Washington is surely ready for the Sartorialist, but it’s still up in the air as to whether the Sartorialist is ready for Washington.
Fashion photog Scott Schuman, who shoots the fashion blog TheSartorialist.com and regularly contributes to GQ, was in town Monday night to sign copies of his new book (also called “The Sartorialist”) and to celebrate Fashion Washington’s one-year anniversary at the new Logan Circle restaurant Masa 14.
While his blog focuses on put-together people walking the streets of cities like New York, Paris and London, the Sartorialist has never given much attention to D.C. And Monday, instead of fawning over the styles packed into the crowded bar before him, Schuman chose to give a shout out to the local sports teams instead.
“Thank you guys very much. Go Wizards … Redskins and Capitals … and Nationals … go Nationals,” the Sartorialist shouted.
He later told Yeas & Nays Washington should take no offense to its scant presence on his blog.
“I just haven’t had a chance to go down there yet and shoot,” he promised, swearing the diverse crowd looked really good. “Here it is not much of a fashion crowd, it’s lawyers and counterterrorism analysts,” he noted. “So I was really proud of the kind of people that came out.”
And came out they did. Schuman attracted hundreds of fans who sprawled down 14th Street until after midnight waiting for a chance to meet the petite fashion oracle. He appeared alongside special guests Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau, locals and the grandchildren of Jacques Cousteau, who were also being given a fashion tip of the hat by FW, the Washington Post’s fashion magazine. Philippe Cousteau told Yeas & Nays he thought the city has become a lot more stylish in the five years he’s been living in the District, though Schuman said there wasn’t a single trendsetter who could be held responsible for a change.
“I can’t think of anyone in Washington. I just don’t look at things that way. I don’t shoot much in Hollywood either,” Schuman told us.
But that doesn’t mean some lucky Washingtonian won’t someday grace the pages of GQ or wind up on the popular blog.
“It’s funny, everybody says there’s no style here,” he said. “I grew up in Indiana — I don’t want to hear there’s no style.”
