May 8
Yarn bombing in Bariloche
Yarn bombing is becoming more popular in Argentina. A couple of times while walking through Palermo I stumbled across trees dressed in wool. The movement began in the United States and has spread globally. The collage you see above was taken in Bariloche, Argentina, and I thought I would share it because it’s pretty nifty. Tree fashion!
This is too much pink
You can actually see her underwear. I always look forward to gay pride week in Toronto. The parade is the icing on the cake and takes place on the first Sunday in July. The woman in the picture is what we in Toronto often refer to as a 905er. Meaning that she lives in the suburbs of Toronto and ventures downtown once a year in the hopes of witnessing a freak show. She treats gay pride more like a spectator sport and gays exist only for her amusement. She’s not particularly gay friendly, and you may hear her say things like, “I have a cousin who is gay…” to which of course you have to roll your eyes. 905ers like the woman above are annoying. They always bring along their heterosexual male friends who say things like, “Alright, give ‘er…” and mistakenly believe that because they’re straight every gay man in sight will shower them with attention. I could go on. The main reason they’re annoying is because they dress like what you see in the photo above and call it good taste.
I look like a canary
Argentina isn’t know for making quality clothes, but Gaucho pants make up for all of that. They are part of the traditional dress of the gauchos who live in the pampas of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile Patagonia, and are the most comfortable trousers ever. They are 100% cotton, non-shrinking, thick and come in many colours. They can be worn by men and women anywhere. The ones I’m wearing in the photo above are Pampero brand made.
Some of you may remember my terrible luck purchasing clothes during Buenos Aires pride back in November. Argentines tend to dress on the conservative side, and prefer to wear darker colours. Most Argentines I know take great pride with how they dress, and have neat, tidy appearances. Unlike North America, okay Canada, where the hoodie sweater dominates, porteños, especially, dress to impress.
A former student of mine was fond of telling a story about a teacher from Australia who arrived for class wearing only a t-shirt and shorts. She couldn’t believe his moxy! For her it was unheard of to pay so little attention to one’s personal appearance.
I can understand her attitude to an extent, but I’m too aware of how poorly made the clothes are in Argentina. Each clothing purchase I have made has been a disappointing experience. I bought a pair of shorts that changed colour after their first wash and a t-shirt and a few tank tops that tore after a few wears. So forgive me if I think my student might have a little explaining to do. Or maybe I’m just getting fatter.
My perceptions changed when I discovered Gaucho pants. They are extraordinarily comfortable and go with almost everything in my wardrobe, which consists mostly of t-shirts and more t-shirts.
They’re almost as good as Alpargatas.
To learn more check out Gaucho Clothes.
Feb 6
Tranqui Yanqui. Image courtesy of TranquiYanqui.com.
It comes as no surprise to my friends that I love the late artist and social activist Keith Haring. My recent fascination with street art in Buenos Aires got me thinking that there might be some preserved Haring murals somewhere in the city, so I began research in the hopes of proving that my hunch was correct.
While perusing the Internet, as one does while conducting an investigation, I stumbled across Tranqui Yanqui, an alter-ego created by Miami, Florida native Nick Mahshie who now lives in Buenos Aires. I instantly liked what I found.
Mahshie explores aspects of street art and pop culture, much like Keith Haring, that exposes him to people from all walks of life. Through his character Yanqui, Mahshie performs at fairs, subways and nightclubs, conducting social experiments inspired by “fashion, trash and US cultural stereotypes.”
According to his website, Yanqui and his work have been recognized by Argentine papers La Nación, Clarín, and The Buenos Aires Herald, as well as international publications Vice and Nylon Guys.
Shoes. Image courtesy of TranquiYanqui.com.
To support his work I ventured over to his online store this afternoon and ordered two tank-tops and a pair of hand-painted, original alpargatas shoes. I hope the quality is good as I’ve had dismal experiences buying clothes in Buenos Aires!
Below is a video I have included of a 2009 fashion show at Niceto Club that displayed his talents. I’m glad that by attempting to find Keith Haring, I found a more modern, living innovator, one who no doubt draws inspiration from his predecessor. Maybe Tranqui Yanqui is old news to some of you reading this, but for me, he’s a refreshing new obsession.
Dec 8
I forgot to bring this hoodie with me to Argentina. I really miss it. It could serve me well on these cool Spring evenings.
Nov 25
This attractive look from the 1990s television show 90210 is what most porteños aspire to achieve!
Remember about a month ago when I was complaining that I couldn’t find a good barber in Buenos Aires? I even contacted this man, an expat from America, who wrote a blog post about his haircut misadventures in the Paris of South America. I have yet to meet an expat who hasn’t a haircut horror story to share with me.
Sometimes I think that Buenos Aires is where good taste goes to die. Here’s why:
1. Facial piercings. There are more people per capita with bad facial piercings in Buenos Aires, than anywhere I have ever visited. It’s a rampant epidemic. I don’t get how the porteños don’t recognize how stupid they look.
2. Denim on denim. Argentines love denim. It is not uncommon to see a porteño man wearing, in combination, denim jeans, with a denim jacket and a denim collared shirt. They fucking love it. I don’t know why, perhaps denim is cheaper to own or maybe denim represents one’s higher socio-economic status? I have no freakin’ idea. All I know is that it’s gross.
3. Warts. A lot of people here have warts. On their fingers, on their chest, on their face, and I’m certain, based on their sexual proclivities, on their genitals. I don’t know why it is. The water? I don’t get it. One day I was on the subte and everyone in my car had a wart. It was the freakiest thing I have ever experienced in my whole life.
4. Brain viruses. Every porteño I know has a friend who has been hospitalized because they contracted a brain virus. Granted this has nothing to do with bad taste, but I wanted to bring it to the attention of my readers in the event that you never hear from me again. I may have contracted one of these mutant viruses and am in a coma in a shitty public hospital.
5. BAD HAIR. The mullet is alive and well in Buenos Aires. The most coveted hairstyle is the mullet with dreads. When you find someone with multiple warts, who has a mullet with dreads, wearing nothing but denim, you have achieved the trifecta and are free to return home to your native country. If they also have facial piercings and collapse in front of you from a brain virus, I would suggest you commit suicide. You’ve experienced all you need to in this life. You will be rewarded in heaven.
So I’m rambling. The good news is that I found a good barber. His name is Federico and he works at Style Haircuts in Barrio Norte. You should call and make an appointment first though as he’s very popular and, entirely unrelated, not too bad to look at.
Directions:
1. Take Subte D and get off in Callao Station.
2. Walk from Callao to Santa Fe Av.
3. Turn right from Santa Fe Av and keep walking until you reach Rodriguez Peña
4. Make a left on Rodriguez Peña and Spray is on your left (I think)
What I love about Federico is that he can understand English but refuses to speak it. Last night we had a lovely conversation in Spanglish. What I gathered was that he thinks he’s a magician, and compared himself to David Copperfield. Whatever. I just smiled and nodded and every now and again would say “dale” which means “okay” in Spanish.
That’s all folks!
My new shirt was so poorly made that I had to roll up the sleeves. Public alcohol consumption is all that saved the day.
Here’s the thing. During pride celebrations on Saturday I purchased a t-shirt from one of the oodles of vendors who were hacking their products. I figured, hey why not support a local merchant?
I was so excited to wear my new shirt that I quickly changed from the one that I was wearing. To my dismay I learned that the designer was a shoddy craftsman. The sleeves were three inches longer than they should have been and the seam that is supposed to be at the edge of my shoulders was below my tricep muscle. Yeah, poor job indeed!
Ramiro and my new American friend Kevin attended pride with me, and in the photo above you can see that I am wearing my new t-shirt. Ramiro is holding flyers to an event we were invited to. We declined after discovering the most hideous of all errors: Poor English translation. “Friendly” is spelled “freandly”.
I’m shaking my head right now.
What do I do about my shirt? The name of the designer on the tag is Eva Comics, and she provided an email address, but I can’t spell worth crap in Spanish but I want her to correct her error!
I snatch a lot of great stuff from OMG possibly the most original blog in the blogosphere. After mine of course. I’m just joking, actually sometimes I’m embarrassed by my blog. I’m such a loser.
Here is Roisin Murphy (a.k.a. the woman Lady Gaga stole creative inspiration from) in in a new fashion film for Christophe Coppens’ spring/summer 2012 collection. The psychedelic short, entitled “Women of the Fields,” stars Murphy and features a new song called”Cré Ni A Forna”.
I purchased my first pair of TOMS today and they’re quite comfortable. I had to take a picture.
TOMS are Argentine-inspired alpargata shoes. For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS donates a new pair of shoes to a child in need. Therefore I thought it was a worthwhile $60 investment.
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