HOF: What Are You Wearing Right Now - Part IV (starting May 2014)

[DonCologne]

Honestly, I don't know. It surprised me but they are a great bunch. I have regular lunches with several of them.
If you walked around Melbourne of Sydney you'd see the same disdain for good dressing as you do in London or LA but clearly there are a lot of people interested in clothes. Hard to spot them on the streets though

And I thought every australian is wearing this kind of clothes:

 

[spectre]



Really? Not all of us dear heart.

I'd be concerned too about setting yourself up as the arbiter of all things good then ducking behind baseless aussie stereotypes when questioned. I like and agree with some of your points and disagree with others, I take issue with your dismissive approach though.

PS I liked the greyhound! What happened?

The greyhound wasn't mine, just a random pic because I like them. I have two now but the German Shorthaired Pointer/Labrador cross you now see is the most wonderful thing in my life (don't tell my wife...she's okay but a bit touchy). Totally off topic but old Polish proverb says greatest love is of mother for her son, second is of dog for owner/companion and third is between couples.

 

[spectre]



And I thought every australian is wearing this kind of clothes:

Isn't that the Wall St uniform?

 

[Henry Carter]



yeah I stumbled upon the thread once. IS there any reason why y'all like SF so much? 

Honestly, I don't know. It surprised me but they are a great bunch. I have regular lunches with several of them.
If you walked around Melbourne of Sydney you'd see the same disdain for good dressing as you do in London or LA but clearly there are a lot of people interested in clothes. Hard to spot them on the streets though

Thinks it's just a small little community all interested in the same thing and a mix of Australia not having a huge choice sartorially which brings a good population together on Style Forum. We are a laid back bunch so tend to all get along well but in our adopted forum/thread there are many of differing nationalities that now live in Australia. What makes the Aussie thread work so well is it's just not about clothes, you are just as likely to be getting advice on buying a new washing machine as to when the next Henry Bucks sale is on.

 

[DerekS]



There is one jacket on which I do actually use them. SF is really going to hate me for this, but I bought an unstructured Italian SC for the summer, and the sleeves are maybe an inch too long.They have working buttonholes. I wanted to wear the jacket so, prior to having any alterations done, I undid the first buttonhole and folded the cuff back. Somehow I've got used to the look of this, especially on a very casual summer jacket - it's totally #menswear (which is not normally me) but it works, and I've since found out that altering the sleeves would be very expensive (and my local tailor in any case is not up to it - see my last post), so I'm not sure I want to do that.

my man. ill completely admit to doing this on a rare occasion as well. I like it, and I'm sure that if i posted a pic here id be reamed. but guess what...i still look fuckin cool beleedat

 

[An Acute Style]



Bobby's is great! Did you go on sunday? You would have loved SoWa!

I did go on Sunday. What's SoWa?

 

[ridethecliche]

There was a great big fair right around you, no?

It's right in the parking lot next to the store. Arts market, indoor vintage market (you shoulda hit this up!), farmers market, and food trucks (!!!).

I go there ever couple of weekends. It's a great spot.

http://sowasundays.com/

 

[An Acute Style]

Oh, yeah. It was raining so I didn't stick around afterward. It looked cool though.

 

[EFV]



... I disagree completely about the tie knot - I think it is perfect. There is a perception that a big windsor knot is necessary because of the spread, which is wrong in my opinion. Windsor knots should never be worn at any time - four in hand, half windsor or Pratt are always better.
...

QFT

 

[Claghorn]

It's going to take a while for me to recover from the sight of this. Did you actually pay money for that jacket?

Quite a bit, though B&T is fairly reasonable given the quality they provide, and that fabric was had at a particularly good rate (they were trying to clear any extra jacket lengths to prepare for their move)

Take some solace that a good 80% of my outfits involve solid blue jackets. There is room in my closet for loud and obnoxious as well as simple. Room in yours as well, graybeard

 

[tchoy]



Quite a bit, though B&T is fairly reasonable given the quality they provide, and that fabric was had at a particularly good rate (they were trying to clear any extra jacket lengths to prepare for their move)

Take some solace that a good 80% of my outfits involve solid blue jackets. There is room in my closet for loud and obnoxious as well as simple. Room in yours as well, graybeard

I like that jacket a lot, I actually thought of ordering it when I saw the cloth. You pull it off very well, I dressed very sedately when it comes to patterns and colour and I don't mind breaking out something loud once in a while. There are always room for something bit more fun in our wardrobe.

 

[BespokeKiwi]

To most people that's all dead boring and it is really, but the cut and fabric of a lot of it was the most eye-catching aspect which impressed me...
... Dress however you like but you have criticised my pics for being dull and lifeless so let me chime in when I see something which makes my eyes water please.
If you are going to take constant shots at my preference, do a Google pic search for Cary Grant, regarded as the best dressed man ever by many people. Of the 100 or so pics you will see about three where his ties are not solid and apart from one they are from his very early days. Same goes for Sean Connery's James Bond in the first four movies. Even Steve McQueen in the Thomas Crown Affair. People here decry my quest for this type of "elegance" but I guess to many that means cramming as many patterns as possible into your outfits.

@spectre like yourself, I draw a lot of sartorial inspiration from Sean Connery's James Bond and Cary Grant. In my case, more the former than the later at this stage. But Grant is definitely growing on me.

I do think its important to note that both leading men were naturally swarthy and dark featured in their hey day. Invariably sporting deep sun tans; which contrasted nicely with their simple and low key dress aesthetic, especially Grant's arguably more monochromatic look. In Bond's case, owing to his low key M16 secret agent occupation and Grant's sartorial influence on Ian Fleming, according to some.

For those of us without the above leading men's naturally swarthy and/or deeply tanned appearance, we may struggle to achieve the same "pop" (wow factor) as @Claghorn is fond of saying.

I hasten to add that I'm referring to myself here and not to you @spectre For example, I had a lot of pastel coloured solid sports shirts that I've often admired on darker skinned men. Unfortunately, when I wore them I looked washed out owing to my aged (I'm over 50) pale skin, despite my having natural black hair.

I used to tell myself that I'd look better wearing them once I have the opportunity to work on my tan. However, in these modern times when the gap between middle class and galley slave is rapidly blurring -- as financial commentator Bill Bonner says and my own experience seems to confirm -- I have even less time to work on my tan now than at any stage of my life. So, my complexion remains pale owing to too much time spent working long hours indoors. Colloquially, my appearance is referred to as the "white faced boy" look by the Chinese in South East Asia, where I spend part of the year.

So, mine is a cautionary tale for those of us aspiring to achieve a similar appearance as our on screen sartorial role models, like Sean Connery's James Bond and Cary Grant. Achieving the "pop" is easier said than done, at least for this traveller of the sartorial lonely road.

Thank goodness for the SF community and the wonderful support if offers for our individual journeys towards sartorial self realisation. Onwards...

EDIT: By the way, I loved the exchange between @DonCologne and you. Your reply was funny. Sadly, very apropos in these FUBAR times. No offence to any SF members working on Wall Street, not hating just saying.

 

[mimo]

Windsor knots should never be worn at any time - four in hand, half windsor or Pratt are always better.

QFT

I do think this is one of iGentry's most irritating memes - Ian Fleming and his lazy dress style have a lot to answer for! Being an alcoholic novelist living in the Caribbean, he probably did wear loafers, safari shirts and lazily-assembled knit ties if any at all, and wrote his hero the same way. But I don't think any of those things have to be a rule any more than his less celebrated Bond-preferences, such as nylon underpants, short-sleeved shirts etc., let alone the liberties taken for product placement in the resulting films...let's not even start.

Anyway, back to the point, sorry: yes, the massive Windsor knots of shiny fat tie, beloved of 90's investment bankers to match their contrast collar shirts and black chalk stripes, are deplorable. Your suggested alternatives, Spectre, of half Windsor or Pratt/Shelby, were also mine - I didn't suggest a Windsor, actually. Though to say it should "never be worn" is silly: my personal favourite is a Pratt/Shelby for formal symmetry, or a double four in hand for knits and grenadines, but that's just me. I'll also go with a straight 4IH if the tie is heavier and I'm a little more casual, or a half Windsor if it's a bit thinner for the same purpose. But if my tie were very thin and I wanted a larger neat knot than the P/S was giving, then the Windsor would be the logical solution.

So going back to Noodles, whether he wants to be symmetrical or asymmetrical is up to his mood and circumstance. But having a slightly larger knot to match his spread and his head, is just a matter of sensible proportion in my humble opinion - however he ties it. I'm not saying that a four in hand is a bad thing, or that Noodles doesn't look good - on the contrary. But in this instance, perhaps a DFIH or HW would likely improve the size ratio while keeping his suitably SF tone intact!

 

[Roycru]

And I thought every australian is wearing this kind of clothes:

The Australian version is louder than that.......

 

[jungleroller]

Apparently a few Jails around here are reverting back to the black and white stripes due to the popularity of Netflixs "Orange is the new Black"