Boring as I might appear, there aren’t many occasions where I’m willing to revise my (arguably predictable) look; all the more so when it comes to my flowery head region. Saying that, when this Friday’s #HATSONLY event hopped onto my radar, an exception was of course gonna be made - especially considering some of my favourite, stylistically sound gents were the honourable hosts. Housed in Dalston’s Pelicans and Parrots - part gem for vintage wares, part underground rum bar - the latest ‘House Partea’ from long-time creative inspirations Nigel Ruwende, La Touche and their band of equally adept bros was the ultimate proof that “cool” (interpret as you wish) and pretentious needn’t be synonymous - nuh uh, not one bit. What I’ve always rated about these first-rate fellas is their unflappable, passionate work ethic and creative, fashion-oriented souls - fused with an impeccable affability that ya don’t just find on the fly. Friday’s knees-up was a total testament to their well earned admiration, with a bursting-at-the-seams guest list made up of some of the sweetest, most stylish characters you could muster.
The music provided by House of Alt was spot on (a tuneaftertuneaftertuneaftertune affair), the rum bar rustled up first-rate beverages (the white rum and coconut water concoction - damn), the company was faultless. And the hats! The hats. Unsurprisingly, the headwear was more than marvellous, with each guest tweaking the “no hats no entry” dress code to their own fashion flavour, some even sporting Halloween-style witchy numbers (’twas the season, after all). My initial hat-induced quandary was swiftly solved by a simple, wide-rimmed black headpiece from - whisper it - H&M, customised with my signature rose. While certainly not the most practical get-up in a hot, heaving basement, it nicely accommodated my oversized noggin and enabled me to retain the flower; tick tick.
Refreshingly, the venue’s distinct lighting absence prevented shooting the night’s activities on my trusty DSLR, as I’m so disposed to doing. Lack of blogpost visuals aside, this - surprisingly, in my case - welcome lil move proved pretty blissful. Because, while photos sure are a neat means of capturing special moments and fashioning a memorable optical narrative of them, sometimes you’ve gotta embrace the blackout and just live it, in all its realness. Even if you are a self-confessed photo nerd like me. Yep, there’s a time and a place for everything, and in the ‘House Partea' context, amid all the elevating energy, it was next-level nice to totally switch off and get the most out of what was a truly exceptional eve.
Hats off.
Hats off.
Since you’ve scrolled this far, why not check out some of the guys’ praiseworthy pursuits?
- Saint & Birchley (Mr Ruwende’s bespoke apron business)
- Hat About Town (La Touche's hat appreciatin' blog)
- Nigel Ruwende Tumblr (just turned 5)
- Individualism (the guys’ acclaimed online men's style collective)
- House of Alt (music maestros and all-round creative collective)
* bedroom photos courtesy of siblet, thanks darl.
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