Kitchen design expert and sneaker collector, Dane Maharaj's style can only be described as effortlessly on-point. From construction sites to the streets of Johannesburg, he weaves his unique and sophisticated approach to modern dressing through his busy lifestyle.
Tell us about your day job and how you ended up there?
Our business designs and manufactures bespoke cabinetry and furniture. I spend most of my days consulting with clients and on dusty construction sites ensuring operations run smoothly.
Have you taken your FIELDS Shirt on any adventures thus far?
Being a new father hasn’t give me much time for adventuring, but I have taken this shirt on a few adventures to work sites over the weekends and it’s held its own very well! The shirt also got some adoring looks from the “luxury” crowd while doing my weekly shop at the Hyde Park Woolworths.
How have you styled the shirt?
Thanks to the cold weather we’ve been experiencing in JHB, I've typically been wearing it as an over-shirt of sorts – normally buttoned up with a plain white t-shirt underneath and a contrasting jacket over. I've enjoyed wearing it under this camo print jacket I’ve been wearing all winter.
What makes this shirt a keeper?
The quality of the fabric and construction (buttons, stitching etc) make it quite hardwearing and the vibrancy of the colour. The weight of the shirt also makes it more substantial than your typical button down shirt.
Describe your style in three words..
Aging Jawnz Enthusiast
Do you have a workwear uniform or outfit formula?
I work in pretty dusty and hard-wearing environments and so I like my workwear to be able to withstand my day to day movements. Typically, I keep things quite simple with some sort of slim selvedge denim (I have a pair of black selvedge and indigo selvedge which I wear every work day), a chunky knit in winter, and plain shirt.
I typically wear some sort of mid-cut boot to work, either my trusty pair of Supreme X Clarkes Desert boots which I’ve had for maybe 8 or 9 years now, or my Grade X Grasshoppers. PPE requirements often dictate that I have to wear some steel-toe boots so I have a pair of oiled leather Chelsea boots with a composite toe which I keep in my car.
What are your three wardrobe staples you’ll keep replenishing forever?
Indigo selvedge jeans, white t-shirts and white button down shirts.
Who do you look to for style inspiration?
I’m lucky enough to be friends with some really nicely dressed people, so I try to draw inspiration from those around me. These days, I try to avoid the “hype” of internet/Instagram fashion and look for inspiration around me, even with the work-wear I see others wearing on-site.
What is your city of style?
Johannesburg. It’s the most culturally and ethnically integrated city in South Africa and this translates into the general style of its residents. There is a place for everyone here.
What are you listening to at the moment?
I’ve been revisiting a lot of what I used to listen to in my youth. I have a routine with my daughter where during her evening bath time and feed, I play her some music from my past and then tell her a story about the artist/song and its significance in my life. We’ve been running the gambit from metal, punk and hardcore like Bad Brains, Youth of Today, AFI, Rancid, Rage Against the Machine and The Distillers, to more cheesy tunes like Craig David and 90s boybands like Boys II Men. There’s also a healthy dose of late 90s/early 2000s “Emo” in there like Bright Eyes, Dashboard Confessional and Something Corporate.
What are the other FIELDS pieces you'd like to own?
Definitely the 1kg Wool Knit. I’ll be placing an order for one of those very soon.