Spent the afternoon whistling this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oimHJCURbo&mode=related&search=

I doubt I've scored a new client... 

And yet life goes on!

j.

good topic...for me some items that make me feel like "me"

oxblood/burgundy full brogued derby
tweed trousers or raw denim jeans
s/s buttondown
cardigan on top if nipply outside

Blue blazer
Levis jeans
Brown suede shoes/Brown or black JM Weston Demichasse shoes

A smile

The cabaret at the next Sartorial Excellence event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5qruAQ3IsE&mode=related&search=

A Salute to Russell Street by Malinda & Her Society Eunuchs!

Everybody sing!

j.

Last edited by jack_sparrow (2007-09-18 05:04:19)

This thread has struck a chord with me.

In my youth I did the "rebelious" thing- trying to hide my roots in a sub cultural identity of stuff that appealed at the time ( some of it I still find attractive)

ultimately I found much of it was style over substance. (I had the style but no substance)

I now realise you never can truly escape your true identity - it becomes tiresome at times to try- one is  a product of their upbringing and to a great extent this includes clothing

the moment you are born -your Mother chooses your clothes for you.

one goes to school - The powers that be -choose your clothes for you

you develop as a teenager to a young man-Your peer group dictate , your clothing choices.

you obtain gainful employment- your employer establishes a dress code.

one can push the boundrys - I suppose this would be called personal style.

but ultimately , I feel one reverts to type.

so for me I guess my sartorial touchstone - would be a tweed Jacket.

from looking in the mirror and seeing a thrusting and dynamic young blade-I now look and see my Father.

Last edited by Cheeky Monkey (2007-09-18 16:06:05)

I'd probably have to say the narrow necktie, in stripes or knitted.

When i was younger (i.e. 5 years ago) i was into the whole urban rock n roll thing, and it seemed the dress code would change monthly.  It transitioned from a long-haired, cowboy-shirted, scraggly bearded look (western wear with a dash of irony and some chuck taylors) to the black on black on black tapered jeans heroin thing.  It really depended on what bands were popular at the time.  (it might seem odd to some that i am reminiscing about the year 2000). 

As i got older and entered into a more adult world it occurred to me that this was a really childish way of approaching style.  It's not that i regretted it, i just outgrew it to an extent.  being dictated to is tiresome.  My hair was falling out and i didn't want to be a bald guy in his late 20s and early 30s trying to look 18. 

i started absorbing influences from sources other than the usual music magazines and whatnot, and neckties began to look really cool.  I took what i liked about my old style, the emphasis on well worn (but not battered and tattered), vintagey clothing, and i started tucking my shirt in and wearing ties.  I didn't look jarringly out of place in the circles in which i traveled and i felt like i had found something more my own.

I didn't get into suits until later but i always had a tweed or cord jacket  to wear with my Levis or cords and a striped tie.  I must have looked Ivy League although i didn't know that it existed.

Yet.

Good thread and one I've been thinking hard about.

And with me, it's black brogues. From the Clarks Commandos I wore at school to the ones I'm wearing today, the universal shoe. At home with jeans, casual suit, business suit, even smart to black-tie kilt.