What's New with the Foo?

doghouse said:
At this point you have to think his father in law has just given up.

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The extended pinky makes the shot
 
Someone over on SF just posted this thread started by Mafoofan back in 2010 in the "Gennaro Paone former Rubinacci tailor" thread:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/185341/i-should-never-have-entered-esquires-bdrm-contest#post_3319005

Ever since I was a finalist and appeared on the Today show, I can't escape discussing my clothes with acquaintances and friends now eye me up and down every time I see them. Even worse, they always look disappointed and skeptical. I wore a blue OCBD under a navy cashmere v-neck jumper and grey trousers with longwings to a holiday party; an acquaintance approached me with a confused look on his face, then stated: "You aren't very well dressed today." Friends keep track of what I wear and say things like "Isn't that the same jacket you wore last week?" and "Oh, I heard wingtips were out of style" and "That's so 80's!" Of course, they also ask for advice, which I try not to give. But then push comes to shove, and I make a recommendation. At least a dozen male friends have asked me what kind of shirts I like to wear casually. When I tell them I like Brooks Brothers OCBDs (and explain what those are), they grimace and point out in a pitying tone that they've already upgraded to Pink or Tyrwhitt. I'm sick of explaining what my "hankie" is for and why it doesn't match my tie. Everyone has asked me at least once where to buy a "cool pinstriped blazer" to wear with jeans. A good friend introduced me to his girlfriend for the first time and pointed out proudly that I was one of the "best-dressed men in America." She laughed and blurted out "But you dress like a dad!" Somewhat sheepishly coming to my defense, he explains that I dress "very unique." Every guy asks me for what I think about their clothes, but in a disingenuous, bragging manner, as if to make sure I know I didn't deserve to be a finalist because his jacket is Kiton/Brioni/Zegna/Armani/RLBL. I always politely say "Very nice. I like it." They follow-up with: "Do you know where I got it?" "Huh, I dunno." "It's a Kiton/Brioni/Zegna/Armani/RLBL." "Oh, cool. Good stuff." "What designer is yours?" "Oh, I had a tailor make it." "Oh . . . well, check out Kiton/Brioni/Zegna/Armani/RLBL. I got a gay friend who works at Bergdorf/Saks/Bloomingdales who says it's the absolute best." And the shoes. Oh god. People look at my shoes like I'm a homeless person with dirty cardboard strapped under my feet. No, they're not Gucci or Ferragamo. Yes, I know I can get them for what I paid for these. Shut up, shut up, shut up. Suddenly everyone's a critic and a fashion editor. It's not my self-esteem or confidence at stake, but my sanity. I don't like talking to people anymore because they can only seem to talk about what I'm wearing. Let this be a lesson to others.
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I must admit that I didn't previously have too much of an opinion about the Foo. Yes, I knew that he was opinionated and obsessive and that he'd frequently ask for advice and then entirely ignore everything that people said, but having read the Kabbaz thread on AAAC and now the above thread, I'm beginning to think that he's a seriously irritating person. Hopefully, that's just his internet persona and that he's less grating in real life.
 
What's so beautiful about his rant is that normal people would have just administered a slap to the face of the offending acquaintance, but Foo's arms won't reach that high.
 
Journeyman said:
Someone over on SF just posted this thread started by Mafoofan back in 2010 in the "Gennaro Paone former Rubinacci tailor" thread:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/185341/i-should-never-have-entered-esquires-bdrm-contest#post_3319005



I must admit that I didn't previously have too much of an opinion about the Foo. Yes, I knew that he was opinionated and obsessive and that he'd frequently ask for advice and then entirely ignore everything that people said, but having read the Kabbaz thread on AAAC and now the above thread, I'm beginning to think that he's a seriously irritating person. Hopefully, that's just his internet persona and that he's less grating in real life.
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That's what happens when you think so highly of yourself and pimp yourself in a national fashion show.
 
Journeyman said:
Matt Fan can, at times, be an interesting and entertaining poster, but he continually makes the mistake of thinking that his experience or interpretation of something is the only possible or acceptable way of experiencing or interpreting something, and thus disregards, or vehemently disagrees with, all other viewpoints.

As a result, I can't help but think that, to some extent at least, his frustrating experiences stem from his own stubbornness and inflexibility.

It's been both interesting and frustrating reading about his experiences with Oxxford, Borrelli, various Neapolitan tailors (including, of course, the notorious SF argument with Salvatore Ambrosi), Leica cameras, mid-century-modern couches, rugs, lamps, green calf leather breast wallets, bespoke Cleverly shoes and other bits and pieces.
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I was in an industry where sometimes I got as a potential client a dick as this guy and my policy was to show him the door no matter how much money he was willing to spend. My sanity and my pride has no price
 
Every time I see that picture I cringe. While he has top notch clothing his appearance would never allow him to win. Sad but true.

He could never be chosen to become a national sartorial poster boy
 
The fact that anyone in that picture won anything is an affront to society.
 
El Argentino said:
Surely he's not too short to win some sort of Japanese or Korean version...
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To be honest, he would probably be blown away by Japanese competition. Not sure about Korean style, Chorn could best comment.

I think Foo is short for any kind of Asian.
 
Sanchopanza said:
I don't think so, he would start to argue with the other kids on who has the best candies and he would be thrown out
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He would ask which candy is best
despite the fact that he already made his choice... and then he would show the other kids why their choices are worse than his
 
In other news.
In October 2014 the Foo visits gay Paree.
Followers of our hero and his adventures in purchasing the highly priced Veblenecessities of life that inspire shock and awe in forumites from Moscow (Idaho) to Paris (Texas)will no doubt be slightly worried that our mans experience may, sadly and perhaps inevitably, not end all that well. But stay with us dear reader, cast your cynical perspective aside and gaze, for a moment with rose colored glasses. With bespoke Tortoiseshell frames of course. Of the glasses more later. Join me in sending positive vibes to our man and our best wishes that, this time, at last, his fortunes will turn out just as he wants and deserves.

Lavabre Cadet is now part of Camille Fournet (the watch strap makers). The old Palais Royal shop is gone. Now, you have to order through the Camille Fournet shop on Rue Cambon. Marie Beyer is not with the company anymore.

Like Maison Bonnet, it is essentially a luxury/designer shopping environment. You are not meant to interface with anything but the finished products. There are no fittings for the gloves. They simply do a tracing and then make to order. I am slightly skeptical, as the woman helping me and in charge of glove orders didn't seem very confident. She couldn't really distinguish between hand and machine stitching. When I asked for my peccary gloves to be fully hand-stitched, she was confused and said she would note it in the order to see if the factory understands. Skins are limited to seasonal colors, which leaves gaping holes in selection. There was no brown peccary, for example, only navy blue, black, and light tan. However, the quality of the peccary was exceptional--much softer and more unblemished than what the other two Millau makers (Causse, Fabre) use. They still have kidskin as well, with a much larger selection of colors, but mostly very bright, bold ones more suited for women (cherry red, apple green, pinks, purples, etc.). I have a cognac kidskin pair on order, too.

It seems to me Camille Fournet is attempting to fashion itself (and newly acquired Lavabre Cadet) into a mini-Hermes. Customization is available, yes, but in a way geared toward the typical fashion buyer. It is a headache trying to stipulate options. Essentially, you pick from certain existing models sold RTW. If you want any changes, they push back and say they will ask the factory if it is possible before production. You ultimately get what you get.

That said, the quality still appears top-notch. Stitching is noticeably tighter and neater than what I've seen on any other gloves (Causse, Fabre, Merola, Chester Jefferies, etc.). Causse comes in second, but is even more fashion-oriented and with absolutely zero bespoke capability or interest.

Fingers crossed.

Sounds pretty good to me. Can't really see what could go wrong. Reputable vendor. Simple order. Gloves. Theres only one really constant elements in all these unfortunate disasters and thats the Foo - and it could not possibly be his fault that things go pear shaped. Could it.
Me I cant wait to see one of his vebleneccesities turn our satisfactorily.

But wait - December 2014. Hanukkah/Christmas/Festivus - surely nothing but joy and happiness can be in the air.

2 days ago - exciting news:

My bespoke Camille Fournet (Lavabre Cadet) gloves are waiting for me at home--excited to try them on!

A question is asked by a helpful admirer:

How many fittings?

The Foo replies

Evidently not enough. These are terrible.


Oh dear. I cannot believe this. What could have possibly gone wrong. Our risk assessment took into account all the risk factors. And theres only one common element in these continuing disasters. Il est inconcievable que notre héros doit être soumis à la suspicion dans ces indignités.
 
This is a fine example of igent fetishism. Sublime materials, irreproachable hand-made constructions, shitty useless fit.
 
I'm seriously curious why every endeavor the Foo seems to embark on ends in abject failure.
 
doghouse said:
I'm seriously curious why every endeavor the Foo seems to embark on ends in abject failure.
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Long list: trying to pass the bar, trying to get good career in investment banking, getting a green breast wallet, being Americas best dressed man, discriminated in a menswear shop in Chicago, discriminated when getting a handmade umbrella in Naples, something with oxxford being a disappointment, getting ambrosi pants, getting a chambray shirt, decorating his apartment, getting gloves. I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
 
Monkeyface said:
Long list: trying to pass the bar, trying to get good career in investment banking, getting a green breast wallet, being Americas best dressed man, discriminated in a menswear shop in Chicago, discriminated when getting a handmade umbrella in Naples, something with oxxford being a disappointment, getting ambrosi pants, getting a chambray shirt, decorating his apartment, getting gloves. I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
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Oh, there's lots more - his Ambrosi trousers (first pair was great, next few pairs took many, many months to make and didn't fit), his bespoke Borrelli shirts that had a couple of loose threads that hadn't been snipped off before they were given to him (loose threads, people!), his individualised Leica camera that wasn't quite as he ordered it for some reason or another, his GJ Cleverley shoes that had a side-seam when he hadn't expected a side-seam in that spot, and I'm sure that there are more. Many more.
 
Journeyman said:
Oh, there's lots more - his Ambrosi trousers (first pair was great, next few pairs took many, many months to make and didn't fit), his bespoke Borrelli shirts that had a couple of loose threads that hadn't been snipped off before they were given to him (loose threads, people!), his individualised Leica camera that wasn't quite as he ordered it for some reason or another, his GJ Cleverley shoes that had a side-seam when he hadn't expected a side-seam in that spot, and I'm sure that there are more. Many more.
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Oh yeah, almost forgot the shoes.
 
Great quip.

But I'm also sensing a convergence with the "contentedness" thread. He can't ever be satisfied with what he gets because it's his personality/persona to put himself above absolutely everything.

Also, who in their right mind commissions bespoke gloves? I'm pretty sure even royalty just get a size that fits.
 
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I'm no psychoanalyst, but I can't help but feel that Matt Fan would actually be better off if he didn't go the bespoke route and if he, instead, settled for off-the-rack clothes and shoes.

After all, it seems that he was happy with his "one shoe" Alden wingtip wardrobe for some years.

One of the problems with going bespoke is that, although it can often take time to get a really ideal result (due to a small element of trial and error and a series of improvements as you commission more), it costs a lot of money. Because it costs a lot of money, people often have very high expectations, which is entirely understandable. As a consequence, those two things - high expectations due to high cost, and the inevitable small errors and process of improvement - can clash. In Matt Fan's case, they have often clashed spectacularly.

I understand why Matt Fan seeks out bespoke items. Not only does it presumably make it easier to find clothes that fit him, as people who are small or large/tall often find it difficult to get decent off-the-rack stuff that fits well, but it also gives him access to a wide choice of materials and colours and, for someone who exhibits obsessive-compulsive tendencies, that's a great attraction.

However, the advantage of buying off-the-rack clothing is that what you see, is what you get. If it's slightly imperfect, you know it and you can decide whether you're fine with that. Also, you don't expect off-the-rack clothing to be absolutely perfect as it's made to fit thousands of people approximately, rather than being made to fit you precisely.

I have a friend who is rather like Matt Fan. He will spend forty-five minutes in a shop trying on a jacket. If he is wearing jeans and a polo shirt, he will deliberately go back home and change into a business shirt and trousers and go back to the shop to see how the jacket will look with his business clothes, instead of only being able to compare it to his casual clothes. He will obsessively consider how it will fit in with other items in his wardrobe and how he will use it. He has tried commissioning a few made-to-order items and it has ended badly each time. Even though the alleged defaults are not obvious to me or to others, he will complain that the fit is a bit off - it's too tight or too loose - or, if a shirt, that the collar is too large or that the collar points are too long. In a strange way, I think that the very nature of bespoke or MTO clothing, and his high expectations for it, set his MTO attempts up to fail as the items, at least on the first attempt, will never be able to live up to his expectations.

However, with off-the-rack clothing, even though he obsesses over it and spends a long time considering it, once he decides to buy it, he's happy with it. That is, I think, because he knows precisely what he's getting and, in that period when he's obsessing over it and trying it on in the shop with different shirts and so on, he's able to identify anything that he might not quite like and decide whether he can live with those things or not. He's able to live with OTR clothing being a little bit less than perfect - perhaps he'd prefer a slightly different weight, or a slightly different weave, or perhaps the lapels could be very slightly wider - because he hasn't commissioned it to be made for him and thus he doesn't expect it to be perfect.

Maybe Matt Fan should go back to OTR clothes and accessories and give bespoke a miss. He'll quite possibly be happier and more relaxed.
 
this

Thruth said:
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2. Otherwise intelligent men who in the quest to dress well spend oodles on suits and discuss measurements in increments of millimetres while they will order MTO shoe without understanding fit only to sell them on the B&S at a loss and then repeat the process over and over. The sheer number of "MTO Grail shoe doesn't fit" ads are staggering
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I don't think Foo orders MTO shoes, walker. It's all bespoke for him, which arguably, should fit better than RTW/MTO.
 
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