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WHAT WE’RE WEARING VOL. 3: THE MERCHANT WHO’D DYE HIS SKIN BLUE

Style / 
April 2020

GIF of Austin McCune's outfits.GIF of Austin McCune's outfits.

Austin McCune says he’s always been a little weird. He also says you should grab one more ring or accessory before you leave the house, and that life’s too short not to wear whatever you want. He is, as he says himself, “a little extra.” But few people look better in blue than the Levi’s® senior merchant. And that’s a good thing — because he really, really likes blue. This, in Austin’s words, is what he’s wearing.

I’ve always been a maximalist in certain ways. You know that famous quote: always take one thing off before leaving the house? I’m always trying to add one more.

I’m in my second evolution. But we’re not at the peak, in terms of my final fashion form yet. I think I’m hitting a point where I don’t need many more clothes, and I’m very picky about what I get now. But when I’m looking for something to wear, the crazier the better. The more sparkle, the more color, the better — especially if it’s in the blue family.

Blue is such an archetypal color. Everyone looks good in it, and every blue goes together. There’s something about blue that has infinite dimension. I would dye my skin blue if I could.

Photo of Austin McCune standing against a concrete wall. He is wearing a baseball hat backwards, sunglasses, and a faded Levi's Trucker Jacket.
Side by side images of Austin McCune. In the first, he's sitting on a chaise lounge wearing all blue and denim. In the second, he's standing outside wearing head-to-toe denim.Side by side images of Austin McCune. In the first, he's sitting on a chaise lounge wearing all blue and denim. In the second, he's standing outside wearing head-to-toe denim.

I’d describe my style as — oh jeez — denim indigo fantasy? I think my style is really San Franciscan. I get a little gender-bendy sometimes. I wear a lot of Levi’s® women’s from Levi’s Made & Crafted.

The jeans I wear the most are probably the Levi’s Authorized Vintage 501®. Whenever I don’t know what to wear, I always pick those up. My backups are the 511™ rigids. I may actually wear those the most right now because I’m breaking them in, and I’m trying to get a fixed fade.

Collage of Austin McCune's outfits.Collage of Austin McCune's outfits.

I’ve had the rigids for eight months. I haven’t washed them. I’m very particular about the first wash of my rigids. When I do wash them, I’ll be running with them into the ocean. It’s magical, it’s spiritual, and it’s pragmatic. The salt and the sand help age the denim a little more than in freshwater.

But that’s just me. I’m a little extra, if you couldn’t tell.