"Plan B sucks! If you have a plan B it's because you haven't committed to plan A. You might not see the whole staircase but you have to start at the first step. Start where you are and work your way up. The only thing you should be falling back on is your butt!"
I first came across DJ by way of Coolness P, they attended the same school initially and P as a Bape head himself recognized DJ for his style. It's one thing if you just have a lot of Bathing Ape or BBC but its cool when you actually know how to wear your gear. When Teyana Taylor emerged out of Harlem with her Team Nerd movement in 06 DJ was a member; the entire crew was drenched in Bathing Ape, BBC and Ice Cream. Around that time Bathing Ape was something that you rarely saw on a SoHo Block and when you did you took notice to what exactly it was and who was wearing it. Seeing that was definitely a major thing because it made everyone pay more attention to DJ, the haters were doing their job and the fans were doing their part as well. Not long after DJ stepped back on the scene with a new vision, Ironic Extinction; which is a clothing line that DJ and his friends work on together. It has been around since 2006, originally including shirts and sweat shirts but recently they received a New Era fitted cap deal and it seems like the signature (Dinosaur riding a comet(hence the name)) is going to be everywhere by next summer. Aside from all of the accomplishments with the line lets not forget that this man is still fresh to death and has been that way for as long as I can remember. It's one thing if he was just wearing Bathing Ape but he mixed it with high fashion lines and at times he was wearing gear that I wasn't even hip to yet. He is definitely a pioneer in SoHo for a lot of reasons, it would be bias and selfish for me to proclaim SoHo B and not give DJ his props.
DJ seen above with his long time girlfriend Sweet Gem whom is also the graphic designer for the line.
When you hear the name Spike Lee what comes to mind? For most people the first thing that will come to mind would be a character from his first feature film She's Gotta Have It; Mars Blackmon. Who in turn got the attention of Nike's marketing team and got a deal to produce commercials with Michael Jordan marketing the air Jordan sneakers. Some may think of Spike Lee for the award nominations and the acclaim that his films received while others may simply think of how good the films were. I wonder though, how many people will realize how much he pushed the envelope with his films? Who will say that he opened a ton of doors for African American film directors? Maybe they'll wait until he has passed to say what a great man he was and how we should recognize him for his actions and his advances in America. If you read L&F then you know my theory is "why wait?". Why wait until someone has died to recognize them? I want to recognize Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee right now for everything that he has done for African American's on a whole in America. I remember the humorous character Mars Blackmon and I remember Do The Right Thing but what I also remember is that the setting for most of his movies is Brooklyn, New York; the borough that he grew up in. It's so easy for people to run away from their past, go somewhere new and create yourself in the image that you think people will accept. Its so easy for someone to simply become someone else when they achieve a certain level of success. Most people would distance themselves from the places that they grew up in and never mention the fact that they had to struggle. It's so easy for people to assimilate once they reach a certain level of success but I just want to say thank you to Spike Lee for being a positive role model. I want to thank Spike Lee for being a positive example and showing us all that you don't have to change who you are. I could have spoken about the numerous projects that Spike Lee has worked on and the endless deals that he has signed but instead I chose to speak of the reason's that I will remember Spike Lee.
Ladies and gentlemen I introduce to you: Donald. Donald is located somewhere in New York City and if you pay attention then your likely to see him anywhere that is trendy, fashionable or hip. He is one of the people that I have observed as being well dressed and is known for being consistently well dressed. That's an important factor because anyone can do it for a day or maybe even a week but in Donald's case it is consistent. One thing in particular that I noticed about his style is that he doesn't wear particularly flashy clothing so if you don't know your labels then you wouldn't be able to so readily detect exactly what it is that he is wearing. My sources tell me that he has been doing this since high school.
Get into some of Donald's looks:
Everyone knows that New York is one of the fashion capitols and if you want to claim the title of best dressed there are a lot of people that you have to out dress now you know that Donald Semerville is one of them.
There are so many people in the world that do things everyday that deserve recognition and will never get it. Why? They will never get that recognition because of people with ego's. People that can't show appreciation for what anyone else is doing but always want praise for what they are doing. Only when the person is retired or dead will they even mention that person. Where's the justification in that? If you knew that they were making major moves while they were alive why wait until they aren't doing it anymore or until they have passed away to praise them?
With that mind set I want to start acknowledging the fashionable people that are really making waves now that don't get the recognition that they should be getting. It will be called "Inspiration" because it has become clear to me now that these people inspire other people top buy the things they buy and wear the clothes that they wear. I have already done one female inspiration (Courtney) so stay tuned for the next "Inspiration" post.
Good day luv. How are you today? Oh that's good to hear, well I was actually just calling to let you know that you are sick. Yes and it is highly contagious so I'm going to have to quarantine you for a Nudie. Oh I'm sorry that means at least 6 months.
Her name is Courtney and young ladies this is for you so pay attention now. If you want to step your game up you need to do 3 easy things.
1) Open your mind
2) Read L&F daily
3) Make a list of females to channel when you put outfits together
(her shoe collection)
When you make that list Courtney just has to be on it. Why? She is one of the sickest young ladies that I have ever seen. I've been watching her from a distance for a while now and I've just been waiting on her to fall off or slip up just so I could say to myself that she isn't really that sick but that day has never come; it's like watching paint dry. She recently sold some of her designer bags simply because she had too many. At that point I said to myself this post is overdue.
If you want someone to inspire you to step your gear up this man might be one of the people on your list. When Bevin wake's up in the morning he gets dressed, thats very important because most of you get up and put together those articles of clothing that you consider worth being seen in and you might not realize it but that's where your mistake starts. The way you dress really determines how your day turns out. When you dress well, you look good and when you look good you feel good and people feel good about you. If your thinking in that light I guess that would make Bevin and people like him good karma power houses.
Allow me to assist you with the interpretation process. Slim cut pants which he chose to cuff due to the fact that he's wearing loafer's instead of shoes (didn't want the end's to drag). His shirt is a Brooklyn Circus white polo which is actually his size. Many of you buy polo shirts too big, if the shoulder piece is past your shoulder then its too big.
He accented the outfit with a vintage scarf which for his privacy reason's I will not disclose the name of the line. All you need to know is that it's sick and he has a lot more.
Oh and the loafers were LV leather loafers. Ladies and gentlemen this is on a regular day when he's going to work.
I mean if you don't like the life that you are living then go right ahead but I don't think that it would be wise for you to challenge him.
The only reason that blacks were oppressed was because we were tricked into believing that we were inferior. Everything that you've seen in entertainment from the inception of the motion picture was carefully put in place to serve as support to the idea that we are inferior. Children were raised not wanting to play with black dolls because they thought that the black doll was ugly. What was displayed to them in America as beautiful wasn't black. Then came independent thinkers like Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Chanel Iman, and Ajuma Nasanyana. These women knew in their minds that they were beautiful and they can achieve extraordinary things. No matter how many times Ms. Campbell makes the news for her outlandish behavior I still love her. I love all of my people and I believe that we can do anything that we want. You say no we wont but I say that if we get over feuding with each other over foolishness and realize what has been going on in America since our grand parents paid pennies for candy then yes Jay-Z, yes Will Smith, yes Sean Combs, yes Denzel Washington, yes Sidney Poitier, yes Dr. Cornell West, yes SoHo B, yes Coolness P, yes Brooklyn Circus, yes Vinnies Styles, Yes Cheese Wagon, yes Brooklyn, yes Obama.
A lot of women in NY are doing it but not quite like this. You can put that in quotations and post it anywhere I Jason Burke will go on record for making that statement and it will not be retracted.
Goldmine for Graham 09 event last night evoked something in people to come out and dress themselves for a tradition cocktail party (maybe it was part of our plan) but when Sham showed up everybody died. Women had lesbian moments and the guys were whispering like the women.
It goes without saying; this fit gave me a fit... Seriously Sick!
