Get Ready With WooHoo – The Photoshoot

As a person who feels comfortable around turntables, Charles Hendricks has a deep understanding that sometimes what is old can be new, and vice versa. And if his sense of style is any indication, the idea has found its way into his life far beyond his music. When we arrived at WooHoo’s Brooklyn home for the photoshoot, he met us in a white t-shirt and jeans, which on most people looks basic, but on him, it somehow took us back to some James Dean-era outtake, but with NYC modern casual thrown in.

It’s also important to note – the boyish charm and good looks are no accident; Charles is indeed a boys’ prep school alum, the uniformed past peeking through his present style with plaid and argyle prints and vintage dress shoes. Much like his music, WooHoo’s style is a bit on the mellow side, but has a few bits that come as a total surprise. As they say, a picture says a thousand words, so I’ll lett them do the talking as we Get Ready With WooHoo:

BEFORE

I’ve noticed that you wear a lot of vintage! Your shoes are vintage, your pants are vintage…is your sweater vintage as well?

No. Filene’s Basement. [laughs] But it’s from 4 years ago, so you’d probably be able to find it in some vintage store.

How did you end up getting into vintage?

I think there are two answers to that. First, the easy answer is that you can probably find stuff that’s just cheaper, but still nicer (as long as you can get over the fact that somebody’s probably sweat in it). [laughs] So that’s the first reason. My shoes, for example (Nike Air Jordans), I found at a vintage store for about $30. Jordan 3′s are usually about a couple hundred bucks. Granted, in the condition that they’re in, they weren’t worth that much, but they’re definitely worth more than thirty. I wouldn’t go on eBay and try to outbid a bunch of sneakerheads for these shoes. I found them actually on a day when I was walking down the street, wearing a busted pair of sneakers (so busted that my friend was making fun of me). After about half a block, there was a vintage store where, in the window, I saw these. I looked at the size and price tag and thought, “That’ll work.” So I walked in, said “I’ll take ‘em,” and literally put those shoes on, took the ones that I was wearing and put them in a bag, and threw them out into a trash can at the corner of 10th and A. “Goodbye bad shoes, hello new shoes.”

Second, it’s a bit like looking for records. You never know what you’re gonna find. You could go to the same place three different times in the course of a couple weeks, and you’re going to find completely different stuff. It’s exciting. It’s not like you’re going to Uniqlo (though I like Uniqlo–good stuff, good prices), where the same stuff is going to be there.

So it’s a combination of price and the fun of exploration?

Exactly. You just put it so much better than I did. [laughs]

Speaking of prices, what’s the most expensive thing you have? What’s something on which you’re generally willing to spend a lot of money?

A good jacket. That’s probably the last thing I bought that was new.  It was a Fred Perry jacket I bought at a pop-up shop my friend was running in the Lower East Side. I went by just to say hello and ended up getting the jacket at-cost, which was about $200, but normally, at retail, it’s much more than that. So something like that, I’ll spend money on because I’ll get a lot of use out of it.

I used to feel that way about shoes. I’ve spent stupid money on shoes in the past. You can take care of them, but eventually, they’re gonna get crummy.

Were these sneakers, by any chance?

Yeah. I was a sneakerhead-lite. I wasn’t on every blog or anything following the lines, but I’d pay attention. I’d be on eBay all the time buying shoes. I’d wear them a lot, but eventually, they’d just get crummy. The way I’d lace them up, my foot would slip in the back, so I’d tear up the whole back part sometimes. It would start making wholes in my socks. It was just a money pit, so I try to keep it more reasonable now.

If you had to come up with a sentence for the clothes that you wear, if that’s possible, what would it be?

I don’t think it’s possible for me. I kinda run the gamut. I’ll wear a t-shirt and jeans, so long as it’s seasonally comfortable. Then once it starts getting cold, I’ll throw a jacket over it. Then once it starts getting too cold, then I’ll start putting on sweaters or whatever. But it’s hard for me to describe.

On the whole, I’d say I’m kind of a boring dresser. I don’t feel like I’m someone people would look at and say, “He’s got crazy style.” I feel like no one’s ever said that about me. I’m a bit lackluster. So if I had to come up with one word, I’d probably say “boring.” [laughs]

Even though you say boring, you have some interesting things going on today, like the argyle and the dress shoes. What do you think influences your style?

I went to an all-boys, Catholic school, where we’d wear stuff like this. I kinda like doing that. It’s different from, say, when you wear just a t-shirt and jeans. When you put more clothes on, it becomes more ritualistic. It’s the same as getting up in the morning and brushing your teeth. It’s one of the things you do that prepares you for the day.

So I’ll wear a t-shirt and jeans if I can, but at the same time, when I dress nicer, I feel like I can get more done. Like, “I mean business today.”

What about at work?

It’s totally casual. We don’t even wear pants. [laughs]

What about when you’re DJing? Is your style the same as when you’re going out just for fun?

Usually, but sometimes, it depends on the gig. If it’s gonna be a hot, sweaty dance party (where I’ll probably sweat ten times more than everybody else), I’ll [dress down], but if the place has a more “grown and sexy” vibe, I’ll dress that way.

Most of the time, I wear sneakers because I’m on my feet. I’ve got a bad back, so if I’m gonna be on my feet for an extended period of time, I have to consider the impact I would feel the next day. I don’t like wearing watches when I DJ because, unless it’s the best watch ever that fits me perfectly, it’s just going to slide around. Depending on what I am trying to do, that could be annoying.

But as far as accessories go, I don’t really wear accessories that much. I used to wear a necklace, but that was like 7 years ago. In the end, atmosphere is pretty much the deciding factor for me.

AFTER

Earlier, you indicated that you have “T-Shirt Time,” which is clearly an indication that you watch Jersey Shore. While I recognize their style doesn’t exactly fit yours, can you describe a little bit of your getting ready process for us?

Usually, if I need to shave or brush my teeth before I go out, then I won’t put on the clothes I’m going to wear until I am ready to leave. Also, if I’m sitting around in an outfit, it might get wrinkled. As far as the general process of getting ready, I’ll usually end up trying on 2-3 different things, but I think everyone does that.

Then before I leave, I’ll end up calling it all off. “Nope, not gonna work!” and put something else on. That’s the process: me just being indecisive until the last possible minute when I have to do something. It’s hectic and chaotic.

I listen to rock as I get ready, but I think it’s all seasonal. When it’s winter and gets darker outside earlier, I listen to music like The Smiths, which is totally cliché (though it was worse when I lived in the East Village – I felt like a walking cliché). It’s neutral to an extent.

But it kind of depends on what it is I’m going to go do. If I am going to a show, I may listen to that person’s music to get hyped, but when I am going to DJ (where I normally don’t play music that I make; it ends up being top 40 stuff, which is not ALL bad – I admit that I like a little Rihanna or Usher), I listen to current things to get ready mentally, keeping what I am going to play in mind.

- Retail DJ

Tags: get ready with woohoo, get ready with woohoo - the photoshoot, woohoo