The Sartorialist, Dublin

Today I went to Dublin and met Scott Schuman, aka The Sartorialist.

 

He gave a brief talk and then did a book signing.

 

What struck me listening to him was his humility and  genuine interest in humanity. He spoke about photographing people all over the world and differences and similarities between them, of walking down the street and seeing someone interesting and trying to figure out what it is that interests him, not if it is "fashionable" or "of the moment", but that somewhere there is a detail, shape, colour combination that speaks to him and urges him to photograph it. I think that is one of the things that separates his blog from many of the other "fashion on the street"  blogs, his interest in interesting people and characters not people who are wearing the trendiest outfit or best labels. Although many of his pictures do feature high end characters in expensive clothes, this seems secondary to the way they have put those items together.

When I first heard that 'The Sartorialist' was producing a book, I expected it to be a coffee table tome, a $90 investment. When I read this post on Garance Dore about why he chose Penguin to publish it and his reasoning in  producing a small book that could be thrown in your bag, my admiration for him skyrocketed. He is truly someone who has found his own unique path and I wish him all the success he deserves.

If you don't own a copy of the book, buy it, truly a record of these times.