The Official Dieworkwear Appreciation Thread

[justridiculous]

I wish I could take credit for that, but that was Jesse's entry. I've been listening to their music since putting up that post yesterday though. Really dig them.

Do you know of other groups like that?

Kamasi Washington was already noted, also Yesterday's New Quintent/Young Jazz Rebels/any other jazz stuff from Madlib (the new stuff from Jahari Massamba Unit album is dope), Karriem Riggins, The Robert Glasper Experiment, Lettuce, Flying Lotus, Surprise Chef, Tom Misch, Skinshape, and Kiefer, to name a few.

 

[Cheshire symposium]

'Black Focus' was an amazing record a few years ago.

 

[Reginald Bartholomew]

I wish I could take credit for that, but that was Jesse's entry. I've been listening to their music since putting up that post yesterday though. Really dig them.

Do you know of other groups like that?

That band has a few other things kicking around. The drummer on that track, Yussef Dayes, recorded an album with Kamal Williams called Black Focus that touches on that vibe (though the standout is a little more abstract; Kamal's solo work has some good stuff as well, but the mixing is suboptimal), and has a few singles floating around (For My Ladies, Othello, and Yesterday Princess), plus a bunch of live sessions. Mansur Brown, the guitar player, did an album that is ok, but this live version of Mashita takes a sketch on the album track and makes it ******* aces. Alfa Mist, the keyboard player, has a few albums (that are pretty hit or miss for me, the songs with vocalists just never work for me), and just did a fantastic spacy cover of Eddie Henderson's Galaxy for a Blue Note compilation.

For that UK scene in general, there's a ton of stuff coming out that is interesting, and related, though not all quite the same in feel. There's Kokoroko for that vibe plus Afrobeat - Abusey Junction is a real downtempo standout. Robohands' first album was a similar fusion thing, melded with 90s electronica and 60s production values. For something that really turns up the spiritual jazz influence, there's Maisha and Shakaba and the Elders (Shakaba Hutchings also has a band, The Comet is Coming, that can go from tripped out to punked up, and Sons Of Kemet who have more of an Afrobeat feel).

 

[UrbanComposition]

Years ago the Brand New Heavies released a complication album Heavy Rhyme Experience that had some great songs from Grand Puba, The Pharcyde, and others. A bit dated but still good.

 

[FlyingHorker]

Loden coats are weird. I don't like the shoulder set up at all.

 

[Texasmade]

So are balcamaan coats but they’ve been discussed for what feels like 3 months now.

 

[Thin White Duke]

That A shaped silhouette is not flattering at all. Makes a slim man look fat. Ditto all these raglan shoulder - bal overcoats that everyone’s got a boner for these days.

Also sick to death of seeing that Black Santa model everywhere!?

 

[dieworkwear]

I really like A-line coats. Mark recently put up a photo that I think shows how nice an A-line coat can look, especially in motion. The coat moves like a bell when you walk. But it's hard to show this off in photos.

 

[Thin White Duke]

Oh you disappoint me. This was a key opportunity for you to post up yet another picture of that snaggle toothed chain smoking Japanese fella and you blew it!

 

[FlyingHorker]

So are balcamaan coats but they’ve been discussed for what feels like 3 months now.

Touché.

That A shaped silhouette is not flattering at all. Makes a slim man look fat. Ditto all these raglan shoulder - bal overcoats that everyone’s got a boner for these days.

Also sick to death of seeing that Black Santa model everywhere!?

The appeal of it sounds like the anti-thesis to tailoring, it really isn't flattering.

It flares out at the bottom which looks feminine. I hated balmacaans and felt Derek was bludgeoning us with Bal content. They're definitely weird and have strange shoulders.

Now, I accept the above, but I don't think I've ever had this much enjoyment out of a piece of clothing in 2 years. I'm basically a walking, flowing blob of tweed and wouldn't have it any other way, the silhouette is just plain fun.

It's technically part of "classic menswear", but it feels like a more versatile and professionally acceptable version of streetwear.

Edit: To clarify, I no longer hate balmacaans, I'm now always down for more Bal content.

 

[K. Nights]

I think loden coats are great. The shade of green and the long pleat in the back really do it for me. I assume the shoulder construction is meant to give more range of motion since the coat was originally used for hunting

 

[thatboyo]

Raglan shoulders >

also balmacaans don’t need a belt

 

[dieworkwear]

Those traditional Loden coats can look a bit strange in real life. Because of how the shoulder and sleeve are constructed, you get a T-shape across the shoulder line. You can see this in the photo of Jason above. It can look strange at first if you're not used to it, as a lot of tailoring these days -- soft-shouldered suits and sport coats, and then raglan sleeved overcoats -- have a very natural and rounded shoulder line.

Michael Jackson's famous red leather suit was constructed with a similar silhouette across the shoulders. Not exactly the same thing, but you can see how the ends come off the shoulder.

Deborah Landis is the woman who constructed Michael's leather suit for that music video. She's also the woman behind Raiders of the Lost Arc, Animal House, and The Blues Brothers.

When asked how did she come up with that silhouette, she said that Michael was supposed to have a bit of sexual tension with the woman in the video (as you remember, they were on a movie date, and then Michael turns into a monster). But Michael in real life was kind of diminutive in size. He was 5'9" and about 130 pounds at the time. So she wanted to build him up with the clothes -- slim trousers to elongate his figure, then big shoulders and a V-shape at the front. You can see how those shoulders build him up in a way that wouldn't be possible with a rounder shoulder line. (She also made the suit red to make him stand out from the black background, and make him look menacing).

I prefer a rounder overcoat shoulder on myself. You can sometimes get Loden coats with a rounder, more natural shoulder, but the traditional Lodens come with that shoulder construction for hunting. It's intended for movement, but as a side effect, it also gives you a stronger shoulder line like Landis did with Michael.

 

[slows2k]

I really like A-line coats. Mark recently put up a photo that I think shows how nice an A-line coat can look, especially in motion. The coat moves like a bell when you walk. But it's hard to show this off in photos.

Brogue menswear has a grey version of that coat from a prior season that I *almost* jumped on during their black friday weekend sale. Now I'm kind of wishing I had; the shape is so good...

Loden coats: I love the long pleat in the back with the A-line silhouette, but yeah those shoulders just really don't do it for me. Visually the "A" shape comes up to a broad horizontal line instead of one's head forming the point. Gotta be raglan shoulders with that shape.

Team all bals all the time (TWSS).

 

[SimonC]

I’m down with Loden coats, not least because they are a classic (albeit contextual) design. The fabric, for anyone who’s not tried it, is also amazing - relatively lightweight, waterproof and with a good amount of warmth.

I have an old David Cenci Loden coat in navy that is a perfect travel coat; handles all sorts of weather, but light enough to just throw over my arm if it gets warmer, and no matter how roughly you stuff it into an overhead locker it won’t crease.

All of which makes me sad because it’s in the office at the moment, somewhere I’ve not been for 8 months nor been travelling anywhere either....