Personal Style Deep Dive with Gen Padua

Gen Padua is likely the most recognizable face of Standard & Strange. One of our go-to models, Gen is the Senior Shopkeeper at our Berkeley shop. Known for his strong, eclectic personal style, we decided to sit down with Gen and hear about what makes him tick. We talk sleaze, the 1976 Oakland Raiders, and why “eclecticity” should be a word.

Standard & Strange: How long have you been working at Standard & Strange?

Gen Padua: I’ve been working at S&S for 7 years now and I think I’ll die here.

S&S: Were you a fan of many of the brands and styles at the store before you worked here?

GP: Honestly, I only knew about Kapital and Red Wing. Still a fan of Kapital. Red Wing is pedestrian to me and is for the birds in my opinion.

S&S: How would you describe your personal style?

GP: Eclectic, sleazy, tacky, corny, flashy, maximal, novelty, but also thoughtful and intentional, challenging and sometimes accidental.

S&S: How has it changed/developed since working here?

GP: I feel like my style is more dialed in and iconic to me, and I feel like it has way more range now, whereas before I’d restrict myself to just two or three looks, I definitely wear more colors and patterns, and I’m more detail-oriented with accessorizing and I lean more toward maximalism, it’s just more fun that way. I’d like to think that I’m a chameleon of style.

I’m more conscious about details and proportions, whether it be on a fit or on a garment - heel height on boots, back pocket size and position on a pair of jeans, sleeve length on short sleeve shirts, pant rise vs. jacket length, pant leg width vs. type of footwear, and so on.

S&S: Do you have an outfit that you think best captures your personal style?

GP: I got a bunch of looks that capture my personal style:

• An Aloha or bowling shirt tucked into jeans, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. If it’s hotter, I’ll wear the aloha or bowling shirt open over a tank.
• Denim vest over a denim jacket over an aloha or a tee tucked into jeans and a pair of engineers or cowboy boots. Vintage cap if it’s with engineers, cowboy hat if it’s with cowboy boots.
• Cropped Raiders jersey, black jeans, loafers, and a vintage cap.
• Rolling Thunder jacket, cropped Raiders jersey, washed-out jeans, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat.
• Black and white J-24 over a bowling shirt tucked into a black kilt, 8” lace-ups, and a vintage cap. If it’s too warm for a leather, a denim vest over a black tee.
• Tanker jacket or orange side of the “Bailout” MA-1 over a crewneck, checkered scarf, breeches, black 8” boots, and Z-Special cap.

S&S: What informs your thinking about your style? What do you look to? Movies, music, books? Could you share some of your inspiration?

GP: My inspiration isn’t based solely on aesthetics or clothing itself but also attitude and aura. Besides the usual suspects that most people will mention, like James Dean, Marlon Brando, and whatnot, some of my other inspirations come from people, characters, specific scenes and moments in film and history, and subcultures - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, The Outsiders, Brokeback Mountain, Fargo season 2 & 4, Ole Munch, Chino in The Wild One, Budd and Michael Madsen in general, Cliff Booth, Snake Plissken, Stefon Diggs when he played for the Bills, Kurt Cobain, A$AP Rocky, The Clash, Dick Curless, David Bowie, Tupac Shakur, Tom Mix, Marty Robbins, 50’s biker gangs, Southern California’s cholo culture, the 1976 Oakland Raiders, the NY and London punk scene in the ’70s and 80s and a bunch more, there’s just too much to mention. All of this has carved out my style today.

S&S: What brand that S&S stocks do you find yourself gravitating to the most and why?

GP: I love Ooe very much, as makers and people. They are the best at what they do, and everything they make are masterpieces. They do so much research, and they put so much thought into what they produce, from mastering the iconic details of a garment to details that people wouldn’t normally notice or care about. This is a brand that you should buy two of a kind from, one to rock and one to stock.

Black Sign is a brand that I can really identify with. Their collections have a wide array of pieces inspired by silhouettes across history that are the roots of my style today - late 1800s to early 1900s western wear, 20’s formal wear, 30’s workwear, WWII militaria, 50’s motorcycle wear. This brand is a peek into a portion of my style.

S&S: Are there any brands/items that you were exposed to at S&S that you are surprised you gravitated towards/surprised fit with your personal style?

GP: Vests, breeches, sportcoats, long coats, engineer boots - didn’t think I’d incorporate these pieces into my wardrobe but it really has made my style more complex by encouraging me to play around with layering and proportions

1st Pat-Rn and Monitaly are brands that really challenged me to expand my eclecticity and to style dressy pieces that were outside of my comfort zone. These two brands are some of our sleeper brands, and they definitely need more recognition for their innovativeness. Also, “eclecticity” isn’t a word, but it should be.

S&S: Do you have a current favorite clothing item/pair of shoes? And why that one?

GP: Hands down, it’s going to be my treasured 1940s Sears Hercules Biker Jacket. My partner got it for me as a present for my third month of being off cigarettes. Great patina but still in great shape, perfect fit. It’s older than my parents, which is a trip. I don’t know; I just want to continue the story of this jacket. I’m sentimental like that. I just like old things.

S&S: Do you have any style advice for anyone who needs help getting their personal look together?

GP: A fit never determines your beauty, it only enhances it. There’s a difference between style and just wearing clothes. Don’t take this fashion thing or whatever you wanna call it too seriously; just have fun with it. Wear whatever the heck you want; who cares what people think or how they look at you or if they got something to say, they can take a hike. If it makes you feel comfortable with the person that you are, or if it makes you feel like the person you want to be, or if it makes you feel happy with your body and shape, or if it makes you feel self-assured, then that’s all that matters. In my opinion, the people who dress up with no care in the world about other people’s opinions are the most interesting folk. I’d rather grab a drink with those kinds of people rather than a person who wears a Kapital piece as a crutch for their personality.