Black Watch on Mister Mort

Mister Mort, Mordechai Rubinstein’s online handle, has become my font of street style inspiration The Sartorialist once was. While the quality and content of Mr. Schuman’s photos continue to impress me, and while I still look to The Sartorialist for inspiration, at some point, his photos’ focus shifted from the general to the specific. As he’s granted access to fashion show after fashion show, it’s understandable how his eye could become trained on industry insiders instead of the old men of Harlem and hipster girls on bicycles I so looked forward to seeing each time I checked his blog. Whereas, with Mort it’s a veritable grab bag of the inside and outside, not only of the world of fashion, but of the actual garments themselves. I love his eye for detail, and I appreciate his desire to self-educate whenever possible.

Lately, I’ve been taken with three of his photos of my favorite tartan, the “government tartan,” Black Watch. The one above came from a trip to London which he took in the latter half of 2009.

Another hero of mine, Aaron Levine, the creative director for Rogues Gallery, can pair incongruous articles of clothing to make a seamless look. Here, it’s a little bit punk rock (the out-of-place tartan), a little Wes Anderson (the clear frames, reminiscent of Moscot’s Miltzen), and a little Downeaster (the no-nonsense watch cap, also a bit Andersonian), but together it makes sense.

This scarf, a gift from Mordechai’s beloved Drake’s of London combines two of my favorite flourishes, white pin dots and tartans. A wool-lined silk scarf is a necessary addition to any formal or semi-formal dress during the winter weather. It is a simple, but necessary touch, adding an immediate sense of class to the man wearing it.

Thank you, Mordechai, for sharing your photos. I once heard someone say that blogs like these have become the best way to display the intangible, one’s “great eye.” You, sir, have a great eye.