Yes you’re seeing that right: we’re SuperWhoLock.
Most people my age have admitted to purging their old socal accounts. They’d archive old IG photos. Facebook posts were cleaned as much as possible. And old Tumblrs were completely wiped out. Not me. I love Tumblr.
I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Tumblr. I’m not just talking about menswear. A platform that was build on letting you post original things as well as repost other people’s was a quite a fantastical place. As a result, your blog was a reflection of who you are, both in what you were up to and what you spent your time doing and consuming. Some people went all in on a subculture or only joined for specific niches: 1D, furries, #menswear. What made my experience interesting was that I reblogged it all in one place with no separation. I also used it like a twitter, diary-ing all of my misadventures in love and friendship all throughout high school and college. And if you’re a regular follower of my Tiktok and IG (specifically my stories), it’s clear that they take after how I used my Tumblr.
It is for that reason that I refuse to delete it. Granted, it is private and only accessible on desktop, but it’s still there. For the purposes of menswear it’s great! It’s proof that my taste has been relatively unchanged (ivy/trad, Apparel Arts) for nearly a decade, save for some executional honing. It’s also fun to see how I dressed prior to getting into menswear. Perhaps if I never felt the call of the Golden Era, I would’ve remained a nerdy hipster, perhaps with a dash of theater kid and cosplayer otaku thrown in.
The thing is that all of that is still here. I will forever be that guy— it’s just wrapped in drapey cloth, foulard ties, and cordovan shoes (though you could argue that with my dandy style, it’s obvious that I am those things). I still try to be that guy, not in a Pick Me way or to stir the pot, but to simply honor the kid that spent hours on Tumblr and talking to people all over the world on Skype. I enjoy social media today but nothing will ever beat the pure wholesomeness (and occasional angst) of what it was like to be on Tumblr.
That’s why for my 29th birthday, I decided to have a Tumblr themed party. I specifically called it Dashcon in order to honor the spectacular failure of one of the first tumblr conventions ever. It also happened to be Dashcon’s 10th anniversary!
As I near the end of my twenties, it’s only natural for me to be nostalgic for things that occurred over a decade ago in my life. And since the past two years have been about “returning” with returns to Ren Faire and Anime Expo as well as literally repeating outfits from my past, this theme just makes sense. So here we are, a party meant to bring together hipsterdom, fandom, indie sleaze, SuperWhoLock, and a healthy dose of the late aughts and early 2010s attire. The sheer invocation of youth and naiveté is quite a contrast to last year’s Slutty Menswear theme.
What’s even funnier is that all of my friends were all for this. Most of them were people I met post-grad school and yet it seems I’ve found kindred souls who had similar experiences on Tumblr. This is a contrast to literally every fashion mfer mutual who heard about my party; they all assumed that Tumblr = #menswear. I guess we occupied different parts of the internet. This was meant to show exactly where I came from.
Picking an outfit for the party was a bit tough. Should I have worn what I wore back then? If that was the case, it could be something similar to Abed or Big Bang Theory, with some nerdy graphic t shirt, a cardigan, and skinny jeans. Or maybe this would be wear #menswear could make a comeback. Nah, I didn’t own any of those clothes any more (save for some Star Wars tees) and I didn’t feel like doing that again. It’s the same reason why I opted not to do Swagapino. Even though I remember being incredibly envious of the coolness that radiated from my Pinoy compatriots back in the day, I just didn’t feel like buying or searching too hard for the proper OBEY hat and shirt.
Instead, I decided to cosplay Sherlock Holmes, specifically the BBC one. Yes, it’s an easier one to do as a menswear guy, but it also means a lot to me since the show was an iconic part of my adolescence. In fact, before menswear, I would wear elements of his attire (dress shirt, blazer, coat, and scarf) in order to send up my love of the show as well as the pieces themselves. It’s quite similar to how I approach menswear today.
In fact, I actually did a full cosplay of Sherlock in college, pairing my black trench with a Purple Shirt of Sex. It probably doesn’t come across right, due to my scarf being light grey (instead of navy), the short length of my coat, as well as my aughts fauxhawk. The latter detail is quite funny considering that my naturally wavy hair is actually pretty close to Sherlock’s hair in the show! So doing the cosplay now, with a long coat (worn only for photos because its fucking hot), blue scarf, thrifted purple shirt, and proper hair really means something to me. Its proof that while some things change, other things do stay the same.
Even if the show (after season two) is pretty bad.
As you can see from the photos, people had a great time with the theme. Whether it was swagapino, twee, or a fandom cosplay, they all did their looks amazingly. It’s almost a testament to the expressive nature of clothes, as each fandom and subculture has its own coded garments and “uniforms”. In order to do the look (or the 2010s era in general), you’ve really got to style the right items. It’s no different than how I approach dressing when I’m not at a costume party!
My friends certainly get that, even if they aren’t capital-F Fashion mfers. Like I said before, my friends are kindred spirits, with each of them having dealt with the pangs of youth through blogging and expressing themselves on Tumblr. They all cosplayed like the fandoms they enjoyed, the subcultures they identified with, or simply what they actually looked like back the 2010s. With our attire, we partied the night away with Arctic Monkeys, Young the Giant, and Lana Del Ray blasting on the Bluetooth speakers. Seeing everyone that night almost made me tear up. It was the party (and friend group) I had always wanted.
You see, each time I revisit old Tumblr, my masochistic self likes to look at my #personal posts. And boy is it sad. There’s so much angst and bitterness, stemming from how alone I felt. I did have a [small] handful of school and church friends (not a lot mind you), but like I mentioned in my Occasion article, we seldom saw each other outside of those places. That’s what happens when you live cities apart with no car (I didn’t drive until college because that’s when I turned 16). There’s also the fact that my school/church mates were also into different things (which is fine!). When it came to diving into what I personally liked, Tumblr was there waiting for me. In fact, the platform was where I was able to expand my friendships (and even find “love”) when “real life” was lacking. But I still felt alone, as I am too self-aware and will always think of the Internet as “fake”.
But almost a decade later, I’m happy to say that I’ve found my people. In person no less! This party is proof that I just needed time (and the agency that comes with adulthood) to make it happen. The souls I was searching for are now here, celebrating their Tumblr years with me in my mom’s house by belting tunes and debating who was the better Doctor. I love the fact that each and everyone of them went Full Send on their costumes and got into the spirit. I’m very lucky to have each of them in my life!
This party isn’t just meant for me to celebrate a year of life but to honor another year of friendship with some of the most amazing people in the world. It’s also a way for each of us to honor who we were and honestly, who we still are. Even if that means embracing our cringe. That’s why we’re friends, isn’t it?
-end of blog post (now enjoy some pictures)-
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Always a pleasure,
Ethan
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a little bit of rest 
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