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I figured that was the reason. I encountered the same thing here when I first starting posting and I think that your plan of action is wise, and similar to what I did.
If I could pontificate for a minute and delve into some psychoanalysis, I would offer the following.
No one buys things that they think look bad. When we choose items, we try them on, and when something that appeals to us, we buy it. The issue is, that what SF considers good is usually different than what most people intuitively think looks nice. In both design and fit. Most of us did not grow up in an SF environment. I guarantee that most of us were far more influenced by GQ, Esquire, pop culture and the like long before we arrived here.
We probably thought we looked damn good, so when a barrage of SFers tell you look like crap, its a pretty harsh shock, and on top of it, you usually don't understand why it looks like crap because your eye sees it as great. The challenge lies in our accepting that although we think we look good, maybe we don't, and in challenging ourselves to retrain our eyes and allow ourselves to see things differently.
If we refuse to accept feedback and change our perspective, we will never improve our looks to SF standards. Now, that is fine. If a person thinks they look awesome, and they do not like or want the SF look, and I'd like to note that SF allows for a broad range of personal style, just within a certain confine of points that should be hit, then great, but stop posting here. Trying to shove your look down the throat of a forum that is well established and knows what it likes is a wasteful endeavor for everyone. If you are so cock sure you look amazing and all the women you see and your friends you know tell you so, great, make a blog and hand out cards with the url.
That being said, what I did was this. As you noted, I got pretty much the same feedback fit after fit, detailing what I was doing wrong by SF standards, and after I while, I knew what was wrong when I got dressed without having to ask. And that which used to look good to my eye now looked bad, as I began to develop a greater appreciation for the SF aesthetic. So I stopped posting and bought some new stuff. And I started to get feedback that sounded like this, "Hey Stitch, x and y look much better, but a, b and c are still off." Some things pertaining to fit, others to color/pattern/formality combination errors.
After a while, those things started to sink in more, and I sold off some stuff and bought some more stuff. Eventually I got to the point where I had retrained myself to understand intuitively was was good and what was bad, within the SF preferred look, and that was my goal. Not because I had some idea that SF was gospel, but because when I looked at pictures of the guys here that hit the SF mark, I said to myself, "wow, those guys dress a million times better than me, and I would like to look like that." Even though at the start I thought I looked good, I appreciated that if I consented to the fact the maybe I don't know everything, I could look a lot better.
It took a solid 2 years or more, and I am still learning, but after a lot of trial and error and after a lot of buying and selling, I finally reached a point where I felt satisfied in what I had and how I dressed. That is not to say I think that I have reached my end game, or that I have no improvements to make, but that I think I have really got to the point that I comprehend what SF has taught me, and I know how to continue on the road to improvement.
I think the more apt one is to take on this kind of perspective, the more likely they are to improve, and to enjoy what SF has to offer, both as an instrument to dressing better and as a community.
False. Ask her for pics as soon as you walk in the door. Hell, I usually call my wife and give her a heads up that I will be expecting pics when I get home. 100% serious.
How right is that? Stitchy
My wife banned me from SF..seriously.
Two approaches old fruit here (A) Foot down, "NO"! (B) "Listen my love, there are far worse things that I could be doing other than liaising with friends about the merits of presenting myself in the best light for you and anyone else I love dearly"!
Rudals you need to draw some lines and pull your balls out of your purse. I say that with e-love to ya brother!
Well, fair enough, I suppose...
I still haven't admitted to my wife my ulterior life on here. Still trying to figure that one out lol.
^ A ha, take your own advice ^