Emily Adams Bode has a way of turning the past into the future. The 27-year-old Parsons graduate sources the fabrics for her menswear line, Bode, from vintage finds — estate sales, heirlooms, surplus — and combines it with everything from feed sacks to her own prints. The clothes she makes don’t hew to conventional notions of masculinity — they’re full of patterns, color, and volume. She wears Bode pieces herself and describes her own style as “sophisticated, boyish, and comfortable. Think if Take Ivy” — the celebrated 1965 photo book of clean-cut Ivy League style — “was written a few years later and included footage of underground British bands.” Here’s how she puts her everyday uniform together.
1. The Jacket: “I usually wear a Bode piece every day. This patchwork coat was made from a nineteenth-century quilt. It’s beautiful because it’s imperfect, but it’s also very pragmatic — warm and easy to layer.”
2. The Pant: “Jeans or vintage tailoring. I love the notion in traditional menswear of buying something you’ll wear forever, like a Brooks Brothers suit.”
3. The Shirt: “A white oxford, tied in the front. I have a collection of white button-ups and blouses, some over a hundred years old. I can wear them to factory meetings or to private client appointments without changing.”
4. The Shoe: “I’ve been wearing loafers since I was a kid growing up in Atlanta. Bass Weejuns are a Southern staple, and loafers span all eras and genres of dressing that I’m inspired by. When I want a more feminine look I wear glove shoes from Martiniano or Gray Matters.”
The Color: “A lot of Bode pieces are patterned and striped, so I sometimes like to wear white to make them stand out. It’s a clean palette that you don’t have to think about.”