l think that's fair enough Film Noir Buff. Letting people know in subtle ways that your clothing is custom is fine, it's just that you don't want to be perceived as being too affected by it. But i'm sure you're are well aware of carrying that fine balance.

l think it's best to give little hints (eg undone buttons), but never push the subject on people. Always let them ask the questions ALWAYS....most people aren't into this type of thing.

The Shooman.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2008-08-16 02:20:43)

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2008-08-16 07:40:36)

Well, I do agree that most people may not know that an item of clothing is bespoke/custom, but, I do think that they know when something fits well, or that it has intrinsic beauty. We see this all the time. For example, put most people into the Sistine chapel and they'll marvel at the beauty of Michaelangelo's ceiling, they may not know how to paint, or know anything about composition or technique but they'll be awestruck by it's beauty. I believe that humans understand what's beautiful at a base level, even if they can't articulate why. Ultimately, I think it's a lack of language not a lack of appreciation.

Whether or not people know that my clothes are custom or even notice them, I still get my clothes for maximum effect both for mine and other's enjoyment. I choose the clothes I do for a purpose which consists of many factors. Sometimes it is because I want a standard item in a size I cannot get rtw , the item may not exist anywhere in rtw. Sometimes I choose clothes for shock value, other times to be unnoticed.


It's not a major point and it is also both esoteric and abstract. That is, the idea about whether I want people to know that I am wearing custom clothes. But, having isolated it and thought about it. I do not necessarily want people to notice my clothes nor do i want to get custom things that mimic ready-to-wear. I get the things I like and think will do the job for me. To an extent, that means clothes that fit my attitude; which can include to be noticed or dominate.

These factors depend on what I envision the clothes are useful for. I definitely choose different articles of clothes for different results. I dont claim to always know objectively what article will have what effect on a given person and/or place but i apply what i know to my wardrobe.

I love clothes and that is not limited to suits and ties. 
If there is a value to writing about clothes it is to write both about your own reactions to clothes and the objective messages that clothes send. I think it is important to be able to separate these two concepts. Otherwise you run the risk of believing your taste and viewpoint is the only one.

To a certain extent this entails being a wardrobe engineer. A good wardrobe engineer for a film or theatrical production chooses clothes that automatically let the viewer know who and what the character is. This relies not on fashion designing or putting people into what one feels they should wear but more firmly on seeing the world the way it is.

I say the “good” wardrobe engineers because I do see films where they put the actors into bad clothes for the role or they plug a fashion designer and the net effect is a forgettable wardrobe.  Basically, you just observe the way a given type of person or circle dresses and then copy. You are plugged in but not adding anything extra; except to the extent that you create composites to make a more ideal whole. Good artists do this when they draw a person and you immediately know who they are or what they do; rock star, lawyer, sommelier, Third Duke of whatever.

This wardrobe engineer approach contrasts with having the confidence and stamina to experiment with items that you feel are better and more enhancing for you (or others) which actually work. Experiment and design play a greater part here. It is interesting for men because whereas, like the youtube.com couture videos Marc provided demonstrate, women have much more latitude than men. Mens clothing messages change vastly with simple or minute changes.

Of course this begins to involve several factors. For example, how self aware or critical you are. You have to straddle the fence between being confident and having enough humility to know that you don’t know everything. If you feel you have the right answers you will never change and your clothes will become an antiquated parody. If you are too humble, you will never have the confidence to make a choice.

Change is important for mens clothes but it is relatively slow. No change has an anchor is a recurring form of stubbornness that I see in men which involves more emotional/mental/political/economic factors than any interest of clothes. Too much change does detract from what most men are interested in doing. When I say too much change, I mean both changing outfits too often in one day or changing clothing styles too often.

There is interest in clothes vs. interest in the effect that clothes have. The psychological reasons are doubtless both deep and complex. Suffice to say that I see many men caring a great deal what others think about who they are and what they do and then suddenly with clothes, none of them care. Usually this is some form of brave declaration about the real self vs the phony self.  I have conversed with men bragging about their collection of expensive cars only to go pale when they find out the price of a necktie they vocally admire on me.  How exactly men got pinched into this corner by clothing, we might never fully understand.

Admitting that you judge people is another crucial factor. I have met all manner of people who say they don’t judge people and then go on to criticize people in the harshest terms and often for very superficial reasons. Admitting that you judge people is an important step because then you can adjust your prejudices along principles of fairness and figure out what it was that you were reacting to.

Also how long have you dwelt on clothes? You might discover that you understand some details more intricately but that some of your honest reactions to clothes may have been lost.

Additionally, with American men there seems to be a step up with clothing. That is we become numb to what we are wearing and feel the need to alter things to get that feeling of being dapper again. Actually I would say as a national trait, American men feel the need to upgrade just about anything they do. I say this because it is acceptable in some place like England to wear the same thing day in and day out.

More to the point, everyone has a read on clothes and the sources can be quite surprising. At a business dinner a while back the waitress brought me the check (I was not the dinner’s host) and when I laughed and asked why she stuck me with the check she told the whole table because I was the one wearing the nicest suit.

Well, I wouldn't mind  either way if people knew I had my clothes made ( and I do wear some more outre' stuff than others) but to my experience there seems to be a lack of a frame of reference regarding bespoke clothing.
People these days just don't comprehend the idea of having an article of clothing made "from scratch". What I usually get is commentary about how nice my suit/jacket etc. is and at most, a refrence to a high end RTW maker- "I'll bet it's a Brioni" etc.  very occasionally, I get a question "is that custom?" but the asker really doesn't have any idea as to what that entails.

This is entirely aside from the visceral reaction of people to custom clothing. Color, cloth, cut, are what people notice and what provides that gut response. In that, there's a world of difference between RTW and bespoke.