Mark Sandfoss walks in the Lucky Cowboy in a wool, pinstripe suit he tailored himself. It’s covered with cutouts of famous trumpet players, each set in a machine-embroidered emblem.

His wingtip shoes don’t match except for a plate of yellow on each. He is wearing lavender fingernail polish.

He’s noticed, warily at first. And then, in a gathering tsunami of recognition, people who’ve seen him around town or in their friends’ feeds, move in, asking about the suit, the look, where he’s going.

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This is Mark Sandfoss, 38, edge-pusher and provocateur in the name of breaking down boundaries. He plans his outfits, often weeks in advance, tailoring them to entertain or make a statement.

Take his alligator shoes, gator loafers at the base with tentacles of rubber alligator toys Sandfoss cut up and attached. Walking in them is like navigating in snowshoes, with reptile tails and legs flapping as he goes.

No one sees them without doing a doubletake, usually with mouth wide open. But the shoes are also leather, and that’s part of the message.

“People probably are wearing cow leather or alligator skin shoes without much thought,” Sandfoss said. “If they could see the full anatomy and face of those animals while they are wearing them, they may be more aware of the impact they have on the planet and the ethical issues related to using animal products.”

Sandfoss created Friday’s outfit, a suit with cloth photos of trumpet players, because the Memphis-born Lucky 7 Brass Band was performing in Cooper-Young that evening at Bar DKDC.

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“And then, I took a little step further with the Virgin of Guadalupe. I don’t know how this happened, but it seemed like a good idea. I replaced the image of Mary with each trumpet player. It has that look to it,” he said.

He has a closet full of other suits and half-dozen or so in various stages of completion in his Downtown apartment, including tributes to artist Marcel Duchamp (What is Art?) and former NBA player, Dennis Rodman.

His tribute to Dennis the Menace is Rodman’s jersey paired with a poodle skirt, a bridge Sandfoss can cross, he says, because he was “privileged” to be born a heterosexual male, “which protects me from a lot of societal ridicule and phobias.

“I like the idea of wearing a dress or makeup and showing people that there is no link between sexuality or gender and clothing/makeup. We too often limit ourselves to the boxes society has made for us. I do not appreciate these limitations …”

Some outfits take months to complete because Sandfoss is adding paint and detail as it occurs to him.

“Sometimes I’ll leave one thing because I get inspired or I think of something funny to do on something else. It’s not very linear. It’s not like an eight-hours-a day kind of thing.”

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As a person, Sandfoss is nowhere near as flamboyant as what he wears, which creates a continuous dichotomy. Wearing statement clothing invites attention, sometimes mob appeal.

“It can be a very bizarre experience to go out and not only be kind of mobbed like you’re famous — and you’re not. But I’ve also had people say things like: ‘Were you at this party six months ago?’ Or, ‘Is this a picture of you?’ And they have a picture of me on their phone,” he says.

“It’s still a little strange for me, this idea of being kind of the center of attention. I like to meet people and know about them rather than talking about myself.”

Sandfoss has a doctorate degree in zoology from the University of Florida. The Memphis Zoo hired him to do post-doc work in assisted reproductive technologies — artificial insemination and cryopreservation — to help the endangered Louisiana pine snake.

“It’s a new thing in reptiles. It’s under-developed, not a lot is understood. There are rarely resources for reptiles because they’re not cute and cuddly,” Sandfoss said.

He has accepted a job with the U.S. Geological Survey in Florida. He plans to leave in November.

It’s simplistic to say his interest in dress as a means of self-expression had a single starting point. It’s been more of an evolution.

“It’s only within the past maybe five to 10 years where it’s getting more extreme in terms of not only me making more things, but also them being more and more outlandish,” he said.

But being in Memphis has helped, he said, because he finds people affirming here, and it’s been easy to tap into the creative community.

Those people tell him he’s rare.

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“There is something very awesome about the realness with which he expresses himself through clothing, but it’s not for the purpose of being noticed at all,” said Katie Hunt, president of the South Main Association.

“It is just what he is compelled to do.”

She’s seen the mass interest his clothes produce.

“It’s funny, because I feel like that makes him very uncomfortable, which is all the more evidence that that is not his M.O.

“But I think what I love about it is that he’s a great conversation starter. And also, just easy and approachable, even though he’s standing out,” she said.

Sandfoss grew up in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, in suburban Cincinnati.

“With my background, I wasn’t really exposed to a lot of art. It was mainly pop culture. I thought an artist had to have something to say, and I never had the kind of strong opinion or something I wanted to push on the world,” he said. “I didn’t have a lot of experiences outside of my small town and going to school. I didn’t feel like I was in a position or skilled or whatever to be creative or to be an artist.

“I am still warming up to this idea that I am.”

For him, the world offers lots of easy ways for people to express themselves, to be unique. Clothing is an obvious example.

“If you go to the mall, GAP and J. Crew, they don’t know who you are. How can they possibly express your essence? I think we have an opportunity in all parts of our lives to maximize what it is to be a human, to be who you are, with all the things you have.”

Mark Sandfoss

“If you go to the mall, GAP and J. Crew, they don’t know who you are. How can they possibly express your essence? I think we have an opportunity in all parts of our lives to maximize what it is to be a human, to be who you are, with all the things you have.”

He dresses more conservatively for work. But conservative definitely falls along a continuum. 

One day in late July, he went to work in slacks on which he had sewn 20 or so eyes. On his shirt, a standard print, he painted a circle on the front, just big enough and outlandish enough, he said, to personalize it.

“That’s not the usual pattern. That is not a usual thing, so, it’s strange to people. People at the zoo tell me, ‘I wouldn’t wear what you are wearing, but I like what you are wearing.’”

Part of the allure for Sandfoss is the confidence in what he has created. But the other is the fun of making people smile or confusing them with themes that don’t mesh.

“It feels very strange to say this, but many people say they’ve been inspired to dress differently. To have people just think about what they’re wearing, have a little more intention and feel more comfortable is something I really like.”

Sandfoss is practical enough to wear his creations more than once, but in truth, practicality holds little flame to creativity.

“It’s not that I don’t want to wear this thing I wore last weekend, but I want to wear the new thing I just made this weekend. It’s sort of compulsive, and I keep making things. I can’t really stop at this point.”

He gauges the effectiveness of each is based on the reaction of the first person he sees.

“If that person says, ‘I like your outfit’ or stares or the car that drives by honks, it’s going to be a fun night.”

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Memphis clothing designer Ana Marie Mann met Sandfoss through a mutual friend.

“Mark is a really nice dude. That’s probably my favorite thing with him. Whenever I see him, we always talk about clothing, which is pretty cool. The dude knows a lot about snakes.”

His work, she says, has an Easter egg quality, with hidden surprises.

“Usually, you can’t tell what he is trying to say, or at least not the full story, by just looking at his clothing. But you get more out of the conversation, for sure,” Mann said.

The suit of trumpets Friday had its own hidden message, starting with the iconography.

“The Virgin of Guadalupe is a religious symbol with a very specific aesthetic. I like that aesthetic, and I also enjoy the confusion I cause when I take a specific aesthetic and apply it to something unexpected,” said Sandfoss, who was raised Catholic.

“I used to find comfort in religion. Now, I find comfort and meaning in music and art. Jazz trumpet players are amazing artists.”