SARTORIALISM!
a careless study
My own interest in clothing began with my father, he would always take me along with him to Jos.A.Bank as a child whenever he would need to buy a suit or a new pair of Cole Haan loafers. These are two brands he has lived by and will die by.
Loafers with no socks. Cuff with no breaks. High rise with pleats. This is the holy trinity of sartorialism, my father’s own style philosophy passed down to me. This was the beginning of my sartorial journey.
Growing up Roman Catholic meant going to church once a week. An hour of mass was a time to dress up (even though churchgoers, in general, seem to be more and more casual with the passing years), and possibly a chance to go out to eat after. This left a lasting impression on me, forever making one of my favorite activities getting dressed up and going out to eat.
Besides the aesthetics and ritual, my own passion for clothing and menswear comes from sharing my own experience and knowledge with those who may not have already seen it nor have sought it out on their own, but do like it when they see it. That “it” is what I call studied carelessness, the observation and presentation of sartorial nonchalance. We notice it in the assemblage, construction, drape, silhouette, and stitching of a garment and outfit when worn accordingly.
I humbly compare this perspective of outfit assemblage and observation to the likes of how philosopher and semiotician Roland Barthes deconstructed the intrinsic qualities of a photographic image in his book, Camera Lucida, in terms of the “Studium” - the historical, documentary, or studied, empirical attributes of an image that draw the viewer in, and the “Punctum” - that nuanced narrative, the story or myth, which attracts or repels a viewer within a photograph. The studium and punctum of someone’s worn outfit, a sartorial image if you will.
The phrase “studied carelessness” comes from the word “sprezzatura”, first appearing in 1528 in an Italian book of manners on etiquette and courtship by Baldassare Castiglione, an Italian Renaissance diplomat and author. In Casitglione’s book, he defines sprezzatura as "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it". The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “studied carelessness, especially as a characteristic quality or style of art or literature”. That “characteristic quality” is like a signature of ones personal style. The funny thing about personal style is that it’s hardly ones own style. Like art and culture, it is an amalgamation of interests and influences that inspires and produces what comes to be thought of as a “personal style".
Studied Carelessness is thus the perfect signifier for someone and their outfit that inspires someone else - the studied outfit holds historical and empirical value (what is worn, if you will) versus the je ne sais quoi and carelessness of the outfit (how it is worn and the characteristic qualities that draw ones attention.
Nice one, Pedro. Unfortunately for us Mass goers the dress code has become a bit laxed. However, I’ve noticed Latin Mass attendees have returned to dressing in their Sunday best. Thank God for tradition!