The Contentedness thread - Page 27

I don't think contentedness applies only to interesting or expensive pieces. You can be happy/content with any good or item that you have, regardless of how exciting it is. For example, I like my old box style tv, even though it's not the nicest television and doesn't have exciting features- I'm content with it because I hate the way HDTV and artificial raised framerates look Many people would say its not interesting/a nice tv, and I'd agree, but I'm still content.

Fair enough.

Bougie boomer blinded by a bubble of privilege whines about "kids these days" and conflates correlation with causation, film at 11.

this is true, how interesting or expensive it is doesn't have to mean anything for whether you're content with it or not

but I don't think most people come here to see that some guy is content with a nice but basic collection, people hope for some interesting reads whenever they see that there's a new post in this thread
then again, basic pieces can be very interesting, but then you need some pictures, and preferably some nice stories along with it aswell

 

Somewhat agree.  She's promoting her shop and I hate when people try to pretend that buying designer and luxury clothing is somehow more economical - the numbers at the beginning of the article disprove that right off the bat.  However, I posted it because I thought the part about how people used to construct a wardrobe slowly and carefully, and how that was a skill that was passed down, was very interesting even if it's not necessarily true (?).  Most women I know literally buy a whole new wardrobe every few months from forever 21 or h&m.

Her point is certainly applicable when viewed through the lens of this forum -- I think most people here are trying to build their wardrobes towards something that they can look at in the morning and see a bevy of cohesive, quality options that seamlessly match their lifestyle (as opposed to sighing and lamenting the incompleteness of it) -- but I think it falls apart when applied to the general population as she seems to be trying to do. People didn't necessarily curate wardrobes in the past because they wanted to, they did it because they had to. It's like when boomers bitch about the ubiquity of communication in the modern age somehow cheapening human connection -- what they're really doing is trying to retroactively romanticize and assign false depth to what in reality was their only option.

Clothing is, in the end, a commodity to most people, not an art form. She seems to be implying that there's some inherent objective good in curating a wardrobe of unique, quality pieces, and that really kind of irks me despite the fact that I consider it a very important (to me) subjective goal.

On a side note, I also find her editorial annoying because it's obnoxiously metropolocentric. The kind of shopping experience she advocates is out of reach for the overwhelming majority of people.

I'm so happy that suits every day went out of style for most professions. If I had to wear a (conservative) suit every day I would be very unhappy

I'm content with just looking at my clothes I never really wear yet I keep accumulating pieces here and there

I twist the coat hanger and make sure everything hung is aligned next to each other, and that each knit is neatly folded.

This is probably going to be the least "exciting" piece in the history of this thread, but here it goes:
 

 

I got this fleece six years ago when I was still in highschool. It's been through more than any piece of clothing really should. As you can see, there's a huge whole developing on the bottom right, not to mention another one forming further to the right of that. It's been through hell, but it's still standing.

It's not an attractive piece, it's not interesting in and of itself. I initially bought it because my 10th grade English teacher had one similar that I really liked, and I figured during cold Scottish falls and springs, it would be nice to have. Well, six years on it's traveled a lot: it went with me in 11th grade to Malawi and Zambia to paint diagrams and maps in schools. It's traveled all over Europe on a variety of trips: whether it was getting drenched with rain in Santiago de Compostela or layering during a cold fall day in Portugal, it always did the job. It went with me a year ago when I traveled to Uganda with Engineers Without Borders, getting thrown in the mud and dirt over and over again while we stayed at an Orphanage. When I'm running to the store at midnight, it's the first thing I grab.

 

It's pretty much done everything, and though it doesn't look "good" anymore or go with most of the pieces I've added, I still can't help but smile every time I put it on because of how much it's been through.

 

What?

Great thread. I was thinking about this last night.

I get a ton of wear out of the following:

• Dior MIJ 17.5cm indigo raw denim -- obviously looks better over time, tons of compliments
• Dior deep burgundy peacoat. Cut very slim (44) and not having wide arms makes all the difference in a more contemporary look. Also, attracts tons of compliments (100% from women)
• Balenciaga sneakers -- Black white and gray colorway. Lots of interesting materials including patent leather and what looks to be a fibrous gray...thing. I almost balked because they're so different, but I end up rocking them out all the time and it's another thing that I almost always receive comments about
• Lanvin light burgundy cardigan -- I immediately become Mr. Dapper when wearing this. It's my first real quality cashmere cardigan, and I almost balked at the price but end up wearing it as much as Kurt Cobain wore his cardigans so great investment all around

Let's not think about the list of things that were complete wastes of money.

You've mischaracterised me slightly, but that's fine, I didn't really give you much to go with.

Allow me to clarify myself ...

What I was getting at is that I'm happy with wardrobe because I'm happy with the aestheitc that I've settled in to.

Ever since I was very young I've had an interest in clothing that has only deepend over the years. And ever since I emerged from my awkward chubby child phase, I started playing with my look. Like most people, this was heavily influenced by my musical tastes. I spent my early teens in a heavily DIY wardrobe inspired by punk/goth/anything loud and abrasive. Late teens, university was more a more chilled out, vaguely indie look, which gave way to a more matured version by the time I finished uni and went into the working world.

I went through a brief phase where I got hung up on the SZ look - but thankfully I realised that dressing like a cyberpunk LARPer just wasn't for me. And thank fuck I never bought any CCP and could get rid of the little Rick I "invested in" (minus one l/s tee that I still like ... after cropping 6" off the bottom).

I'm officially in my late 20s now and in the last 2-3 years my style has gone very minimalist. It's the natural end-point of where I've been going. My need to stand out, to define myself, has subsided. I don't listen to bad music anymore. I don't wear bad clothes anymore.

I still wear a lot of the same things I used to - just better versions. Instead of pointy chelsea boots or bandy lace-ups, I have more subdued boots and handmade derbys. Instead of look-at-me leathers or I-found-this-in-a-dumpster-behind-Atlier coats I have a really simple leather high-neck bomber and a cashmere chesterfield. I swaped black skinnies for black slim-fits. I have 5 or so identical white poplin shirts, some worn-out Oxfords and have my UNIQLO suits nipped-in by my fucking excellent tailor.

I told a friend the other day that I love COS because they make clothes for people with OCD that can't afford Jil or Raf at the minute.

That's pretty much where I'm at.

There are other things I'd rather splash my cash on than a Raf dip-dye sweatshirt. Especially when I can grab one that's honestly just as good at COS. UNIQLO gear is surprisingly well made - felt suiting, cashmere, poplin shirts - and it suits me well.

I've got a good job, my girl's got a good job. We're getting married in a month. My priorities are changing. My soon to be wife and I want to travel more. We want to buy a flat in London. We want to fill it with beautiful things. I'd rather eat dinner in a 5-star restaruant in my £80 UNIQLO cashmere than buy a Jil jumper (except god-DAMN do I regret not buying the green dino-jumper).

Does that make me boring? I don't know, maybe. I don't really give a fuck. I've got my look, I love my gear, I'm happy, I'm sticking with it.

That's contentedness to me.

I've been looking for a quality slim cut burgundy peacoat for years. Have not yet found that perfect note of material, cut, and price.

Guys, despite the meth-lab scrubbiness of my apartment, I feel like the ultimate musculo-skeletal testosterone machine with my super classy espresso-maker. The rusted metal of the pot, gnarled crusts of mystery food on the stovetop, crushed boxes of cheap 30s littering the floor, and discolored tobacco-stained patina of the drywall combine to create a sense of "Hey look at me—I'm a man with his cares to the wind and so can you, you weak excuse of human flesh." This is the ultimate in bachelorhood.







But parodic introduction aside, and on an actually serious note, I figured I'd catalogue a few items I've purchased this past year that have brought me no small joy:

This jacket is absolutely beautiful—I wish I had a better camera to capture it. The fit is perfect, and a constant reminder that I should never, ever do anything to piss off anyone in the worldwide cabal of Skilled Tailors. Additionally, this scarf (just some random mid-level length of viscose from some random store in the Marais) is the best. The pattern is really nice, but what I love is how it is at once light and breathable while its length allows it to be bunched up for additional warmth. It also reminds me of the days when I thought that I could make wearing a tallit look badass. (I've come a long way.)




This next one requires no explanation, yet in any case it deserves a fucking epic in its honor. I couldn't (and in any case wouldn't) go through that process, but I figure that I could give a bit of background on how this fella came into my world. Without going into too much detail, it's kind of unbelievable to me that I even bought this jacket in the first place. This summer I'd begun dating someone really incredible, and after falling for her way, way too quickly (and way too much), I wasn't at all prepared for when things went south. After it was over, I was pretty much a wreck for a solid 3-4 weeks—during that time I convinced myself that buying some stupid fucking object would make me feel better. And since I'd been pining for a black MDR for a while, and since it came up on B&S at a ridiculous price (I still can't believe no one else jumped on it before I did), this jacket entered my sights. Which isn't to say that buying it made everything good and alright and better (DISCLAIMER: ToJ cannot claim to relieve symptoms, or root problems, of depression, loss, grieving, being single, etc.)—but, uh, I'd be lying if I said that throwing such a badass leather over my shoulders didn't make me feel momentarily invincible and cool and not uselessly heartbroken.

Drew makes incredible jackets, or so I'd always heard. This is some random jock's MDR that went through at least one other user on SF; even though it's not mtm for me, the fit is very forgiving. I'd chalk that up to incredibly impressive materials and styling—it's usually really hard to make something look so good if fit isn't spot on. Which isn't to say that this doesn't fit well (it does), but that there are so many articles of clothing (of both lower- and upper-tier levels of quality) that just do not impress when there's even a minute deviation from "spot-on."




Lastly, another two-fer. I've already described my love for the jacket above, but it always makes me smile when I recall that it was originally the pants that I had picked out to go with the jacket that really got me excited. The texture is pretty interesting for your standard cotton pant—they've got just a bit of nep to 'em, which is probably due to how S2A produces the speckled pattern on the fabric. "But they're trousers, so maybe they should be hemmed, right?"—Fuck that. I like how they look as they are; there's something nice and louche (vocab credit to Synth) about the stacks, especially when worn with the right footwear... which brings me to the second part of this fit: CPs. They're comfortable, sturdy, and all around beautiful (and beautifully understated). Many people here have 'em so I won't need to go into detail. Suffice to say they're always the best sneakers in any room that I enter. And though I've nothing against ostentation in another individual's personal style, it's not for me; I like that these guys won't draw too much attention. They look extremely nice without screaming it too loudly, and this jives really well with me.


Pant details (Click to show)

(Just realized the CPs are in pretty much every photo. I suppose I really do like them.)

Oh, and I love slutty t's now. I've recently gotten into the best shape I've ever been in (goodbye cigarettes; hello hockey and yoga), so I get to wear 'em with great aplomb.
Edited by thewho13 - 11/2/12 at 11:27am