Australian Members

[Gerry Nelson]

I think one of the issues underscoring our philisophical misgivings is that while this thread situates itself in 'classic meanswear', a lot of us do not necessarily dress in a 'classic menswear' way, or context, but instead seek to find other Australians with whom we can talk about clothes, shops, life, make friends, be social, etc, etc.

nicely put.

 

[Petepan]

I've seen a pair of triple monks from Bontoni - at the same Tassels store. It looked a little ghastly to me. Like an extra boob on a woman. Again, purely subjective, of course.

Yeah, seen the same pair myself. The leather quality/appearance and the build were fantastic though. I can still see it in my mind.

Hehe, the extra boob comment, hehe, I bet you have watched one too many reruns of Total Recall (both versions!!). I would even venture to guess that you flew Cathay Pacific sometime in the past few weeks.

 

[lachyzee]

Even though this thread is in the "Classic Menswear" section, I think it should also be used to discuss SW & D that strays into the "Classic Menswear" realm - jeans, nice shorts, clean sneaks, quality t shirts etc. etc. The kind of things you can imagine on JFK, SMcQ and their ilk.

Rick Owens, Junya Wantanabe and the like need not apply.

It would be pointless to have another Australian members specific thread in SW & D - we would all just end up having to check two threads at once.

 

[lachyzee]

Back to the minutiae:

Pleated pants

Who wears them? Do you go forward/reverse, double or single?

Are there any "rules" for pleats i.e. only with belt loops, or only without belt loops & with bracers etc.?

I have ordered some casual cotton/linen pants with single reverse pleats (I know forward is more trad, but it just doesn't look as good to my eye) and belt loops.

I'm considering adding pleats to the second pair of trousers I'll order for my PJ suit with adjusters and internal buttons for bracers (the other pair has belt loops and no pleats - so I think it will be a nice way to differentiate the two).

 

[Journeyman]



Back to the minutiae:

Pleated pants

Who wears them? Do you go forward/reverse, double or single?

Are there any "rules" for pleats i.e. only with belt loops, or only without belt loops & with bracers etc.?

I have ordered some casual cotton/linen pants with single reverse pleats (I know forward is more trad, but it just doesn't look as good to my eye) and belt loops.

I'm considering adding pleats to the second pair of trousers I'll order for my PJ suit with adjusters and internal buttons for bracers (the other pair has belt loops and no pleats - so I think it will be a nice way to differentiate the two).

I've got a few pairs of RL Polo trousers with pleats, both odd trousers and suit trousers. RL seems to prefer forward pleats, and I find that as long as the trousers are cut fairly generously, that's fine. However, forward pleats seem to have a tendency to flare open more than reverse pleats if trousers aren't well cut.

I've got a couple of pairs of MTO trousers where I specified a single, deep reverse pleat on each side and they are great. Where I have a choice, I favour reverse over forward pleats.

 

[meister]



Is "free Polish" a euphemism for something?

Your avatar would be proud of you!

As for Hong Kong, my big disappointment was my failure to get any Bontonis at all from Tassels. The popular sizes were all gone, and Bontoni is not known to supply regularly. IMO, dollar for dollar, the Bontoni's are extremely good value for what you are getting. $1000 per pair on average, but I reckon you will love them forever. Purely subjective of course, so please refrain from throwing daggers at me.

I've seen a pair of triple monks from Bontoni - at the same Tassels store. It looked a little ghastly to me. Like an extra boob on a woman. Again, purely subjective, of course.

I procrastinated on buying a pair one night for BIN USD250 nearly brand new and lost out.

BONTONI forever I say!

 

[Selvaggio]

I think pleated pants without belt loops are grouse.

Back in the day I had a pair with six pleats each side. Oh yeah!

 

[California Dreamer]

Been biting my tongue on this philosophical discussion, but there is a comment I would like to make.

If Foo or Manton were to relocate to the Arctic Circle or to the Sahara Desert, do you think they would continue to insist on "the rules", or do you reckon they might start to adopt some of the local ways of dressing? I suspect that bespoke Rubinacci suits might fall out of favour pretty darn quick.

My point is that appropriate dress has a cultural and environmental context that the utra-fastidious do not take into account. I do not believe that either Foo or Manton has spent enough time in Australia to warrant them being held up as experts that we must copy.

"The rules", such as they are, seem to be largely derived from the way English people dressed about 100 years ago. The business, social and climatic environment we live in is totally different to that, and sometimes following "the rules" can only lead us into days of massive personal discomfort when dealing with conditions that these gents have probably never had to dress for.

 

[Journeyman]



I think pleated pants without belt loops are grouse.

Back in the day I had a pair with six pleats each side. Oh yeah!

Were you previously known as MC Hammer, by any chance??

 

[fox81]



We have a habit in this Thread of acting elitist, when at the heart of it all, we are a bunch of super enthusiastic small-timers. fxh's post above is an example, where he warns about steaming your clothes for undoing your Tailor's masterful hardwork. Who here actually wears bespoke Trousers or Coats that have been carefully shaped with an iron? Not many I imagine. I've met fox81 a few times at P Johnson, and salivated over his Ambrosi and Napoli Su Misura gear. I suppose he would be the exception.

I second quar's post that the rest of you are small timers

 

[Romp]

Nah, you're wrong.

You are justifying, or attempting to justify, a pretty half arsed approach to menswear, or heck, any passion/hobby/interest/whatever.

There are idiot kids in bars mixing good whiskies with coke. They're having fun, doesn't make it right. There are entire watch forums devoted to people who think their bling watches are hot ****. I'm sure they're they are having fun wearing them. But it doesn't make them right.

We've seen pretty good evidence that some of the rules are for fools crowd are pretty much basing that outlook on... well nothing substantial, unless you consider an uninformed opinion an opinion worth considering.

To use an analogy, Picasso mastered realism before moving on to the styles he is best known for today. Like I mentioned earlier somewhat glibly, you master the rules before you break them. They provide a framework for you to break rules in a deliberate reasoned manner which is what I assume all of us want. This is not the same as saying we must all follow the rules and thus must look the same.

The alternative is ignorance, but then don't try to defend your position with 'there are no rules' or 'rules don't matter because we're just meant to have fun' because there are, and that's just a half assed way to approach things you profess to enjoy.

thanks for the essay I have no idea what you are trying to say. I never said to ignore rules yada yada, nor did I say to be half assed - I said to listen, learn, observe etc then dress how you like. That assumes one gathers and understands rules before applying them to one's own wardrobe choices. Using your picasso example - he went through many periods and pushed the envelope of what was acceptable but ultimately painted how he liked based on his influence at the time - not on what was accepted or what was written in books from centuries past.

 

[lennier]

We have a habit in this Thread of acting elitist, when at the heart of it all, we are a bunch of super enthusiastic small-timers. fxh's post above is an example, where he warns about steaming your clothes for undoing your Tailor's masterful hardwork. Who here actually wears bespoke Trousers or Coats that have been carefully shaped with an iron? Not many I imagine. I've met fox81 a few times at P Johnson, and salivated over his Ambrosi and Napoli Su Misura gear. I suppose he would be the exception.

I second quar's post that the rest of you are small timers

 

[Selvaggio]



Were you previously known as MC Hammer, by any chance??

Oops!

Actually, mine were a dark grey PoW check - but very full and very pleated. I thought they were the bees' knees.

 

[ColdEyedPugilist]

I second quar's post that the rest of you are small timers

Ha! I take pride in my small-timeredness.

Go play with your flannel, noob.

Harrumph!

 

[Markus1984]

...

Hi Guys, bout to get started this week in placing a few items for sale on here - but just gauge the interest, any one like:

- pair of Allen Edmond Walnut Strands (size 9) including matching belt - two months old, purchased while in Orlando. http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF6105_1_40000000001_-1 quote]




Just letting you know it's up in the For Sale section - regards