Well, style you can not buy, style must have

[Fanch]

Somewhat interesting thread in spite of what I perceive as a combination of arrogance and condescension on the part of the OP.

 

[ton312]

Somewhat interesting thread in spite of what I perceive as a combination of arrogance and condescension on the part of the OP.

Agreed, tho I wonder if after reading it again if there may just be some poorly chosen language in trying to make a point...I dunno...

 

[handymike]

Im typically in a $3 T shirt and $12 pair of shorts...I agree with @nick123 "It's a jacket thing."

 

[tropicalbob]

For me, style is way at the bottom of the list of this jacket thing and/or non-existent. If you're "trying" to cultivate style, you're doing it wrong. Be yourself. Of course there are limitations to that and everyone is in some way pulled toward the concept of style. But it shouldn't be this perpetual ambitition. True style will blossom on its own accord. Light your piano on fire. Marry your cousin. Be yourself.

Nick, do I detect a Jerry Lee influence?

 

[Christopher Hansen]

Unfortunately, my style is what I can afford on a teacher's salary with five kids. Funny thing about teaching, when working with teenagers in particular you learn quickly to not care what other's think of your style or oddities. I wear what I wear, including the full beard, because I'm comfortable and / or appreciate quality craftsmanship (with regard to leather jackets and boots).

 

[Stand By]

I was at an office Christmas dinner party at my girlfriend's boss's house the other week - and her office crew were all there and they're a terrific and very like-able young bunch (in their 30's and early 40's) and all are in the swanky business world and are where it's at with their beautiful young girlfriends and travelling all over the continent for work and it was a dinner do that was hosted by the boss in a very exclusive neighborhood and he'd got a catering team in and it was absolutely top-notch.
So I showed up wearing my black ELC Luftwaffe jacket over a black dress shirt, my black RM Williams boots and a pair of my Dockers K-1 chinos (and a black tie with touches of tan-khaki to pick up the colour of the pants) ... and felt properly smart for the occasion (which I was privileged to attend).
Then I saw what all the office guys were wearing; all fitted, checked shirts and short hipster pants (to show off the socks. That's the point, so I'm told). Suddenly, by comparison, my K-1's (just straight leg cut) felt like flares circa 1974! And of course the short back and sides haircuts and beards with the foppy tops ... and they all wore it so comfortably and well!! At 49 myself, for the very first time, I felt rather old ... and the chinos were a big part of that (well, they were the "widest" pants there by far).
Then a couple of days later, my boss here brought in a colleague from the Faculty - and he was dressed exactly the same - even down to the haircut and beard! I was suddenly struck that it looked like a uniform in a funny sort of way ... and I realized that the hipster look with it's perceived notion of "style" will look old and passe next year and be replaced with another fad of how everyone should look ...
Me? I'm keeping my classic K-1's with the tailored trouser-break.

 

[ButteMT61]

I see that the OP has not posted up any example pics for us to live by. This has to be a troll, or a rather ignorant post. I think we've all made fun of (fill in the maker) overprices "fashion" items here. I see lots of people at certain events here who are the audience for such garb. I also go to a number of Hollywood "industry" events that are my wife's or son's and everyone wears black (still). I love going and usually being in browns. There are a few others like me and honestly, I feel like it generally looks better, and I like being not like everyone else.

I've got compliments at many gatherings for my clothing or "style". Often, it's consisted of wearing a Carhartt shirt with a $1500 jacket and maybe $200 jeans, maybe $50 Levis. There has been no correlation between cost (generally) and the compliments I received over time. Maybe it's the "he's a Dad" level of low expectations - dunno. But I also tend to wait and buy things that are nice/expensive either on a huge sale, eBay, or second hand now. I've got a closet filled with very nice items and very few of them now are paid at full retail.

I remember one day walking out of my bank, and I felt like I looked good. Wearing nothing spectacular, but some great boots, nice jeans, and one of my nice jackets. I walked with purpose, and maybe even "swagger". This kid - a young black is maybe 20 said "man, I love your stride". I didn't realize I had one, but at that moment, I realized I was feeling good and maybe was strutting. As many of us know, kids don't often dole out compliments to us clueless, uncool old dudes often

Maybe also the OP has seen the occasional lazy pic we've all posted to show a new jacket, whilst wearing sweatpants and slippers. Three's a few guys here that take a lot of time to do videos, pics, etc. that really showcase the items. Most of us however are living our lives and don't put that effort into showcasing. I appreciate the energy some guys like @casechopper, @tmitchell59 and others put into it as I just don't have the same level of commitment to the forums I once had.

Anyhow, I reckon that the regulars here still dress than 90% of the joe public I walk by on any given day. The current style for this time of year seems to be hoodies, Patagonia down "sweaters" - skin tight, and other stuff that everyone buys and wears like a club at school. Good for them, I just won't look like them...bad or whatever it is.

 

[tropicalbob]

I get what OP is saying. Basically there's people who spend a lot of money on leather jackets and worry about how they fit so they are flattering but then don't pay the same attention to the other garments they wear. That is suprising and sometimes I ask myself why does that happen.

Things have gotten to the point in this country that if you take any care whatsoever in your dress you are going to hear about it almost constantly. Whether the comments are gushingly positive or strangely negative ("Who the hell does this guy think he is?"), I sometimes feel that I've woken up to a strange new world: one day a few weeks ago I had both kinds of comments on the same day, and the outfit I was wearing consisted of a tweed jacket, corduroy trousers (non-jeans style), a white shirt and tie, and a sweater-vest.
There used to be a guy who lived in the Chelsea Hotel in NY and woke up every day to Rod Serling's voice-over from The Twilight Zone, complete with those famous notes. I feel that way sometimes.

 

[Monitor]

I think it probably has to do with the level of interest one has...To me Levi's are just fine. I have some ironhearts too but I just don't put that much thought into denims...I just don't care that much. I'm also perfectly content in a hoody and a t-shirt with a pair of chucks. Putting too much thought into what you are wearing, IMHO, moves away from actually being stylish and more toward being fashionable. It's a less organic process to meticulously plan every single detail of what you're wearing. More akin to cosplay than just being stylish. Style flows, fashion is forced...

Signed.

And exactly. Case in point, most of the modeling photos on those high end Japanese brand pages. Like RMC blog, for instance. Those guys may be wearing 100% historically accurate stuff but they look so neatly put together it actually becomes a cosplay, rather then whatever they were going for. Which is fine if that's your thing but I personally wouldn't feel comfortable at all going out like that.

I really don't care about jeans, either. I have some good jeans and I have cheap jeans. I wear cheap ones because I walk a lot and I spend a lot of time outside. I get holes on all of my jeans after a year of wear and I sure as hell don't plan on wasting hundreds of dollars on pants that I know won't last me longer than that. So I just buy whatever cheap pants I like and believe suit my style and that's it.

 

[Pdxgeo]

One word we may or may not have mentioned yet that is the key to all of this.

Fit.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I don't think we should be justifying our own style(s) to the OP....it's he who has a problem, not us.

 

[ButteMT61]

I've got some pics of some of the shoots my son has done over the years. He often comes home just beside himself for what he had to wear for the paycheck that day. $300 t-shirts that look like *&^%! $6000 jackets that also look like said dung. But the paycheck and the level-setting he just got have him settled into his own, vintage style that is all his. He's kinda like a young Elvis or Jerry Lee in his style, and even his bandmates are picking it up. Some of their pics look like a band at someone's 50's college party. But he gets to live his dream while wearing embarrassingly expensive and awful looking gear that those who do "fashion" do. LOL'ing all the way...

 

[tropicalbob]

I was at an office Christmas dinner party at my girlfriend's boss's house the other week - and her office crew were all there and they're a terrific and very like-able young bunch (in their 30's and early 40's) and all are in the swanky business world and are where it's at with their beautiful young girlfriends and travelling all over the continent for work and it was a dinner do that was hosted by the boss in a very exclusive neighborhood and he'd got a catering team in and it was absolutely top-notch.
So I showed up wearing my black ELC Luftwaffe jacket over a black dress shirt, my black RM Williams boots and a pair of my Dockers K-1 chinos (and a black tie with touches of tan-khaki to pick up the colour of the pants) ... and felt properly smart for the occasion (which I was privileged to attend).
Then I saw what all the office guys were wearing; all fitted, checked shirts and short hipster pants (to show off the socks. That's the point, so I'm told). Suddenly, by comparison, my K-1's (just straight leg cut) felt like flares circa 1974! And of course the short back and sides haircuts and beards with the foppy tops ... and they all wore it so comfortably and well!! At 49 myself, for the very first time, I felt rather old ... and the chinos were a big part of that.
Then a couple of days later, my boss here brought in a colleague from the Faculty - and he was dressed exactly the same - even down to the haircut and beard! I was suddenly struck that it looked like a uniform in a funny sort of way ... and I realized that the hipster look with it's perceived notion of "style" will look old and passe next year and be replaced with another fad of how everyone should look ...
Me? I'm keeping my classic K-1's with the tailored trouser-break.

Good for you. I often wonder if the world really is being divided up into a very small minority of the rich and militantly chic on the one hand and a vast majority of poor slobs on the other. I'm not sure which side I dislike the most, as both feel that if you're not like them there's something wrong with you.

 

[ButteMT61]

Good for you. I often wonder if the world really is being divided up into a very small minority of the rich and militantly chic on the one hand and a vast majority of poor slobs on the other. I'm not sure which side I dislike the most, as both feel that if you're not like them there's something wrong with you.

Oh, that's exactly it. At least in the city where I live and those to where I have traveled in the last few years. I sense some real issues, socially, and this fashion thing is representative of the attitudes of what I see as the "enlightened, college types" and the "blue collar rubes" that elected Trump here. There is a divisiveness I've never felt before. Buckle up...

 

[Stand By]

Agreed, tho I wonder if after reading it again if there may just be some poorly chosen language in trying to make a point...I dunno...

I agree. For all of email's cleverness and wonder of instant trans-continental communication (and including texting and typing such as here on a forum) there has never been greater miscommunication in the world as tone is so difficult to convey. Netiquette is not observed as it once was was when email arrived on the public's radar, so it can be tricky sometimes and I try to remember to not to be too hasty to judge too harshly... and I suspect that no needling was inferred here; just that the spurious notion of style was fairly posed in a style forum.

 

[Stand By]

Good for you. I often wonder if the world really is being divided up into a very small minority of the rich and militantly chic on the one hand and a vast majority of poor slobs on the other. I'm not sure which side I dislike the most, as both feel that if you're not like them there's something wrong with you.

Thanks Bob.
Well, these guys work terrifically hard and under a lot of pressure - and they play hard too (they all went off drinking afterwards and it went on 'til 6.00AM!!). But then, they're all young and good on 'em.
I felt like the dullest person there, if I'm honest. They'd all been zipping all over and dining well and they work on Bay Street and I found myself not feeling very interesting or exciting by comparison.
What had I spent my day doing? I'd taken it as vacation - and had been raking and bagging the last of the yard leaves all morning (making a total of 37 bags this year!! Exhausting) and been up the ladders in the afternoon scraping out the leaves and crud from the eaves troughs and then flushing them out with the hose - water going everywhere and I was soaked and it was just a cool +3C, so big laughs there. And up well before dawn to walk the dogs and getting the winter tyres put on the car in the afternoon just ahead of the snow. Not very glamorous, I'll admit.
But's that's real life stuff and it needs doing and there's a quiet contentment in it somehow. As The Sunscreen Song wisely states, "Don't compare yourself to others. The race is long. In the end, it's only with yourself."
And around here, we all find ourselves dressing accordingly. It's why we find ourselves here, I think.

 

[58panheadfan]

Fanch said: ↑
Somewhat interesting thread in spite of what I perceive as a combination of arrogance and condescension on the part of the OP.

ton312 said:↑
Agreed, tho I wonder if after reading it again if there may just be some poorly chosen language in trying to make a point...I dunno...

It seems I opened a can of worms with my post… it was never my intention to defame someone but rather to give food for thought… what I wanted to say willyto put it straight…

I get what OP is saying. Basically there's people who spend a lot of money on leather jackets and worry about how they fit so they are flattering but then don't pay the same attention to the other garments they wear. That is suprising and sometimes I ask myself why does that happen.

 

[Stand By]

Signed.

And exactly. Case in point, most of the modeling photos on those high end Japanese brand pages. Like RMC blog, for instance. Those guys may be wearing 100% historically accurate stuff but they look so neatly put together it actually becomes a cosplay, rather then whatever they were going for. Which is fine if that's your thing but I personally wouldn't feel comfortable at all going out like that.

I really don't care about jeans, either. I have some good jeans and I have cheap jeans. I wear cheap ones because I walk a lot and I spend a lot of time outside. I get holes on all of my jeans after a year of wear and I sure as hell don't plan on wasting hundreds of dollars on pants that I know won't last me longer than that. So I just buy whatever cheap pants I like and believe suit my style and that's it.

It's so funny you mention the cosplay angle, Monitor.
I was thinking afterwards on the way home that I could have shown up at that party looking just like Matt Smith's portrayal of Doctor Who - the white shirt and red bow tie, fitted tweed jacket and drainpipe trousers and boots - and would have fitted right in! Nobody would have batted an eyelid.
But I'd have felt ridiculous and that I was taking the pi$$ as the only place to wear that should be Comic Con (I've never been FYI) and it'd be disrespectful to show up at my girlfriend's boss's like that (in costume) ... but it would have worked! LOL! Strange days indeed.

 

[bn1966]

It seems I opened a can of worms with my post… it was never my intention to defame someone but rather to give food for thought… what I wanted to say willyto put it straight…

Thanks for an amusing thread...has brightened an otherwise boring afternoon...whilst I languish at home with the dreaded Man Flu not looking my most stylish today, however got my act and wardrobe together briefly for a foray into Town (two minutes away) for food..now back on the sofa with the 'bad boys' (slippers and jogging pants) & a Lemsip.

 

[ton312]

It seems I opened a can of worms with my post… it was never my intention to defame someone but rather to give food for thought… what I wanted to say willyto put it straight…

I think your opening post read a bit offensively, per the language choice, but the thread has actually evolved into something interesting. Fear not. You've hurt no feelings here!