I’m not much on trends, so I was a bit surprised to hear that turn-of-the-century (late 1800’s – early 1900’s) men’s wear is gaining popularity. I’m a fan of the classic pocket watch, bow tie and top hat, so I’m glad they’re coming back in to favor.
The Statesman sent me to Dandy’s where co-owners Wendy and Christopher Bykowski have just about anything you’d need if you were following this trend. They sell suits, hats, ties, shoes and other clothing that looks like it came right out of 1900, and they sell antique pocket watches, shaving kits and other accessories that actually did.
I was supposed to meet with Wendy and Christopher at their shop, but Christopher was under the weather. It was a big disappointment for me. It’s a men’s wear store, and we didn’t have a man to model the clothes.
I did the best I could, rearranging items in the store to show off their products before setting up a shot with Wendy.
There were some mannequins out front with suits on, so I figured that might be our only opportunity to get a male in the picture. I sat Wendy with them.
Then we came inside because I wanted to get a closer shot, perhaps a creative mug. I asked Wendy, “what is your favorite item in the store?” thinking she could hold it in the photo. She thought for a minute and walked behind the counter. “How about this fire wallet?” she asked. Then she opened a leather wallet and flames came out. …”Yes! We’re using that!”
We couldn’t take very many shots because she couldn’t keep the tall flames of the wallet in her hands for more than a few seconds, and she didn’t want to burn up her inventory.
As far as gear goes, I shot everything with my D700, and switched between my 24-70mm f 2.8 lens and my 50mm f1.8 lens, using an SB800 speedlight as necessary.