The Contentedness thread

[hendrix]



Such a great idea for a thread.
I have these cotton twill Yohji pants with a high waist, low crotch, suspender buttons, two cinches at the side and a very full cut that are about 9 months old now I think.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

They are one of my favourite pants and are my go to whenever I don't feel like thinking too much about what I am wearing. When I first got them I was worried that they would not see much use due to the high waist (and they were my first pair of high waisted Yohji pants), but I bought them anyway as I had been strongly drawn to their design from the get go.They can be worn with suspenders, cinched at the sides and worn with a blazer to dress them up, cinched at the sides with the topmost buttons left undone for a great unstructured ruched effect at the waist and can add a belt if the mood takes me; roll them up high or low at the cuffs or leave them to lie all loose and rumpled over shoes, sneakers or boots.
The cotton fabric gives them a nice heft and yet they breathe very well and the way they drape when in motion feels great.

Yeah man I remember when you first posted a pic with these pants. Man, not only an awesome item, but they just kinda sum up so many ideas in one piece. I can easily see how they'd be your go-to. nice.

 

[hendrix]



Off the top of my head...
Baracuta G9. Not sure I need to add much there.
KMW 1980's. My most beat up but comfortable jeans. I have Roys, FH, PBJ and IH, but I keep going back to the KMW's even though on the denim ladder they are prob considered a notch below the others.

In light of this, do you feel that denim "quality" is such a big deal? TBH my KMWs were the best quality jeans I ever had (surprised that they'd be considered second tier, really), but in the end the fit gave way to a pair of...Crates. Not that I wear denim that much, but you always need at least one pair.

I have a Lanvin silk/cotton black/navy jacket from 2007 (?) that I still wear weekly or so and take with me whenever I move around, it was already machine washed when new and has a bunch of small tears and the silk fiber has started to unravel, looks really cool now. I have a made in USA levi belt that I wear almost daily, I do believe I got it like 17 yrs ago.

Gotta ask for pics on these man.

I have found my that my philosophy on style has changed over the years as I spent a lot of time and money chasing after the latest and greatest. But now I have found my self buying a lot less stuff and the purchases I make I tend to go towards high quality well made gear with classic lines that won't go out of style.
One of my favorites are my chocoloate brown Wolverine 1000 mile boots that I can wear with just about anything.

TBH, I've found that searching for "high quality classics" has been in vain, in my experience. I guess the mantra of quality and classicism often clouds my judgement, I've since learned to just buy nice things.

Most stuff doesn't go out of style if you yourself really like it, in my limited experience at least.

 

[1969]

"84 325e....off topic, maybe, but I grew so attached to this car that it become like a pair of jeans or sneakers that I couldn't let go of. Finally replaced this month but putting it into restoration.

 

[Spatlese]



In light of this, do you feel that denim "quality" is such a big deal? TBH my KMWs were the best quality jeans I ever had (surprised that they'd be considered second tier, really), but in the end the fit gave way to a pair of...Crates. Not that I wear denim that much, but you always need at least one pair.

Good q. Certainly no one would be set back, other than financially, by owning any of these, but for instance my first recent foray into IH showed me that super heavyweight denim is just not my thing. So the baseline we're talking about is pretty high, and overall the KMW just hits that sweet spot for me that you're getting at with this thread

As for its standing, yeah maybe that was just me. Materials and construction-wise, nothing has given out in the 4 years I've worked on my pair, other than rips which would happen with any jeans. Even have features like sewn-in belt loops which are not a given in the other brands.

 

[zissou]

I think KMW is one of the more underrated jeans. My 1950 bucklebacks have been the best fitting jeans I've ever had. They're Zimbabwean cotton rope dyed with natural indigo in Okayama, Japan, so the denim is pretty high quality. Construction is quite good as well. My Roy contest jeans are considerably better construction, but the fit just isn't as nice as my KMWs.

 

[dfagdfsh]

I dunno if KMWs are really underrated -- they're very well regarded on the forum. The problem is that their production cycle is a mess so you can't consistently buy the jeans, which makes it hard to talk about them. One of my biggest regrets is not buying a KMW chambray shirt when I worked at Farinelli's.

 

[zissou]

Fair point. I just don't think they're talked about much on here.

 

[bows1]

My uniqlo black jeans (that shah hates) are like a second skin now. Stretched out so they sag perfectly, I wear these every day. They are super comfortable and look great (imo) the only other pants that I wear are my Rick sweat pants and occasionally my CDGH+ wool pants. But these were 29$ and go with everything I own. After owning these for awhile I went and bought 2 more pairs at Uniqlo so I can always have one on deck when I inevitably wear a pair out. Probably my favorite jeans I've ever had. I used to love my APC's but like Synth, after 6+ crotch repairs they are so tight in the crotch its uncomfortable so I never wear them anymore.

Owning clothes for awhile makes them much better because you stop babying them like you do when they are new. Just throw them on and wear them around. You look more at ease in them and you feel more at ease

 

[Parker]

Sometime last year I realized I had a bunch of nice tailored stuff that was not getting worn. Mostly because I mentally separated "tailored" from "casual" and would only wear the nice stuff when I had to "dress up" for a special occasion. One day I was like "I need to wear some of this **** more often, it's just sitting there." So I just started mixing the two together (with varying degrees of success). Now I have more choices and most stuff gets into the rotation at some point. I've also stopped compartmentalizing my wardrobe into "suits only for formal occassions / tees only for washing car" and try to think of the whole thing as one cohesive unit. Though as Fuuma put it there is still some "wardrobe noise" that I could edit out and a few things I'd like to add.

 

[LA Guy]

There are a few things that I wear all of the time.

I have been wearing a Maine Guide jacket from FW08 since 08. It's been busted, fixed, and right now, I am trying to figure out how I can repair a tear in the actual placket. I may just do a homemade fix and wear it that way, without trying to actually hide the tear. I've gotten innumerable jackets since then, but honestly, excepting my RRL Gambler's jacket, which filled a hole for a Type III style jean jacket in leather, I haven't worn anything nearly as much.

That RRL Gambler's jacket, which I got myself as an early Christmas present, works as a jacket on it's own, as an underlayer in the dead of winter, and as a top layer in early spring. It is tough cowhide, is incredibly comfortable (I've worn in in a 9 hour plane ride, and it felt both cozy and protective) because the cut is so good for me, and the more wear I put on it, the better it seems to look.

And I think that of all the belts I own, the one I like best was the Number (n)ine belt that I got on a whim. I think that it gets wear about 3-4 times a week, which is a lot, especially considering that I have somewhere around 5 dozen belts of various provenance.

There were more than a few times this past winter during which I wore all three items.

 

[LA Guy]



Sometime last year I realized I had a bunch of nice tailored stuff that was not getting worn. Mostly because I mentally separated "tailored" from "casual" and would only wear the nice stuff when I had to "dress up" for a special occasion. One day I was like "I need to wear some of this **** more often, it's just sitting there." So I just started mixing the two together (with varying degrees of success). Now I have more choices and most stuff gets into the rotation at some point. I've also stopped compartmentalizing my wardrobe into "suits only for formal occassions / tees only for washing car" and try to think of the whole thing as one cohesive unit. Though as Fuuma put it there is still some "wardrobe noise" that I could edit out and a few things I'd like to add.

I've seen you do this a few times, and I think that it has worked out pretty well each time.

 

[pickpackpockpuck]

for me it's two pairs of RLBL jeans, one in washed black and one in black overdye. i've never found other jeans that fit me as well. they're a heavyweight denim too and feel like armor, and the more I beat them up the better they look and feel. I would also add my cheap barney's co-op boots. I have one pair in brown and one in black, and I literally owned no other shoes (except sneakers) for years. I just alternated between them every single day and they were perfect for everything.

 

[zissou]

BTW, this is a nice idea for a thread, hendrix. I've actually been reading Walden lately, and HDT rails against consumption of unnecessary 'stuff'. While I try to be content with owning a fairly minimal amount of clothing that I really like, I'm not about to go build a hut to live in.

I was just thinking about how much I enjoy wearing my Cabourn Cameraman and Mallory jackets, and how they are ideal for most of F/W, and another Mallory in a beautiful Harris tweed pops up for cheap
I think about half of my closet is outerwear at this point.

 

[lmaozedong]

This is a great idea for a thread. I've been trying to be more content with what I already own and only buy things when it's 100% necessary. Probably, spending less time here would help that, heh.

I've been wearing this cotton Rick intarsia a couple times a week for the last three years when the weather's right. My Bless hoodcoat, I wear multiple times a week during the winter. I've realized I only need three or four pairs of jeans at the most, and anything on top of that simply doesn't get worn. I probably have 20 button down shirts, but I usually pick the same five or six to rotate between. Same with pants.

I always tell myself that I'm going to sell off/donate everything extraneous that I don't wear all the time, but every time I sell everything off, I end up with $x,xxx more in my savings account... then tell myself I can afford to buy new things, and spend it all again. It's a never-ending cycle.


How do I stop, Styleforum? I just want to be content.

 

[A Fellow Linguist]

Lately I've been wearing my Zam B pants a lot. Super comfy, nice cut, breathe well enough to wear in summer. They're so nice I almost feel bad about buying them from artishard.