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Really agree with what you're saying UnwashedMolasses. It's something I've thought about before. On a slight tangent, I think even simple stuff like cuffing your pants is definitely a stylistic signifier.

Unwashed that's so true. I just posted about being about to buy the WTAPS vans and no matter how much I lie to myself about it, I know I probably wouldn't get them if they didn't have that label on the front because I like the thought of belonging to the club, of walking into maas and stacks rocking them and having the staff assume that I at least somewhat know what I'm talking about. I used to want attention with my clothing, then I decided I didn't want to attract any attention, but then I realized that I did want attention, but only from the right people.

I forget if it was someone here or some other forum (it's a pretty common viewpoint) but I remember someone talking about how people buy clothes to buy into a world way more than to buy the actual clothing itself. How the best designers create an entire world with their clothing and buying it is like a pass into it, and that's why young people look weird in yohji and people who aren't emaciated strung out 22 year olds look weird in st. laurent, it doesn't fit the world. Even people who are really into techy clothing are into the world imagined by techy clothing.

And I guess the reason hyped pieces are hyped is because they instantly communicate exactly what that world and that designer is about. Like you look at an Undercover knit rider and you instantly know what Undercover stands for, the whole sort of punk with that weird gypsy pirate wanderer edge.

But I think it's important to a lot of people to bring some degree of individuality to that, that's why you hear "dressed by the internet" thrown around as an insult so much, it's the idea that someone's not really about that world, they're just pretending to be, which is a funny thing because it's not your aesthetic, it's Rick Owens' or Jun Takahashi's or James Jebbia's or whoever's. But it's still irritating to see someone "dressed by the internet", it's strange.

I dunno I have a lot of unorganized thoughts on this subject. Feel like I'm telling you things you must already know.

teck, for me it's more the idea that I'll drop a lot of money on some clothes and not be interested in them later. I've been into fashion for about a year now and during that time my tastes have gone from streetwear to raf and st. laurent to gothy drapey shit to what I'm into currently (just streetwear again, but more japanese and more expensive) and I feel like I've finally arrived at what I'm comfortable in, but who knows if that will be true in 6 months? So why should I be dropping money on clothing right now if my tastes are just going to change? But it feels so right in the moment so I keep doing it anyway.

i hate the "how do you people afford this stuff" question. in fact, i hate any question that fulfills the "the answer is already there and you know it, you're just being snide or condescending or willfully ignorant or stirring the pot" criterion. it's the same as asking "how are you so good at skill x" except there's a financial element so it turns people into emotionally charged morlocks, western society having such an unpleasant relationship to the realities of class and the horatio alger myth.

i'm hardly suggesting that it's right or ok that i buy $300 shoes but i do live in a system that allows me to do that and i can't say i have a realistic opinion of someone who spends $4000 on a blazer. regardless of how well formed my opinion on the matter is, it's pretty easy to understand how someone affords something.

yes i think we're getting to a fundamental truth about fashion:

Fundamental Truth About Fashion Theorem No. Whatever:

"One purchases clothing (and, largely) acts in such ways as to gain merit or prestige within a narrow sub sect of ones peers"


Fundamental Truth About Fashion Theorem No. Whatever, Corollary:

"The internet creates a place where many social groups meet, and the obviousness of the FTaFT is not immediately obvious to everyone involved".

odradek, I love that distinction - people asking questions not because they're looking for an answer but because they're looking to argue or score points. That kind of backhanded shitslinging seems endemic of the internet, and it's one of the reasons I love this place so much.

there also comes a point where you become inured to the prices of things, i think. like when you're first getting into fashion and you're young and broke and a student and the idea of buying a pair of $700 boots or a $500 necklace or whatever is just so foreign to you. then you hang around long enough and you start to rationalize things in your head and suddenly a pair of $700 boots seems kind of reasonable, given all of the other factors and at least you're not buying a pair of $1200 boots or something, even if your financial situation isn't fundamentally different than it was 8 months before.

I feel the unease from "how do you pay for this?" is very similar to people asking you how much you paid for something in real life. In our narrow view point, the high costs are completely justified if not kinda reasonable, but to an outsider it's just absurd. The question kinda pushes us into another thought point for a second and maybe we do spend too much on a simple trifles. Suddenly we have to reason out why we paid so much for something so absurd.

The only difference is that the "how do you pay for this?" guy is in our club house, and we can deride him for just simply not being in the know.

When I ask people how they afford stuff I'm trying to work out if I should get a different job.

Just because your tastes become more expensive doesn't mean you'll always want the most expensive item or version of an item. There is a very real ceiling for a lot of pieces and then there is a stratosphere that's probably less about the piece than the price? Beyond that, you always probably feel the need to consume less when you consume better. A nice sweater with details you enjoy complemented with four shirts and a pair of pants from comparatively middle-of-the-road places feels a lot better than twelve of everything from that latter place. But that much is obvious. I think, to an extent, you satiate your desire with good purchases and you know it was a good purchase because you aren't thinking about what you should have bought instead.

And about the money shit, I hate that question. 'How much was that (x)' is the most aggravating question and I hate it when it comes from friends. But at least most seem to understand that people value different shit. Some dudes drop a ton of money on nice guitars. Some buy pants. And how can someone afford that? The people who ask these questions don't tend to be people with a ton of money saved up. 'Clearly, I manage my money better than you because I can buy what I want to buy.' At the very least, if I was in a precarious financial situation (and it's not like I have money, I just have no real financial responsibilities), I could sell my clothes and come out with a decent clip. What will those people asking that question do?

Cool stuff from OL

All this talk about the relationship of money with fashion makes me realize that it's ironic homeless people always get recognition as some sort of fashion flintstone.

Was talking w/ syek re this kind of stuff on IRC and I feel it's a bit lame that the response to "I can't afford this" is often "save up/go on rakuten" when sometimes it should really be "try to find a look that you like/suits you at a price point you're comfortable with paying"

used to be strongly opposed to button fronts sweatshirts/jackets but i find myself liking them more and more recently.

the carhartt clash parka is out of stock in my size for every color..my heart is broken
any ideas for an olive fishtail <$400 besides carhartt and ace hotel?

I have this pair of Red Wings that by all means I should love, but I don't. As I'm selling everything I don't love or don't wear, I keep coming back to these, making the eBay listing and then hesitating. They were my first 'expensive' shoes, so I guess some of it is sentimentality, that's making me think twice. They're really very pretty boots, but I almost never wear them. Some reason: they're too big, but work with an insole. they aren't that comfortable, but I keep telling myself it's the break-in period. They're hard to get on. One of the laces always comes untied and it's really annoying. Idk. Someone tell me to just sell the damn things.

I don't hate anything, but when people buy into fashion labels and other creatives collabing and they just come up with crappy graphic tees I just don't understand the appeal. I know it isn't 'for me', but it's such a missed oppurtunity and a wasted dollar.



This is probably why I don't buy/get Supreme. Some of the stuff with cool prints looks great, and I get it. However when people are getting boners over a t-shirts with, frankly widely licensed images, I just don't 'get it'.

In the same breath, I understand that people wont understand the nuances of mono clothing, denim geekery or different leathers.

You are all such intelligent, well-spoken people and I love reading/listening to what you guys have to say. I wish I had the ability to write and think such smart things.

that sounds kinds creepy but thats how I feel.

^ I agree.

Is it weird to call a physical store and ask about sizing on a specific item?

i don't think that's a particularly egregious example bobbin. nothing i'd wear of course but it's two of the most iconic (albeit played-out) designs of all time combined in a perhaps overly obvious way yet it's nothing that does disservice to either brand.

graphic tees are surely the most popular method of expressing yourself through clothing in the world, and the easiest to wear and afford; they're important cultural signifiers of our time. i don't think it's surprising people hold them in such regard. why people have bad taste in graphics tees is a much harder question.

i'd bet something like the history of t-shirt designs or supreme's oeuvre is built on a foundation as interesting and as storied as any vintage garment

b4my: no

I really want a massive stole right now. Why do I wanna dress so weirdly (you can also substitute the word "expensively" too)?

get a tuareg stole, costs nothing

For whatever reason, I'm finding myself drawn to zip-up hoodies lately. Especially layered underneath another piece of outerwear (Like a wool bomber or a denim jacket.)

Unfortunately I've always felt like there is some sort of aversion among many fashion communities, towards standard zip-up hoodies. I guess they're seen as "boring" or very "highschool"?

On that note, how do you guys feel about taking flintstone from things like anime? I've been catching up on One Piece and I never noticed before, but some of the outfits and character designs are really very cool to me (though probably tacky in the real world.)

I always had the same aversion towards hoodies being kinda juvenile. These product photos from strato changed my mind. now I really want to find a thick gray hoodie with dual zipper

http://www.strato.co.jp/item/MAC-038/

Japanese product shots always make me want to buy shit