High time we had some more from forum contributors ?
I did some and contributed to others back in the day... They were once a nice thing that set us apart, back when even Style Forum described this place as "The Advanced Forum".
I dont have the time to write any front page essays. Though I would like to write some. In recent years, the mens clothing field has seen a plethora of blogs including blogs by small makers which creates a cycle between what is currently "hot" and being able to buy it immediately. It also seems like there is a disconnect between men who like clothing and men who simply want clothing to fit in. In any case, the concentration of genuine enthusiasts has been dispersed.
Fitting in, as a concept, is not as easy as it once was because the language of mens clothes has been reset and continues to change rapidly. Just this morning I saw US General Flynn talking on FOX news in a blue suit and a white shirt with small medium blue dots or squares printed on it. If one imagines that the demographic for FOX news is both older and less open to clothes one could consider fancy than the general US population, then this demonstrates where what acceptable and conservative for mens clothing has become. As a matter of fact, On the television news of several channels, I have seen government spokesmen delivering messages on tragedies and disasters wearing items of clothing that would once have been considered too self indulgent and flamboyant in the recent past.
After the wreckage of the casual Friday dress code and the global financial collapse of 2008/09, clothing has become increasingly personal and less boxed in with two general trends. The first is a trend for plain clothes but in ever more expensive, luxurious qualities and the second is a more colorful, patterned approach, mostly represented by checked or brightly hued suit patterns/colors. Literally, suit patterns have now become acceptable that would have been unthinkable as sports jackets a decade ago. My tailor's workshop has gone from making up navy and charcoal solids with my suits making me stand out as the resident "dandy" to a point where looking at the wild checked patterns getting ordered, I almost feel dowdy and out of step. Although I have admittedly bowed excitedly to peer pressure and recently gotten a couple of wild three piece suits made up.
OK, I will consult the men's style page of the Wall Street journal and come back with a report on what's the latest for the upwardly mobile WSJ readers...
AAAAAAccchhh, maybe not, I laughed so hard I spilled coffee all over my $250 bamboo silk T-shirt...
Well it's true that clothing choice is a matter of fashion but it's also a matter of time, place and manner and also tribe. Not tribe in the sense of tradition (Real traditional clothes leave very little choice to the individual) but rather tribe in the sense of group one wants to be identified with. Then you can add standard practice of the tribe and infuse it with care, taste, style, hygiene, money (and willingness to spend the money), upkeep etc... The problem with tribal clothes based on fashion is that it's really not as much about the clothes as it is about identifying with a group and, unfortunately, looking down on a different group who also wear a tribal outfit as if they're wearing a uniform and the sneerer is not. For men the difference between these uniforms can be trivial in the grand scheme of fashion. I remember a while back visiting a Hedgefund where all six of the men present were wearing a white, tie-less shirt and dark plain wool trousers. I got the sense they all thought they looked very hip. I thought they looked like crap. In return a couple of them were put off by my tie as "unusual".
Recently another man told me I looked very corporate. Whatever that means I think it meant to him that I looked like his fantasy of successful professional. I was wearing a blue price of wales shirt with a thin yellow windowpane (This seasons "it" shirt in NYC) a pale yellow tie with a few small navy dots on it and a solid navy suit. Thats pretty tame for me. He was wearing a poorly fitted suit in a taupe-ish grey and a grey button down shirt that looked like it was once white. It was clear that his remark was one of ironic contrast; that I looked professional today but at other times, I looked...flamboyant? A few of the women professionals laughed at him as being clueless about clothes but it was clear he felt he had the right to comment. Im sure the reverse would not have been taken as well. I have to say that in many meetings, visitors will gravitate towards me as if I am the man in charge, even when Im quite junior.
All this demonstrates that clothing triggers a lot of things in the minds of people and depending on who you are dealing with you can go from being considered a clown to an unimaginative fuddy duddy to "Mr. Big".
It's also evident that clothing is very important to everyone but very few people know what they're actually doing nor have they the slightest interest in spending a moment figuring it out.
Now me, I will dress like a chameleon sometimes to get along. The other day I knew I was going to meet with a company where the execs were a little bit on the goodfellas side. I am glad I wore a white shirt and a plain tie. Other times, Im just as happy to drop a boldly patterned Van Buck tie on a multicolored striped shirt and a striped suit because I know Im meeting with mostly female CPAs or the head of a fund or some millennials with a start up.
In my industry, we use "corporate" as a derogatory term meaning the individual is a small cog in a bureaucratic organisation where there is a rigid hierarch, very limited scope to take rapid action or managed risks and there is no opportunity to operate outside of very rigid procedures. These are the kind of big companies where the corporate man still exists and careers take decades to take traction and you wait for your turn in the dead man's shoes. Generally, they are soulless places and only very senior management will sport a suit and tie, even then in very conservative and modest off-the-rack styles. And at the very top, your career life expectancy tends to be three to six years as you are ousted in the next down-turn or when the vagaries of share price brings in a new regime. They tend to have their own unique culture which you have to learn and fit-in with. When I say "....a very corporate environment" everyone knows exactly what I mean. So rest assured FNB, if you were working in the industry I am in, no one would say you were corporate with a blue prince of wales and yellow windowpane shirt.
"blue price of wales shirt with a thin yellow windowpane (This seasons "it" shirt in NYC) "
Really? These have been around for ages, H&K did them and a few other, too. What made them so popular in NYC?
I think a fabrication concerning fabrication would be an excellent piece of creative writing from you Jim...I look forward to it.
Best.
Yes but yours is the equivalent of getting your nan to knit you a jumper. Cant see the Wardrobe guys going weak at the knees for a jacket made by the UK Asian Wedding/Women's Institute tailoring scene. You're living in a dream world Jim, and its not even an entertaining one.
The fact you honestly think this is edgy stuff and you're pushing the envelope with this shit is hilarious, and the fact its all bollocks as well makes it even more tragic.
Hopefully what ever spell of boredom is hanging over you at the moment will pass and you'll leave us in peace, although the shit you come out with really is comic relief of the highest order, it's just the fact you're the joke though.
Last edited by Bop (2016-07-19 09:41:26)
There are a lot of female master tailor(esses) in the (barren) North. My mum is friendly with one of them who use to work in a local clothing manufacturer which is now closed down. However, because of the shortage of this skill she is travelling the globe to pass on the knowledge. Jim's position is not as far out as you may think.
The other interesting thing about the clothing factory is that it was piece work and the ladies could earn a very decent wage if the could cut it. These type of factories were an excellent opportunity for non-academic ladies to get on in life.
My point was, it's not far out. He likes to portray it is, whilst simultaneously suggesting its pedestrian. As is the paradox that is Jim's fractured mind. But really the underlying point we should all take is Jim is doing something, and although we can hear all about it, we probably wont see it
Last edited by Bop (2016-07-20 05:14:00)