Serendipity

On the Need for Pretensions

I read an article a little while ago where a previously ant-hipster writer went to the sort of Brooklyn cafe where the barrista sports a twirled moustache, tweed and some non prescription glasses. Now, the writer is pondering the pretentious nature of the establishment, but when he receives his “organic fair-trade hand-ground rare-bean” coffee, he loves it. And he points out that perhaps one has to dress up to really feel the vibe necessary for working in such a place and producing what one dreams of. To be the best, you have to espouse what you preach.

The same is true of a recent interview/piece on Tyler Brule. My family has mixed feelings about Mr Brule. I worship the man as the embodiment of a globe trotter, not obsessed with popping bottles of champagne a la Diddy, but rather interested in the latest boutique menswear store in Stockholm, fascinated by a tiny Afghan restaurant on the corner of a small boulevard off the beaten track, and deeply interested in foreign affairs. My parents read the Financial Times, and upon seeing his column The Fast Lane - where Brule name drops furiously and references his many plane journeys and his personal trainer - declare it pretentious crap. 

Now what I’m getting at here, is Brule may indeed be pretentious (definition:Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed) in order to live the life he does. To be what one writes about, one has to live it. To make that special organic coffee in a downtown joint with wood beams and exposed brick, one has to live up to the stereotype. The same goes for prepsters, by which I mean people who haven’t been dressed by their mothers in Lauren pastels since the tender age of two but now worship at the shrine of Polo/Rugby as though they’d been going to the Hamptons forever. However, these people dream of their leather sofas and their old gentleman’s club-esque future homes. Now to live up to such a lifestyle one has to embody it as far as possible. Who really minds if they dress as though they refuse to comply with their apparently pre-determined set of style rules? So what, because that guy in the tight red jeans, converse, vest and baseball cap is not still dressing in baggy jeans and a tee shirt like you seem to want him to? Allow for creativity, expression of who you want to be. Because in the end, even if you are trying to be something you aren’t, a part of you is that something because you are becoming it.

I think this sank home with me when I was attending a debate about “Should the Private life remain Private?”. Those supporting the motion were very astute in their judgements. But the best speech was the one about Batman of all people:

The speaker said words to these effect: “So what if Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, a boring corporate tie with a somewhat shady company. We believe in Batman’s superhero abilities. We decide to ignore the somewhat dark private life, the murkier details. We choose to believe only in the good man we see. And thus, we may be being naive but we are holding on to the best characteristics, wishing them to be our own. We can only gain, whereas if we accept the bad aspects of the character we also lose faith in the good aspects”.

So have faith in your pretensions, because to be what you want, not what others wants, you have to pretend to affect some things. And they’ll help you, if you’ve chose the right things to affect.