MY JOURNEY IN STYLE/MISSION STATEMENT
I truly believe that personal style has never been more important in any other time in history for MEN than it is today. Especially as we struggle to get back to normality during this pandemic which has changed the way we not only look at ourselves but look at others as well and due to the speed at which not only fashion, but society travels it is important that men are aware of the fact that women do not want to be seen with a man who is out of style so whether it’s for a job interview or the even more challenging online dating scene how a man puts himself together today is VITAL!
I can remember since the 4th grade I have always had an awareness to the world around me but there were two worlds that stood out to me right away in particular- Rock & Roll and Cinema. These two worlds were thrust upon me heavily as my parents were movie buffs and went to the movies every weekend since they were married in the early 50’s. My parents started taking me to the movies with them since 1970, and they had great taste in movies as well.
I can remember seeing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and taking a keen interest in the brown corduroy jacket Robert Redford was wearing. I can even remember the structured shoulder of the garment and when I told my mom that I wanted one I made sure when we found one that it had a structured shoulder just like the Sundance Kid’s. As far as Rock and Roll, being the youngest of 5 in a large very loud household as every one of my siblings were hardcore Rock & Rollers themselves so every room in that house had the best Rock & Roll had to offer blaring from the speakers of a stereo and or 8 track player all rooms obtained. So, like my education in Cinema so to speak I was also given an equally if not more intense education in Rock & Roll with an emphasis on the style of the people in it.
Let’s fast foreword to 1981 which was the year I began to start dressing up to a particular style which was that of the Mods of the 1960’s and thus entering into the Mod music scene that took place during the early to mid 80’s in LA & OC. The Mods if you don’t know are the epitome of style with attention to detail being its main ingredient. After that as I delved further into music I started to listen heavily to the earlier foundations of rock & roll through the music of the 40’s & 50’s and of course as I started to dress as those musicians from those eras another music scene started happening in LA & OC in the late 80’s early 90’s as well that I called the Swing scene that catered to the music, style, and cars of those years. This scene (like the Mod scene as well) relied a lot upon the findings of vintage clothing at secondhand stores throughout So. Cal and it was the first time I sought out a tailor to custom make clothes using certain vintage shirts and pants from my personal wardrobe as a template that I wanted remade in different fabrics and colors.
Let’s again fast forward to the mid 90’s with my introduction to the world of Fashion with me taking a job with luxury brand Calvin Klein. I was hired for a stockroom position and quickly started to notice and admire the new cuts of clothing I was handling. My manager was leaving to manage another store about to open up in the same area Calvin Klein was in and that was the even higher end luxury brand- Hermes of Paris. She asked me if I wanted to come along and told me I would be the merchandise manager of the entire store, of course I said yes. The training program I was put through with Hermes opened my eyes to luxury craftsmanship and everything that it entailed, it was one of the most valuable educations I’ve ever received in my life. I was there for a few years and then started to yearn for more but not sure where it was, I belonged. I ended up getting into training and diet and became a personal trainer for a number of years.
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Then again, I starting to yearn for more and one day I happened upon a friend from my Hermes days and ended up working with him at a men’s bespoke shoe store which was another great learning experience as well. Well, long story short that shoe store just happened to be next door to one of the top luxury hair salons at the time and when one of the hair stylists came into the store he looked at me and said “You have great style you need to be doing hair, you would be super successful in it” no one had ever said anything like that to me before and sure enough he was right.
Now as I’m going into my 20th year as a hairstylist having done everything from salon work to fashion editorials, runway shows, ad campaigns, commercials and videos as well as designing headpieces and styling the hair of many celebrities for magazine shoots and red-carpet walks I have realized that my prior fashion experience combined with all those years working with some of the greatest photographers and wardrobe stylists in the fashion and entertainment industry as well as my own personal eye for style from a young age has given me a unique position to help others find their own style. This is why after careful thought I will now be offering men’s style consulting as an additional service in connection with my salon. Not only is it much needed ,it seems that all that past experience has been preparing me for just this very thing. STEVE DAVID.