What "Style" do you WISH you could pull off, but know you can't?

Jon Crow · Jan 30, 2025

Worf said:
"The Look", "The Glare", "The Stare" Honed, practiced and used by Educators, Judges, Fathers and Drill Instructors WORLD WIDE for centuries.

Worf

Including Roman Centurions so I've read Worf haha

Jon Crow · Jan 30, 2025

Because we live in the UNESCO city birthplace of Miguel De Cervantes, Don Quixote, we some years join in on the week long Renaissance fair haha

all good fun

The Shoe · Jan 30, 2025

Jon Crow said:
Because we live in the UNESCO city birthplace of Miguel De Cervantes, Don Quixote, we some years join in on the week long Renaissance fair haha all good fun

And you pull it off with aplomb!

Jon Crow · Jan 30, 2025

The Shoe said:
And you pull it off with aplomb!

Many thanks Sir! April is the week long Roman and Celt festival, I haven't done that yet haha

Frunobulax · Jan 30, 2025

unhatted said:
For what it’s worth I have seldom or never seen another person, either in real life or on here, and felt they did not pull off their outfit. I tend to be delighted by effort and consideration in clothing regardless of whether it’s to my taste or not.

I think the idea of clothing reflecting an internal ‘truth’ more or less effectively is insightful though. If you accept that all clothing is a costume (a plain T-shirt is no more ‘natural’ to wear than a C18th French court suit, it’s just far more common—and admittedly less hassle) it just becomes a question of whether the costume is doing the work we want it to. I wear a lot of cross zip jackets that have loose origins in the us police forces. If that was the only association I would feel very weird wearing them—I’m grateful that film-rebels, rockers, leather gays, punks and fashion trends have broadened the associations of the garment enough that I don’t feel like I’m wearing a cop or a Brando costume when I wear one. OTOH, influenced by this forum I have tried Aero Highwayman and halfbelt jackets which many would regard as an easy style to pull of, but these always make me feel like I’m cosplaying a straight white dad with a medium to large dog. In other words, the costume makes less sense to me!

That said, I feel most self-conscious in a jacket when it advertises a physique I can’t back up. When a jacket has too exaggerated shoulders or ballooning biceps it makes me feel more self conscious than anything else, except possibly straining seams, though that is more of a comfort issue.

"Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don′t kid yourself." - Frank Zappa

zebedee · Jan 30, 2025

I think I've now been wearing leather jackets for so long that people would be shocked if I didn't wear one with smart casual wear twice a week. I also wear suits more often that colleagues. In Hong Kong, however, leather jackets are fairly normal in the colder three/four months.

I like Engineer boots, but I can't pull them off, style-wise. William Lennons and Blundstones are much more me. I find that, at 46, I can get away with most styles of leather jacket as long as they aren't over 29" at the back (I'm 178 cms tall) and or cross-zips. I think the trick is for jackets to look quite battered up.

Khilij · Jan 30, 2025

As for me, I think I'm here to have fun and wear what I enjoy. I definitely do cater to some sense of dressing for other people, but thankfully I'm starting to worry less about what people think and dress primarily for myself. Absent other considerations, of course. It's a mentality I've begun to pick up from some of the fine people here, and it's done wonders for my self confidence. Thanks y'all.

zebedee · Jan 30, 2025

Khilij said:
As for me, I think I'm here to have fun and wear what I enjoy. I definitely do cater to some sense of dressing for other people, but thankfully I'm starting to worry less about what people think and dress primarily for myself. Absent other considerations, of course. It's a mentality I've begun to pick up from some of the fine people here, and it's done wonders for my self confidence. Thanks y'all.

Formal wear for work seems to have persuaded my colleagues that I can pretty much wear what I like when I choose to, but HK has so many odd and transient fashions that even a Simmons Bilt V2 in Mahogany (i.e. orange/tan or an Aero CR in tan steer hide) is reasonably conservative

Team_Feisar2 · Jan 30, 2025

High waisted pants.
I'm 6'7 with long legs and a short torso, when I wear pants at my natural waist, it's looks absolutely imbalanced bordering on comical.
At least wearing pants at hip level still ends up with close to a 2:1 ratio between bottom/top.

handymike · Jan 30, 2025

I wish I could pull off anything seriously.
I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how intentional or formal I go, it all ends up looking like “goofy-old-me”. I gave up trying to be stylish, and now I wear what I want- a lot of olive colored stuff with colorful shirts. Black is out!

navetsea · Jan 31, 2025

I can't wear buttoned collar with necktie look. and I can't do tidy hair

MrProper · Jan 31, 2025

handymike said:
and now I wear what I want-

That's exactly how I've always done it and it works well for me.
But when I looking back to my youth, when I wore whatever I wanted too, some things make my non-existent hair stand on end. LOL

Pandemic · Mar 18, 2025

dudewuttheheck said:
I think especially if you live in the US there's a lot of stigma. Sp many "country" guys wear them. I love hats, but even I make sure I don't wear anything too cowboy-esque

I grew up in Australia and always wanted to add a little country (boots, Western shirt, maybe a straw hat) to my wardrobe for a Gram Parsons meets Iggy Pop kinda country-rock-hippy style. Then I moved to Texas and, as much as I can appreciate those items, I’d never wear anything of it - around here it just screams Toby Keith and all that that implies.

Worf · Mar 18, 2025

WolfofStateSt said:
I like your dog.

The dog's name is "Ruby". She's a "hand me down" dog. An Aussie Shepard who was being fostered by a woman who had 4 Aussies already and couldn't handle a 5 as she came down with lung cancer 3 or so years ago. So... since I was retired and had always wanted a dog, I guess I was elected. One of the best decisions of my life even though she's a bald faced sandwich thief!

Worf

Pandemic · Mar 19, 2025

I’ve been looking at vintage varsity jackets on eBay recently. That’s another cool style that I would wear back in Australia, but would be kinda weird here in the US (I image getting a ton of questions about high school football teams, etc).

dudewuttheheck · Wednesday at 9:14 PM

Pandemic said:
I grew up in Australia and always wanted to add a little country (boots, Western shirt, maybe a straw hat) to my wardrobe for a Gram Parsons meets Iggy Pop kinda country-rock-hippy style. Then I moved to Texas and, as much as I can appreciate those items, I’d never wear anything of it - around here it just screams Toby Keith and all that that implies.

Yup that's exactly the problem in the States, but especially in Texas.

CatsCan · Wednesday at 9:47 PM

I wish I could pull off what I get to see when I look in the mirror. Mirror keeps telling me I can't. But I do it anyway and feel deceived by my mirror-me.
There is a guy in the nearby town, who I frequently see coming down the high street. He is a perfect re-incarnation of a 1969 San Francisco Hippie, wearing skin tight flared denims, plateau shoes, a colorful shirt with wide pointed collar and flared sleeve cuffs, long curled hair like Daltry or Plant back then. He is a tall guy. I wish I could pull off his style somtimes, but even my "now don't tell my you have a belly"-belly is telling me otherwise.
I wish I could pull off Sean Connery's suit style, but when I try, I start looking like my younger me while off to my protestant confirmation (I had to wear this suit to every important family event for more than a year even if my legs and arms had grewn out of it). Or worse: that insurance nerd who earns less than me but makes me feel like a poor beggar stealing cigarettes (I still smoke in dreams somtimes even though I quit long time ago; there is a trick I discovered recently when I met him, whenever he looks at me like this, I very obviously look down at his shoes and happily watch his face turn red...his shoes are terribly worn and show the reality in his wallet. Bad me. Know your enemy).

CatsCan · Wednesday at 9:54 PM

Wouldn't it be pretty exiting to open another thread where we show old photos of us older guys how we looked in the 70s or 80s when we thought we looked sharp? No one would recognise us anyway, so it should be safe

I wore leather coats, leather pants, Cowboy Boots and had very long hair falling out of a wide brimmed black hat with "conchos". Still wish I could pull off that style.

VansonRider · 2025-03-27T17:17:57+0000

Olumin said:
Late 18th century French court suits. I’m serious. I absolutely love them. They just went all out with no regard for cost or convenience and I respect that immensely. So colourful, creative and flamboyant. The patterns, embroidery and other details are mesmerizing. But they’re not exactly common and a single one would cost as much as a new car.

Even if I owned one, it would just be too inconvenient for me to ever consider wearing. At least without plenty of dedicated staff to help me get ready and maintain them.

They existed for one reason; to display opulence and to distinguish the wearer from the lower classes who could not hope to afford even a cheap imitation. In that sense they do their job as well today as they did then. There is just something so ironically honest and blunt about that.

Suit | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Period Rooms Reoccupied in Style," November 27, 1963 –January 5, 1964.<br/><br/>The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Vignettes of Fashion," June 22, 1964–1965.<br/><br/>New York

www.metmuseum.org

Court suit | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

www.metmuseum.org

I wonder if these were the inspiration for Quarks outfits on Deep Space 9

Olumin · 2025-03-27T17:22:36+0000

VansonRider said:
I wonder if these were the inspiration for Quarks outfits on Deep Space 9

I LOVED the Ferengi costumes in DS9! You might well be right.

What "Style" do you WISH you could pull off, but know you can't?

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