HOF: What Are You Wearing Right Now - Part IV (starting May 2014)

^^ Awesome!! ^^

Ctp - As always, superb.

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Kulata and PandArts, thats what I meant to say, except when I said it I think I sounded like a huge a$$hoal and you guys sounded kind, frank and insightful.

in stitches said:

[...]

They have certainly been times when after taking a picture I decided it would be better just to not post it.

Perhaps that is robbing people discussion, but all the same I feel that sometimes it's just not worth posting if it's truly off.

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I agree, for purposes of this thread.

A separate thread devoted to fits from knowledgeable folk like you entitled something like "What I Was Going to Wear But Decided Not To and I'm Going to Tell You Why" would be very educational.

But yes, a separate thread.

Cheers,

Ac

Nice suit, great tie, pocket square, excellent choice.

A2, that is a good idea. If Clags is game, I think it could be included in the constructive criticism thread.

...

in stitches said:

Blah blah. It might be calming, but the real reason is for menswear discussion. If not, you would never do it, and certainly not post it. You would play with model trains or something.

Im not saying its not a pleasant ritual, or that its not ritualized for some, or that we all have the same motivations, but to avoid the true primary motivation of the pictures, which is a shared love for menswear discussion, is falsehood imo. I know how assumptive it sounds to tell someone else what their motivations are, but I still think its the truth. And I dont say it in a bad way. I would be dissing myself if I was. And who knows, maybe we are not even disagreeing.

As far the actual getting dressed in nice clothing part, I would hope that the primary motivation for everyone is to enjoy looking good, not posting pictures on the web. But hey, who am I to judge.

In any case, I think its an interesting talking point.

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I think it's pretty silly to assume we all have the exact same primary motivation in doing what we do. Or that the same motivation is needed to produce the same set of actions.

The ritual didn't start when I started posting on SF. Like all rituals, it developed, and its role in motivating me to take pictures and post them grew until it became dominant.

Not all of my outfits are perfect--very, very far from it. I've already learned something about what I could be doing better thanks to the Constructive Criticism Thread. But I also post outfits where I feel like there is nothing wrong. In fact, I prefer posting those outfits (as I'm sure we all do) for the thumbs/accolades/what-have-you. But at the same time, I feel no sense of dismay/disappointment when no one comments on my fit--never really cared if my fit was discussed or not (they often aren't). My participation in the forum as a whole is certainly driven by a love of mesnwear discussion. And my initial participation in this thread was driven by a desire to learn and improve. And while I still want to learn and improve, that motivation has dwindled quite a bit (diminishing marginal returns to improvement). All the while, with every picture I took, the ritual became more firmly entrenched and increasingly soothing. Nothing, not even 50 thumbs*, is more satisfying than walking over to my camera, looking at the display, and seeing a perfect picture--beautiful colors, nice depth of field, crisp focus. It's an incredible feeling of satisfaction. Like a meal you make that tastes exactly as you wanted it to taste, with each herb and spice detectable without being overwhelming. I keep such pictures on my iPad, regardless of the quality of the outfit, so that I can occasionally (at least several times a week) flip through them when I am waiting for something and am tired of working (I do a lot of work on my iPad).

The odd thing is that I'm not even into photography.

kulata said:

We post pictures for validation and feedback, for all other purposes you have a mirror.

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See above. I think y'all underestimate the prevalence of OCD/autistic spectrum types on here.

Though validation is certainly a big part of it as well.


*assuming 50 thumbs occurred with the same frequency as perfect pictures

Tangent: This is my all time favorite picture of what I wore:

Academic2 said:

I will say that I notice things in photos that I don’t notice in the mirror. I don’t understand the psychology of that, but I’ve found snapping a picture to be very useful, whether I post it or not.

That’s probably just me, however.

Cheers,

Ac

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in stitches said:

A2, no doubt. It is always easier to see flaws in what you have put together when you look at it in the picture then looking down at it in real life. It's just a different perspective.

They have certainly been times when after taking a picture I decided it would be better just to not post it.

Perhaps that is robbing people discussion, but all the same I feel that sometimes it's just not worth posting if it's truly off.

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Stitchy, it would do many of us good to see that from time to time you're fallible in your fits.

Clags, I will agree that there is an immense satisfaction in taking a look at the picture that you took, or you had taken, and it appealing to your eye in just about every way the way you described it. And I'm not a huge photography guy either.

And I think it is even more satisfying when you were the one taking the pictures yourself. For example, I experience that satisfaction much more often, and more strongly, when taking pictures of watches to put on eBay for work, or pictures of my own watches for the watch thread, than I do when I see a picture that was taken for me, of me, even though I think that the quality of the picture may be the same.

And I too keep a stash of these pictures to look at from time to time, and bask in their calming glory.

Fizzo said:

@chocsosa A awesome look, the colors are well chosen. very classy and simple the cardi make a super contrast. Well done.

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Thanks Fizzo!

Today, soon to be x posted to the contest thread. Bonus: For giggles, I also threw on my new (to me) LBM SC to see how it looked, fresh back from the tailor. Wish there were a little more room to let the sleeves out, but pretty dang good, I think. To Edmorel's point above, and consistent with what I've said before, look back at my last few posts (or beyond) and you'll note a wide diversity of fit and style. I dress because I enjoy it and enjoy experimenting. Like painting but without the permanence. Sometimes the vibe I feel fits within the forum norms, and sometimes it doesn't. But, for myself, I find the variety more interesting and inspiring than uniformity. YMMV, etc. (Even so, I always appreciate your thumbs, so thanks and keep 'em comin'!)

Ctp120, that's Formosa, I presume? It looks awesome.

I've been meaning to take a course in photography, since seeing some of @ethandesu's beautiful pictures of menswear. i.e. one interest has spawned another.



heldentenor said:

Stitchy, it would do many of us good to see that from time to time you're fallible in your fits. 

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There is more than enough evidence to show how fallible I am. There are actually a few at the beginning of the 20 thumb thread that make me want to cry when I look at them. Dont even get me started on my pics when I first joined SF.

EFV said:

I've been meaning to take a course in photography, since seeing some of @ethandesu 's beautiful pictures of menswear. i.e. one interest has spawned another.

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I'd happily teach you whenever I'm around Stockholm, let me know if you're interested. I used to work as a press photographer so I like to think that I know a thing or two about photography.