Do your friends care about clothes?

[Renault78law]

I've only had one friend who has ever cared about clothes. In fact, we used to compete for 'best dressed' in the frat (feel free to point and laugh), and he hooked me up with a wicked NM discount when he worked there (in the mens shoes dept). After we graduated and went our separate ways, I hadn't heard from him in a couple of years. All of a sudden, I get an email from him generated via the styleforum. He recognized me in the 'reveal thyself' picture thread of all places. A sartorially small world indeed.

 

[misterbowles]

I have a lot of friends who are into clothes, but none who are into dressing well. In other words, they're a bunch of hipsters who, when we go to thrift stores, are searching for vintage t-shirts while I'm looking for gems in the suit and shirt racks... The rest of my friends don't really seem to care that much.

 

[StevenRocks]

Most people I know that I consider as friends have a passing interest in fashion, but it doesn't tend to run past the local mall-wear.  They think I'm nuts for caring about my appearance like I do, but I'm cool with it.  Being an individual and having places like this to talk about style is good enough for me.

 

[NewYorkBuck]

t's funny - I bristle whenever anyone says that I'm into fashion. I consider myself into clothes: I love nice clothes, nice fabrics, etc.

Exactly what my girlfriend said about me this past weekend. In any event, she's into it was well. (She is one of the few who can make me losen up the death grip I have on my wallet). A few people I work with are into it, but from what I can tell, none as much as me.

 

[Lydia]

My friends all care.  

One in particular, due to his family's great wealth, pretty much had achieved what everyone here aspires to by his third year in college.  Countless tailored suits, including a M-to-M Brioni suit and tux, and a bespoke suit which he claims to have paid 8000 dollars for.  He had 40 or 50 shirts from Turnbull and Asser, and all the other shirt makers from that street in London.  A linen suit from the one of the best tailors in Paris.  John Lobbs for dress, and J. P. Tods for driving.  He tends to despise anyone who brags of a bargain, though he goes on about how the vast sums that he pours out for clothing, meals, and everything. When he got a real job, he told his tailors to make ten suits that would look inexpensive, so he wouldn't offend any of his superiors.  Despicable, but highly entertaining.
He always criticizes his friends for trying to look sexy and not dressing in a classic gentlemenly manner.  
Several other friends are also quite obsessed with dressing in the proper, British, way.  If anyone has a bit of synthetic on or not enough cuff showing, these people go nuts.  These "timeless" dressers are all from Manhatten.
I have other friends, disliked by the first set partially on account of their style, who dress very outlandishly in tight polyester from vintage stores, platform shoes, and loud print shirts.
Another group follows the usual well-fitted premium jeans and polo shirt thing, swapping the polo shirt for something from Thomas Pink when a bit more dressiness is required.
There are also the gays, who wear black, slim-fitting clothes, and tight jeans.

 

[linux_pro]

I know almost nobody who does. But they all compliment me on my taste.

 

[Will]

I think of this and similar forums as today's replacement for Henry Poole's salon, where customers sat around drinking port and discussing clothes.

Will

 

[kabert]

I've got a few friends who are into dressing well in high-quality clothes -- those who buy Brioni and Oxxford, for example. One who spent a year at Oxford wears mostly T&A dress shirts. Another wears alot of Charvet, but is just as likely to be wearing it with a Brooks Brothers or Hickey Freeman suit. Several are big into the Tom James thing. Most though are other lawyers who buy their clothes at Brooks Brothers or Filene's Basement (Hickey-Freeman) - -guys I've been friends with since college or law school. Also, I can't think of any friends who are into really nice shoes, such as Lobb and EG. I'd be surprised if they had ever even heard of Edward Green.

My wife likes high quality clothes, especially Loro Piana and Piazza Sempione. However, she is more focused on fit and comfort than a label. She has a ton of clothes that are made by designers/makers I've never heard of -- the stuff that Neiman-Marcus doesn't sell, but that can easily be found in Soho. She is also of the belief that women's shoes are to be worn and then thrown away when worn out -- odd, but I guess this is pretty common based on the above posts. She also has 40+ pairs of shoes, so they don't wear out quickly anyway. She has gently joked a couple of times about the large number of shirts and shoes I have (which I have divided up in my closet by dress/casual and by color, and with all my summer clothes/shoes set apart in a separate storage closet), but she is blessedly nonchalant about my attraction to high quality clothes and shoes. Thank god for non-joint checking accounts and separate credit cards.

 

[JLibourel]

I hate to make this thread sound like a broken record, but none of my close friends are really into clothes in the manner of us forumites. With a couple of exceptions, most of my co-workers are egregiously bad dressers. Only one other man in my company verges on being a clothing enthusiast, and his taste and mine tend to diverge rather sharply. I have a couple of more distant friends in my industry who are knowlegeable about dressing well. My father-in-law is relatively knowledgeable. I have one woman friend who is an accomplished seamstress. She is quite knowledgeable, and I enjoy talking clothes with her.

My wife is enigmatic and rather ambiguous about clothes. She likes to shop Rodeo Drive and get high-end apparel. When she puts some effort into turning herself out well, she looks like a million dollars and I am very proud that she's mine. Much of the rest of time, she is quite content to appear in public looking like something the cat dragged in after playing with all night. She firmly entertains the archaic and juvenile prejudice that any man who turns himself out well either is gay or at least "looks gay."

 

[norcaltransplant]

A few of my male buddies are interested in looking good, and solicit my advice, but don't know much about clothing. I have a few complusive shopping "buddies" (all women), who care more about fashion than quality, and rather spend a lot of $$ on many things versus a lot $$ on a few, choice pieces. I receive the most compliments on my shoes, and then, probably, my lavender and pink dress shirts. Both look great with gray flannel.

 

[johnw86]

I've mentioned the Style Forum and my e-bay suits to a couple of close friends. They think it's just another sign of my eccentricities, and it amuses them.

 

[mrprlover]

I mention a few things here and there to several friends (eBay purchases and nice shoes/suits I found on sale), but as aforementioned it's more of an amusement to them. They find my shopping habits rather intriguing and often think I have a problem. =]

They like to joke about my Magli's - saying they are made of ostrich leather. It's all in good heart though, as they know who their go-to guy is when in need of sartorial advice/help/suggestions.

 

[Dakota rube]

I have a couple friends here who enjoy clothing and dress nicely. At this far outpost, a bespoke suit is almost unheard of. High quality here is good brand-name RTW. I wear mostly HSM and RLP suits and sport coats. I am constantly complimented on my dress, so I know people here appreciate style.

My wife works in a public school which is populated by children from the lower reaches of the socio-economic strata. She "condones" my purchases, but finds few reasons to "dress up" herself. She is far more comfortable in khakis and cords.