Unfunded Liabilities: a/k/a The Cloth Thread

[lordsuperb]

 

[dieworkwear]



We're three, maybe four, colors away from making a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.

 

[mktitsworth]



We're three, maybe four, colors away from making a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.

 

[gopherblue]

Skittles!

 

[Stencil]

Oof! That orange one!

 

[archibaldleach]

Green or blue Donegal would both be awesome.

 

[lordsuperb]

Yikes, tough crowd.

 

[Stencil]

@lordsuperb , if you feel a crimson or purple shetland is something you could wear comfortably, if it suits your taste, and if your wardrobe can accommodate it, then commission one. I suspect many on this forum, and in this thread in particular, have somewhat more conservative tastes, and solicited recommendations will reflect that. I would never wear an odd jacket like Crompton's above (I wouldn't even know how or where!), but I won't venture to say that it doesn't look good on him. To each his own. The swatches you posted are all lovely, however loud.

Just don't make it orange!

 

[dieworkwear]

There have been a few bold dressers to pass through this forum, and many of them have a style that I admire (Tirailleur1, LabelKing, Barima, etc). Here's Barima in a purple sport coat, for example. I think he looks fantastic.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

What makes their style work, I don't know. But I imagine a lot of it is just venturing out on your own with little regard for what other people say.

But yes, people's taste on this forum -- and this thread especially -- tends to be a lot more conservative. I say commission what you want. Just know most people here can't help you decide between a red and purple sport coat. You might have better success PMing certain members on here who have a style you admire (and are equally bold).

 

[unbelragazzo]

Barima looks awesome in that jacket. Probably not a coincidence that all three of those guys you mention have really thorough knowledge of fashion history, and I would guess have spent a lot of time in thrift and consignment shops. They're not guys who decided they wanted to start dressing well and headed to a bespoke tailor to look at swatches the next day.

 

[Stencil]

Even Vox once posted a photo of a near-lime-green odd jacket, I believe.

 

[mktitsworth]

I wouldn't call either of them lime green, but yes. Something else the four - Trailleur, LabelKing, Barima, and Vox - have in common though is a rather deep bench from which to draw.

 

[archibaldleach]

Tastes on this forum tend to be more classical and conservative. I generally include myself in the classical and conservative category, though I do wear things like Nantucket Reds too. Good taste is important, but your confidence and how you carry what you wear is important too. I don't like every bold look, but the ones I do I wear without a care in the world and with the confidence that I look good. When one has experience dressing oneself elegantly and knows what one is doing and then says, "F-ck it, I want this," it can work.

I do think it is possible to combine classical good taste, a bit of boldness from time to time and that confidence. I think the confidence is the most important part, though. Certain things will always look better objectively from an aesthetic standpoint, but in the real world we are judged by a mix of aesthetics and presence. Presence is based at least in part on confidence, so if you can stand to wear something, be made fun of, and still hold the room, go nuts. If you are not that super-confident, go with something more traditionally in good taste and maybe a bit more subtle.

 

[ltontheqt]



IMO an actual tweed jacket should be at least 14 ounces. You can get lambswool and other lighter weight fabrics that make for fine odd jackets, but an actual lightweight tweed doesn't make a lot of sense. If you want sub-14 ounces, there are a lot of other odd jacket fabrics out there.

Couple things. How warm does 14 ounces wear? My tailor-to-be suggested that I will wear a coat over the sport jacket most of the time, so weight is not that essential. Is it aesthetics more than anything else? A bit about nomenclature as well. What makes a cloth tweed? In other words, I just looked at a swatch online of blue herringbone. It is 100 percent lambswool. Normally I would associate herringbone with tweed. But is this something else? I thought earlier that you had distinguished lambswool from tweed. Maybe I'm splitting hairs. Sorry if this is an obvious or stupid question.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I should add that at least some of the conservatism comes from fear and a limited knowledge of men's style as from confidence or a depth of understanding. That purple jacket above is really very restrained and is of a hue and has a tone and texture that I'd be very happy to wear without worrying too much. People who only look at it and see 'purple' are seeing in a very superficial way.

That said, I agree with @unbelragazzo and @mktitsworth that this doesn't mean anyone should just rush off and commission a load of purple suits to start with.