CHUCK’S INTERVIEW WITH D’OFFICE THREADS
Q: How would you describe your style?
As someone who spent most of his life as an athlete, sports wear makes up the predominance of my wardrobe. While I do like a few higher end brands (I’m a fan of
Ralph Lauren) even my more high end clothing is athletic in nature. Beenies, hoodies,
sports watches, those kind of things. Give me a pair of new Nike Free’s to wear around
town with them, and I am good to go.
Q: What is the most important style tip for our readers?
Let your style be determined by your personality. Study after study has shown that
people respect those who have their own distinctive style more than those who just
copycat or just jump on the fashion-trend bandwagon. Be yourself, and be comfortable in yourself. People will respect you for it.
Q: How would you describe the difference in Men’s fashion in the west and in Asia?
In Asia, things are much more close-fitting, and metro-male. If I had to compare them
between New York and LA, I would say that it is way more along the lines of NY. That
being the case, as one would expect, there are big differences between countries too.
In general, Tokyo high-fashion is really New York, but of course, there is also the Harajuku sub-culture (as well as a multitude of others (Goth, and Lolita, Gya-ru for women
for example) that play a part in fashion that are more or less particular to Japan. For
Tokyo men, the slender look is always tops. (Partially, I’m sure because most Japanese people have a naturally thin frame, and an Ectomorph build.) In Korea, however, where Pop music culture is massive and an international export, clothes are a bit
more loose-fitting (both for men and women), and men are taller, and thicker. Over
there, a muscled frame is more prized than a slender one. As for myself, living in Tokyo, I don’t exactly fit into the whole slender metro-male look- so I just stick with my
sporty-athletic look, lol. And it works for me.
Q: Has your career impacted your style?
I would say my career has absolutely impacted my style. I’ve been an athlete for most
of my life. When I was younger, I was an Olympic-style Taekwondo player, and after
that, I became a bodyguard, stuntman and martial arts instructor. As a function of that,
defining my own fashion style has always been a pursuit of finding things that are
still stylized, that look cool, but that I can still move well in. Spending as much as 4
hours a day training (when I was younger), I learned to hate anything and everything
that is constricting, heavy, or that I can’t move smoothly in. As a function of that, even
if they are really expensive or nice-looking, I can’t stand a lot of designer dress shoes.
If I can’t pick up and sprint in them, then I don’t want them on my feet, lol. Casually,
that is another reason why you would never see me in skinny jeans. It’s too hard to do
high kicks in them. Even if nowadays, I only really kick if I am either training or getting paid to, the mentality still sticks.