the search for authentic

This is a posting about the search for distinctiveness and the commercial propensity to commercialise this.

There has always been a taste among some people to seek to distinguish themselves from the common herd. All those austere early portraits of people with lace collars and featureless black attire, were not an exercise in minimalist taste, but drawing attention to the expensive handmade lace ruffs that they were wearing. Lace ruffs that as soon as they could be cheaply made, became utterly pointless and went out of fashion.

The upper classes have traditionally been adept in this art of subtle (or not so subtle) differentiation. Nowadays, when they move among us more routinely, they distinguish themselves more discretely, with their private schools, circuits of exclusive holidaying destinations, and a myriad of other subtle signals that they belong to an elite, that merely popping on a Barbour jacket or pair of Church shoes, will not grant you access to.

However this is not just about a wealthy elite, it is also about setting yourself apart in terms of taste, creativity, ‘genuineness’, whatever any of those indeed mean. This can be done via self conscious juxtapositions in your attire, a hipster-ish taste for certain brands, the Brompton bicycle, a ‘save the whale’ badge or an obviously well worn (loved) pair of jeans.

Most people will tend to copy the taste of other people they like or admire, so there are elements of tribalism here, and for others just unconsciously sorting yourself into informal types. Ranging from the full on steam-punk aficionado, to the folk that tend to pair a Barbour with wellies for walking the dog.

We now live in a world (at least around here) where a lot of people have easy access to serviceable and functional necessities from Ikea and Primark, which are actually perfectly fit for purpose and (when new) hard to distinguish from vastly more expensive items. And frankly are good enough. This means that you no longer distinguish yourself by having a perfectly finished item, that might as well have come from Ikea, you distinguish yourself by having a tastefully worn item or ostentatiously hand made item.

This is where Ikea and Primark cannot readily compete, as their products are not designed to age gracefully or show manufacturing flaws.

We now see ageing gracefully in terms of the stuff you see at an old stately home (above or below stairs), the worn knees of the jean, the leather boots worn from a lifetime of toil, the table inlaid with signs of generations of usage.

So the country house condition is to be aspired to, this old wing chair, that has been in the family for generations.

Which brings me onto my second theme, the ability of business to commercialise our peculiar tastes.

While there might have been a cachet to a well worn pair of jeans, it is easy enough to stick a good pair of jeans into a washing machine with some gravel, and then sell at a premium jeans that are pretty much fit for the bin.

While there might have been a cachet to carefully selecting fresh and exclusive products from a delicatessen, it is now easy enough to visit any big retailer and smell the fresh bread (actually just heated up in store) select Salmon from a particular loch (actually just a brand created to fool you).

While it might have been a cachet to buy furniture at a french market and take it home in your authentic 2CV, now you can just order shabby chic online and have it arrive at your door tastefully aged.


At one time anthropology was something that you applied to other cultures, so Evans-Pritchard would observe the Dinka and Nuer, but probably not the foibles of those he went to school with. But really any study of others, is in part a mediation on one’s reaction to them, how like them are you, how genuinely different are you actually. While we might be able to point to behaviour in others that we can label as ridiculous, in all honesty are we actually any different ourselves, do we not just have similarly irrational foibles.

At the end of the day, we all just exhibit our own personal blend of foible and folly, none are immune to it.

In part this train of thought was inspired by what I saw as a lack of authenticity. On visiting a shoe shop recently the assistant admitted that they sold more boots than shoes now. Traditionally a boot was a tougher more workaday item. Worn by the few, for a day of heavy labour. But now boots have been neutered and rendered more feeble, they are lightweight fashion items. I bought what looked like a perfectly good pair of boots, in actuality they are already nearly through at the heel, which is hollow and easily worn. The leather uppers are paper thin, lined with fake sheepskin to provide some heft. Even cutting across some long grass in heavy dew and I can feel the damp coming through them. Although styled to look like hiking boots, they are simply fashion boots.

However that is exactly what the vast majority of people do want. They want something that is of the moment, and that can easily enough be discarded when that moment passes. It is now immensely expensive to repair shoes and boots, frankly cheaper to buy new, and immensely difficult to find boots of real heft and quality.

If you are looking for a Commando or Vibram sole, then even a quality manufacturer like Loakes has hardly anything available. They will helpfully resole your shoes/boots, but that is an expensive undertaking (currently £80).

I probably walk three or four miles every day, and expect footwear to last for years, but then I am unusual in that. Struggling to find boots that would last as long as I wanted, I eventually discovered William Lennon, and now have a perfectly formed collection of boots from them.

Is this an ‘authentic’ choice, choosing to wear boots that have been handmade in the UK by a small manufacturer, in the style of honest working men that worked in foundries, or as shepherds, or showmen? I don’t work in a foundry, I don’t routinely scrabble up scree slopes and wade through swollen Highland streams.

We have created a world where we generally walk on carpeted floors, enjoy air conditioning, where adventure can be bought as a holiday option. For most of us, our choices are no more authentic than Marie Antoinette dressing up as a milkmaid with her friends. We are in danger of forgetting what authentic actually is.

There does need to be some grit in the oyster to make the pearl, there does need to be some genuine struggle in life, to toughen the soul. Some hardship or struggle is no bad thing, and perhaps we should all push a bit harder and expect a bit more from ourselves.