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Rules are cool

A limited preview of the context Palate can cite when answering questions from Trevor McFedries.

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Author: Blackbird Spyplane
Published: May 7, 2026

Enjoy our extensive new Natural Fiber Workout Gear Report. We just dropped the smash-hit Spyplane Ultimate Bay Area Guide. Mach 3+ city tips for traveling the entire planet is here. Spyfriends just came through with recommendations for Puglia and Dublin. We need intel for Beijing, Mérida and Cannes!! Here’s what you learn about getting dressed when you wear black for a month straight. We don’t run ads and we never use affiliate links except for one-off secondhand gems we find on eBay and Etsy, and books on the independent bookseller Bookshop. We laid out our position on affiliate links and spon here.

This means the only people we owe anything are our readers. — Jonah & Erin Subscribe now In today’s Plane we’ve got: A new made-in-NYC line designing clothes from beautiful fabrics for men & women under the radar A great new documentary about GORPY death-drive excellence Very clean walking shoes from a Tokyo artisan-swag-orthopedics (!) footwear brand whose newest release sold out instantaneously and yet, in a paradox, people are still sleeping on them But first — Rules get a bad rap. On one level: Of course they do. You know who likes rules? Hall monitors.

And who disobeys rules? Swaggy renegades. When you frame it like this, the implication is clear: Rules are for pedants… scolds… NPCs… You can see a positive expression of the cultural aversion to rules in the wonderful phrase “Let ‘em ” In this construction, swaggy renegades = chefs freaking it at the stovetop. Whereas hidebound rule enforcers = no-imagination, no-sauce dullards who do not cook and, what’s worse, try to prevent others from cooking, too. When it comes to clothes, the hall monitors (restaurant inspectors?)

can be especially obnoxious: “Wearing black with navy? Hmmm you’re in trouble, ” And yet! While I (Jonah) absolutely roll my eyes at all kinds of so-called rules for dressing, as a general concept, I love and am fascinated by Rules. This is a topic I’ve touched on a few times over the years. I’ve written, for instance, about the rules that circulate among extremely judgmental in-groups, like cyclists, surfers, and skaters — rules that describe arcane standards of excellence, and establish the boundaries between those who are part of a given community and those who are outside of it.

Not unrelatedly, I’ve also written about how Erin and I are inclined to salute anyone who Lives By a Code. If you insist that the drawstrings on drawstring pants should always hang inside the pants, and that they look goofy when they dangle outside the pants, I can’t say that I care quite as much as you do, but brother, I respect your conviction. If you insist that a jacket that has epaulets or diagonal non-hand pockets would look much less stupid without them, you’re speaking my language. Last week I got to thinking about rules once again, when we published a sletter about Core Tenets of Good Design as put forth by Jasper Morrison, a revered industrial designer.

Morrison draws clear lines between Right and Wrong, not only for himself but for other designers, too. A big part of why I like that is because, doctrinaire or no, it reflects a smart, strong POV. And yes, Blackbird Spyplane is a pro-nuance publication, but amid all the mystification and squishy relativity of modern life, we believe that a smart, strong POV is something to celebrate, especially in a designer.

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