Among the books that I would have liked to write and think I could have done well, are Lord Jim, Michael Strogoff, The seven pillars of wisdom and Tom Sawyer. I do not believe that he could have, on the other hand, been the author of In Search of Lost Time (I prefer the ark), Thus spake Zarathustra either Fifth grade at Malory Towers. This very personal revelation comes from the fact that I have come across a book that not only would I have liked to write and would have done wonderfully, but that I have practically already written.
I found myself on a trip to Berlin The Rebel’s Wardrobe, the untold story of Menswear’s Renegade Past (Gestalten, 2022), written by Bryan Szabo with the collaboration of Thomas Stege Bojer, a splendid illustrated volume that follows the history of many of those garments that WE HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTING HERE. Capital letters are essential to highlight that Rebel’s Wardrobe It is a work AFTER my arduous undertaking, which began more than a decade ago, to review in the pages of this section the men’s clothing of adventurers, explorers and other romantic characters.
I am filled with rage and envy at the sight of this fabulous book that no one would be surprised if it had my name on the cover. Yes, there are even photos that we have put on these pages!
Throughout the book we see the origin, development and appropriation by the popular imagination of a lot of garments, including the white short-sleeved T-shirt, dungarees, the fringed jacket, the plaid shirt (the same photo of Kirk Douglas as a lumberjack with an ax on his shoulder that we put here to talk about how to dress with a chainsaw), biker jackets (toujours Brando as Johnny Wild) or aviator—they choose Patton and Bono and the Tuskagee Airmen and Steve McQueen from The great escape to illustrate the topic—; the tennis clothes, the rugby shirt!, the baseball cap, the beret, the striped t-shirt (marinière either striped tricot) that we talk about in this column with respect to Jean Paul Gaultier (they also cite Picasso and Ned Land), the sailor jacket (immortalized here in the installment Port tabard), the Montgomery (duffle coat), the cardigan, the safari jacket, Amundsen’s parka (and her photo with the air of a sulking chestnut tree), the blanket jacket (blanket coat) by Redford/Jeremiah Johnson, the detective’s trench coat (or by Enric Gonzalez). This is my entire selection! Copies!
It is true that they are more serious (it is not difficult), they put other garments that we have not yet discussed here, such as the turtleneck (turtleneck)—soon to arrive—the American college sports jacket (varsity jacket) —also—, the Harrington, the Aran wool sweater, the sneakers or the Chinese. And it is true that his book is wonderfully illustrated and is, oh, beautiful. But I warn you that you will not find (any more than the salacot, the samurai kimono, the cassocks of The missionPeter Sellers’ loincloth or clothes in The Guateque) the sense of humor and the eminently practical side that this section of you displays, which enjoys prescribing the most adventurous, and dispensable, wardrobe.
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