Random fashion thoughts - Part II (A New Hope)

[1969]



"Left: Lucas, 4, was extra careful not to spill his juicebox on our Grade-A Mongolian Cashmere."

Thought you were just taking a piss till I clicked. Wow.

 

[gdl203]

Everlane has excellent marketing, but I really, the products are nothing special. They've just created some interesting language to package up the typical kickstarter narrative, which is:

"We had been looking for X type of garment forever, but we could not find what we wanted at the quality we wanted at the reasonable price we deserved. So we did some investigation, got in touch with some amazing factories, and now we can bring you the best quality stuff without the middle man markup."

This narrative does not survive the most cursory analysis, but it's what you read on Kickstarter all the time. For one thing, you can't "get rid of the middleman" unless you are doing everything yourself, at a very small scale. Like some etsy sellers, maybe. The much maligned middleman provides a great deal of infrastructure that is needed for any amount of volume. There are some efficiencies in being vertically integrated, but anyone who says that they can sell direct to customer at wholesale is... what's a nice word for lying?

Yep, to get rid of the middleman, they'd have to get rid of themselves. There's zero difference actually between what the structure of their supply chain vs what J Crew does - or for that matter what we do. There isn't any less link in their chain.

 

[BostonHedonist]

What? A business is successful from running a puffed-up marketing narrative? That's pretty much every business ever. The Toyota Prius, with a carbon footprint that rivals an American pickup truck; expensive "limited edition" designer sneakers made by children working for a bowl of rice a day; Armani sewing the buttons on a Chinese shirt in rural Italy and calling it "made in Italy;" Taylor Stitch's utter crap "perfect tee"; Bonobos and their KDB; any watch brand launched in the last ten years, the McDonalds salad.......


Shout out for Patagonia, one of the truly ethical brands out there. With no sense of style. >sigh<

You want to be "ethical," go start a farm and learn some DIY skills.

 

[dieworkwear]

.

 

[BostonHedonist]

..

 

[nomed]

I'm curious what specific garments, that are generally accepted as: "timeless", "classic", "stylish" pieces, that you guys don"t understand the appeal of, or just plain hate? On the underhand, what garment designs do you love? Your favorite?

I for instance, don't like button down collars, tassel loafers, and pants with pleats, I hate polo shirts, love wing tips, plain toe oxfords and my favorite are Type 3 truckers (it pisses me off when they modify the design by making the hand warmer pockets cover those slimming "v" seams on the front, ...**** you gustin)

 

[jet]

I like button collars on oxfords which are the obvious choice, tassel loafers and pleated pants.

Polos are never acceptable, however.

 

[Auximenes]



Room and Board would be my suggestion.





While we're discussing copy, is mediocre menswear content (both ads and editorial) the chicken or the egg? Is menswear today more boring than it was 5 years ago or did everyone just run out of new things to say about it?

+1 room & board will fit the bill. good quality, low price. went to bo concept last week end and actually was pleasantly surprised by the prices. We visited a bunch of other stores before stopping there, and at least boconcept didnt strike me as overpriced after all...

 

[conceptual 4est]

converse chuck taylors and jack purcells, adidas stan smiths and superstars (and sambas), GATs, nike dunk lows, puma clyde, and onitsuka tigers are all hideous shoes that are offensive for me to look at (0)

 

[indesertum]

MMM GATs and chuck look alikes like CP Achilles too?

 

[BostonHedonist]

I can't stand those blue shirts with the white collars. Or French cuffs worn without a jacket. Black motorcycle jackets paired with white sneakers. Not a classic, but I still carry my irrational loathing of Canada Goose coats.

Oddly though, the urban ninja man skirt thing is growing on me. At least I've seen some guys in NYC that managed to pull it off well.

 

[Mulan]

Dislike
Double breasted anything
Camouflage anything
Short sleeve buttoned shirts that your science teacher wears
Puffy down jackets
Hoodies
Timberland work boots

Like
Air Jordan 4's, I've never owned a pair, but those Hender Schemes tho...
Air Force 1's
Chelsea boots
Side zip boots <-Does that count?
Denim style jackets
Liberty printed shirts

 

[basil rathbone]

Hermes H belts are the tackiest accessory possible.

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

Hermes H belts are the tackiest accessory possible.

punchable waist

 

[zissou]

Man, I won't buy anything pricier than Old Navy/Gap for my kids. They outgrow everything so fast. I'm sad when they outgrow a Gap sweater before they've even worn it.