The WAYWT Discussion Thread - Page 5396

why do people on SF always jump on the first opportunity to prove their intelligence as if it really matters.

No-intellectual-fap December.

I think the types of aesthetic considerations that prevail in any different "space" (I prefer "space" to "community")-be it SF, SZ, reddit's MFA, tumblr #menswear etc--is also highly influenced by the structure of those spaces itself.

#menswear culture of reblogs is highly influenced by a small group of tastemakers who have a high degree of control over the aesthetic particularities of the space, which I suspect is a rather brilliant move by the more "traditional" tastemakers (GQ, Esquire, etc.) to shore up their influence in a more democratic age. After all, you can throw shit into the tumblrsphere but if it doesn't meet the criteria of the tastemakers then you're not going to get much reach.

I'd imagine SZ works in a similar way, with admins such as Faust wielding authority of aesthetic judgement, but I haven't spent much time there.

In contrast, reddit's MFA has a highly permeable membrane, so it reduces its aesthetic considerations to the lowest possible denominator for that demographic (young, affluent but still budget conscious males with bland personalities). Very little is pushed in the way of boundaries, as people there neither demand new and interesting forms nor could they--as a community--come to a consensus and recognize one if it bit them on the ass.

Styleforum and SuFu's structures encourage boundary pushing within the aesthetic space it has defined for itself, but allows for a higher multiplicity of voices. The fact that most of the members here are loyal and check the site multiple times daily creates a demand for content that is "new" and "interesting". However, the strong emphasis on "who is who" means that "tastemakers" still wield influence, but it allows less for a "barrier to entry" effect but rather a way for people to define and refine aesthetic considerations in multiple directions. There is a higher level of respect for others in spaces like these, so experimentation is encouraged and group aesthetics need not be defined as stringently. Hence, we can have dudes like Synthese, Snowman, bows1, the shah who are fairly experimental and avant garde (all in different ways), but still dudes like NYR and Teger, who are less so.

^ That post prompted me to go check out Reddit's MFA.

one of their "Top of WAYWTs" for November:

Edited by slstr - 12/2/12 at 10:21am

I'm not sure that example is entirely fair. There is a degree of in-joking and terribleness gets upvotes for some obscure reason.

(In the same way that the moo sock fit is probably one of the most quoted fits on the forum.)

slstr got trolled hard

your post is just saying what my post was implying (although I'm replacing god with fashion)

DUB DUB
Edited by Teger - 12/2/12 at 8:17am

Yo I made the post. If you looked at the comment that this pic came from, which was linked to in my post, you'd see that people upvoted it because the guy obviously needed advice. That's what WAYWT is for over at MFA.

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
To be fair, WAYWT posts on MFA sometimes get a lot of upvotes because the person is a newb looking for advice, and people will vote it so the guy's pic is more visible. And I think their "top" monthly posts just aggregate all the posts with the most upvotes.

Signed,
An MFA Apologist

You look just like a skinnier version of me.

h3h3h3 (y)

because they lack the ability to do so irl. (0)

thewho - i like you. you are cool.

That being said, MFA is one of the better places to get advice if you fall into that demographic. It's fairly bland, but "the MFA uniform" of OCBD/Levi's/CDB'S is a vast improvement over what an overwhelming majority of these dudes were previously wearing.

I also think it gets a bad rap because the front page is full of "befores", and so an uninitiated visitor is greeted with overwhelming awfulness.

I also respect the patience of the guys that stick around and are able to help all of these kids, as the level of cluelessness of your average redditor is sometimes astounding.