This is Julie. She is one of my favourite subjects to shoot for the blog. Often when I post a picture of her she receives comments like, 'Oh, she is soo perfect, so chic, a modern Audrey Hepurn.' Well, she is very chic, but she is far from perfect, physically at least. Julie has one leg slightly shorter than the other, has very slim arms, and walks with a very slight limp. However, she has never let her physical challenges alter her appearance or diminish her presence... In a world of fashion that celebrates a certain kind of beauty, I have so much respect for the people who don't let their non-fashion-world physique stand in the way of expressing the beautiful person they know themselves to be. I find that type if inner strength the most captivating of all, and it is a major reason why Julie is on the cover of this book.
Yikes, Scott. Where was your line (and copy) editor here?
1. It is scientifically known that everyone has "one leg slightly shorter than the other."
2. "Her non-fashion-world physuque?" As in her "very slim arms?" Totally -- very slim arms just screams catalogue model.
3. There's a whole lot of bla bla bla here, right?
Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist is a great lookbook - a great read it is not.
1. It is scientifically known that everyone has "one leg slightly shorter than the other."
2. "Her non-fashion-world physuque?" As in her "very slim arms?" Totally -- very slim arms just screams catalogue model.
3. There's a whole lot of bla bla bla here, right?
Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist is a great lookbook - a great read it is not.
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