Things have been quiet for a while on The Hogtown Rake as I’ve been working on a very special project…
One day last summer, while I was chatting on the phone with Bruce Boyer about clothes, Italy, and our dogs, he said something that floored me: he wanted to work on a project together. “Hells yes,” I said.
Bruce has long been my inspiration, in how I dress and how I write. When I first picked up his book Elegance, I dreamed of writing with such ease, comfort and personality while also expressing profound expertise. Of course, you can also describe Bruce’s approach to dress in similar terms. In fact, I remember one of the first times I saw him interviewed, in a Put This On video where Bruce says he knew, from an early age, that he was never going to be able to dress “perfectly” and so he should embrace being rumpled. “Play to your strengths,” he says in the video.
All that to say, I jumped at the chance to work on a project with Bruce. Without much deliberation, I had the idea: a storytelling podcast. Through our friendship, Bruce has told me many stories about his time in the menswear industry and I realised he’d rarely if ever published them. As his first editor at Town & Country told him, “The only word I don’t want to see in your articles is ‘I’. No one cares what you think.” But the early 21st century is all about personal storytelling. And there’s no one who’s stories I want to hear more than Bruce’s.
“Unbuttoned – G. Bruce Boyer’s Life in Clothes” will be six episodes, each about thirty minutes, focusing on a different part of Bruce’s life, just not chronologically. You’ll hear about his introduction to Ivy League style and life in college in the 50s and 60s in episode one, coming May 15. His first trips to Savile Row in episode two, May 29. And all about Italy in episode three, June 12. The remaining episodes will focus on… well, you’ll have to listen to find out.
Thank you, Raphael. I’ve limited the Bruce series to 6 for a couple of reasons. First, I believe that limitation is a powerful tool for creativity – I have to make it work within these constraints (which is also why the episodes are 30 minutes or less). Second, I want to make sure this is the best of the best and that we don’t overstay our welcome. Always leave them wanting more, and that sort of thing. However, if it goes well and the reception is good, it has occurred to me that I could feature other writers, creators, people in the industry…
8 Comments
daemon
April 25, 2019 at 10:10 am
Pedro Mendes
April 25, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Sven Raphael Schneider
May 2, 2019 at 9:36 pm
Pedro Mendes
May 2, 2019 at 10:10 pm
David
May 2, 2019 at 9:53 pm
Pedro Mendes
May 2, 2019 at 10:10 pm
Gus Walbolt
May 16, 2019 at 7:43 pm
Pedro Mendes
May 16, 2019 at 9:36 pm
Pedro–I can’t wait to listen to this. So happy you’re doing it!
Thanks Daemon, really appreciate it.
Great idea! Why limit it to just 6 episodes?
Thank you, Raphael. I’ve limited the Bruce series to 6 for a couple of reasons. First, I believe that limitation is a powerful tool for creativity – I have to make it work within these constraints (which is also why the episodes are 30 minutes or less). Second, I want to make sure this is the best of the best and that we don’t overstay our welcome. Always leave them wanting more, and that sort of thing. However, if it goes well and the reception is good, it has occurred to me that I could feature other writers, creators, people in the industry…
Patiently waiting for episode one …..
Thank you, David, less than two weeks to go…
I enjoyed it very much. Bruce us such a warm and friendly guy and a great story teller in addition to having great style.
I could not agree with you more, Gus, thank you!