Last Saturday marked the fifteenth anniversary of Hong Kong’s premier denim outfitter, Take5. In between diminishing rations at the open bar, I wasn’t able to capture much. Nevertheless, the evening did teach me Benny Seki’s impact on the Asian denim scene.
Where Uniqlo undershirts and high-twists are a godsend for my suiting options, I’ve yet to crack the code on surviving May-September in jeans. But this is a denim party, dammit!
Leon, a Hong Kong native, was in town for a brief week before returning to his current address in Japan. I met him leaning on the sidewalk railing on Hollywood Rd. We both wanted to catch the early shift of a sample sale from The Armoury and Ascot Chang. Of all the stock available, he chose a handful of squares, which were not just for his breast pocket. Not just his, for that matter.
Leon, a sale like that and you only got pocket squares? Why?
I’m trying to be good on this trip! Plus, they’re not just for me.
What do you mean?
My girlfriend. She likes to wear them too. You know how you’re out with your girl, and you’ll just casually slip something in her purse? Well, it’d be my phone charger, or my keys. She’d suddenly realize the extra weight, look in her bag, and then get kind of annoyed about it, you know?
So then, the squares.