When you lean against a wall for a chat with Doug Gonzalez, you will get his full, affable attention. If his smile doesn’t disarm you, his keen conversation will. Basically, Gonzalez is charming AF. Be prepared to immediately crush on him or want to be his friend if you bump into him around town or at the Durango Arts Center, where he’s the administrative operations coordinator.
DGO had spied Gonzalez at Studio &’s “Still/Unstill” opening reception and asked him about his casual, cool aesthetic.
“Style is something I’m still trying to figure out, and I think that is why it takes me so long to get ready in the morning [laughs] … I would describe my ideal style as combining pieces that are simple, timeless, colorful, but also understated when they need to be … My favorite pieces in my wardrobe, they are classic, American, structured pieces. Like a pea coat or a nice pair of jeans. From there I can have fun.
I remember in kindergarten, thinking up an outfit and saying to myself, ‘That would be fun to wear.’ It was shorts, a rugby polo with red and green and yellow stripes, and some cowboy boots. [laughs] That was the first time I thought of an outfit. After that, I remember doing my hair a lot in the morning. Part of it is this idea of reenacting women I had seen getting ready in film and on TV, and it became a part of my own getting-ready process. I also grew up in a household of women, so that might be another arm of where my style and interest in fashion came from.
I really like ‘Mad Men’s’ style and ‘Downton Abbey.’ It is formal and tight, but I love the costuming going on there. I also love the way that Patricia Field speaks about her styling in ‘Sex in the City,’ – thinking about pieces that are bold and colorful and layering them in a unique way. I try to do that but with my own male viewpoint on it. And, I like texture. This [points to shoe] reminds me of weaving, and I think that’s why I like these a lot. I put as much texture as I can get in an outfit.
I’m not interested, really, in GQ Magazine. I subscribe to it, but that fashion sense seems limited to me. I am more moved by women’s fashion because of the variety.”
Patty Templeton
