How much of SF groupthink do you actually follow? - Page 5

- I must be one of the shorter members on this forum & I ROCK the 2" cuffs with all my suits as well as cotton pants (yes Incotex is in the mix). Yo me the 2" cuff is a mixture of what I see Italian men doing on a regular basis & it wasn't until the last year that I started wearing cuffs as I was "also" under the belief that men of my height should avoid this. But in fact I have found is balance & proportion not actual height is the factor. I'd say most people seeing my WAYWRN posts would not have realised that I am only 5'7" when the sun & wind is blowing in the right direction.
- I'm curious what is it about Incotex that makes you say never will?
- back to the discussion, the only SF group thing I have adopted is the 2" cuff
-I actually turned my back on knit ties for a brief period as it was so SF, but the weird thing was that everyone that knows me IRL missed the knit tie as it was me..
- I also started buying C&J as it was through the forum that I found Plal - other wise it is no different to my previous style of f/wear
- & my recent penchant for Chan suits is that I now live in HKG, so why not - my Herringbone suits are good for OTR (but there were always little details that bugged me..)

It's interesting you say this, as I would have thought you were one of our more transformed members. Since you arrived, you've: -dropped the full-cut Armani in favor of the much trimmer Herringbone suits and now the forum-darling Chan -changed from fashion footwear to the ever-so-SF C&J, and now appear to be dabbling in EG -dropped the wallet chain business -adopted Jantzen -adopted the 2" cuff Not to suggest you don't have plenty of style of your own, particularly in terms of color use. And you certainly helped popularize the knit tie. But has your style always evolved so much in such a short time? I was actually a little sad to see your old stuff go. It was nice to have something different on the forum.

- actually my GA + fashion f/wear was only for about 1.5 years as this was a period where I needed to quickly replace all my Brioni, Carusso & Corneliani suits as they were beginning to show the abuse I put my clothes through the daily rigor as they were all +5 years. My situation was when the JH Cutler Bespoke partnership split (the great KS & John Cutler), I (as well as lot of Australian men) suddenly had no alternative at that time as I was not traveling as frequently as I am now. For me I needed a brand that I had access to in Sydney that was consistent year in year out (not knowing how long I would have to wait) & Armani Black Label was such that I was able to walk in & feel confident that I would have a consistent wardrobe.
- I have posted pics before of me in Brioni, Carusso & Corneliani suits before as I still would roll them out for "serious" meetings.
- but it was through SF that I met Ethan from Herringbone & it was through him that I changed my wardrobe literally in a month - from having +10 GABL suits to a very workable wardrobe of 6 Herringbone suits (in fact, I bought everything in my size that was cut in the "Osaka" or "Milano" block
- majority of my shirts were bespoke from JK Cutler & I did 2 +10 orders of Jantzen shirts last year as I started to travel again with my new role
- as for f/wear, classic style did not fit into the GABL mould
- even if I was to post up all my GABL fits you will notice a few consistencies to today, knit ties, teh use of color & tailored shirts.
- I believe if I did not have the classic Italian style before hand I would have been able to make the GABL look not the GABL look (if that makes sense), in fact I remember getting PMs from members clarifying that I was actually wearing GA & what size as the way I wore GA was not GA as displayed in their look books etc.
- though through out this GA period my w/end or sports wear has not changed, i.e. woven shirts with cotton pants, white or raw denim jeans etc.
- funny you should mention the wallet chain as I do miss that & have been looking for something in a smaller profile to start using again..
- to answer you final Q, when I do make my mind (with anything) I go about very quickly to change or adopt etc.

Very little, unless it converges with my own opinion.

I don't follow a lot of the advice here, but that's due to my "studied eccentricity" anyway, and I've not been posting long. Being here has thrown my tailoring issues into focus and I appreciate that, but I'm convinced that nothing short of bespoke would fit right anyway. The discussions have also heightened my awareness of shoe brands and inspired me to wear slimmer trousers more often, although I don't think being here will fundamentally change me much at all

+1 1) Solid black suits are unacceptable, patterns are. 2)Shoulder pads look horrible....unless they're found in RLBL 3)flip it from a store your a hero - Flip it from a SF noted sale your a zero 4)French blue shirts are terrible 5)we love AE shoes....unless we get called out on it...then we hate their ugly lasts. 6)Anything outside of a charcoal suit, black cap toes, a white shirt and a mild tie is going to get you turned down at an interview......even for a junior position, even if you're interviewer is wear shit.

It would make sense to distinguish between the whims of SF and the wisdom of SF.

Upgrading your shoes from crap to northampton-quality: wisdom
Learning to wear solid ties: wisdom
Learning to wear solid knit ties: wisdom or whim, depending on where you live and what kind of outfits you regularly wear
Wearing 2" cuffs: whim, probably; but maybe wisdom on slim trow with a half-break
etc.

I say you can't fault people or call them sheeple for following the wisdom of the hive mind. Wisdom should be spread and followed as much as possible. And it's not generous to fault people for playing along with the whims, either. Clothes are a social hobby & it makes sense that the hobbyists are not radically independent of each other. Picking up tips and tricks from one another is what it's all about.

Salvatore Ambrosi and Luigi Solito yesterday were both wearing 5 cm cuffs. They are not tall guys. They looked great.

My answer to the OQ is, I have adopted every jot and tittle, and if by mistake I have left something out, please alert me and I will adopt that too.

I've happily accepted the collective leanings from SF at least in part. - No black suits except at events that call for austerity or holding service trays - Pocket squares. Pre SF I didn't know what they were - OTC socks. Always thought they were too old man - until I wore them. - Colorful socks. Still growing into this, but SF's love of PS socks has made an impression upon me. - Selvedge Denim. With some prodding from Teger, I bought a few pairs of RRL. Still getting the hang of it, but now understand the appeal. - White Denim. Who would have thought that white denim could be worn so well with odd jackets. I thank PG for this insight. things I've tried and found not to suit me terribly well: - Cuffs. Works great on some folks, not me. - Bow ties. - Knit Ties. I've tried this twice, didn't like the result either time. - Fedora's. - Ribbon Belts - Emo pose with the head turned 3/4 and angled down. What's on the ground that people keep looking at?

Shoes?

1 - even with patterns they are suspect. Unless you have it fitted like Vox. 2 - Anderson and Sheppard anyone? Pads are great if they're right for your build. 3 - +10^3 4 - see #3 5 - Did you just out yourself as an AE lover? 6 - Navy is also acceptable, if not preferred.

B,

not really stating my opinions, but more the opinions i read on here.

Read enough of the 'interview attire' threads and you'll see someone on there saying that a charcoal suit is better then navy for an interview....i swear!!!

I dont fallow much of the above, i own AE's, i like my Aldens, RL italy and ferragamos better, but i wear them about once a week.

But you're also a part of the people that create the SF trends no.


BTW it's easy for me to say I don't follow SF groupthink because I'm an outlier, the same is true on stylezeitgeist (to a lesser extent) or superfuture so I guess at best you could say I triangulate groupthink.

[x] 2" cuffs - Pre dates SF
[x] ae & alden - Proud member of SF group think that likes these brands, there are others who don't like them
[ ] pocket squares - Nope, never have and probably never will
[ ] knit ties - Nope, never have and definitely never will
[x] incotex - Never heard of the brand until SF. I have 2 pair in closet (gray slacks and beautiful cords)
[x] OTC - Love these but always bought whatever I could find until I found out about RT, Marcoliani here on SF
[ ] I own a black suit (albeit pinstripe) and it's part of my work wear rotation
[x] Shell - I had a pair before I even knew what style was (Wright's) but have found myself on board the shell chukka bandwagon
[ ] Flat front pants - nope.. with a 42'" waist I don't even try and pull this off

Yet, working sleeve buttons is a hallmark of a good suit or sportcoat.

I think that, so far, the only SF-inspired trend I have consciously begun to follow is wingtips. I know they're not a "new trend" by any means, but I had always thought of them as gaudy, pretentious shoes. However, seeing people on here wear them well has completely changed my perspective and I am now actively looking for a nice brown or burgundy pair.

The one SF maxim I will never understand is the anti-black suit sentiment. I guess it's "boring" or doesn't really show a lot of individualism, but in many professions the black suit is essential. I graduate from law school in May, and I have worn a solid black or charcoal suit to every single job interview (at least 50+) I've had. Granted, I didn't go for full-out "interview wear" with a white barrel-cuff shirt and red "power tie," which I would like to think set me apart from other candidates.

I've also seen the light of some very cool pattern/texture/color combinations. I was always under the impression that you never wear more than 2 patterns and certain colors just never work together. A quick browse through WAYWRN disproves these rules, although I do still stick to the rule that says if you're wearing 2 articles of clothing with the same pattern, make sure they vary in size (stripes, for instance). I would also shy away from wearing a tie, shirt, and jacket of the same pattern, but there was a relatively recent thread that showed a look or two that worked.

Anyway, I would think that the "groupthink" is more widespread with newer members...