Lost Worlds’ founder Stuart interviewed

[Peacoat]

Yeah, that would all be cool if Stu wasn't a scamming turd. Sells me the jacket in the wrong size, made during an amateur hour, full of stray stitch holes and then ghosts me when I ask what the f. Slimeball knew I couldn't do anything from Europe to harm his "business" which is just an unregistered rat infested dump in New York.
My fault, though as I should've listened to my gut feeling, instead of ignoring all the red flags, beginning with that website of his because anyone who cares so little about how they represent themselves and their product, sure won't stand behind it. Man has zero respect for himself, for his nylon sacks he calls jackets and least of all, for his customers.

Because of your experience, I decided I would never get a LW jacket. Had been considering it before your ordeal. No longer.

 

[Guppy]

Gone is the ability to say what's on your mind w/out having to be concerned about how the next delicate little flower might interpret your remark.

Nah, I don't buy that. It's always been a prudent thing to watch what you say, and how you say it.

What's changed is that back in the day, the only people a lot of people felt they needed to have concern about their opinions were other white people, and really only the men's opinions held much real weight. And they were closer together in their perspectives.

Whereas these days, we have a more diverse range of people, and perspectives, and so it's a lot easier to say something that someone will find fault with. And that's not a bad thing, really. More eyes can see more problems, can give warning to more dangers, and bring attention to more things that need fixing. It's good there's a broader range of perspectives. And I don't think embracing that makes a man pussified. If anything it shows his strength to be at ease among so many who are different than he.

If you have to worry about what you want to say, you ought to be thinking about why that is, and then figure out a way to say it, or something else to say instead. And silence is still golden.

 

[MrProper]

No matter how good LW's jackets are, I would never buy one because I don't like the guy at all. I don't know him, but when I read various quotes, he strikes me as an eternally yesterday's man who can barely cope with modern times and is not very tolerant of people who think differently. I could almost feel a bit sorry for him. But only almost.

 

[Viking752]

I will never be able to recover the time I lost reading this article. I feel I am less intelligent after this word salad from a pompous individual.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

I enjoy the hell out of reading Stu’s opinions and they absolutely make me want to buy a jacket from him (I have one and I love it, but it was a second-hander).

I know exactly the world he came out of - academic literary circles - and exactly the attitude he is struggling against with apparently every bit of energy he can muster: the overly-educated, self-righteous who have no clue what they don’t know. Academia is rife with that crap.

And it is certainly not just the world of letters. I remember in the late 80s hearing family members swear up and down that they would only ever buy US automobiles and damn the Japanese. Never mind that a US automobile at that time was designed to last less than 10 years and then fall apart whereas the Japanese one was built to last decades if not longer. My family had no idea what they didn’t know - but dammit American made cars were the best.

That attitude, translated to fashion, is also what I grew up with in the 80s and 90s in the popular conception that the very best clothes one can have are those seen in Hollywood movies, advertised on MTV and purchased in a mall. Not just from a fashion viewpoint, but from a quality viewpoint. It’s literally only been in the last year of being on this site that I learned that real leather - quality leather - is meant to get wet, because when I grew up the leather that was supposed to be the best wasn’t supposed to get wet. Talk about bass-ackwards. I swear we live in a very dyslexic society.

Stu must have been one of the first to challenge those shitty fashion assumptions of the 80s and 90s - going so far as somehow acquiring his own proprietary leather. I have no idea if he created the tanning process or bought one or what, but damn that is an immense piece of work for one individual and he started doing it in the early 90s when there was zero popular market for sturdy clothing. Zero. He literally had to create everything himself - from the product all the way to the customer. He had to create it all. That is a hell of a vision to follow, imo, and I tip my hat to him for it and absolutely understand the attitude that comes with it.

I just hope I’m able to get one of his creations directly from him before he quits the business for whatever reason.

Excellent interview, thanks for posting.

 

[Raisin Brando]

He certainly seems like a blowhard but you also have take into account him being a native NYer, "blowhard jerk" is the default setting for a good portion of them. My limited interaction with Stu was an email exchange with him a few years ago inquiring about a jacket, and he seemed polite enough. I was actually surprised because of what I'd heard about him

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Lotta Psych 101 going on here.
I know this is a Stu interview discussion thread and discussion it has been.

Too bad we’re all not sitting at a table across from Stu saying to his face our posts and opinions.
At least he’d have the opportunity to clarify, correct and defend his reputation and life. But he’s not, is he?He might even come across the table to demonstrate HIS opinions.
Then probably promptly tell us all to go F**K ourselves.

Buy it, don’t buy it, like him, don’t like him, nobody cares and it really doesn’t make a difference.
He’s just a guy living his own life and not ours.
Who among us stands without flaw, from back in his day….or today??
It’s all about the jackets anyway!!
B

Ps: i’m an old f**ker too. I get him, i get today’s modern “us”.
At the end of the day though, we all have to lay down with ourselves. It’s easy to overlook that.

 

[KBlake]

Nah, I don't buy that. It's always been a prudent thing to watch what you say, and how you say it.

What's changed is that back in the day, the only people a lot of people felt they needed to have concern about their opinions were other white people, and really only the men's opinions held much real weight. And they were closer together in their perspectives.

Whereas these days, we have a more diverse range of people, and perspectives, and so it's a lot easier to say something that someone will find fault with. And that's not a bad thing, really. More eyes can see more problems, can give warning to more dangers, and bring attention to more things that need fixing. It's good there's a broader range of perspectives. And I don't think embracing that makes a man pussified. If anything it shows his strength to be at ease among so many who are different than he.

If you have to worry about what you want to say, you ought to be thinking about why that is, and then figure out a way to say it, or something else to say instead. And silence is still golden.

“Microagressions” are a new phenomenon. Overcorrections happen in society. Acknowledging that isn’t necessarily an attempt to cling to privilege.