Summer Nights (feat. Stand 4 Socks)

What I'm Wearing: 
Jacket: Forever 21, Pants: Forever 21, T-Shirt: Apt 9, Shoes Apt 9


“Summer Nights (feat. Stand 4 Socks)”

Dear readers,
Finally I feel like I can have my Danny Zuko moment in the midst of summer. This past June I was approached by an amazing brand called Stand 4 Socks. Each of their unique socks help give back and are linked to a specific United Nations global goal, delivering a tangible impact in developing countries. I built this outfit around the socks and a a film I always felt was a summer staple. Grease impacted so many people and so many generations. I put in so much thought on how these specific pair of socks that could help power a hospital in Africa can make an impact like Grease has for many generations. I know you may say, how the heck do these 2 relate to each other. Life imitates art, our clothes and accessories are built upon art, art is based off life.

​People in Africa need hospitals so they can continue to live their healthiest lives. Without doctors and medications, some young kids, men, and woman won’t be the next generation of Sandy’s and Danny’s.
I built this look around Grease because for me Grease is innocence. A lot of the people that go to the hospital are innocences. Sandy and Danny met during the summer and had one of the best summer loving experiences you could ever have. They were young, happy, healthy, and figuring out where their love was meant to go in the world. When I received this pair of socks from Stand 4 Socks, I could have easily gone the easy route and built an outfit around a simpler theme. But I wanted to challenge myself and mix and match 2 vastly different subjects and find similarities within their global impact. So many young kids in Africa don’t have the privileges to go to the doctor and get checked or receive medication because there is no hospital near them. What Josh Turner, founder of Stand 4 Socks did, was make socks that go on our feet so we can hand jive in comfort and hand jive with a purpose. Danny Zuko was a confused young man at times, but Danny Zuko was a boy filled with purpose, and a destiny to fall in love with Sandy. His character along with Sandy, Rizzo, and company turned into something more when they opened their mouths to sing their heart out. Millions of people all over the world could relate to them within the words of every song they sang. I chose to wear an old school leather jacket from Forever 21 to have the Danny essence brought to life. Danny Zuko is not complete without a skinny pair of pants and a white tee, to have that classic vibe that men are still hopelessly devoted to today. I gave the outfit a modern twist by adding a bandana to pay homage to the socks from Stand 4 Socks. I thought of the lighting and lightning in Greased Lightning and how so much power had to be used to bring that scene to life. I’m pretty sure all the lighting in that scene and the film in general could have been used to power a hospital in Africa. It is important that there is power in the hospitals in Africa so that the young kids, men, and woman can get the proper treatment they need. How would you feel if you went to the hospital and you needed a breathing treatment but there was no power to power up the machines for you to feel electrifying again. One of the worst things we could do is not make a change or help make an impact in some little way. What I love about Stand 4 Socks is they take a piece of clothing that we put on our feet to help us walk forward and make that impact while wearing them and supporting amazing causes. Entertainment, Art, Fashion, Love, Life, and everything meshes together, we go together, and we make the change and impact even with something as small as socks.

​As a guy who has been living in and out of the hospital for the past 3 years, receiving treatment for a disease that I did not ask for but continue to live and evolve with, I would’t want to know what a hospital without power would be like. I’m pretty sure I would be completely blind if the hospitals didn’t have power. I wouldn’t have my Glaucoma meds, or surgeries that help lower my pressure and slow down the process of me loosing my complete eye sight. This company and the causes they support, specifically this one, means a lot to me. I am honored and blessed to have collaborated with them on this special page of my story. I hope that somewhere some young boy and girl is getting the proper treatment they need with the power that is needed to help them in whatever way possible. I always believe the shoes and socks we put on our feet should make a statement, because even the little details make an impact, Thank you Stand 4 Socks for standing up for the little guys who need some sort of light shining on them, some people could easily “Hide Away” but you step into the light.

Continue to be the one the world wants and tell them more, tell them more until they look good, feel good, and do good, just like the socks from Stand 4 Socks.
Love, Dom

​Photographer: Joanna Wheeler  

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Every post I will include the song that inspired me to build a post around it's title. ​​​​​​​

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Stories From My Life - Chapter 2