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

[kjb]

i am currently wearing a suit at work and getting no negative comments

 

[TheFoo]

I say this all as a recovering traditional menswear acolyte. Easy to not realize how much of bubble one has put himself in.

That’s not to say I don’t love the way traditional menswear can look—but rather that I accept that (1) society and culture change and (2) dressing well demands awareness of context.

 

[TheFoo]

i am currently wearing a suit at work and getting no negative comments

What do you do for work and where do you live? Are your colleagues similarly dressed?

 

[kjb]

is this the SF version of A/S/L?

i'm a tax accountant, i work in NYC, and no, they dress like normal tax accountants. which is to say, most guys are wearing these

 

[TheFoo]

is this the SF version of A/S/L?

i'm a tax accountant, i work in NYC, and no, they dress like normal tax accountants. which is to say, most guys are wearing these

Those are abominations. But they also show you how odd and unusual traditional menswear has become, with shoes like that being the norm. Nobody should have to say anything to you. Use your eyes.

 

[ppk]

i am currently wearing a suit at work and getting no negative comments

Same but with a sport coat. Wore a suit a couple of days back with same results.

I work in a mostly casual environment - either no one notices or I occasionally get positive feedback.

 

[acconrad]

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.

1000% this. The last paragraph, in particular.

I had a watershed moment recently where I realized how this gets misinterpreted in the blogosphere/IG circles of menswear folks. Every time you see a "10 things you must have for summer 2024" it's because:

1. They're trying to sell you something
2. See point 1
3. Their view of "must have" is incredibly myopic and self-serving

It's not a knock on folks like Simon Crompton or Mark Cho. But the truth is, those guys are in menswear so they HAVE to dress up as part of their job/social presence. Of course Simon's core wardrobe would have "only 5 suits" and then "only 5 casual suits"...only? What guy "only" needs 10 suits? I only need 1 - and I bought a second one only because I went to a mid July wedding and I was like "never again - linen only in the dead summer."

Or the WFH capsule collection - I thought that was neat. Mark even said he consulted a friend of his who "works in tech" - I WFH and I work in tech! Well whoever he consulted clearly doesn't work in the software engineering side of tech because anyone wearing a vest (let alone calling it a gilet) is going to look like a midtown finance bro. A sleeveless cardigan? Huh?

I definitely don't want to dress like a clown. In fact, I want to be able to have a wardrobe where I can put on my clothes blind, and know that I look polished for work or a casual weekend function/date. in other words, I care now so I don't have to care tomorrow. But so far, I've had to care a lot because when I do put on stuff blind, I'm still not satisfied I'm portraying what I want, hence my diatribe a few days ago. And I think you're onto something, Foo.

 

[troika]

You guys are all forgetting the golden rules:

1. Be hot.
2. Don't be ugly.

No one's gonna say **** to Regis wearing a suit, even if it's outta place.

 

[acconrad]

You guys are all forgetting the golden rules:

1. Be hot.
2. Don't be ugly.

No one's gonna say **** to Regis wearing a suit, even if it's outta place.

Hah maybe if you're dating in your 20s. At a workplace where no one is trying to gauge you on your attractiveness - you're still going to look weird if you wear a suit at work when it's all t-shirts and jeans.

 

[Texasmade]

Hah maybe if you're dating in your 20s. At a workplace where no one is trying to gauge you on your attractiveness - you're still going to look weird if you wear a suit at work when it's all t-shirts and jeans.

Says the ugly person... You're always going to be judged on attractiveness everywhere you go. While you can't control how ugly your face is you can control being in shape and how you dress. Basically don't dress like sh1t and don't be fat gets you 90% there.

 

[FlowableFill]

Most people are too caught up in their own lives to care about how someone else dresses. Like what you wear will register for a few minutes but they'll forget about it soon, unless they're a total asshole.

 

[Texasmade]

Most people are too caught up in their own lives to care about how someone else dresses. Like what you wear will register for a few minutes but they'll forget about it soon, unless they're a total asshole.

Can confirm... I'm a total asshole!

 

[ppk]

Most people are too caught up in their own lives to care about how someone else dresses. Like what you wear will register for a few minutes but they'll forget about it soon, unless they're a total asshole.

This 👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽!

 

[zissou]

Says the ugly person... You're always going to be judged on attractiveness everywhere you go. While you can't control how ugly your face is you can control being in shape and how you dress. Basically don't dress like sh1t and don't be fat gets you 90% there.

This is true. Attractive and fit people are more likely to be offered jobs, higher salaries, and promotions.

 

[LA Guy]

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.

The fantasy is that you are Robert De Niro's character in "The Intern." The reality is that you are just that guy who likes suits. My prediction is that within two decades the suit is one of many inspirations. I myself wear sack jacket shaped jackets in materials like "drapey" denim sometimes, which makes sense in the same way that a M65 in a tonal herringbone tweed makes sense and can look cool in context. It just adds richness to the menswear landscape.