Imbued with the exotic grace and the thoughtful attitude of a muse in a Modigliani painting, Paul who is well versed in the past couple of decades of New York street fashion, humbly spoke of his present love of quality workmanship and the virtue of expensive clothes. My eyes were darting back and forth between his oversized Indian cuffs embellishing both upper arms, layers of indigenous necklaces, and denim clogs from Israel. Paul was in design school with another promising young talent named Marc Jacobs, but ended up instead a musician in his band The Ones and with a hit single Flawless. A true veteran, who gets the importance of cut and silhouette, he believes strongly in investing in prized pieces slowly rather than constantly buying and throwing out less significant purchases - "a hundred years ago things were hand made and treasured." Paul can interchange his flawless reserves and always reflect his distinctly multifaceted self, like pairing Commes des Garcon's "perverted" take on the preppie madras plaid blazer or an asymmetrically draped Vivienne Westwood striped t-shirt with his spectacular African beaded necklaces. However, you will never see him in the same visual explosion of his plaids, stripes, color, textures, and interesting take on proportion twice - "a different day, a different way to put it together." White Doc Martens, black leather sleeves, cut-off pants with hose, an orange lace top, a necklace that he made by wrapping acid colored scarves in string, and his favorite short sleeve jacket, this is Paul all grown-up, "being an individual," but not trying to be too much on the "outside." I can only imagine how extraordinary the outfits were in the '80s at the parties of his legendary friend Keith Haring, one of which was where Madonna debued Like a Virgin.

If you like Paul, you might also enjoy Freddie Leiba, Carlyle Hanson, or Justin Giunta.