There are a few classic styles of dress, templates which form the basis of the modern wardrobe. One of my favorites is what I call The Oscar Madison.
Walter Matthau, the perennial comedic grouch had an amazingly simple style in The Odd Couple where he played the grumpy, sloppy New York sportswriter Oscar Madison opposite Jack Lemmons' Felix Unger (FU to his friends).
Canvas basketball shoes - properly Converse, a loose fit pair of khaki pants, a grey t-shirt, a grey sweat shirt, a baseball cap, white towelling socks.
It's possibly one of the most understated and unassuming styles of dress ever - worn by Oscar Madison in a kind of anti-style way, with each piece of clothing begging to see an ironing board, by way of an overdue visit to a washing machine. But it doesn't have to be that way; as a template it can be worn neat and pristine - it can be worn as the freshest look ever. It can be fucked with - different coloured t-shirts, logo's, different coloured khaki's and so on...worn with a shirt, or a coach jacket...the potential variations never end...A stunning off-shoot of this template is what you could call the LA Lowrider style.
While others who have worked variations of this wardrobe template include the likes of James Dean, Woody Allen and Hunter S Thompson, one of the best exponents of this approach to menswear in the UK is Kevin from Bond, aka KJ. Kevins' approach is often to wear an Oxford BD shirt with it or a printed T instead of a plain one...
An influential supporter of urban London's creative community and a true streetwear pioneer, he's been surrounded by brands such as Tenderloin, the 100's, Stussy, A.in.T, Twelve Bar, Crooks and Castles, Staples and many, many others for years. Kev, over that time seems to have made a Zen-like discovery and arrived at the purest and most essential aspect of the streetwear aesthetic...
Wardrobe Template 1 is understated and effortless...ironically nothing like Oscar Madison, the Walter Matthau character after which it's named.
www.bond-international.co.uk
