14.1.10

i'm a lumber jack, and i'm okay



There's a trend in London for both sexes: check flannel, often the classic big red & black version, as shown here. It's kind of cool ironic, unlike parts of the world, like the American Northwest, where it's more of a uniform.

It's funny: like leopard print, that's a pattern that goes in waves: think James Dean in the Fifties, Curt Kobain in the Grungey Nineties.. the plaid flannel shirt was even a staple for hippies in the late Sixties early Seventies. This is a first for me, actually: I saw this guy at Belsize Park tube station, on the day of the big snow recently, when I'd stopped by for moral support when my friends were moving house. I thought at first his jacket had a hood, but then realised he'd paired the same pattern in a hoodie.. or maybe not. Maybe it is part of the jacket. I'll probably never know, because when I asked to shoot him, and he said okay, I then asked his name. He hesitated.

'I don't like to give my name to strangers,' said he. It was then me who hesitated. So you don't mind having your photo sat Belsize station tube plashed on the internet, but not your first name, I thought, but didn't say. Just took the picture & didn't dare ask where he got his jacket or whether it comes with a hood.

I've decided to call him Jack. Lumber Jack. And watch: knowing my luck, I've spotted & dotted another celebrity, and was too clueless to realise who he was.



As foreshadowing, while in my friends' flat earlier, in the middle of the snowstorm, I saw this ladybug ('ladyBIRD', in UK speak) on the windowsill. It really touched me: they're such magic little good luck bugs. So humble. She was wearing lumberjack plaid, too.

This is all in good spirits, of course. I'm grateful to 'Jack' (not his real name - or is it??) for posing for the shot. And, with no offence intended, I'm leaving you with a live version of an all time great song. Coming up: postcards from Palm Beach.

13 comments:

daisychain said...

"It was then me who hesitated. So you don't mind having your photo sat Belsize station tube plashed on the internet, but not your first name, I thought, but didn't say."

This made me LOL. I would totally have said it.

Oh, and my boots are from ASOS x

the style crusader said...

i totally love the lumberjack look. and i love even more that you spotted a ladybug rocking it too! can't wait to see photos from palm beach! it's still freezing back here!! xx

julie k said...

plaid is completely huge here in the states, jill! big trend right now, all different types of plaid!

Unknown said...

Funny people you meet, I just bought a plaid shirt and it is the softest most comfortable thing ever!
XOXOX
Libby
http://fashionconfectionairy.weebly.com

NoƩmie K said...

hahaha I love the Monty Python*°*°*
excellent post !

The Photodiarist said...

Funny post.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha that guy is totally my boyfriend. I actually met him on that day, he's called Max by the way and he's protesting at me typing this right now. But whatever, my boyfriend is on the internet!

Anonymous said...

hahaah Catrin ^.^

Anonymous said...

Oh and it's a hoody underneath a coat!
Max Clarissa Packman-Walder

jill said...

Okay, that's seriously weird: I swear to you, Clarissa, I wrote a kind of screenplay when I was in my early 20s, based on a pale blue station wagon we had as kids, which I named the Blue Max (actually my friend Sherri named him that, and the name stuck). So over the years, I've come to think of the name Max as kind of... magic.

You MET him that day? YOu've got to please tell me the story. My email is jill.adams.uk@googlemail.com or jill@haybooks.com

Do you have any photos of you two? Could I maybe do a post with them? If you'd like I can send you this shot hi res. Too funny.

thanks for getting in touch. And please thank him for letting me take the shot! He truly seemed to think I was some mad woman that day, or at least, thats what it seemed like. But maybe he had just met you and was so love struck he didn't have time for a crazy old American woman.

Anonymous said...

pahahahahaa Max :)

ummm... polka dot - you want her to EMAIL THE STORY TO YOU - stalker much :)

Anonymous said...

Max man you ain't lookin so great in this one!

Anonymous said...

And this guy is totally my friend