POAL: What has been the single biggest influence on the way you dress?

[Marsay]

In the past men learned to dress from their fathers or failing that their schools and later workplaces. That's not necessarily the case nowadays - certainly wasn't for me - so I'd be interested to hear what the breakdown is on this forum (obviously the results will be skewed). What has been the biggest formative influence on your wardrobe? What led you to classic menswear? And how exactly has it influenced your dress - is that influence primarily in things like where you shop or more the way you think about clothes? If your biggest influence has been online, do you ever feel that influence creates a disconnect between your clothing and your actual life ("rus in urbe" and the like, or Naples in Manhattan if you prefer)?

My school tie was royal blue with a red and yellow regimental stripe and came exclusively in 100% polyester. From university I own a DJ and a navy suit that I don't have much use for. (Mercifully, I avoided all competitive sports so I don't have one of those blazers much beloved of the iGentry.) Ede & Ravenscroft's window, and student discount, was a positive influence. I now work in possibly the worst-dressed "white-collar" job - so clothing is purely a pasttime for me, first studied in print magazines and more recently on the internet with some early influence from fancy shops now replaced by online retailers. Being a transplant to the U.S., I'm also drawn to Americana: oxford cloth, button downs, the Bean catalogue, repp ties - even point collars although I don't know how to wear them. And conversely - perversely even - I instinctively dislike anything with Sloane Ranger connotations: Barbour jackets, Huskys, Viyella, closed quarters, snaffles, green tweed, green windowpane tweed, above-mentioned boating blazers, the military. Fake Sloane is even worse; perhaps Americans feel this way about Ivy cosplay.

I'm assuming the majority, but not all, of the poasters here share that sartoriogenesis. But that leaves a lot of room for variation. For instance, I haven't much used the internet for specific brands (although I did find a new shirt maker to finally sort out my sleeve length issues). I spend the most time on Styleforum browsing the archives back when there was a lot of discussion of general attitudes toward dressing - and I like to think such reflection has an influence on the way I dress. I mainly use Instagram to look at colour and fabric combinations on people who have much larger wardrobes than I do. Can't say I always get much out of WAYWRN here but there are a few poasters - good and bad - whose outfits are reliably instructive.

 

[lildog]

My interest started partly because of my uncle and partly because of going to a high school where everyone wore polo RL oxford shirts, which was everything I wore from age 16-19 (now 22). Then when I graduated, I got some Marinella ties that had been my grandfathers, and when I started university, most people would wear jackets for dinners or parties which made me discover the magic of good tailoring.

Right now I'd say my main inspiration comes from local (Sweden) tailors and classic menswear boutiques. I also like to browse instagram, mostly for Italian and English stuff. Also very inspired by the Armoury and am right now dreaming of owning anything from ring jacket!

 

[Thin White Duke]

None of the above.

My single biggest influence is not even anything concrete, it's more the idea alluded to in Richard Barnes 'Mods!' book of young lads in London consciously shaking off the black and white austerity of post-war Britain and gray de-mob suits, and stepping out in lightweight, light-coloured suits with colourful accessories and slim Italian shoes. And as the look became more egalitarian and street, adopting tennis shirts, bowling shoes and other sports-influenced items into non sporting contexts. All of this came about with zero influence from fashion houses, designers, media etc. and was instead fueled from within.

 

[Astaroth]

It started at work in that I took a big career change, nearly 13 years ago now, which moved me from being dealing with everyone on the phone to dealing with most my "customers" face to face. I had long hair which clearly hadnt stopped me getting the job but my boss took me aside after a good few months and said that when I look for the next step up it'd be sensible to over compensate with formality of dress to balance out the possible response of people to the ponytail.

Started there, enhanced by meeting a beautiful lady that subsequently became wife and bribed me to lose the long hair but really increased after discovering blogs showing how to wear sports jackets etc whilst under 50. Last comment may sound a bit odd to some given how much in fashion they are now but they simply didnt exist in my world other than for some aging relatives who's jackets were probably older than me.

 

[Marsay]

None of the above.

My single biggest influence is not even anything concrete, it's more the idea alluded to in Richard Barnes 'Mods!' book of young lads in London consciously shaking off the black and white austerity of post-war Britain and gray de-mob suits, and stepping out in lightweight, light-coloured suits with colourful accessories and slim Italian shoes. And as the look became more egalitarian and street, adopting tennis shirts, bowling shoes and other sports-influenced items into non sporting contexts. All of this came about with zero influence from fashion houses, designers, media etc. and was instead fueled from within.

Given that you're not a working class lad in post-war Britain, are you happy with wearing historical costume or is there something that lifts it out of being costume?

 

[lildog]

Interesting - you both give family as one reason. The poll is unsurprisingly skewing toward the internet.

I would guess having a well-dressed person close to you is what sparks an interest for many people, but to me I'd say that influence started to fade the more of a menswear nerd I became. So I put in "specific 'curated' clothiers" which I think is more accurate right now. But really, I also think it's hard to single down something specific. The way I dress might be influenced by basically anything style-related I would read, a discussion, or seeing someone wear a particular style, on a picture or in real life. And I think this must be the case for most people?

 

[Thin White Duke]



Interesting - you both give family as one reason. The poll is unsurprisingly skewing toward the internet.


Given that you're not a working class lad in post-war Britain, are you happy with wearing historical costume or is there something that lifts it out of being costume?

The thing I like most about the Mod style - and I only confessed to being influenced by it not rabidly adhering to it - is that it provides a framework that can take you from the beach to the boardroom, across decades, seasons, age groups etc so I don't feel at all like it's 'costume'. I've posted pictures on here that as far as I can see are only a few degrees away from several other posters who I very much doubt would admit to any personal affinity with Mod style. It's not all about parkas and shiny polyester two tone suits.

 

[SartodiNapoli]

Classic cinema and then this forum.

 

[TradThrifter]

I look to the well-dressed men of my geographical region to learn what to wear, but I go to the internet to learn about what the best versions of those individual pieces are and how they should fit.