This is a recap-ish of the latest podcast episode. You can listen to the episode below before or after you read. That’s because I tend to expand on topics from the pod as well as straight-up write about things that we did not discuss. The choice is yours in how you want to proceed!
- MJ’s EMT Update – 11:09
- Ethan’s Cousin’s Birthday – 23:09
- New Spencer Inspo – 29:20
- Ethan’s New Tuxedo – 41:51
- Oscar’s Talk – 52:29
Hello, dear reader! Are you ready for another blog post full of disparate menswear-adjacent experiences that I loop together because I don’t feel like any of them are deserving of individual blog posts, yet are still important enough to record on this aging blog? No? Too bad!
Before I begin, I do suggest you listen to the pod proper before reading, mainly because the pod is where MJ and Spencer get to share more about what they’re up to! Spencer talks about the upcoming summer season, his updated approach to dressing, and the latest sources of inspo he’s been pulling from. As for MJ,
For me, I’ve got a few things. Well, more than a few things!
I recently went to my cousin’s birthday, where I noticed something interesting: all of the young guys were wearing wide-legged (or at least, full-cut) dress pants. Big pants have, of course, been trending among Zoomers and Gen Alpha, but I almost always see them worn casually; think jeans, chinos, and work pants. I hadn’t yet seen it worn formally, as most of them still default to slim-fit suits for External Occasions, like weddings and such (it’s just what they’ve come to think of as a neutral suit). Seeing a wide-leg suit here, worn with prom-adjacent styling (matching ties and flowers), was, like I said, interesting.
When I asked them about it, I learned that they weren’t wearing suits at all but a “suit”, made up of mismatched jackets and pants. I then saw that these jackets were indeed the slim-fit, narrow-lapeled garments that they already owned and grew up with, or were simply the ones available at local mall department stores. However, none of them wanted to wear slim-fit pants, which is why all of them went to the thrift store to buy some “vintage” ones to get that slouchy fit. When worn with a black jacket, it’s hard to tell; I’m sure their parents were just happy that they weren’t in jeans and sneakers. The youth did what they had to do to prioritize their aesthetic taste. I’m proud of them!
In other news, Rob of Joyride Vintage (one of my favorite vintage stores in SoCal) has now officially opened his stand-alone millinery: Garrahan Hats! He and his pals hosted a fun little gathering to celebrate the grand opening down in Old Towne Orange— which I drove over an hour to attend. When your pals make a big step, you gotta support, especially when it’s artisan craft!
The Grand Opening party for Garrhan was wholesome and fun, full of a few familiar faces from the vintage scene that I haven’t seen in years! One in particular was Damian Monsivais, who also specializes in hats, though his are the newsboy cap/workwear type. Like Joyride/Garrhan, Monsivais has also expanded, with a new storefront (I still need to go) and re-offering workpans alongside his caps. I also had a great time talking with Brendon Kent, who is a relative newcomer to vintage style (I say that because he’s young) and was at the party offering up caricatures while wearing a peak lapel suit, hand-painted tie, and a natty straw boater. It was certainly a pleasure to come home with a drawing from Brendon!
Locals will already know that Rob and the guys at Joyride have been making hats for a minute, serving menswear enthusiasts (of all kinds) down in OC, or to those willing to make the drive. And like any good milliner worth their salt, they do everything, from various fedora styles and western hats to breezy straw optimos, in addition to doing occasional repair work (if their order backlog isn’t too high). If you’ve been to Joyride in months prior, you’ve probably seen their little hat station behind the counter. As this side of the business has taken off, they’ve now moved to a standalone atelier on the other side of the corner, allowing Rob ample space to serve his hatting clientele while giving more retail space back to the iconic vintage shop. A big part of that was because Garrahan had acquired DBarJ Hats and their extensive collection of vintage blocks and other millner equipment; Rob apparently now owns four conformateurs!
I’ve actually commissioned one hat from Garrahan before, but it was before I really figured out my desired proportions from headwear. Just because I like the idea of a tall-crowned, medium-short brimmed, 30s-style fedora doesn’t mean it’ll look good on me. Of course, I now own three other bespoke hats (from Wellema) and don’t really need more, especially not for the sake of “content”. However, I have indeed used Garrahan to restore and even reshape my vintage hats! One early project was my vintage Stetson Stratoliner, which was cleaned and given a new sweatband (which in true Ethan form, has a silly reference stamped on the inside). The other was reshaping a big-ass cowboy hat from being a bit Bob Dylan to something more akin to 20s westernwear (or frontier wear). It is a bit big, so perhaps I’ll finally commission something real (and interesting) from Garrhan. I’m also feeling like it’s time for a new Optimo, as my old one has finally started to crack and misshape itself after years of wearing.
If you ever find yourself in Orange County, I definitely recommend a visit to both Joyride and Garrahan, as they are not just fantastic stores but were quite formative in my vintage upbringing! You should also just go around Old Towne Orange in general, as it’s full of great antique malls that have more than a few gems. [Bookman, a secondhand book store a few miles away, is also worth a perusal!]
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to do any of my OC rounds because I had a wedding to get to.
I really must be one of the few people who actually puts mileage on their tuxedo and gets to significantly reduce its cost-per-wear (not that such a metric is actually important). This is all because I recently had the opportunity to wear my new tux (or pieces of it) to two different black tie events— and neither of them was for the Oscars.
The first was, you guessed it, an evening with the LA Phil. I had been waiting in anticipation of this particular concert for weeks because John Williams’ trumpet concerto was on the docket.
As a huge fan of John Williams, I’m a big proponent of his non-film work and have always found it unfortunate that such work doesn’t get programmed often, if at all…well, outside of his compositions for the Olympics (yes, he’s done more than the 1984 fanfare). He’s actually written a fair amount of concertos (bassoon, tuba, and recently the piano, to name a few), each using the expressive prowess and virtuosity not just of the highlighted instrument but of the entire orchestra. People expecting the nostalgic, melody-driven approach of his film scores will be disappointed with his concert music, as it leans much more “artistic” and “abstract” by comparison. Williams is much more than Star Wars and Harry Potter.
I’ve actually only been to a performance of Williams’ non-film work once before: the cello concerto, played a year ago with Yo-Yo Ma himself (for whom the piece was written). It was a wholesome evening with my father, the only person who was down to join me, as I was only able to obtain very last-minute tickets that were quite expensive. A traditional tux rig was my outfit of choice, simply because I wanted to fully honor Williams; I also think it’s fine to make time for non-creative evening wear (a theme that will pop up in my Oscars discussion).
For the trumpet concerto, I decided to have a bit more fun for two reasons. The first was that I wanted to pay tribute to the white dinner jacket that Williams has been known to wear back when he was conducting; he’s also known for wearing a black turtleneck and grey pants, but that’s far too casual for this sort of thing (at least for me). The second reason was that I was already set on doing a normal rig for the other evening wear event I was attending, which was the next day.
And so, I went with evening wear separates: my Suit Supply cream DB suit jacket and my new SuSu tux trousers (which I’ll get into in a moment). Surprisingly, I’ve only done the cream “dinner jacket” a few times: Jay’s birthday, with madras trousers to watch E.T live-to-picture, and with black flared jeans on my 30th birthday. Just one of those Occasions was with proper tuxedo trousers, and so, I decided that for this performance of the Williams’ Trumpet Concerto (played by Thomas Hooten, principal trumpet of the LA Phil), I would play the separates rig straight. I really liked how it looked (I don’t know what else I expected), and it certainly worked to shout out my favorite composer…as well as James Bond and Indiana Jones, according to the bartender at my nightcap. This was due to my conspicuous inclusion of a red boutonniere, something I haven’t worn since the time I dressed up as Tex Avery’s Big Bad Wolf. It’s a bit silly and not something I typically do, but it felt right against the cream jacket!
I find it quite funny that the first actual wearing of my SuSu tux was just the trousers. That’s okay, because I got to wear the full tux the very next evening at one of the most unique birthday parties I had ever been to. This was the same day as the Garrahan opening, which means that I had to hightail it back to LA and swap out my bib shirt for, well, a different bib shirt.
Thanks to Jose, who inspired the discussion on the Aperture of Acceptability, I was invited to attend his friends’ wedding-themed dual-birthday party. They were going Full Send: they rented a venue, the groom and bride (whose birthdays it was) wrote vows, a friend was to wear a headset to act as a stuffy wedding planner, and Jose was chosen to officiate. I was invited as Jose’s plus-one, but I ended up joining the party by serving as the wedding photographer. This was a much-needed position as they decided, in true wedding fashion, to have a phone bucket.
Sounds like a fun time, right? It gets even better when you hear the dress code: all or nothing, as in dress the fuck up…or wear lingerie (nothing). Amazing! Everyone really leaned into it, from the wedding party to the guests, all featuring truly fantastic ensembles that I can’t share here. With such a celebratory and ultimately absurd Occasion (what a way to celebrate another year of life!), I couldn’t have asked for a better outing to wear my new Susu tuxedo.
Looking back, I could have definitely done something a bit more in service of the “or nothing” theme. I still own a vintage black mesh tee that would have been killer under a tuxedo. But no, I decided to play it straight (lol) and wear a normal black tie rig. My attire was straightforward and similar to what I did for NYE as well as to the Phil in the last post: a DB tux, a Marcella bib wing collar shirt, and opera pumps; I also wore vibrant red socks for a much-needed pop of fun, as well as to evoke love. Jose also went traditional (he wore an SB peak), and honestly, if you consider the roles we played for the party, our attire ended up providing an air of sincerity to the kangaroo wedding. A guest even asked if I was a real wedding photographer hired for the party, and if I expected the different twists and turns to happen (yes, there was a very big objection scene). That’s how you know you made the right choice! Maybe someday in the future, I’ll break out the mesh shirt as evening wear.
As you can tell, I was pretty pleased with my new tux, but if you’re a member of my Patreon Discord, you’ll know that I hemmed and hawed about keeping it.
Yes, it was made to the same overall measurements as my previous SuSu DB suits (which all fit immaculately), but there were two issues. The first likely stemmed from the one change that Jack and I did: we marked the trousers as a “short” as we had heard from a SuSu mutual that doing so would have the pattern be more “taut” in the top block of the trousers without changing any measurements. As I mentioned in a previous article, this made the trousers come in about 2” too short; an easy fix for a [grey] business suit with cuffs, but a bit apprehensive for a dinner suit which has a plain hem. I had them let it out completely, and it’s fine, though my menswear-sickness-addled brain may sometimes think it’s just a tad short.
The other issue was that, apparently, the SuSu DB tuxedo now defaults to their bellied lapel when doing a DB; it wasn’t an option I picked when placing my order. This was very unfortunate, as one of the main reasons I even decided to go with Suit Supply was that I liked their largely horizontal peak lapel. It’s not bad, and there are certainly examples of 30s tuxes with more of a belly, but it did throw me off. I had a small window to return the tux, but outside of the lapel (and the trousers, which I lengthened), I did like the garment. My Fugue tux was still good, but after owning my SuSu suits for nearly a year, it was clear that I just liked having the 4-ply cloth over a normal worsted (the Fugue one was a twill); having the appropriate long fly definitely helped me enjoy the SuSu more.
So I kept it! And honestly, it really has grown on me. Thanks to my use of a wing collar shirt (and the fact that the jacket is 4×2), it doesn’t feel like it’s too modern, which was my fear with bellies. I guess in that way, it would look great to be styled as the 70s, if I ever felt like it!
In any case, you’ll see this new tux in action once more as I continue my Phil season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Turangalîla-Symphonie and Dvorák & Korngold are on my docket, though we’ll see if I decide to go with separates for those! Who knows, maybe another black tie shindig will rear its head. I wouldn’t be surprised!
Let’s finish this blog post by recapping Hollywood’s biggest night: The Oscars!
I was incredibly excited for this latest awards season for two reasons. One, because a friend was hosting a big watch party with a theme (dress in black tie or like a 2026 movie), and I’ve only done such a thing one other time. And two, because this was the first time I’ve seen all of the Best Picture Nominees. I was invested and ready to see if my predictions would come true…all through the spectacle of live TV.
Because this was quite a special day (for myself and my fellow Angelinos), I really got into the festivities. By that, I mean that I actually was able to watch the red carpet preshow, taking note of the various evening fits donned by celebs and filmmakers alike. In previous years, I would simply go through publications’ recaps (or the various takes posted by menswear compatriots on IG and TikTok), but not this time; I was going to experience it live. And you know what? I thought it was decent!
Most of the time, the menswear at the Oscars leaves much to be desired. I’m not talking about the intentional departures from traditional black tie (though some of them miss the mark, IMO), but rather the “regular” black tie looks. It especially stings since the world doesn’t really give us many opportunities to see black tie being worn out and about. At this point, I only see it when compatriots in New York take it upon themselves to don evening wear on their own terms; making your own Occasions is always the move.
This time around, I was pleasantly surprised at seeing traditional black tie done well! I saw proper dinner jackets, DB tuxes, self-tied bowties, and a handful of pumps and slippers for good measure. Some may call these outfits boring or say that the other, more “interesting” fits are more deserving of discussion, but I found them definitely an improvement from other Oscars fits I’ve seen. Just compare Will Arnett’s attire this year to what he wore in 2024! Perhaps stylists are finally drawing inspiration from classic menswear sources! It’s just nice to see evening wear played straight, especially because “black tie” now means “literally wear a black necktie” instead of, well, evening wear.
Of course, I also enjoyed a handful of the creative approaches to evening wear. I spied a lot of tunics and long dinner coats in place of suit-style jackets, shown particularly by Ethan Hawke (good) and Jacob Elordi (meh). It’s a move that feels both western-y and Victorian/Edwardian, and almost feels like a natural extension of the 60s-70s attitude (an era that dipped into both of those things at times) that we’ve seen across various formal galas over the past five years or so. Overall, I felt that the creative looks simply felt more tasteful than previous years. Maybe I’ve expanded my own appreciation…or maybe designers just have a more Ethan-friendly execution this time (as if my own opinions matter).
I’m not going to be adding any of these to my own inspiration albums (outside Appelhans’ Safincore look), but it’s nice to be able to look at a celebrity-focused event and actually enjoy the clothes. I do think there’s a bit of rose-colored glasses going on since I experienced consumed these fits in real-time, but I think that’s a good thing!
The other part of Oscars night was the big watch party hosted by my friend Zoe. It ended up being quite a big to-do, as she had rented a beautiful living room with a huge TV, which came in handy due to a sizeable turnout. And like I said earlier, we were all encouraged to dress up either in evening wear or in service of one of the films nominated at the show— or at least a movie from 2025. As someone who loves dissecting movie style and gathering some sort of inspo (dare I say, some Style and Direction?) from it, I was excited and had been looking forward to this for weeks…despite not knowing what I was going to do.
Black tie was off the table— I already did that for two days straight!
Even though nothing will ever beat Lenny and the abandoned Snoopy plush (a GOAT-ed movie cosplay), this season did abound with more than a few menswear-friendly options to choose from. Was the move to go full Victorian Gothic and do something Frankenstein-y? (I can’t believe we forgot to cover that film on the blog/pod. The costuming was so good, and their resultant Oscar was certainly deserved!) How about going Train Dreams and do the 2020s-does-2014-does 1918 heritage workwear? There was also the casual 70s summer attire of Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent. All were good potentials, but they didn’t feel like “enough”: The Secret Agent was too simple (and I don’t own true 70s shirts), I wasn’t sure if Casey was going to finish my denim chore coat on time (and my other chore coats don’t really work for true workwear), and James had already decided that he was going to be Victor. If you’re wondering why Sinners wasn’t a contender, let me just say that I don’t own a red fedora or a blue newsboy cap (or any newsboy cap for that matter). If you can’t already tell, I like striving for accuracy. In the end, I dressed up as another insufferable protagonist with main character syndrome who has a closet quite similar to mine: Marty Mauser.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as I’ve been pretty vocal about how much I love the costuming in Marty Supreme. Everything is incredibly accurate, which adds to the immersive chaos of the film. And while there isn’t anything too Apparel Arts or dandy, there are a lot of subtle moves that make the costume design quite special to me. I was particularly taken by the sportswear in the competition scene; the vintage preppy meets-sportswear/Olympics aesthetic isn’t something we see worn among vintage circles, let alone on the big screen. Most people just like vintage sweatshirts and hoodies. I wanted to honor that look and let people know that spearpoint polos exist– and that deck shoes and trousers are an incredible look!
It helps that I already owned those things: a black 30s style spearpoint polo from Cathcart (which I’ve owned for nearly a decade, back when they were SJC), charcoal grey pleated trousers, navy deck shoes (Sperry cloud cvos), and most importantly, wire frame glasses. This would have been fine, but I wanted to feel even more Marty. As you can see from the inspo photo, his competition polo features a USA “shield” patch (with 13 stars) on his breast pocket. I needed to include this in order to firmly dress like Marty.
Unfortunately, shipping wouldn’t net me the patch in time, and I couldn’t find it at my local stores. My girlfriend aptly suggested I draw it instead, so I did exactly that with acrylic paint markers on a scrap of muslin that she provided me. She then loosely handstitched it to the breast of my polo. And you know what? It really made the look! I decided to keep it going and draw USA letterman patches to sew onto my blue sweatshirt; the one Marty wears in the movie is so good (especially with the wide ribbing), but there was no way I’d find a similar one in time. I think it came out really well, with both the polo and the sweat being almost Bode-esque in their/DIY attitude (except mine really is homemade). Everyone really enjoyed my look, though they did all say that this just felt like I was wearing a regular outfit (which is honestly true).
Of course, I was far from the only one who dressed up. A few attendees were in suits and dresses (and looked gorgeous), but most people cosplayed (with regular clothes) as the films from this past Oscars season. I loved it.
James and Melyka independently showed up as Victor Frankenstein, complete with the wavy and messy hair and a red neckwear; James even wore his burgundy brocade dinner jacket to evoke all the red in the film’s costuming. Our host, Zoe, rocked feather headwear and a green hoop skirt dress to send up Mia Goth’s Elizabeth from the same film. To do his best Robert Grainier impression, Serhan dyed his chore coat blue and paired it with a workshirt and bandana. Another attendee wore a red dress and did her hair like Jessie Buckley in Hamnet. One Battle After Another was sent up by my girlfriend, who dressed up as Willa via a thrifted blazer, prom-ish skirt, and combat boots, and another dude who wore camo fatigues tucked into combat boots to be Lockjaw. On a similar end of the political spectrum was Eddington’s Sheriff Joe Cross, who was what Spencer decided to dress as, mainly because he had those clothes and felt that the movie was snubbed at the Academy Awards. I also spied two other Martys, one in my same outfit and another with a ribbed tank and unbuttoned shirt, from when the protagonist flees from the cops; I liked that the latter wore Salomons, as that’s what Timmy Chal wore when filming that scene (movie magic). But my favorite would have to be the attendees who dressed up as Sinners: there was a group costume that featured a Stack and Cornbread as well as two others who showed up as Mary and Remmick. When it comes to a themed party, we always go all out!
You could really tell that everyone at the party loved movies. I later learned that a few of the attendees actually worked in entertainment, which honestly shouldn’t surprise me, living in LA. Everyone was incredibly invested in the ceremony, with all of us vocalizing our reactions not just to the wins and losses, but to each of Conan’s bits (which I loved, especially because they felt quite Comedy Bang Bang-esque). I’m sure that all of the alcohol (and delicious food) certainly helped fuel our emotions. I guess this is what it must be like to have a sports-watching party! I think it’s clear that there needs to be another big Oscars watch party next year…and that I need to maintain my status as “having seen all the Best Picture nominees”. It just makes the whole night even more fun, seeing as how I’m completely invested in the competition.
It is interesting to think about just how important film is to me. Movies give creatives a playground to create a new world. I don’t just mean a setting or period, but a literal universe from the ground up, one that has its own look, sound (both diegetic and non-diegetic), history, and even social dynamics. Sometimes they can be vastly different from anything we know; other times, they can reflect the reality that we reside in, just a few small changes to inspire the narrative that unfolds on the big screen. The whole art form is a game of expression, which is ripe for evaluation. Having a discussion after a viewing is one of the best parts about the movie-watching experience and only serves to help further our understanding of expression, both for ourselves and the progression of the art form. Of course, putting all of that into a literal contest full of politics, drama, the local Angelino experience, and, of course, what people are wearing both in and out of the movie makes it even better.
Hooray for Hollywood!
Oh, and if you’re wondering, I got 14 of my predictions correct out of 24. Serhan fuckin’ beat me with 16.
– end of blog post –
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The Podcast is produced by MJ.
Always a pleasure,
Ethan
Big thank you to our top-tier Patrons (the SaDCast Fanatics), Philip, Shane, Henrik, and Mason.
a little bit of rest 
