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

[Coldsnap]

I dress super incongruent to my work environment but that's just me.

Particuarly proud though that I learned a co-worker bought direct from a Japanese denim brand and didn't think to ask me about sizing or reccomendations. No one wants to be known as a denim head.

 

[RegisDB9]

This Instagram post is an interview on the street. The guy is amazing. I am not a fan of his style, nevertheless, I admire his approach to finding style.

I dig this. They should hire him as the bad guy in the next Kingsman

 

[RegisDB9]

FIGs have taken all the guessing out of my daily work wear. I just try to get the ones that sell out quick mix with the NBs and throw in some GATs from time to time

 

[gettoasty]

Any shoes like this pair below currently available?

 

[acconrad]

i appreciate everyone's insights. really do - it's nice that this community's first thoughts are always helpful and supportive. definitely taking a look at all of the recommendations posted

 

[ppk]

i appreciate everyone's insights. really do - it's nice that this community's first thoughts are always helpful and supportive. definitely taking a look at all of the recommendations posted

Illegitimi noncarborundum.

 

[TheFoo]

Interestingly, your recent posts got me to reconsider this whole thing. IIRC (we've been on this forum about the same amount of time) you used to be super into classic #menswear and now you're in leather bombers and jeans. And so I'm thinking "what are you doing dude, literally no one dresses up anymore. Even the acolytes have converted."

Manton is walking around in sweats / athleisure—no joke.

Important thing I realized is how restrictive and narrow-minded traditional menswear can be. It is purposefully aloof versus modern, popular culture in a way that I came to find distasteful. It is not, despite what anyone might insist, always proper. It can be ridiculous, even rude and disrespectful.

My pivotal moment was several years ago when I realized the only other dudes walking around midtown Manhattan wearing tweed jackets and pocket squares were all menswear salesmen.

Soooo... Bruno Cuci hoodies?

I prefer Loro Piana generally—less contrived. Cucinelli tries to impart a vaguely country / rustic accent that I find off-putting.

 

[conceptual 4est]

Being a menswear salesman is a noble pursuit 😇

 

[DorianGreen]

Important thing I realized is how restrictive and narrow-minded traditional menswear can be. It is purposefully aloof versus modern, popular culture in a way that I came to find distasteful. It is not, despite what anyone might insist, always proper. It can be ridiculous, even rude and disrespectful.

Interesting. Curious that many people feel classic menswear like a duty and a form of compulsion, whereas it's joy and expression of personality for me and certainly for many others, which freely choose to dress smart, even though the vast majority wear casually.

 

[TheFoo]

Interesting. Curious that many people feel classic menswear like a duty and a form of compulsion, whereas it's joy and expression of personality for me and certainly for many others, which freely choose to dress smart, even though the vast majority wear casually.

It’s not that traditional menswear feels like a duty. It’s that it is not the socially appropriate choice much of the time and those who adhere to it almost religiously don’t seem to understand how upside down they have become.

One may feel it is “joy and expression of personality” to dress like a circus clown, but it would be delusional to believe doing so is “dressing smart” when the vast majority are laughing.

There’s a party, social or professional doesn’t really matter. No attire is stipulated. You show up in traditional menswear (jacket, tie, pocket square, etc.), because you enjoy “dressing smart”, but everyone else is dressed far more casually and contemporarily. Have you dressed appropriately and respectfully? The answer is no. It would be no better than if you showed up at a black tie event in t-shirt and jeans. In either case, you are the clown.

 

[circumspice]

My pivotal moment was several years ago when I realized the only other dudes walking around midtown Manhattan wearing tweed jackets and pocket squares were all menswear salesmen.

This is a misrepresentation of NYC, given that a couple months ago at The Met for the Harlem Renaissance show, I entered just behind:

Nicholas D. Lowry

www.pbs.org

Much to the chagrin of both my sister and mom, no selfies were sought given that it appeared he was entertaining clients.

 

[troika]

But Doctor, I am Pagliacci

 

[TheFoo]

This is a misrepresentation of NYC, given that a couple months ago at The Met for the Harlem Renaissance show, I entered just behind:

Nicholas D. Lowry

www.pbs.org

Absolutely no one:

Traditional menswear holdouts: This is totally normal.

 

[LA Guy]

It’s not that traditional menswear feels like a duty. It’s that it is not the socially appropriate choice much of the time and those who adhere to it almost religiously don’t seem to understand how upside down they have become.

One may feel it is “joy and expression of personality” to dress like a circus clown, but it would be delusional to believe doing so is “dressing smart” when the vast majority are laughing.

There’s a party, social or professional doesn’t really matter. No attire is stipulated. You show up in traditional menswear (jacket, tie, pocket square, etc.), because you enjoy “dressing smart”, but everyone else is dressed far more casually and contemporarily. Have you dressed appropriately and respectfully? The answer is no. It would be no better than if you showed up at a black tie event in t-shirt and jeans. In either case, you are the clown.

I think that the vast majority of people would not care. The issue with a lot of classic menswear is typically not so much the clothing, but the air of moral superiority that some enthusiasts and many menswear writers have assumed in the past and sometimes carries on into the present. Shedding this idea of propriety also allows for a lot more creativity and expression. Of course, a lot of people will look odd the first few times out, but that’s a natural part of learning and experimenting, and not a sign of anything else.

 

[TheFoo]

I think that the vast majority of people would not care. The issue with a lot of classic menswear is typically not so much the clothing, but the air of moral superiority that some enthusiasts and many menswear writers have assumed in the past and sometimes carries on into the present. Shedding this idea of propriety also allows for a lot more creativity and expression. Of course, a lot of people will look odd the first few times out, but that’s a natural part of learning and experimenting, and not a sign of anything else.

On the contrary, wearing a suit gets negative comments and attention all the time.

Where I agree is that said suit-wearers often convince themselves that, actually, they are behaving / dressing in a superior way—any negative attention or feedback is then dismissed. They talk about propriety, even when they have no sense of what is proper anymore and any defense rests on what was proper in some bygone, irrelevant era.