† Name/URL: +The Smoking MadHatter+, but everybody call me ‘MAD’.
† Age: Nineteen Odd Years.
† Location: Elsewhere under my hat in French Canada…
† How were you introduced to kodona/ouji/dandy fashion?
Very early…x) When I was like 5 years-old, all the little girls were in love with Disney Princesses, but me I was listening to Alice in Wonderland simply to look at the MadHatter…who knows, this character was special for the youngster I was… I could put on repeat again and again the Mad Tea Party scene. So I develop a kind of very strong attraction for Victorian British Dandyism…my idols were historical dandies like Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, the Butterfly Count d’Orsay or the Count of Montesquiou…On the other side, my grand-father, son of a mortician/tailor taught me how to be a gentleman…(I never saw this man wearing jeans or T-shirt…always a fine shirt with a well-choosen tie, etc…) I never knew my father, so he used to take his place…he is the one who gave me my first tie and taught me etiquette and how to choose a shirt of quality…again today when he goes to the tailor, he supports me by buying me mens clothes. So I was raised in a kind of Dandy world.
But precisely, how did I learn the Japanese/Harajuku side of Dandysm? Easy, the manga! x) Precisely the Kaori Yuki ones…the first time I read Angel Sancturay I fell in love with the character Belial…I saw myself in this character…the marginal women who wear boys clothes and lives like a kinky boy even if God gave her a woman body…I wanted to be her…And after, I learned about the Harajuku styles and the Visual Kei…And of course, fell in love again with VK Dandy…and found inspiration from bands like Dolly, Full, Plastic Tree, Merry, MUCC…(I love Eroguro!O_O) But my biggest inspiration now is probably Mitsu the charismatic and so well-dressed singer of Dolly and Full…both of them are my mens!~.^
† What do you find appealing about the style and culture?
Hmmm…it’s special to say for me…because I was raised in this kind of world…so for me it’s like ‘normal’, as if you were asking to someone who wears a T-Shirt with running shoes and jeans why he wears them. But to give an answer, I will say the fact that it’s still possible to live with an oldie style, wearing oldie and uber-elegant clothes even if we are in 2008…the mix between the old culture for the shapes or some clothes, but with a very marginal touch is wonderful…without thinking, I see at the first time that this style was for me…^^ (Because I don’t simply have the clothes; at the base, I have a very very oldie mentality for the etiquette or for the gallantry…^^’)
† What are your favorite dandy clothing brands?
Hmmmm personnally, I love many Japanese brands, even if it’s a Lolita one for example…but for this style, probably the trophy will go to BLACK PEACE NOW AND PEACE NOW…O_O I also love Atelier BOZ very much, Alice and the Pirates, PUTUMAYO, Algonquins when they do frilly shirts or pieces…but the list could be very long. As a fashion designer, I find something interesting in all Japanese brands…^^
† Any other comments?
‘Life is too important to be taken seriously.’ -Oscar Wilde
So please, live your life for yourself and have fun…it’s not always easy to wear Japanese clothes in society because gossips and everything…but don’t live for your parents or relatives’ tastes, but for yours…More people will see us in the streets and more people will be informed…Anyway, a person can’t laugh at your face when you are proud of your style and do it good…And mostly, remember that a good comment always erases ten bad ones…~.^ As you can see, I am a very talkative and open person, so feel free to speak with me for anything!^^