• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

SF Group think explained!

poorsod

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2005
Messages
4,263
Reaction score
970
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/sc...r.html?_r=1&em

Or suppose a young man, after listening to the specifications of the newest iPhone or hearing about a BMW's "Servotronic variable-ratio power steering," says to himself, "Those features sound awesome." Here's Dr. Miller's translation:

"Those features can be talked about in ways that will display my general intelligence to potential mates and friends, who will bow down before my godlike technopowers, which rival those of Iron Man himself."
Explains why after joining SF, I have this urge to buy expensive SF approved stuff.

"Evolution is good at getting us to avoid death, desperation and celibacy, but it's not that good at getting us to feel happy," he says, calling our desire to impress strangers a quirky evolutionary byproduct of a smaller social world.
Maybe I should stop trying to impress sartorial iFriends. It would be much kinder to my wallet.
tongue.gif
 

unjung

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
6,346
Reaction score
14
The BMW signals that I have such a great bounty of resources that I can afford to buy a totally unnecessary car. A peacock's tail signals to peahens that he has such abundant access to food, such good genes and such good health that he can afford to grow a ridiculously large and weighty tail. I think this older hypothesis is more compelling than one that says that it's because we like to like to brag. I think the good doctor has it wrong.

Therefore continue to buy clothes because the ladies and gheys will be impressed. If you do it right.
 

TylerDurden

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
557
Reaction score
0
What about buying a BMW because you like how German cars handle and drive, and BMW has a sporty fun to drive cars that the Japanese haven't been able to replicate nor the American cars?
 

Threak

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2009
Messages
1,073
Reaction score
4
Originally Posted by TylerDurden
What about buying a BMW because you like how German cars handle and drive, and BMW has a sporty fun to drive cars that the Japanese haven't been able to replicate nor the American cars?

Admit it, you just heard them say all that on a TV show about cars.

tongue.gif
 

j

(stands for Jerk)
Admin
Spamminator Moderator
Joined
Feb 17, 2002
Messages
14,663
Reaction score
105
I generally try to avoid talking to other people (in real life) about what makes some clothes "better" than others. If asked, I will give advice but I try not to disparage any particular preferences or over-explain things, because over-explaining when people don't understand/care is pretentious and annoying.

However, I guess this could explain why people would want to wear what one of our resident pedants (meant in the nicest way, we love you) wears or recommends. I'm not sure how many people actually want to look like one of our pedants, though, or wear clothing that they can use to demonstrate their techno-superiority to others.
 

crazyquik

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,984
Reaction score
44
The author was definently not a SF member.

The grand edifice of brand-name consumerism rests on the narcissistic fantasy that everyone else cares about what we buy. . . But who else even notices? Can you remember what your partner or your best friend was wearing the day before yesterday? Or what kind of watch your boss has?
crackup[1].gif
 

poorsod

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2005
Messages
4,263
Reaction score
970
I was thinking the quote
"Those features can be talked about in ways that will display my general intelligence to potential mates and friends, who will bow down before my godlike technopowers, which rival those of Iron Man himself."
would best translate to SF speak as:

"Those features can be talked about in ways that will display my general intelligence to potential mates and friends, who will bow down before my godlike Sartorialpowers, which rival those of Manton himself."

laugh.gif
 

celery

Distinguished Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Messages
2,279
Reaction score
373
Originally Posted by unjung
The BMW signals that I have such a great bounty of resources that I can afford to buy a totally unnecessary car. A peacock's tail signals to peahens that he has such abundant access to food, such good genes and such good health that he can afford to grow a ridiculously large and weighty tail. I think this older hypothesis is more compelling than one that says that it's because we like to like to brag. I think the good doctor has it wrong.

Therefore continue to buy clothes because the ladies and gheys will be impressed. If you do it right.


This would be true if and only if the women and gheys were actually impressed. It seems you can get more positive attention and reviews of your clothes if you wear what SF considers horrid. Ed Hardy is quite popular, full canvas suits . . . not so much.
 

Jayhawk1412

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Messages
429
Reaction score
3
haha soooo true

that can be applied in my work situation and my group of friends....terrible
 

TylerDurden

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
557
Reaction score
0
Originally Posted by Threak
Admit it, you just heard them say all that on a TV show about cars.

tongue.gif


You've never driven a manual transmission BMW have you?
drool.gif
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 85 37.3%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 87 38.2%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 24 10.5%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 36 15.8%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 36 15.8%

Forum statistics

Threads
506,488
Messages
10,589,950
Members
224,255
Latest member
yoni.alashvili@gmail.
Top