people with style: man of color

orange. yellow. pink. blue. no, i'm not talking about candy hues for spring. i'm talking about a man who isn't afraid of wearing a little color. i'm talking about my friend, christopher tam.

christopher's wardrobe is partly playful, partly outrageous, but mostly mischievous (and i wanted to triple underline mischievous, but blogger wouldn't let me). no wonder he has a preference for big, bold colors, and unusual accents and trims. while he does make many gutsy choices, chris always manages to look like a stylish, modern american man.

let's toast the man of the hour with 5 glasses of gewurztraminer and 10 shots of washington apples (chris's favorite beverages).

sam: define your personal style.
ctam: i don't have a style per se, as i'm more like a chameleon. i dress depending on a combination of my mood and the occasion. but, if I had to describe it, it would be fun. fun because i like wearing clothes that you won't see on every other guy. sure, i have my favorite pair of jeans, and standard white and black shirts, but my favorite shirts stand-out, e.g., purple and white striped french-cuff shirt with purple cufflinks. since i work so many hours, when i go out, i want to have a blast and part of that is looking like a guy who has fun and is unconventional. my hair is a key piece of the equation. yeah, i'm 27 and its spiked like hell, but who cares?!? ido what i want and wear what i want. that said, everything i own also maximizes comfort, especially since i overheat pretty easily and love gorging myself on food and libation
sam: didn't you also just give yourself a mohawk?!
ctam: err...yes.

sam:what's the coolest thing you own in your closet?
ctam: a grey 3/4 length jacket by marithe francois girbaud made of a rubbery/waterproof substance with 16 pockets and shiny reflective stripes outlining several of the pockets. it's loud, but subtle at the same time as many of the pockets are "hidden" as they blend it cleverly with the jacket.

sam:what/who inspires you? why?
ctam: i don't really have an inspiration in the sense of someone i try to imitate, but in general, i like seeing people who wear things that are out there (although not totally out of left field). i hate
seeing people wear things that are standard, "in" or stereotypical (i.e. asians wearing black shirts with black pants).

sam:what is your worst-ever fashion-faux pas?
ctam: when i was a young lad, i wore white socks with teva sandals. in more recent memory, i once wore a brown belt with black shoes, and also a plaid shirt with pinstripe pants (although the latter was intentional and i didn't think it looked too bad).
sam: wow. tevas and white socks. i totally did that in middle school. i hope i never do that to myself again. that also goes for birkenstocks and socks... i think i need to go bury myself in some prada. omg, what were we thinking??
ctam: we were young and reckless.
sam: isn't that us now? correction, isn't that you now?
ctam:...you gotta enjoy life, right?

sam: what would you never be caught wearing?
ctam: i would never be caught wearing: muscle tees or tight-fitting polos. Oh yeah, no jean shorts either..hahaha.

if you want to read more about your fashion forward friends on this blog, let us know at info@9tailors.com.