Florida Man does not, in the popular imagination, equate with Stylish Man.
He’s more associated with outdoor gear and cargo shorts than, say, the Paris collections.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
But for the Florida man who finds occasion to step out of his flipflops and into something more, well, stylish, two obstacles tend to stand in his way.
First, budget. High-fashion clothes tend to cost more than most of us Florida men can afford, unless we’re that sometime resident with the orange hair. Second, lack of options. Up till recently, it hasn’t been easy to find local purveyors of on-trend yet non-awful men’s clothing — clothing that works for the pear-shaped as well as the triangular among us — outside of Nordstrom.
Enter Michael Vollbracht.
Readers of CL will recall Michael from the story we did earlier this year about his dazzling collection of women’s couture, collected over a lifetime in NYC. Long before he became a leading designer with his own label and later with Bill Blass, he was a thrifting ninja, able to spot the best bargain on the racks and capture it for a ridiculously low price.
His philosophy: “I don’t buy anything for more than $5, and I buy everything at half price.”
A well-turned-out crowd packed Lot 1901 in January to see his trove of vintage gowns at an event co-sponsored by CL for the benefit of the Shimberg Breast Center at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital. That show was so successful that we decided to do another one — but this time with a focus on men’s style: “In A Breast Pocket,” Oct. 13 at CL Space, with which the release of this issue coincides.
Michael did a remarkable job of pulling together looks for our pictorial (and the show) from both the thrift shop circuit and local purveyor of style London Philips — and made them all look equally wearable. He also found the models — none of them professional (yet) — and whether it’s the clothes or the people or a bit of both, they all took to the looks as if they were custom-made for them. (Read more about the models’ backgrounds, including the extraordinary saga of our sole female model, Blair Bennet.) Steven Anderson of LaPosh Salon, a wizard with hair and makeup, achieved perfection in record time.
Thanks also to photographer Todd Bates, whose exquisite photos also showcased the “Tattered, Not Torn” cover story in January.
LINKS
High & Low — The photo shoot PLUS thrifting tips from the designer
Blair Bennet — Prepared for anything
Cargo cult — The real reason men can't give up their utility shorts
Runway on the river — Outdoor apparel doesn't have to be boring (or expensive)
This article appears in Oct 13-20, 2016.