hongnick_

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@kjoules Lame

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@kjoules Gen Z issue?

[derek guy @dieworkwear]

This is not what sprezzatura means.

The term sprezzatura comes from The Book of the Courtier, a 16th-century text by the Italian diplomat Baldassare Castiglione. At the time, the livelihoods of certain European elites depended on their proximity to the throne. The better you could serve the King or Queen, the more prosperous and secure your lifestyle would be.

In his book, Castiglione used the word sprezzatura to describe how a courtier should perform their duties while concealing all effort, so that even the most difficult accomplishments seem natural and effortless. As he wrote, it's "a certain nonchalance, to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it." In this way, you would seem indispensable to the royal court, as you are too talented to give up.

Menswear writers later co-opted the term to describe the process of looking stylish without seeming like you tried. This idea goes back to Beau Brummell, arguably the single most important figure in menswear history, as his dictums in the early 19th century still shape how we think about dress today. At the time, there were powdered fops who wore ornate dress and giant wigs. Brummell championed a simpler, more austere form of male attire consisting of a dark tailcoat and full-length trousers (rather than breeches). His style of dress at the time was known as the dandy, even though today we use the term to describe someone who visibly puts effort into their dress.

Brummell was fastidious about his presentation. There's an often-passed-around story about how he would spend hours in the morning tying his white cravat so it would look perfect without seeming like he tried. One morning, guests saw one of Brummell's dressing rooms with a container full of cravats. When asked what those were, the valet said: "These are our failures."

Brummell insisted that you always look stylish, but effortless. If lore is to be believed, he once said: "If John Bull turns around to look at you, you're poorly dressed: either too stiff, too tight, or too fashionable." (John Bull was a term for a random man at the time, sort of like Joe Blow).

Whether rightly or wrongly, this still shapes how we think about men's style today. Hence, my objection to the first outfit below on Brunello Cucinelli. A peak-lapel sport coat with a crisp white dress shirt, a dark tie, blue jeans, and bright tan shoes signals a lot of effort. To me, it looks calculated and contrived. Whereas a slightly more casual shirt (light blue) worn with a tweed jacket, no tie, and jeans looks more natural. Did Tom Selleck consider his clothes when getting dressed? Of course, no one would fall into these clothes while climbing out of bed. But he has hidden his effort better.

[Joel Chan @kjoules]

The Hang Seng Index has fallen 13.5% ever since CE John Lee publicly announced it would create Hong Kong's first-ever Five-Year Plan
• The Hang Seng Index is down 7.57% for the year, one of the worst performing Asian indices

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@claydon_calder I tried to specify a length and width so let’s see how that’s goes

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@claydon_calder What is the length cm?

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@FedEx @FedExForum your AI is pretty garbage. How do I fill out your app’s shipping form so I can mail my USA taxes from abroad???

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@transit_jam @seanpaulday Shows how much HKers hate dealing with cab drivers here

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@tripperhead I’m 0/2 on cabs that offer a form of card payment

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@transit_jam @ShinskySam @hkpoliceforce That way you don’t have to worry about ticketing a district councilor or someone else who has ties to the government that will complain about you

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@tripperhead Weren’t a bunch of people just bowled over by a car that went straight through those anti-jaywalking gates today?

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@transit_jam So now it won’t be used at all?

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@transit_jam No seatbelt then?

[Jarrod Watt @Jay_Watt]

Having an existential crisis with @cathaypacific:
Me: "I can't find my return booking to Hong Kong online"
Cathay: "There is no evidence you turned up for your flight"
Me: "But I boarded your plane in Hong Kong - I have a boarding pass?"
Cathay: "There is no evidence..." 1/?

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@JoyToyWarhammer *Snickers in heretic*

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@kjoules I hope the “cum” thing is just big inside joke among civil servants

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@johnherbert @transit_jam HK construction companies be like

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@kjoules Love how they had to be told to do this

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@dieworkwear Do you agree with this statement? - “If you’re the mayor of New York, really, you should buy stuff that’s made in the five boroughs.”

[hongnick_ @hongnick_]

@tripperhead I always thought it said something good about the internationalness of the city that foreign passport holding PRs could run for office but that was pre-2019