FU. Yep. Try to dress your man, and you’ll hear that phrase often. But FU Man. Fashion is a frivolous universe even and especially for men. Free will(y).

Dan Costello and I, in hardcore ways I will possibly never describe here, have had quite a clothing journey. From our first dates with the bins of oversized plastic tubs of oversized t-shirts covered in cat hair. To epic purges. To building a custom wardrobe (literally, a place to store clothes, but the cats still sleep in there). To strategic thinking and purchases. Anyway, suffice it to say, once Dan realized that maybe fashion wasn’t totally irrelevant to his life, like most things, he was a total natural at it.

Here are two key FU Man principles that really helped Dan: Fit and Function.

FIT: Many, many of Dan’s original clothes were oversized. So one day I moved in (heh heh, tricky), then we took a few trash bags, and just weeded out the worn out, mis-sized and tragically 80s (except we kept the acid-washed jeans for parties). It cut his clothing supply in half, freed up space, and gave him better basic tools to work with on a daily basis.

FUNCTION: Dan is a fantastic musician, so he needs to look hot and sharp while hot and sweating. Dan’s clothing choices require a mix of quick-dry outdoor gear, layer-worthy appeal and rock star awesome. When we first started redefining his wardrobe, we used the phrase, “Rockstar sophisticate” to keep us in line.

Dan also bikes a lot to gigs too, so he needs extra stretch and go.

Below clothing descriptions by Dan the man himself…

Hat: Kangol 504 cap w/ earflaps (disengaged– it’s summer!) 100% wool (Buffalo Exchange in ABQ, $6… current MSRP $54)

Black tee: (???)

Shirt: Geoffrey Beene, 100% polyester microfiber (Youth Ranch, $4… current retail @ $29)

Jacket: Alfani (Macy’s downtown going out of business sale)

Pants: Prana “Wister Pants,” 67% polyester, 32% viscose, 1% spandex (REI sidewalk sale, $20… retail $65)

Shoes: Borne (Buffalo Exchange in Seattle, $20… MSRP $95)

Dan is really amazing at print and color mixing. He’s subtle but interesting. I applaud him all the time for it. (Quite literally).
Trike: Schwinn (won it in a poker game… original MSRP back in the day, $775… current retail @$300)

On the street photos by Mati Young. Dan wore this while riding to the Audio Lab’s 20th anniversary party. Rock on Dan. FU Man!