Most stylish New Yorkers: Tom Forget
The graphic designer and illustrator has an artist's eye for mixing colors, patterns and pop-culture references.
Fri Apr 8 2011
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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Forget layers a Brooks Brothers sport coat over a J.Crew sweater and a Burberry shirt (scored from the Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth outlet in Wrentham, MA), paired with Dunderdon chinos. "This outfit was really me trying to look like one of the clueless American academics that get into deep trouble in Rome in a Dario Argento film, only not so '70s," he says.
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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Forget swiped this vintage Anderson-Little (andersonlittle.com) tie from his father's closet. "It's one of many wonderful ties in wool or wool blends that I discovered in a cardboard box," he notes. "They're all from the early '80s and are cut nice and slim."
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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Forget picked up this striped scarf in Copenhagen. "My then-girlfriend and I stopped into a cute gift shop for souvenirs and saw these cool scarves in great color combinations," he recalls. "I'm a sucker for teal and orange."
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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"These Brooks Brothers gloves were a recent Christmas gift from my parents," says Forget. "They're kind of 'blue-blood murderer,' which I'm into."
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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The Gap striped socks were a well-received stocking stuffer. "My mother will claim credit for getting me started on dressing well, and I can't really dispute that," admits Forget. "She's got an excellent sense of style and rarely missteps when she buys me clothes."
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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Forget's Red Wing boots were literally a lucky find: "They were just sitting on the sidewalk on my street," he gloats. "I was mulling over getting some Red Wings, and lo and behold, here was a pair of them, gently worn and in my size."
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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"This totally came out of a recent trip to Tokyo," Forget says of this outfit. "I arrived there keen to buy some stuff that I couldn't get in the U.S. and noticed that all the cool Harajuku dudes were in flannels and either fedoras or New Era fitted hats." Forget already owned the pieces---a flannel shirt by Dave's Quality Meat and Acne jeans---but began to style them accordingly. His shawl-collared cardigan is by J.Crew.
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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Forget bought this hat from CA4LA (ca4la.com) in Tokyo's trendy Daikanyama neighborhood. "In America, people tend to say you look like Run-D.M.C.," he says. "But what's bad about that?"
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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"I wear contacts most days," says Forget. When he doesn't, he dons these vintage specs, which he bought from Fabulous Fanny's (335 E 9th St between First and Second Aves; 212-533-0637, fabulousfannys.com) and had them fitted with prescription lenses. "I've gotten 'Martin Scorsese,' 'Uncle Junior,' 'The guy in the Six Flags commercials' and 'Elliott Gould in Ocean's Eleven' from people when I've worn them," he admits.
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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"In Tokyo, my goal was to find the coolest, most unique, futuristic-but-not-flashy sneakers I could," says Forget. He sleuthed out these Nike Terminators, an exclusive Nike/Atmos collaboration, at the Atmos store in Harajuku. "The salesman was really excited I was buying them. He kept saying in his thick Japanese accent, 'Only 300 made in world!' and 'Sole glow in dark!'"
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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Forget raided his dad's closet again for this Anderson-Little blazer, which he matches with vintage pants snagged at Foreign Affair Warehouse in Providence, RI, a Banana Republic shirt and an American Apparel belt. "It's just my attempt at looking like some guy whose dad had to pull some strings to get him into Yale."
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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"I can't remember my dad wearing these great, narrow wool ties, but he's got a bunch of them," says Forget about yet another hand-me-down. "I was actually just about to uy a new one at J. Press when he reminded me I should look in his closet. It was like finding the Ark of the Covenant!" He spices up his ensemble with a bright pink pocket square, another bargain from the Wrentham Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth outlet.
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Photograph: Zenith Richards
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Forget splurged on these black Brixton boots by Alden for Epaulet. "They are too expensive for me to wear without being intolerably nervous that they'll be destroyed, but I'll just have to get over that."
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SPIN HIS STYLE
American Apparel flannel long-sleeved button-up shirt, $62, at American Apparel, locations throughout the city; visit americanapparel.net
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SPIN HIS STYLE
American Eagle Outfitters Sailor webbed belt, $16, at American Eagle Outfitters, locations throughout the city; visit ae.com
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SPIN HIS STYLE
Ben Sherman plaid computer bag, $109, at Ben Sherman, 96 Spring St between Broadway and Mercer St (212-680-0160)
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SPIN HIS STYLE
Brooklyn Industries seersucker blazer, $128, at Brooklyn Industries, locations throughout the city; visit brooklynindustries.com
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SPIN HIS STYLE
FB Italian vest, $20, at Daffy's, 125 E 57th St between Park and Lexington Aves (212-376-4477, daffys.com)
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SPIN HIS STYLE
American Apparel acrylic mohair-blend striped scarf, $39, at American Apparel, locations throughout the city; visit americanapparel.net
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SPIN HIS STYLE
A.P.C. Rugby striped tie, $90, at Scoop NYC, 873 Washington St at 14th St (212-633-6535, scoopnyc.com)
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SPIN HIS STYLE
American Eagle Outfitters straw fedora, $16, at American Eagle Outfitters, locations throughout the city; visit ae.com
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SPIN HIS STYLE
Amongst Friends button-down shirts, $75 each, at Atrium, 644 Broadway between Bleecker and Bond Sts (212-473-3980, atriumnyc.com)
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SPIN HIS STYLE
Acheri Denim U.K. Super jeans, $98, at French Connection, 435 West Broadway at Prince St (212-219-1197, frenchconnection.com)
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SPIN HIS STYLE
Vince Baby bell cotton-and-lycra trouser pants, $195, at Vince, 833 Washington St at Little W 12th St (212-924-0370, vince.com)
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Tom Forget, 33; graphic designer, illustrator (tomforget.com); Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
His personal style: "Clean, preppy and classic, but with some risk-taking in regard to color and pattern. I try to dress like a wealthy, arrogant jerk despite the fact that I work in publishing and make a decent-but-not-extravagant wage."
His inspirations: "European film stars from the '60s and '70s like Marcello Mastroianni, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon. I'm also influenced by classic '80s WASP preppy-villain looks la early Tom Cruise and James Spader; U.K. musicians like the Smiths, Jarvis Cocker and Scott Walker; plus hip-hop guys like Kanye and Andr 3000—all confident guys who aren't afraid to use color and patterns."
Favorite stores: "Dave's Quality Meat (7 E 3rd St between Bowery and Second Ave; 212-505-7551, dqmnewyork.com) is definitely my favorite sneaker store in the city. They always have the coolest stuff, and their own brand of apparel looks good. Dunderdon (25 Howard St at Crosby St; 212-226-4040, dunderdon.com), a Swedish work-wear--inspired store, has really solid craftsmanship and great fits. I never have to get anything I buy there tailored. Epaulet (231 Smith St between Butler and Douglass Sts, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn; 718-522-3800, epauletshop.com) in Brooklyn has a very friendly staff and carries classic, old American labels like Pendleton and Alden, plus handsome stuff in their own label. J. Press (380 Madison Ave between 46th and 47th Sts; 212-687-7642, jpressonline.com) may have a clientele of fiftysomething investment bankers, but so much of that 'stodgy' Ivy League stuff actually takes big risks with color and pattern. They have shetland wool sweaters in weird colors like Cookie Monster--blue and hot pink."
His signature accessory: "A pair of Red Wing boots I found on the sidewalk. Since I found them, they've morphed into my everyday shoes. I have to force myself to wear other shoes. They go with everything except black pants."
Favorite designers: "I mostly just pick stuff up when I'm walking around, and when I find a brand I like in the course of my travels, I revisit it. I usually like Thom Browne when the hems aren't too jacked up."
How his style has evolved through the years: "In high school, I was really into hardcore and wore oversize pants and a big chain wallet. My clothes gradually shrunk to fit. One of the biggest style earthquakes for me was when Outkast came out with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below; I really latched onto what Andr 3000 was saying and doing regarding his outfits. That confidence and boldness radically changed the game for me. Another huge shift happened when I realized there were so many tailors around and they could make your clothes fit you for reasonable prices. I'm kind of a small guy and most American clothes are too big, so getting everything tailored became standard for me. It can make a simple shirt from Old Navy look like it's custom."
How his professional aesthetic influences his personal style: "It's integral to how I dress, particularly when it comes to which colors will go together and which patterns and proportion of pattern will work. One time, I saw some moldy bread that had these amazing teal and orange patches on it, which went directly into a book cover I was working on. That same color combination is present in one of my outfits."
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