Tuesday 2 July 2013

Unconventional conventionalists

Lord Bassington-Bassington has just returned from the bi-annual conference of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism, held in Gothenburg.

Despite coming from a line of great thinkers Lord Bassington-Bassington himself hasn't exactly distinguished himself as an intellectual. Unless, by "intellectual" you mean "obessing about things few others care about", in which case His Lordship is practically a new Einstein.

So instead of trying to say something meaningful about the superb conference program, Lord Bassington-Bassington took a Jungian descent into silliness at the closing dinner, which was held at the Masonic Hall in the heart of Gothenburg. So here are pictures of a few, to borrow a turn of phrase from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, "unconventional conventionalists".

As usual, we here at the Chronicles apologies for the shoddy photography. If you want professional-looking style pictures taken with a proper camera, go read The Sartorialist or something. We here at the Chronicles are proudly punk in that respect.


This look demonstrates that all one needs to look spiffy is a cravat. Though posing in a Masonic Hall is also a good style tip.


Like the turban, the kippah is one of those pieces of headwear that go with absolutely anything. And one of the few head coverings that men can wear indoors without breaching etiquette (or looking like a ruffian).


Surely this is the way to wear a brown shirt: With a colourful tie and a warm smile. And a lively interest in the coolest film ever made.


When, like Per Faxneld, you are an expert on Satanism, it is fun to wear as little black as possible.


While George Sieg rocks a more subcultural academic look, which fit the occasion well. After all, Gothenburg does translate as the "City of Goths".


Lord Bassington-Bassington's dear friend Frater Zog really matches the interior.


A Harvard tie, magnificent beard and some stylish slippers are quite the trinity of style. Lord Bassington-Bassington hereby considers stylistic Unitarianism (also known as minimalism) disproven once and for all.


Mark Sedgwick isn't just the author of the monumental Against the Modern World, but also a scholar of Islam. And, as such, surely entitled to wear the the no-tie look.


Kenneth Granholm gets a lot of respect for his magnificent muttonchops and perfect Lemmy impersonation. But let's not forget that he is an interesting scholar too.

In closing, let Lord Bassington-Bassington acknowledge that, yes, this little report is as "gentlemen only" as the Masonic lodges here in Scandinavia. This is not meant as a slight to the ladies, a group Lord Bassington-Bassington is rather fond of.

But while there were some extraordinarily stylish ladies present at the conference, the style section of The Lord Bassington-Bassington Chronicles tends to have a focus on male dress. And so a male-only style report is defensible.

Well, that's the excuse anyway. For the real reason for the lack of ladies is that His Lordship is much too shy to approach strange ladies and ask if he can take their pictures.

2 comments:

  1. Well, since the court case, anyway.

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  2. The court case was a travesty! How a bit of friendly sniffing and - yes, I admit it - slobbering can be interpreted as "sexual harrassment" is a mystery to me.

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