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Brands - Collector's Mentality?

thekunk07

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icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif
 

XenoX101

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I certainly treat some of my clothes as collectors items, babying them incessantly. I remember someone on superfuture mentioning he wanted to buy a Thom Browne t-shirt that was on sale just so that he can say he owned a TB piece, tongue in cheek ofcourse, but I think there is some truth to there being a mentality of wanting to own a piece of a great designer, for the sake of owning it, almost as a respect to the designer.
 

botfc

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I pretty much never sample (unless it's RL or Levis). I actually stick to the same 4-5 brands and have been for a while. To the point where even if I see an item that I like from a brand I don't know/barely know, I don't buy it until I know more about it (and pretty much never end up doing so). I'm really a brand consumer more than a product consumer...sad but true.
 

Casey

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I like to have stuff from several different brands just to have some variety in my closet. In the end, the majority of the clothes I own are either grey, black, or blue so it's all sort of in my style regardless of whether it's Theory or H&M.

I could sit around and say that I wear A.P.C., John Varvatos, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, and whatever because I own stuff from all those designers but I buy them just to have some diversity. In the end, nobody ever really knows what brands I'm wearing and nobody ever asks (which is nice, people used to ask all the time and they'd ask how much I paid for my clothes) because they know they will have never heard of some of the stuff I like ("Who is Paul Smith?").

Now say I had the money to buy whatever clothes I wanted, I probably would not be the kind of sampler that I am now. I'd probably be wearing more A.P.C. and John Varvatos. It seems like some people here just like to dismiss John Varvatos' stuff because it is so mainstream and made in Hong Kong but I like clothes that are wearable and easy to look at and he does that very well.
 

MiniW

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Originally Posted by XenoX101
I certainly treat some of my clothes as collectors items, babying them incessantly. I remember someone on superfuture mentioning he wanted to buy a Thom Browne t-shirt that was on sale just so that he can say he owned a TB piece, tongue in cheek ofcourse, but I think there is some truth to there being a mentality of wanting to own a piece of a great designer, for the sake of owning it, almost as a respect to the designer.

I used to commit both of the crimes Xenox mentioned in the past. Some items I owned and cherished, but never worn included a black wool suit from Dior Homme from the VOTC season, as well as a 6 feet scarf also from Dior Homme from the F/W 2005 season that every model worn on the runway. At some point I realized that while I may be skinny, I am not 6'4" tall so I would look rather ridiculous in those particular Dior items. They went to better homes a long time ago. Also I recall buying a CCP and Cloak jacket in the past that in retrospect I realized I was more into the designer than the actual piece. Both items only fit me so-so and I resold both shortly after getting them in hand. Let me tell you, after doing that a few times, you eventually tend to lean toward the brands that have treated you well in the past, even if they are not the most exciting or fashion forward.
 

Fuuma

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Not really. I do have a diverse mix but it did not emerge out of an attempt to collect. Looking at, for example, shoes, I see that the most I have from the same brand is two.
 

London

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I got about 6 brands in rotation that I go to constantly. For me I've basically developed my uniform which I tweak slightly.
 

toothsomesound

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Originally Posted by Casey
I like to have stuff from several different brands just to have some variety in my closet. In the end, the majority of the clothes I own are either grey, black, or blue so it's all sort of in my style regardless of whether it's Theory or H&M. I could sit around and say that I wear A.P.C., John Varvatos, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, and whatever because I own stuff from all those designers but I buy them just to have some diversity. In the end, nobody ever really knows what brands I'm wearing and nobody ever asks (which is nice, people used to ask all the time and they'd ask how much I paid for my clothes) because they know they will have never heard of some of the stuff I like ("Who is Paul Smith?"). Now say I had the money to buy whatever clothes I wanted, I probably would not be the kind of sampler that I am now. I'd probably be wearing more A.P.C. and John Varvatos. It seems like some people here just like to dismiss John Varvatos' stuff because it is so mainstream and made in Hong Kong but I like clothes that are wearable and easy to look at and he does that very well.
John Varvatos doesn't get much play here because it's pretty overpriced, quality can very greatly and is real sketchy with some pieces, fit is always inconsistent and the awkward, oft over-designed LA rocker aesthetic often comes off as blasÃ
00a9.png
, at times bordering on distasteful. Back to topic, I try not to cling to certain designers, though I am constantly looking for old Raf, Yohji, Jil etc...but for new stuff I try not to think so much about the aesthetic of the collection and more about how I would work an individual piece into my wardrobe. There are really a lot of labels out there right now, many of them doing good things, so I think it's silly to limit yourself.
 

Get Smart

Don't Crink
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I started off buying 2-3 brands, then developed a collector mentality and expanded my horizons quite a bit, and now am back to the 2-3 original brands. full circle, but a good ride.
 

porcelain monkey

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For day to day wear I generally stick to 3-4 designers that tend to fit me well. I will get some pieces here and there - often outerwear - outside of this group to add some variety. The main exception is ties. As long as I can find them in the right width, I'll buy a lot of stuff that I might only wear once a year. I just like having them, and I like owning a variety.
 

Fuuma

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I made a quick survey and here's a list of brands I own at least three items from. I dunno if thatmeans anything but it's always fun.

Adidas (like their trainers)
Ann Demeulemeester
APC
Carol Christian Poell
Cloak
Dolce&Gabbana (hahaha)
Engineered Garment
Lad Musician
Lanvin
Martin Margiela
Rick Owens
Sutor Mantellassi (this was surprising)
Thom Browne
Uniqlo

I might have missed a few but it's interesting to note that I often have only 1-2 items from brands I like a lot (YSL, CdG, Junya, Balenciaga, Helmut Lang etc). Note; I didn't count ties but then I have like 10-12 anyway not 150.

Should we start a thread on this (what does your wardrobe really look like or whatever?).
 

Coldsnap

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I'm a complete loyalist in some sense. I'm at a point where I only want to wear 1 or 2 brands, I want to know my size in them buy a few pieces a year and dont think about clothes ever.
 

constant struggle

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Brands I own three or more items from:
A.P.C
Uniqlo
J.Crew
Band of Outsiders
Michael J Krell
Nike
Allen Edmonds
Incotex
Gap (Socks)
Brooks Brothers
Jantzen
American Aparrel
 

jet

Persian Bro
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Originally Posted by Fuuma
I made a quick survey and here's a list of brands I own at least three items from. I dunno if thatmeans anything but it's always fun.

Adidas (like their trainers)
Ann Demeulemeester
APC
Carol Christian Poell
Cloak
Dolce&Gabbana (hahaha)
Engineered Garment
Lad Musician
Lanvin
Martin Margiela
Rick Owens
Sutor Mantellassi (this was surprising)
Thom Browne
Uniqlo

I might have missed a few but it's interesting to note that I often have only 1-2 items from brands I like a lot (YSL, CdG, Junya, Balenciaga, Helmut Lang etc). Note; I didn't count ties but then I have like 10-12 anyway not 150.

Should we start a thread on this (what does your wardrobe really look like or whatever?).


I think it would be interesting to see what brands people have in their closet, set it off homie.
 

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