SW&D Theory? (CM's Free For All Help Thread)

[Caustic Man]

I am starting this thread in an attempt to get my SW&D game jump started. I haven't seen much abut this after searching the site so hopefully the regulars (and not so regulars) can help me. I have been lurking a lot lately and finding some very interesting looks I'd like to try and emulate but I just don't know what the basic items I need to have are.

So here is the question, what are your SW&D wardrobe essentials?

For someone who is just starting out what are the basic starting items you would recommend I get? This means versatility, items I can mix and match, workhorse items, and stuff that I can use year round. I know there are a lot of different looks on this side of the house so debate about these questions would be appreciated.

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

CM thinking applied to SW&D

There are no essentials

 

[Caustic Man]

Really? You mean to say that there are no common factors that people have found useful in a variety of situations? I can think of white sneakers, selvedge jeans, and quality white t shirts off the top of my head. I just don't know any others is the problem.

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

There may be a few templates you can choose from, but there aren't essentials the way there are in CM. Like, there is no white shirt, or navy tie, or black balmorals, because there will always be several highly regarded posters who don't have and don't need those items.

But like I said there are some templates.

There was the 2008 version: BoO oxford, APC NS, Clarks Desert Boots.

Or 2010: Margiela 5-zip, hanes tee, Dior 19cm, GATs

or the Regis: Margiela viscose knit, virgin wool pants, SLP boots

or the brad-t: [Japanese Translation Required]

or the Zissou: denim/heritage everything

or the spacepope: I don't know, and it's beyond my comprehension, but goddammit it looks good

or the in stitches: CM everything (confusingly, this often works, too)

And yes, there are plenty of people here who have white sneakers (hi!) and selvedge denim (hi!) but since there are just as many that do not, it's hard to classify those items as "essential." The only real essential to SW&D is that you have some kind of creative vision for how you want to look, how you want to come across, or what you otherwise want your clothing to represent. There's a reason we all nerded out over Synth's weekly WAYWT stories; he was quantifying that for us, holding up the mirror for us to see how we were doing in a way beyond just "that fits well and is flattering on your body."

White sneakers and selvedge denim are not a bad place to start. But they are not essential. And it is when you realize that that you will truly begin your journey.

 

[Caustic Man]

There may be a few templates you can choose from, but there aren't essentials the way there are in CM. Like, there is no white shirt, or navy tie, or black balmorals, because there will always be several highly regarded posters who don't have and don't need those items.

First of all, thank you for the interesting thoughts on templates. I will look at them more closely when I have more time. Second, I know you are right about the statement quoted above, however it is also true of CM. There are people who won't wear white shirts, or balmorals, or even suits. True, people in CM seek out information which might equate to "rules" more than in SW&D, however there are just as many people who have widely varying "essentials". That doesn't stop us from discussing them, though.

 

[LA Guy]

@StanleyVanBuren has it hit the nail squarely. There are no "staples". What you require is a vision of what you wish to look like. It may be useful to have a template - it could be anything from a concept to a fictional character in literature or film to a idealized character of your own making.

For me, personally, fairly traditional leather jackets, scarves, henleys (not good ones, tbh), selvedge jeans and sneakers and casual, usually tan or grey, boots, are the backbone of my wardrobe, and my vision is of a drifter in dusty inland California in the late 60s. For someone else with a completely different vision, none of these items may have any resonance.

I think that to embrace the idea of "streetwear and denim", you have to cast aside any and all ideas of the normative.

 

[Cotton Dockers]

I really wish there was an easy answer to this, it certainly would have made my transition from CM to SWD easier. But just as there are no rules for dressing SWD, there is no "onelist" of essentials. Part of it is that dressing SWD is much more an expression of you and how you want to dress, as opposed to how your tradition/society/occupation influences how you should dress. Part of it is exactly what @StanleyVanBuren said, that there are so many different avenues to go down in SWD that the essentials for @spacepope are different from the essentials for @RegisDB9 which are different from @mbaum 's essentials. In CM, I could tell you that a certain poster's essentials are a navy blue suit, white shirt and black shoes and that could essentially apply to anyone.

My best advice is to find SWD posters that you like and try to integrate that style into the way you dress. Look at the brands they wear - what about that brand's aesthetics do you like? Look at their overall aesthetic - what brands have those same aesthetics? I'm using the word aesthetic way too much, but I think you get the idea.

There will be a lot of trial and error. You may spend a lot of money. Buy cool jackets. Keep it simple.

 

[Caustic Man]

This is all great stuff and definitely helps. Perhaps it would be more interesting, and maybe more beneficial, to get an idea of what your "templates" are. I have no fictional "character", either made up by myself or anyone else, that I want to be at the moment. That may change, it may not. I will say that I have liked @Lorcan7 's looks a lot. I don't think I want to go so far into flower child territory, but I dig what he wears nonetheless.

 

[cyc wid it]

The old $5000 wardrobe thread had some interesting posts. Some posters came with their distinct POV while others tried to make their lists as "accessible" as possible.

 

[Louys]

The major difference between CM and SWD is not that the former has rules and the latter doesn't. It's that in the world of CM, the world of the professional, of men 'on duty', a certain standard of dress does in fact exist and those who go about in that world must conform to it. Not only that, your reasonably educated CM guy understands why the standards of CM exists. In fewer words than the subject warrants every 'rule' in the CM book is in place to project an overall image of understated competency. Precise laws of fit, approved color palettes, and the whims of tradition are all contribute to what is one of the most well known and well understood uniforms of the western world. While the suited look still allows for a certain degree of individuality, it is hard to deny that it certainly exists out there to be conformed to.

In principle SWD denim is no different. There are definitely uniforms, take for example the ToJ, white tee, A.P.C., CP combo that was everywhere for the longest time. Yet it was ubiquitous because it looked good. Once you start to break down why, you begin to see how one could go wrong if they were shooting for this look. They could cuff when they should stack, they could wear a black tee instead of a white killing contrast, they could tuck in the shirt. If, in some parallel universe, the 2008 SF uniform became as standard as the suit and tie, these ways to go wrong would become prohibitions, thou shalt not cuff thy jeans with thy jawnz lest thou look as though thou lost thine Red Wings, and the ways to do it right would become imperatives, thou shalt wear a white tee to improve contrast and look as if thou just threw on thine jacket and departed after rising.

However SWD is not like CM. The aim is not to conform to some external standard but to create the standard, the look or uniform, which you yourself conform to. For some people this is conforming to an external standard-we all look around for fits we like and copy them to some extent, that's half the reason we're here. For most doing SWD right either comes down to dressing however the hell you want (but at the end of the day you do want it some way rather than another) because you're a fashion nerd or dressing however makes sense in some social context other than the world of CM.

tl;dr to do SWD right you need to find out what look you are going for (most of the time by figuring out why you are going for it) and then figure out the rules for pulling that off well.

 

[LA Guy]

tl;dr to do SWD right you need to find out what look you are going for (most of the time by figuring out why you are going for it) and then figure out the rules for pulling that off well.

I think that what you are saying that looks should be self-consistent in order to look good, and I would agree with that. This is why some posters are consistently successful, and others, considerably less so. Some guys, like @Parker , are more boss than the rest of us, and seem to be able to inhabit whichever character they choose to be at the moment.

 

[diniro]

If you ask some of the better SWD posters what their favorite 10 items they own, you're not likely to see the same thing twice. If you ask them how they arrived at their style, you'll probably get very unique, individualized stories. Some has an innate sense of style, some had to work a little, some had to work a lot at it. That's why it's hard to give out a single prescription.

The best advice I can give is to just read a ton and be more observant. Look at blogs, forums, books, magazines, people around you. Look up some designer ****. Doesn't mean you have to go out and buy designer ****, but the more you absorb the better I think. Develop your own palate. Find out what you like, but more importantly find out what looks good on you. It's a long term (lifelong?) learning process/struggle, at least for me.

I also think Lorcan is one of the best here, so that's a pretty good place to start out.

 

[Caustic Man]

These are some very interesting observations indeed. I can't thank the contributors enough. I wonder though, with all this talk of self styled image and individuality, where DOES the room for advice come in? I have gotten a lot of advice in the WIWT thread and some posters have commented very vehemently that some of the advice I have been given is good and some of it is bad. If this individuality is so important then why are people telling me how to wear my boots, or that graphic tees look too "college"? Surely the middle ground between individual style and objectively looking good must lay somewhere!

 

[nicelynice]

There's a lot of good advice and an equal amount of bad advice given on the forums. Comments from other posters can help give you a different perspective on an outfit, but even seemingly good advice from veteran posters isn't gospel - filter out what makes sense to you and just keep posting. Perhaps most importantly, keep an eye out for inspiration both on and off the forums. There's no recipe or template for looking cool, which is part of the fun of SW&D. It's fun to see some experimentation and individual styles evolve rather than a pristine gallery of finished looks.

 

[LA Guy]

These are some very interesting observations indeed. I can't thank the contributors enough. I wonder though, with all this talk of self styled image and individuality, where DOES the room for advice come in? I have gotten a lot of advice in the WIWT thread and some posters have commented very vehemently that some of the advice I have been given is good and some of it is bad. If this individuality is so important then why are people telling me how to wear my boots, or that graphic tees look too "college"? Surely the middle ground between individual style and objectively looking good must lay somewhere!

There are two possible answers to your questions. The first is obvious:

1) Some people give bad advice, or are simply unable to see outside the prism of their own preferences and biases. That type of advice you can safely ignore.
2) You are dressing in a way that is not self-consistent, and this is apparent to the viewer. I've found that nearly everyone has a visual idea of themselves. I am not even sure that this is something you choose, rather than that you discover. Being able to articulate what that is, and realizing it in how you dress is not that easy, particularly when it's not something at which you are practiced. Sometimes, it takes a guide. I would argue that dressing well in a "streetwear and denim" way is significantly more difficult than dressing in a Classic menswear way, since there is much more self discovery, and much less prescription.