What will be the embarrassing look of our time - Page 4

I have no professional or even academic experience in fashion, but I think that some things that people decry here are not soon to pass, rather they will be with us for a very long time. Take pre-distressed jeans [please.].  These are just jeans that are pre-worn, or pre-broken in by various means.  Once upon a time, people only bought jeans that were stiff and dark and new, and then strove to break them in themselves.  People with well-worn jeans may have been admired [cowboys, for example] but everyone had to do it themselves. Now the engines of fashion have figured out how to exploit this desire.  Capitalism basically works by letting everyone do what you do best and then trading with the other people who do other things best, as I recall from Adam Smith.  A darker view of this is that the economy keeps growing by taking things away from you and then selling them back to you.  For example, once upon a time, most people not eating in restaurants made their own meals.  Now, for an additional sum, you can buy prepared foods, and many people do. Just as people long for a well-made meal, they long for a well-broken-in pair of jeans.  Yet fewer people have the time to do it themselves.  Enter pre-distressing.  It is at an excessive point now, yes, but from now on I believe it will always be with us, because it is a purchasable symbol of the leisure that we no longer possess. Re: high-low: the particular high-low style may pass, but this basic tension is what makes fashion exciting; therefore the tension is perennial.  At the moment, the suit jacket is still 'high' because it is close to its business origins, but in the least few years designers have been working overtime to bring the suit coat down to the jeans level by various means -- making it in unbusinesslike fabrics, appliquéing it or pre-distressing it [see above], or changing its proportions by shortening or tightening it.  One thing that is only beginning to be explored is fashioning suit-coat-like clothing in athletic fabrics.  In the late 90s, I remember admiring a Moschino blazer made of that perforated black tracksuit nylon.  So although you may now despair of the suitcoat-with-hoodie, you may soon a single garment that merges them. Yours in Brooklyn, mack11211

There are actually jackets like that now, I believe Triple 5 Soul makes them. Though they really are nothing more than the sweatshirt hoods sewn onto the coat.

Actually, as far back as the early nineties, Emporio Armani showed a suit with the lapels merging into a hood. I thought that was pretty cool even back then. In early collections, Neil Barrett, who is know for making very wearable clothiing, had a jacket with an attached hood. And just last season, Yoko Devereaux made a terrific version of what Armani had done long before, but with a better cut and better proportions and details (shorter skirt, patch pockets and a should reinforcement in either same colored leather or wool, and a larger hood that transitioned more smoothly into the lapels.) Now, can this be technically called a sportjacket? I don't know? But it is a pretty incredible piece of outerwear. Mack's opinion was very well informed. I doubt that "distressed" jeans will ever really leave. As I stated earlier, I think that the distressing was a natural evolution form stonewashing. I do think, however, that the excesses we see now will disappear, as has happened for a long, long time.

You can count on pretty much everything that is trendy right now will look dated in a few years time. We will look back on it and laugh. However, give it a short time after that and people will start wearing it again. There is never anything "new" in fashion. Fashion evolves from previous fashions. Sometime in the future, you will see all the trends now re-emerge with only minor tweaking so that they look updated. Think about it: The whole skinny suit thing is just a rehash of the hipsters in the 60's, and the distressed jeans look is from the 70's.

The most dreadful trends at the moment are the whole "bed" hair movement, the aforementioned trainer/bowling shoe bastard hybrid but my personal sartorial satan FCUK items, especially, sadly as in the case of quite a few grown men I know worn by those in their mid thirties up (including one man in his fifites). Semi-moronic rather than semi-ironic in my view I shake my head with a sort of resigned disgust when friends of mine who really should know better turn up dressed head to foot in this crap. FCUK? more like WNAKER

I take great satisfaction in doing repairs on my house. Presently I am restoring the exterior, replacing fascia and soffits, repainting, etc. This work affords me many opportunities to wear in a pair of jeans (and not hire contractors [who are usually in a rush and so screw things up worse than they were originally]). I bet my work jeans (standard Levis) look more unique and fit better than any designer jeans you will find.

Hey. That's my Speedcats you're talking about there buddy. Nothing is better than a good driving shoe to drive stick with. Jon.

not even a MTM prada jeans ? .luc

You're probably right, but unfortunately the only thing they go with is a one-piece Nomex fire suit and a Snell certified helmet.  

Don't those things have, like, satin(?) seams and, like, rubber nuggety fob-like, uh, thing-ies all over them for a total $325 cost-ing-like...a lot even for a Van Damme high-kicking nunchucka mutha?

They can't look better than my Levi's with black rubberized roofing compound and paint on them from when I recently re-roofed the family room on my house I even have a matching pair of sneakers. Do you think we could sell these jeans on Ebay as one-of-a-kind collectors items? On a related note, any idea what type of cleaning will take rubberized roofing compound out of denim?

If you reroof my house, I'll buy them off you in trade.