Clothes and Perception

[TM79]



I should have said 60+. I was just tryna be kind to the ladies.

I mean, when you come from Charm City ...

 

[in stitches]

 

[patrickBOOTH]



Says the man who bought butteros to walk to yoga 

They were the right price for the quality delivered. Where else can you get sweatshop free, veg tanned tennis shoes with a stitched on sole and leather insole for cheaper?

 

[patrickBOOTH]



I think you and Stitchy may both be right. I agree that you can get many compliments wearing sober combinations while having a good eye for quality and fit. That said, sometimes the shinier things are a bit more in your face and a bit more likely to get complimented because some do assume something a bit shinier or louder indicates a good dresser. I think the sober looks get complimented because of their execution and the little details while the shinier and louder things get complimented because they are shiny / loud.

Of course, let's also not forget that some (generally women) are so happy to see a guy / significant other in a tie or jacket and tie that any focus on how well the look is executed goes out the window.

I think it is kind of funny that I love all of my shoes so much. I think they are so elegant and have such unique features and such, but they are all black. I don't think I have ever gotten a compliment on any of my shoes.

Not to add race into the mix, but as a black guy I've found myself hating bow ties (mostly because of the nation of Islam comments I would receive as jokes) but also because of many other young black males who consider themselves well dressed are adorned in considerably loud ones. Maybe im too concerned with perception and being placed into the "hip black guy who wears a suit and bow tie category", but as a result I have many beautiful Domenico Spano and Charvet bow ties that rarely see daylight.

Also living in a small southern city that considers itself the new Portland, you're either in streetwear or ocbd ralph lauren and salmon shorts that match your bros. I too am engaged or complemented about my attire but usually from people who wouldn't know jos a bank from Martin Greenfield. Also hate when I wear my 348 c&j's or meermin (vil and new rey lasts) and people ask why they are so pointy, but absolutely adore my bulbous Allen Edmonds Strands.

End rant. Just throwing in my .2 on race and location

So glad I lit up this cigar.You've given me some great reading material! Don't know how I missed those threads but thanks AC! And just another thought,I feel media is a driving force in how cultures dress (musicians, the Steve Harvey collection *chuckle*) People take direction by what is fed to them.I also know many women who style men or for magazines and their idea of what looks good is different from ours. I must admit that before I joined SF several years ago, I wore suits from h&m, Donald trump ties from macys, and thought Ferragamo made an awesome shoe. My sense of style did not evolve until I read the Bernard Roetzel book and was polished at my time working at Paul Stuart on Madison. Can't wait to jump in those threads previously mentioned

This is very interesting. I hope this doesn't offend as I don't want it to and intend it to be relevant to the discussion, but I have often had that same feeling about black men in bowties. It has become very adopted in NYC among younger black men, usually with a cardigan or something on as well. In general I have always thought that black men must have a harder time looking classically dressed and sober rather than being lumped into the "loud zoot suit" crowd even if they aren't adorning that fit and style. Maybe I am just a failed product of my alleged progressive generation, but I always felt that a black man almost has to keep it more sober than a white man to not look overly flashy. There are a number of black men on this forum who dress superbly, imo such as Sugarbutch, and Niidawg, but they dress very, very sober most of the time. Maybe it is a skin tone contrast thing, which in the past I have always ignored, but I always thought a black man pairing pink, purple (hate purple on anybody), or other brighter semi-conservative business dress colors enters the flashy category where on a pasty white dude it goes fairly unnoticed.

 

[TheBlackBruceWayne]



I think it is kind of funny that I love all of my shoes so much. I think they are so elegant and have such unique features and such, but they are all black. I don't think I have ever gotten a compliment on any of my shoes.

This is very interesting. I hope this doesn't offend as I don't want it to and intend it to be relevant to the discussion, but I have often had that same feeling about black men in bowties. It has become very adopted in NYC among younger black men, usually with a cardigan or something on as well. In general I have always thought that black men must have a harder time looking classically dressed and sober rather than being lumped into the "loud zoot suit" crowd even if they aren't adorning that fit and style. Maybe I am just a failed product of my alleged progressive generation, but I always felt that a black man almost has to keep it more sober than a white man to not look overly flashy. There are a number of black men on this forum who dress superbly, imo such as Sugarbutch, and Niidawg, but they dress very, very sober most of the time. Maybe it is a skin tone contrast thing, which in the past I have always ignored, but I always thought a black man pairing pink, purple (hate purple on anybody), or other brighter semi-conservative business dress colors enters the flashy category where on a pasty white dude it goes fairly unnoticed.

Not offensive at all. That is what this dialogue is for. I feel like the bow tie thing is a fad for younger black men, in the same way you see younger white guys with gingham checked shirts and a 1.5" black tie. But yes I agree I do feel like I have to be more conservative with my colors lately, and have always wondered if I would be looked at differently if I were white wearing certain items. Who knows. I shouldn't let perception Rob me of my sartorial joy.

 

[europrep]



I shouldn't let perception Rob me of my sartorial joy.

And that about sums it up. Well said.

 

[fieldofdreams]

I was once wearing a sport coat, cardigan, and trousers in Santa Monica, CA. Someone referred to my outfit as a 3 piece suit. This is one example of people not being able to differentiate. Although, I am fairly certain that had someone been standing next to me in an actual three piece suit, they would have been able to distinguish that we were wearing two different types of outfits.

 

[greger]

Shows how much the world has changed. So few suits worn in the last few decades that many younger people don't know.

 

[sleepyinsanfran]

I think it is kind of funny that I love all of my shoes so much. I think they are so elegant and have such unique features and such, but they are all black. I don't think I have ever gotten a compliment on any of my shoes.

yeah, color is key. I have received complements on blobby plain toed trickers in chestnut calf with a little polish, while my nicer black/dark-brown shoes never get noticed. I like that, so I don't wear lighter colored shoes anymore.
IME, women 9and most men) notice lighter colored shoes, even of middling quality (and perhaps brogueing). Last shapes, material, and construction - not so much.

Anyway, sorry about the shoo-detour. I'll let you all proceed with the excellent discussion.

 

[Josh King]

50+ know about tailors because they made the finest. Not just suits and such, but what you wanted to wear with the knowledge many tailors wouldn't but many could. Not sure I can say that about tailors today. So many young people today haven't even been around the word tailor, so how is it part of their vocabulary and seeing tailor made clothes. And some children wore tailor made clothes. It is pretty much all new to them today. Back in the day what clothing store that sold boys clothing, rows of suits, sports coats, blazers, vest, white button up shirts, ties, etc., didn't? One boy in school, he might have been lower middle class, 11 years old, went to a tailor to have a simple jacket made for going to school and home. It probably took the tailor an hour to make it. Children certainly knew about the world of tailoring.

This reminds me of a young man I was speaking to recently. He boasted that he only wore the finest things. When I began to tell him about the bespoke shoes I recently purchased, he looked at me with pure confusion. The thought of bespoke had not even crossed his mind.

 

[greger]

Back in the day, here in the US, custom tailor. Grandad said bespoke, but often just tailor. Alteration tailor really are not tailors at all, they merrily help pre-made clothes fit better.

Custom/bespoke for clothes, shoes, furniture and so on. So many young people only know about pre-made. Still a lot of custom furniture makers, but that is also learned in shop class at school, so everybody knows that. But what schools do children go to and learn tailoring or shoe making? It only takes one generation that doesn't pass on to the next for something to be lost.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

One of the most uncomfortable conversations that I often have to engage in is when somebody asks me where to get the best suit for $500, or the best shirt, for $60 or something like that. I always come across seeming like an elitist, or a pompous asshole when I tell them I seriously don't know.

 

[Murlsquirl]



One of the most uncomfortable conversations that I often have to engage in is when somebody asks me where to get the best suit for $500, or the best shirt, for $60 or something like that. I always come across seeming like an elitist, or a pompous asshole when I tell them I seriously don't know.

Just say Suit Supply from now on.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I don't know anything about them so I won't recommend them.

 

[fieldofdreams]

I don't know anything about them so I won't recommend them.

You could tell them that you heard suitsupply is good. As far as $500 suits are concerned, I would say they are the best.