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whnay.'s good taste thread

msulinski

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Another odd jacket attempt. I'm a little worried about this one. The shirt is bluer than it appears in the photos.





Another try with a pocket square



Closeup of the shirt for a (slightly) better idea of the color:

 
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NOBD

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Just buy and bend (don't fold!) one of those ugly cream silk PS's. Good for :foo::foo:.
 

TheFoo

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I'm on the fence with this jacket, but it is just passable--if you absolutely must wear a grey odd jacket. The shirt and tie are fine with it. But squareFAIL strikes again. What are those, gum balls? Planets? Color-wise, it is just too unrelated to anything else. Now, you could have done a green square here, but it needs to be something darker and with a more classic, thematically consistent pattern. Final score: :foo::foo:
Another odd jacket attempt. I'm a little worried about this one. The shirt is bluer than it appears in the photos.
Another try with a pocket square Closeup of the shirt for a (slightly) better idea of the color:
I'm judging this with square, because it is much better that way. You are right, the shirt is not the ideal choice. With an odd jacket, I'd want something with a less subtle pattern. But the pocket square rescues by pulling out the blue. Even more importantly, it establishes a complete pattern dynamic: none (tie), barely there (shirt), moderately pronounced (jacket), very bold (square). Without the square, the shirt and tie are not balanced against anything and the whole outfit appears flat. Good job. Final score: :foo::foo::foo:
 
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Caustic Man

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I'm on the fence with this jacket, but it is just passable--if you absolutely must wear a grey odd jacket. The shirt and tie are fine with it. But squareFAIL strikes again. What are those, gum balls? Planets? Color-wise, it is just too unrelated to anything else. Now, you could have done a green square here, but it needs to be something darker and with a more classic, thematically consistent pattern.

Final score:
foo.gif
foo.gif

I can't pick a square to save my life! lol Thanks.
 

Makoto Chan

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As a guy who just sits and watches from the sidelines (and who wears folded linen or no square at all 99% of the time), I agree with mafoofan that squareFAIL is frequent, and it cuts hard. It'd be nice to see you guys try to stick with the most boring squares, or none, and see how you look, how you feel, and how you fare on the :foo: scale.

Good fits and discussion, thanks to :foo: and everyone else pitching in.
 
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Caustic Man

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It'd be nice to see you guys try to stick with the most boring squares, or none, and see how you look, how you feel, and how you fare on the
foo.gif
scale.

Just a word on this if I may. As mentioned I, like many, have trouble with PS selection. I already know that I can choose a plain white PS and I'll usually be pretty safe. And honestly most of the time I will do that, but those pictures don't get posted here. I post the pictures where I take a chance or try to do something a little out of the ordinary. The reason being is that I want to be judged on something a little more advanced than a simple white square. I fail often, but that's the feedback I need to be able to do it right. I don't need to be told to just go with a white linen square.
 

TheFoo

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I can't pick a square to save my life! lol Thanks.


See the below. If you are picking ones like the one in that outfit, you are probably trying too hard to pick them. Here's the easiest way to not stumble: avoid patterns you'd see on a tie, and find something in a subdued, classic color that has a simple graphic geometric pattern or a large-scale baroque scene. Dark green, maroon, chocolate brown, navy, etc., are good base colors. Gold and red are good for accents.

And as I always say: cream silk should be your go-to when in any doubt.

As a guy who just sits and watches from the sidelines (and who wears folded linen or no square at all 99% of the time), I agree with mafoofan that squareFAIL is frequent, and it cuts hard. It'd be nice to see you guys try to stick with the most boring squares, or none, and see how you look, how you feel, and how you fare on the :foo: scale.

Good fits and discussion, thanks to :foo: and everyone else pitching in.
 
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Makoto Chan

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Just a word on this if I may. As mentioned I, like many, have trouble with PS selection. I already know that I can choose a plain white PS and I'll usually be pretty safe. And honestly most of the time I will do that, but those pictures don't get posted here. I post the pictures where I take a chance or try to do something a little out of the ordinary. The reason being is that I want to be judged on something a little more advanced than a simple white square. I fail often, but that's the feedback I need to be able to do it right. I don't need to be told to just go with a white linen square.


I hear ya, I thought it might be the case that people just don't take pictures of those white square fits.

But... I think that taking a conservative outfit and adding a slightly interesting pocket square in the name of some kind of good taste feels like a case of misdirection. Seems like adding interest for interest's sake, which is not exactly good taste.
 

Caustic Man

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I hear ya, I thought it might be the case that people just don't take pictures of those white square fits.

But... I think that taking a conservative outfit and adding a slightly interesting pocket square in the name of some kind of good taste feels like a case of misdirection. Seems like adding interest for interest's sake, which is not exactly good taste.

That's an interesting point. So then I would ask you this. When you select something other than white linen, what is your methodology, if any?
 

TheFoo

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Charvet used to have a perfect specimen. Sadly, the little annex at Bergdorf no longer has them. Maybe in Paris . . .
 

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