2020 Retrospective

[bels]

[bels]

Tell me about how you did in 2020
2020! It only took a global pandemic and my salary being docked to 80% for 9 months of the year to do it, but I bought only one piece of clothing this year! A Universal works Cotton/Khaki suit which looks exactly how you'd imagine, but more boring. A replacement for the khaki muji suit I bought like 3 years ago that didn't fit me. Obviously I don't have any fit pics because I wore it maybe once.

did you buy more than you had hoped/planned or less
I don't know if it was less than I hoped for. It was certainly less than I thought I would. But in a good way.

what did you buy that you really love (post fit pics)
I can't say I really love the khaki suit. I just wanted one and it ticked the boxes (boring, machine washable, mechanical stretch)

what did you buy that was a huge mistake
Nothing feels like a huge mistake this year. I did have a slight breakdown when I bought like, 3 different racks for my bike. But they were all only 10 pounds each and I've since moved them all on.

and to focus less on buying — look back on your styling in 2020.
Growing my hair long was pretty good. I think I'll keep it up for a bit. Saves a lot on haircuts too. I don't think it'll be sustainable if I ever return to the office though (I go running at lunchtime and there's no hairdryer)

what did you like wearing?
My Blu Du Chine continued to perform extremely well as housewear. I wore it all the time and always felt good wearing it.


what did you expect to wear more often than you did?
Not going to the gym meant I just really didn't bother wearing my Adidas Kolor gym clothes at all this year.

what does 2021 look like from your head?
Not sure. I think I would like to get rid of some more clothes. I have too many. Definitely some shoes can go. It would be cool to have a wardrobe that fit in a standard sized wardrobe rather than 2.

[WayneWuss]

My mum dry-cleaned my UC leather jacket, shrunk it and made me give up on fashion

[hharrissonn]

Tell me about how you did in 2020
- I ended up buying a bunch of clothes I had wanted for years and then promptly lost my job. I also ended up paying off my credit card though so silver lining? Bought stuff I could wear to my old job because I could look dress stupid and lived in LA and then moved across the country and got a job where I basically had to wear a uniform so I wore nothing but slip-on vans and dark jeans for most of the year. Got another job recently and am moving to ATX in like four days. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more use out of the stuff I bought there.

did you buy more than you had hoped/planned or less
- I bought more than I expected, but I'm not disappointed by that really. Got a lot of black basics that I've worn to death because I've become one of those fashion idiots that only wears black/navy. Sold a lot of the Eckhaus Latta stuff I had bought in 2018/2019 (kept the light wash jeans), replaced it with some Craig Green stuff because I realized I only like looking at Eckhaus and like wearing Craig. Bought low top ramones because my taste has been predetermined by the internet.

what did you buy that you really love (post fit pics)



what did you buy that was a huge mistake
- That stupid fucking Undercover t-shirt. I ended up selling it on Grailed without getting the chance to wear it in public and the buyer tried to charge-back scam me lmao.

and to focus less on buying — look back on your styling in 2020.
what did you like wearing?
- Craig Jackets and Black Pants. I had a weird aversion to them for so long and then I bought an older Issey Miyake Men pair on TRR for like nothing and realized how versatile a black cotton pant is in my wardrobe. Bought the Homme Plisse pair I have in like 2019 I think and actually started incorporating them in more outfits this year - realized how much I really like them. +J pair I bought will be great for the new job. For tops I have 10 identical Uniqlo U black t-shirts and those are all I wear and I'm more than content with that.

what did you expect to wear more often than you did?
- Craig Jackets. Weather is finally cold enough here to wear them but I live in Rural Southern Maryland and haven't really worn the cool ones because I couldn't wear them at work and basically never left the house otherwise. Standard navy/black quilted one has been great for when I have to go grocery shopping. Again, hoping I'll get some more use out of those once I move (again).

what does 2021 look like from your head?
- Buying more black clothes and continuing to further entrench myself in my only hobby of looking at and purchasing clothes. I will never quit the game and pretending that I'm interested in doing so or like setting some kind of endgame aesthetic goal for myself would be insane. My taste will probably shift in some way again and I'll start mildly obsessing over some other arty semi-alternative designer. Hopefully I'll have more time with friends and be able to make some new connections and explore a new city and like have my own place again. Want to get more knowledgeable about furniture and home accessories. Try to carve out a new space in the world where I will be more comfortable.

[CheerUpBrokeBoy]

Tell me about how you did in 2020
I got furloughed in April and hired back on in September, broke up and got back together twice with the same girl; but honestly i was lucky to have everything work out the way it did in 2020. i found that my interest in clothes/dressing takes a big dip when i'm depressed or bored/consistently stoned, so that 5-month unemployed period was a break from my fashion habits in a way – i went back home to CA with 2 pairs of shoes, 2 jackets and 3 pairs of pants for 2 months and didn't think twice about it. Now that i'm gainfully employed my standard weird obsession with clothes came roaring back, but the time away from the game was nice.

did you buy more than you had hoped/planned or less
I had planned to really fill out my summer wardrobe this year (basically just buying more shorts, t-shirts and camp shirts), but as I was furloughed in the spring I couldn't justify basically any clothing purchases for the duration of my unemployment, so I'd like to imagine I bought less than I had planned, but I definitely jumped right back into the game in the fall so who's to say really?

what did you buy that you really love (post fit pics)

I promised myself that I'd buy this blue velvet Supreme work suit set for my birthday – my style tends to be very utilitarian in general so it's been a big departure to wear something so loud and peacocky, but I'm really excited to break it out when it's possible to go clubbing again. I've only worn the jacket on its own so far, but I'm planning to debut the full suit for New Year's Eve


Also instacopped this vintage FFA jacket because it has a variant of my first name embroidered on it and I'm absolutely in love with it, from the fit to the patch details to the fabric and color. For some reason buying a vintage jacket like this on sight feels so much better and more self-assured than finally pulling the trigger on a designer grail that I'll rarely wear and constantly worry about getting dirty; overall just a very satisfying purchase.

what did you buy that was a huge mistake
Didn't really buy anything I regretted this year! I think that's a combination of my furlough making me do nocop for a while as well as how picky I've become in my consumption habits – I've become more risk-averse in my style I think, which has helped me figure out what I'm most comfortable in but I'd like to continue to branch out more in 2021 and take those risks.

and to focus less on buying — look back on your styling in 2020.
Same basic casualwear/streetwear styling I've always done, but I grew a beard for the first time during quarantine which I like to think gives all the carhartt I wear more cred now. Also bought a little jewelry (basic $20 chain necklaces from chinatown) when I got so bored of only wearing t-shirts and pants in the summer.

what did you like wearing?
Baggy black pants seem to be my MVP this year, basically either my trusty carhartt double knees or BDUs – those two together I wore 90% of the time. Also short work jackets, as I have 4 now, with three acquired in the last year (all in blue). Pair those with a white tee or black band tee, staple sneakers or boots and a hoodie if it's cold and that's basically 80% of what I wore all year.

what did you expect to wear more often than you did?
Probably anything I spent a premium on or can't easily replace. I tend to get in my head about the rarer stuff I buy and worry about it getting beat up or dirty, and as a result it sits in my closet unless I have a real reason to pull it out to flex.

what does 2021 look like from your head?
- Finally getting around to rounding out my spring/summer wardrobe (more vintage/graphic tees, blank tees in different colors, camp shirts, shorts from patagonia/stussy)
- Get into suiting a bit more – I want a chic black suit I can wear with a white tee and sneakers. Basically I want to dress up or more impressively, but keeping to my style
- This is finally the year I work out more and build out just a tad so I look better in my clothes

[odradek]

Tell me about how you did in 2020
My clothes are so good. Wish I had an opportunity to wear some of the more "effort" based ones besides zoom calls or picking up take out, but there are always other clothes. That said, if I excised every purchase I made this year, well, I'd be bummed, but I don't think i'd really MISS anything, which is kind of sad in retrospect.

did you buy more than you had hoped/planned or less
I rolled the dice a few times and lost, which was a bummer, but I used to roll the dice a lot more. There's a mix of knowing what I've tried in the past and not having the space/time/money to really experiment, so I tend to fail harder, but also cheaper and less often. Otherwise, i probably spent a bit too much on utility clothes - y'know, the kinds of things that you don't care about so you can do fun things in them but they're otherwise uninteresting. Really I only need one jacket to go bushwhacking in or whatever, but hey, why not two? Why not two pairs of gore-tex pants so I can fuck one up and have on on ice, it was a great deal? Oh, I thought I was gonna beat on this but it's nice, I kind of want to treat it a little nicer, maybe I should get something to fill in below it. That's really where my problems show up at this point.

I also invested in baseball caps as a return to form for a 13 year old me.

what did you buy that you really love (post fit pics)


what did you buy that was a huge mistake
Mostly sizing issues that have been moved on, but I tried a few Document pieces and determined I am not appropriate for the Cool Korean Teen look. I also bought a Nice Pair of raw denim since my standbys are on their last legs and I STILL got boned on sizing. I think I'm gonna lose weight instead of replace.

look back on your styling in 2020. what did you like wearing?
I am against using AC as much as possible so I spent the months of May and June in a pair of adidas kolor shorts and that's IT. I don't know if I liked wearing them because I really should have been using AC and was otherwise miserable, but they did the job. I then spent a good portion of the year living with my in-laws and basically wore beach clothes all the time, which kind of ruled. I lived out of a bag and it was kind of nice because a) one bag can carry a lot more summer clothes than winter clothes and b) I really had to live in my clothes so when I got bored I had to fuckin' deal with it, but it also made clear what I like and how I use things, at least in that context. Pretty much all my work appropriate clothes are either still at the office or just didn't get worn.



what did you expect to wear more often than you did?
I bought two casual suits, and one got a lot of wear because it has some function to it (did someone say DWR?!) and the other one...didn't. Just the wrong weight at the wrong time, really. I hope it makes a triumphant return when I have to go back and have a job with people around again.

Also, now, I'm wearing fewer sweaters. I usually do one winter with sweaters and one winter with sweatshirts and change around as necessary, but I've introduced a nice wool flannel and really that's fucking everything up. I've really only gone in on about half my sweater collection. As I type this, I'm in a sweatshirt even though a sweater would be perfectly appropriate. It has bike grease on it.

I've also avoided my long coats for some reason. Really going with the short coat game for reasons unknown to me.

what does 2021 look like from your head?
I'm having in the next few months (ok, my wife is), so basically everything I look at or want to wear is a question of "how well does this wash and/or hold up to literal shit on it?" I have sugarplum visions of pushing the stroller to hang out with other dads at the park and I'm wearing the bombest jawnz but realistically I'll probably keep dressing the exact same way: t-shirt, jeans or wool/synthetic trousers, vans, and some ridiculously situation-specific coat or jacket (63 Fahrenheit and 20% humidity, partly cloudy, 3 PM - ok, get jacket 3.8.1(c)).

Also who am I kidding, I'm gonna buy another suit in some dumbshit fabric because that is who I am.