Random Fashion Thoughts (Part 3: Style farmer strikes back) - our general discussion thread

[conceptual 4est]

Spotted this in a size 40. First time I’ve seen one outside of a museum exhibit. Any interest in it for your archive @RegisDB9 ?

 

[double00]

hats are great , as a darker-skinned dude i prefer to not use sunscreen as it can interfere with vitamin d production and go the mechanical route for skin prophylaxis .

love my stetson , i have a dope montecristi that i don't wear , would be happy to send somewhere it's a 7-1/2 iirc .

 

[RegisDB9]

Spotted this in a size 40. First time I’ve seen one outside of a museum exhibit. Any interest in it for your archive @RegisDB9 ?

View attachment 1978741 View attachment 1978743

Wow man that’s a great find. You’re in Japan right? Lots of OG Margiela available there but those guys ride their clothing hard haha where did you find that?

The doll collection from 1994 is extremely hard to find. I had my eye on this knit and it sold with the quickness as we used to say

For anyone confused or interested:

“A Doll’s Wardrobe”: Maison Martin Margiela’s toy clothes​

By Serafina Lee
Maison Martin Margiela's Fall/Winter 1994 collection brought doll's clothes to life, creating a complete wardrobe in miniature. The show was endlessly inventive, transforming a range of classic dolls clothes and accessories into adult-sized proportions.

Dolls and fashion have a longstanding relationship, from touring couture puppet shows during WW2 to Walter Van Beirendonck’s 2020 Spring digital fashion week collection. Within unstable industries, doll shows are a historically ‘important method of communication and reproduction. Given their minute dimensions, couturiers and textile producers would often use dolls on which to present their creations to a broader public, in turn limiting their fabric needs and shipping expenses.’ During the turbulence of WW2 France, Théâtre de la Mode puppet shows were used as a way of showing couture items at a time when ‘the industry had no choice but to reinvent itself in order to perpetuate its enchantment.’ Dolls therefore have a very practical function, and as the industry faces similar turbulence during COVID-19, dolls are a creative way to digitally showcase designs.
However, alongside this practicality comes a whole host of associations, as dolls are expressive of many contradictory cultural meanings, from childhood nostalgia to the gendered commercialism of ‘Barbies’. Toys, plastic and minutia seem to closely resemble some of the central concerns of clothing, investigating the relationship between materiality, commercialism, popular culture and the living human form. There’s a tension present between flesh and plastic as dolls are inherently detached from, yet also replicate, the body.

Margiela’s collection brings to light some of these explorations. The show lays the groundwork for the house’s iconic labelling system, introducing 5 categories of clothing that would later be extended to the recognisable numbered label. The third category, ‘clothing reproduced from a doll’s wardrobe’, draws on Margiela’s ethos of meticulously reproducing, rather than imitating, vintage garments. He enlarged the scale of a 1960s and 70s doll’s wardrobe, evenly increasing all the proportions to fit a human body. The collection therefore preserved elements of toy clothing, featuring oversized fixtures like zips and clasps, large woollen knitwear and giant pockets on jeans. Loose threads were often left exposed, making the physical construction of the garment an integral part of its overall aesthetic. In line with Margiela’s ethos, these clothes revealed (or at least seemed to reveal) all their tricks.

Along with novel features also came the idiosyncrasies of small scale clothing. The enlarged garments alter the proportions of the body, making it appear tiny. This oversized cardigan (pictured below) diminishes the size of the model’s form as the clasps appear ridiculously large in comparison with the rest of her clothes. Through such incongruities, Margiela questions the functional purpose of clothing, abstracting it into something conceptual when it is no longer able to fulfil practicality. After all, dolls clothes are made for rigid, plastic forms, not the moving dynamics of the human body. We are reminded that the body cannot be standardised, and clothing should cater to differences in form.

Such stylistic experimentation of miniature clothing also brings a real sense of nostalgia and escapism, as dolls are, for many, reminiscent of childhood. Margiela himself recalls learning to sew with his grandmother by constructing dolls clothes, and so there is also a playfulness to the distorted proportions. There is complete creative control when shaping the identities and the stories of such blank canvases; the dolls start to inhabit a world of their own. The minutiae of Margiela’s wardrobe is a nostalgic distraction from the limitations and necessities of the human body.

The timelessness of the collection rests in its capacity to merge such plural, even contradictory, meanings. The miniature clothing expresses joy in the processes of construction, whilst also questioning the purpose and functionality of clothing itself. ‘A Doll’s Wardrobe’ is therefore a central iteration of Margiela’s philosophy, bridging the border of the material and the conceptual.

 

[qubed]

Anyone else getting into hats? Lately I’ve been getting into custom Nick Fouquets and I have a Gucci straw

I just took a hat making class, and if you really like hats, it's not that hard to make your own flat-brimmed felt hat. You'll need to buy a block for your head size (one-time cost of ~$100-150), and you'll need an iron. Instead of buying a steamer, I think you can jury-rig something out of a teapot, or a clothes steamer if you have one. Get whatever ribbon, leather, accoutrements you want for the outside, and some sweatband material for the inside. Each felt blank will run $50-100. A butane torch if you want to go for the burned look (do it outside, it smells terrible!). I'm sure there's many tutorials on Youtube.

 

[zissou]

I just took a hat making class, and if you really like hats, it's not that hard to make your own flat-brimmed felt hat. You'll need to buy a block for your head size (one-time cost of ~$100-150), and you'll need an iron. Instead of buying a steamer, I think you can jury-rig something out of a teapot, or a clothes steamer if you have one. Get whatever ribbon, leather, accoutrements you want for the outside, and some sweatband material for the inside. Each felt blank will run $50-100. A butane torch if you want to go for the burned look (do it outside, it smells terrible!). I'm sure there's many tutorials on Youtube.

Wow, I would be very interested in this partly because I love making things for myself but also because I have a larger, oddly-shaped head.

 

[Trit]

Anyone else getting into hats? Lately I’ve been getting into custom Nick Fouquets and I have a Gucci straw

I think hats are the single hardest piece of traditional men's fashion to pull off. There's so many bad vibes associated with wide brim hats and the infrastructure of life in general is not hat friendly anymore. That said, I wear wide brim hats every time I go outside during the day and haven't owned a ball cap as an adult. I'm all in and I love it.

Straw hats are the easiest to wear.

The brim size is a big deal. 2.5" I'd say is the minimum for actually doing anything and 4" is the limit of what you can get away with. Now that cars all have headrests in the seats you'll notice driving comfortably with a hat is largely determined by brim size and whether it's stiff or floppy. Plus a locker at a gym or at a work site will probably only be able to hold a 2.5" stiff brim hat. Places to store hats in businesses do not exist anymore.

Felt hats are very, very hard to wear if you're under 40. I just rocked one today but I can only pull it off with a blazer. I can't imagine looking genuine in a t-shirt and felt hat. Maybe if it was like ochre or something wild. I see some neat indigo dyed ones from time to time. But you're putting in the work to make that jive.

Anyone looking to experiment, definitely do some sort of textile or weave and do it with a ~3" floppy brim. It's also less likely to blow off. I live in a windy city and the wind factor of the day is a large factor towards the hat I choose.

Goorin Bros is fine but overpriced. Bailey is good value if can find a style you like. Tilley has a couple of cheap made in Canada models that are good if you need packable. I like Eric Javits because he has a cool proprietary synthetic straw that's fully sun blocking. I've never tried Nick Fouquet because I'm not rich and know I can't pull it off. I've never even touched beaver felt. I'm stuck with rabbit, like a pleb. But the step up in feel between even rabbit compared to a wool or synthetic felt is real. But can you actually wear it? Only you can decide.

 

[double00]

the car shouldn't govern whether you wear a hat , put it on when you get out of the car wtf

 

[K. Nights]

I wish Stoffa would bring back their rollable felt hats. I wore mine all the time until it got wrecked in a freak accident. I've never been able to find anything quite like them.

 

[sussi]

When I search for specific item, often I see an item that I might be interested in but then I check out the brand and find out that I do not like where their items are made or maybe their ideology or I just don't like the vibe or even their social media feed/activity and I put that brand on my "Nope brands" list and go on with the search. Anyone else ever doing something similar?

For example at the moment I am in search for a few more camp collar shirts and I am having a hard time finding shirts that I like made by brands that I am happy to give my money to. I found a few but I am a bid shocked and sad how short is my current list of brands that I think are worth paying for.

Also I am in a phase that I might not buy anything or have a very hard time buying anything that is not Made in Japan, USA, UK, Italy or Portugal.

It is all absolutely subjective and not many people might agree with me. I was just curious if there is more people doing the similar or having similar thoughts or majority just buy the item if they like it and do not care about where it was made and by who etc.

 

[double00]

When I search for specific item, often I see an item that I might be interested in but then I check out the brand and find out that I do not like where their items are made or maybe their ideology or I just don't like the vibe or even their social media feed/activity and I put that brand on my "Nope brands" list and go on with the search. Anyone else ever doing something similar?

For example at the moment I am in search for a few more camp collar shirts and I am having a hard time finding shirts that I like made by brands that I am happy to give my money to. I found a few but I am a bid shocked and sad how short is my current list of brands that I think are worth paying for.

Also I am in a phase that I might not buy anything or have a very hard time buying anything that is not Made in Japan, USA, UK, Italy or Portugal.

It is all absolutely subjective and not many people might agree with me. I was just curious if there is more people doing the similar or having similar thoughts or majority just buy the item if they like it and do not care about where it was made and by who etc.

prejudicial consumption is not an issue for me , i rather think it is a helpful way of navigating an impossible menu , and is possibly the entire reason this site exists

 

[RegisDB9]

I think hats are the single hardest piece of traditional men's fashion to pull off. There's so many bad vibes associated with wide brim hats and the infrastructure of life in general is not hat friendly anymore. That said, I wear wide brim hats every time I go outside during the day and haven't owned a ball cap as an adult. I'm all in and I love it.

Straw hats are the easiest to wear.

The brim size is a big deal. 2.5" I'd say is the minimum for actually doing anything and 4" is the limit of what you can get away with. Now that cars all have headrests in the seats you'll notice driving comfortably with a hat is largely determined by brim size and whether it's stiff or floppy. Plus a locker at a gym or at a work site will probably only be able to hold a 2.5" stiff brim hat. Places to store hats in businesses do not exist anymore.

Felt hats are very, very hard to wear if you're under 40. I just rocked one today but I can only pull it off with a blazer. I can't imagine looking genuine in a t-shirt and felt hat. Maybe if it was like ochre or something wild. I see some neat indigo dyed ones from time to time. But you're putting in the work to make that jive.

Anyone looking to experiment, definitely do some sort of textile or weave and do it with a ~3" floppy brim. It's also less likely to blow off. I live in a windy city and the wind factor of the day is a large factor towards the hat I choose.

Goorin Bros is fine but overpriced. Bailey is good value if can find a style you like. Tilley has a couple of cheap made in Canada models that are good if you need packable. I like Eric Javits because he has a cool proprietary synthetic straw that's fully sun blocking. I've never tried Nick Fouquet because I'm not rich and know I can't pull it off. I've never even touched beaver felt. I'm stuck with rabbit, like a pleb. But the step up in feel between even rabbit compared to a wool or synthetic felt is real. But can you actually wear it? Only you can decide.

Personally and with much influence from my culture/dad/grandpa there’s nothing cleaner than a cream/white/beige straw hat with a crisp white linen shirt/guayabera. So I have basically stuck with the linen shirt straw hat combo. My two beaver felts are tan and turquoise so I wear them with these Margiela Levis 60’s style wide arm T-Shirts. You just have to wear them with confidence and you won’t end up like the m’lady meme

And yes you’re correct about short brims…that’s a no-no for me because of the aforementioned m’lady meme haha also there’s no real sun protection from those

 

[FlyingHorker]

This is my only fedora type hat. I dig it because of the ultra chunky weave and colour.

I've worn it with summer suits and also more casual outfits.

Yellow 108 Stevie Seagrass Straw Hat – Yellow 108 | Sustainable Headwear + Accessories

Yellow 108 Stevie Straw Hat. Handmade in the USA. Wide Brim. 100% Seagrass Straw. Unisex // Fitted

www.yellow108.com

 

[FlyingHorker]

I was thinking of buying some kind of comfortable, flowy, silky black pants to go with this shirt. I found some women's pants, but they're all flare pants with tight thighs and ass, which won't work for my bottom heavy build.

Can't find any for men. Would also prefer not to drop $200USD+ on them.

Any ideas or recommendations? Also no idea what shoes I'd wear, I wonder if my dark brown Birk thong sandals would work?

 

[RegisDB9]

I was thinking of buying some kind of comfortable, flowy, silky black pants to go with this shirt. I found some women's pants, but they're all flare pants with tight thighs and ass, which won't work for my bottom heavy build.

Can't find any for men. Would also prefer not to drop $200USD+ on them.

Any ideas or recommendations? Also no idea what shoes I'd wear, I wonder if my dark brown Birk thong sandals would work?

I have a couple of those Yellow 108s for the beach. They’ve held up nicely even as a toddler loves to stomp on them and try to turn them inside out

These aren’t silky per se but the cut might be what you’re looking for minus dat price

https://www.wrangler.com/shop/wrancher-dress-jean-00082.html

 

[FlyingHorker]

I have a couple of those Yellow 108s for the beach. They’ve held up nicely even as a toddler loves to stomp on them and try to turn them inside out

These aren’t silky per se but the cut might be what you’re looking for minus dat price

https://www.wrangler.com/shop/wrancher-dress-jean-00082.html

Yeah I love the 108 hat, very versatile and IMO, and surprisingly durable.

That cut definitely won't work for my thighs/ass unfortunately, that's a very slim cut.