Internationally Reknown, Locally Accepted

Currently Listening To :: So Nice (Summer Samba) :: Bebel Gilberto

Flicking through the Sunday Telegraph, I took a quick peak at the revamped "S" liftout in the paper. A collection of arts, film, fashion and gossip, there is plenty to browse through plenty of pretty pictures. Catching my eye was a picture of a 'good-looking' media student looking "sexy, comfortable and very Sydney". While I was more interested in reading where clothes designer Akira Isogawa likes to shop for clothes, books and magazines, the byline to the picture stuck with me.

What does it mean to look "very Sydney"?

Having in this town for most of my adolescent and adult life, I've been blessed to have been able to travel to other countries and continents in the quest for recreation, romance and refinement. So I guess I'd like to think my "look" isn't exactly "Sydney". And from looking at the picture, I don't think I could ever pull off folding my jeans up that high in one fold (I'm not a fan of pant cuffs in any form) any more than wearing a leather wrist band or a wide belt with the buckle sitting on the hip.

So then...that of course begs the question. Why do I look the way I do today? Time to get self-indulgent.

I've been wearing glasses since I was about 10 years old. At the time I was fully convinced that I had 'something' permanantly stuck in my eyes affecting my vision; after going to the optometrist, I came out in utter disbelief, as well as wearing a pair of the biggest, roundest glasses known to man. Today, things are still big, but a little more shapely. I wear a pair of thick black frames that I bought in Malaysia after I'd lived in Taiwan for half a year on exchange. Inspired by the plethora of cool frames and yearning for a change to the metallic half-rims that everyone else seemed to have, I went for the biggest I could find. Contact lenses for going out though; geek chic is only

The hair...the hair. I've always been extra sensitive about my hair; the fact that I travel all the way to uni just to get it cut by my favourite hairdresser when a) I've already graduated and b) I live nowhere NEAR campus is proof enough. I think it all stems back from a last minute haircut that went incredibly wrong at this $5 barber in the city before my Year 12 high school formal. Needless to say, I've found something good, so I'm sticking with it. Right now, it's as long as it's been for a long time; I usually slick it back for "the Graniero" look (in honour of my workmate Davide), but since it's been cut, it's back to ol' messy spikes.

Before the knit sweaters, the khakis and leisure shoes, I was a baggy hip-hopper. I still like to hang out in sweats, runners and shorts, but since I'm getting a little older, I figure it's time for a little change to the look. Honestly though, I've always enjoyed dressing nicely, and my passion for nice clothes probably stems from a crush I was desperate to impress back in my first year of uni. So one part GQ, one part classic styling and a dash of Asian inspired styling make up the look. Taiwan, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong. Sounds complex? Well, if I don't understand it, I'm not sure what to make of it.

As a disclaimer (and what doesn't have one these days?), this is by no means a definitive list. There are of course other things, but this is just the exterior facets to Ben, which only hold so much permanence before they grow out of date or I grow out of them first. On the other hand, I could be here forever talking about all the influences that have shaped me as a person. The experiences, the pains, the joys, the losses and the wins.

So keep on reading...'cause you know I'll keep on writing.

(Disclaimer: Frequency and quality of said 'writing' is not guaranteed in any shape, form or flavour. Heh.)