By Reanna Evoy
Hard to believe, but there are places where Internet signals are as weak as Heidi Montag’s music career. In fact, as I write this, I am vacationing in a cabin in the Quebec countryside where the only modern conveniences are running water and electric lights. I have no access to email, let alone my favourite blog, thesartorialist.com, by fashion photographer Scott Schuman. Better known as the Sartorialist, Schuman has earned a following for his street verité photography.
Fortunately I have a copy of Schuman’s shiny new book for a fashion fix. The Sartorialist is, essentially, a picture book, which makes “reading” all 512 pages a breeze. It’s surprisingly small, but substantial – like a New York deli sandwich on thick bread with extra meat. On the cover, a fluorescent orange sticker taunts me with a quote from Mario Testino: “The place to be seen!” Testino is one of the great fashion photographers of all time. I am instantly impressed, but a little insecure. Would my last season sundress even be worthy of Schuman’s snaps? Yet as I flip through images of the Sartorialist’s impeccable street fashion, I am inspired.
This is Schuman’s intention. We’re invited to look at his photography as a social study rather than an index on the latest trends like cheeky bowties and brogues. Still, among the hundreds of photos, I can’t keep count of all the sockless men and dark-rimmed glasses shot everywhere from Stockholm to Moscow. It somehow makes the world seem very, very small. Unlike other street fashion bloggers (think the Face Hunter), Schuman shoots a range of people, from slouchy 18-year-olds sauntering down the streets of Paris to dapper silver-haired gentleman in Milan. This isn’t a giant hipster love-in; Schuman, who also shoots for GQ, Fantastic Man and Vogue, hits a higher note of sophistication.
The book’s older Internet sibling also features such beautiful, naturally lit portraits, and viewing them online is easy and simple – but also ephemeral. We scroll through blogs so rapidly that the individual portraits become blurs; this makes the Internet a perfect medium for people Schuman describes as “visually greedy.” The physicality of a book instantly changes how we interact with his photography. Where the blog version is a drive-thru, the paperback is a sit-down dinner, one I can savour. And it’s delicious.
Schuman provides charismatic insights about his subjects as artfully curated as his photos. In one instance, he includes a charming story about a baby-faced kid in $1,200 sneakers. Slightly outside the photographic frame, Schuman writes, the boy’s mother holds his ice cream cone as he strikes a pose worthy of Esquire.
The Sartoralist book leaves me no less visually greedy, and I’m left wanting more. What is the full story behind the gentleman sporting hand-painted wingtips? Or the hat-tilting Hasid in Williamsburg? Perhaps once I’m out of the backwoods and can access WiFi I’ll go to the blog to find out. I still need my daily fix.
Reanna Evoy founded the Vancouver fashion magazine Butter and, when not art directing enRoute, she blogs about fashion at ReannaTime. You can visit her vintage fashion boutique Caesar Pony on Etsy.
Category: Life
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The Sartorialist is a guilty pleasure of mine too. I think those that enjoy his fashion blog should also look to Garance Dore (http://www.garancedore.fr/en/) there’s a lot more sass in her blog!
Your review speaks volumes of Schuman’s intentions of having a “The place to be seen!” or should I say pages to see that photos that understand life, fashion,variety,
……. sounds very interesting