Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/361673
Bon ViVant Joshua Janson bostoncommon-magazine.com 113 " Art speaks to our life. All of our art is fun and uninhibited." Whatever should one wear when President Barack Obama extends an invitation to a cocktail recep- tion at the W hite House? If you're Joshua Janson, you head for the ladies' department for Gant pink pants in size two. They perfectly match his Hermès horse bow tie ("How can you go wrong with this?") a nd Belg ia n loa fers. Such a re t he pieces t hat Janson pulls off his shelves, which also house his Venetian m ask by Carta A lta (the Eyes Wide Shut desig ner) a nd sapphire velvet Del Toro shoes ("I was seated next to him at a dinner party and was one of the first people in Boston to have Del Toro shoes"), along with his pride and joy, a baby-blue Hermès Birkin bag. The Acushnet native – turned – proper Boston philanthropist (Friends of the Park Rangers Mounted Unit is a particular focus), polit- ica l fundra iser, a nd av id t raveler ( India, Fra nce, and St. Barth's are favorites) expresses his colorful persona lit y a nd joie de v iv re t hrough a n eclec- t ic a ssor t ment of fa ncy red w ines, st udded Yohji Ya ma moto snea kers, a nd v int age photog raphs— including one of his grandmother, naked and ele- gantly sprawled across the hood of a Cadillac. For a nyone related to Joshua Ja nson, life ha s a lways been an adventure. Janson loves: H is chess piece stolen f rom a Pa r is hotel ("which sha ll rema in na meless"), a n Indian meditation bowl, Prada satchels from Italy, Harvard classic books, a custom-made needlepoint belt f rom Needlepoint Boston, Wa rby Pa rker glasses (his husband's), a Rodin sketch, Frette paja- mas, his dog Bernard, and husband Ben McGuire. secret weapon: "I wea r a lmost exclusively Old Nav y k ids' shor t s t hat I have t apered a nd shor tened." His Belgian loafers and Stubbs & Wootton shoes—always closed-toe—are among Janson's prized possessions. "I have a phobia of men wearing flip-flops in the city." right: An ancient urn picked up during travels in India and repurposed into a wine cooler. hair by Jesse blodgett/Mario russo salon; Makeup by tavi de la rosa