Clothing for Asian and Indian guys? Discuss here.

[nighttrain7404]

Originally Posted by sloaney

i grew up in asia, and i never wanted to rebel against anything. instead, i have always found myself wanting to perfect myself according to the prevailing elite/establishment culture of whatever part of the world i happen to be in (now, the uk). i enjoyed celebrating my birthdays with high school friends at the country club. am i weird?

It's one thing to want to perfect yourself and move up in the world..

It's another thing to want to move up in the world..and have a perspective of looking down on others in the process...

I think you should cut your losses on this thread Sloaney =).

The more you elaborate, the harder it is to defend it from being elitest and racist at the same time.

 

[sloaney]

elitist, not elitest

anyway my last post on this thread

From Publishers Weekly
Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Henry debunks ideas of inherent equality, arguing that not all achievements are the same.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The late Henry (he recently died of a heart attack) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic for Time and a self-described white, Yale-educated, suburban, registered Democrat. One guesses he spent his youth being a liberal but, judging from this book, became another neoconservative in middle age because of the excesses of affirmative action, feminism, multiculturalism, etc. What the United States needs now, argues Henry, is elitism, which he never defines but which seems to mean a social system that rewards only competence, not skin color, gender, disability, etc. Henry never seems to appreciate fully how much talent was going unrewarded before affirmative action, feminism, etc., or that any human activity, no matter how worthy, is liable to silly or dangerous excesses. Unfortunately, this book may attract the attention of reactionaries like Henry, so academic and public libraries should consider it for purchase.
--Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Elitis...e=UTF8&s=books

 

[Get Smart]

Originally Posted by sloaney

What the United States needs now, argues Henry, is elitism, which he never defines but which seems to mean a social system that rewards only competence, not skin color, gender, disability, etc. Henry never seems to appreciate fully how much talent was going unrewarded before affirmative action, feminism, etc., or that any human activity, no matter how worthy, is liable to silly or dangerous excesses.


thanks for sharing that. this book sounds right up my alley.

 

[esquire.]

Originally Posted by Python

a reddish-brown leather jacket, black shirt, black pants and reddish-brown shoes with black soles would actually look quite good as casual-wear (in my mind's eye at the moment, anyway). Khaki and the muter, 'dustier' shades of brown, however, look awful on us at the best of times... OTOH black almost always works - whereas it may look too strong on fair-haired and fair-skinned people, IMO it simply accentuates the features of Asian people, who already have black hair anyway (so it's not like you're increasing the contrast too much).
While I agree that black works for the shoes, belts, and in other small doses for asians, I think it would be a mistake to say that black almost always works. I tend to think that too much black doesn't work either. On the Survivor reunion show, I didn't like the black shirt Yul was wearing. I thought a white shirt would have worked better there. IMO, asians look best when they have high contrast in their clothing- where they're wearing something black, that picks up the color of their hair, with something that contrasts that. But, then again, I think pink can also work with asian skin color even though pink isn't necessairly high contrast.

 

[nighttrain7404]

Originally Posted by sloaney

elitist, not elitest

anyway my last post on this thread

From Publishers Weekly
Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Henry debunks ideas of inherent equality, arguing that not all achievements are the same.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The late Henry (he recently died of a heart attack) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic for Time and a self-described white, Yale-educated, suburban, registered Democrat. One guesses he spent his youth being a liberal but, judging from this book, became another neoconservative in middle age because of the excesses of affirmative action, feminism, multiculturalism, etc. What the United States needs now, argues Henry, is elitism, which he never defines but which seems to mean a social system that rewards only competence, not skin color, gender, disability, etc. Henry never seems to appreciate fully how much talent was going unrewarded before affirmative action, feminism, etc., or that any human activity, no matter how worthy, is liable to silly or dangerous excesses. Unfortunately, this book may attract the attention of reactionaries like Henry, so academic and public libraries should consider it for purchase.
--Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Elitis...e=UTF8&s=books


Misspelled but not misquoted. Glad you cut your losses and didn't post anymore Sloaney..I can respect that.

 

[oldseed]

this thread has unfortunately become ridiculous. besides, any true asian knows that the $1000+ Louis Vuitton purses that azns carry are fakes. as is probably true with most teens carrying LV goods.

this forum is of course about western style and western fashions. the rules of colours don't change though. i.e. the light tan/brown shirt on a lightly tanned asian = butt ugly, as it would on anyone of that skin colour. the lack of feedback in this thread is because the rules don't change just because you're asian.

the rules are based on colours and body types, not race. that said, the dominant culture of the 1900s is American culture. america dictates fashion and style, so it's no surprise comments like what we've seen here have been made. the bigotry of the dominant culture is warranted simply by the fact of its dominance; which at the same time brings out the feeling of moral disgust. seed

 

[Python]

Originally Posted by oldseed

this thread has unfortunately become ridiculous. besides, any true asian knows that the $1000+ Louis Vuitton purses that azns carry are fakes. as is probably true with most teens carrying LV goods.

This probably depends on the type of LV item in question. Many of the monogrammed canvas LV goods are undoubtedly fake - after all, people buy them (real or fake) solely for the highly-visible and recognisable LV monogram, in order to impress others. Their non-monogrammed items, however, are probably less counterfeited. For the record, I use a black LV Epi leather messenger bag as my everyday work bag... love the texture of the leather and the styling.

this forum is of course about western style and western fashions. the rules of colours don't change though. i.e. the light tan/brown shirt on a lightly tanned asian = butt ugly, as it would on anyone of that skin colour. the lack of feedback in this thread is because the rules don't change just because you're asian.

The rules of colour coordination don't change; however, the colours you are trying to coordinate most certainly do. What looks great on a fair-skinned, fair-haired German man may look awful on a black-haired, light-skinned Chinese man or a black-haired, dark-brown-skinned Indian man, and vice-versa. Bright, high-contrast ensembles which may overpower fair-skinned Caucasians and make them look washed out often suit East and South Asian people, whose higher-contrast and darker features are not overpowered by the clothes. Similarly, muted colours which look great on fair-skinned Caucasians may look washed out on Asian people, being somewhat overpowered by their higher-contrast features.

the rules are based on colours and body types, not race.

True. Colours and body types, however, tend to vary with ethnicity; therefore, the results of applying the rules differ depending on the ethnicity of the person you are trying to match.

that said, the dominant culture of the 1900s is American culture. america dictates fashion and style,

Really? America may dominate television and cinema culture (although other countries have made serious inroads in certain areas - take martial arts films, Japanese anime and Bollywood as examples), but they have hardly dominated fashion. If anything, Europe has dictated fashion and style in the past century. From the classic, timeless suits of Brioni and Zegna to the avant-garde, high-fashion (but no less valid) suits of Versace, Gucci and Dior Homme, to the modern twists on the classics by Ozwald Boateng and Richard James, most internationally-renowned fashion and style has come from Europe, not the US (Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren being notable exceptions). Even the stars of America's dominant television and cinema culture are often seen dressed in European-, not American-designed apparel. Queens, kings, emperors and sultans? Almost exclusively European-designed apparel. Business leaders, bankers, lawyers, diplomats and politicians? Again, mostly apparel of European design (I'm talking on a global level here, not just American politicians and bankers) - you'll rarely find a businessman from somewhere other than North America wearing Oxxford or Hickey Freeman, whereas you'll see Brioni and Zegna (among older high-flyers) and Boateng and Armani (among younger high-flyers) almost everywhere.

America may be dominant in many other areas, but you could hardly say it dictates fashion and style on a global level...

***

Anyway, the point of the thread is that, althought the basic rules for colour coordination and styling don't change, the colours you are trying to coordinate do. Trouble is, much of the advice available online is designed with fair-skinned, fair/brown/red-haired Caucasians in mind, with colour 'rules' derived from the basic rules of colour coordination to work with Caucasians often quoted as 'cardinal' rules to be applied to everyone regardless of their natural complexion. This thread is for the discussion of what may or may not work with those of non-European heritage and what tweaks to these 'rules', derived from basic colour theory, may be necessary to stay stylish!

 

[oldseed]

well, i agree with much of what u said. boring post follows

Originally Posted by Python

The rules of colour coordination don't change; however, the colours you are trying to coordinate most certainly do. What looks great on a fair-skinned, fair-haired German man may look awful on a black-haired, light-skinned Chinese man or a black-haired, dark-brown-skinned Indian man, and vice-versa. Bright, high-contrast ensembles which may overpower fair-skinned Caucasians and make them look washed out often suit East and South Asian people, whose higher-contrast and darker features are not overpowered by the clothes. Similarly, muted colours which look great on fair-skinned Caucasians may look washed out on Asian people, being somewhat overpowered by their higher-contrast features.

True. Colours and body types, however, tend to vary with ethnicity; therefore, the results of applying the rules differ depending on the ethnicity of the person you are trying to match.

in general, i agree with u. black hair and fair/olive skin look good with high colour, high contract, black/white clothing..

Originally Posted by Python

Really? America may dominate television and cinema culture (although other countries have made serious inroads in certain areas - take martial arts films, Japanese anime and Bollywood as examples), but they have hardly dominated fashion. If anything, Europe has dictated fashion and style in the past century.

From the classic,...
Business leaders, bankers...

well, it's true that the business class continues to take cues from traditional outlets, namely, the UK and italy. but the mainstream, and mainstream clothing -- which is what some of the pictures in this thread have depicted and criticized -- is heavily influenced by american pop culture. torn jeans and punk clothing a la Nirvana and grunge... big jewellery and big pants and big shirts a la Rap.. etc..

Originally Posted by Python

This thread is for the discussion of what may or may not work with those of non-European heritage and what tweaks to these 'rules', derived from basic colour theory, may be necessary to stay stylish!

it's what the thread should have been, yes...

 

[Sator]

What a bizarre thread!

Do you guys really think that you can come up with a formula for dressing all people who come from the area broadly term (from a Eurocentric perspective) as "asia". Well, that must include a total population of a couple of billion people! In England the term "of Asian appearance" is automatically assumed to denoted Indian/Pakistan subcontinent as well.

Do you honestly think some sort of one size fits all formula for billions of people will work?

 

[esquire.]

Originally Posted by Python

Anyway, the point is, what looks good on a man of European descent does not necessarily look good on someone of Subcontinental, Asian or Middle Eastern descent, mainly due to colour coordination. For instance, we tend to have black hair and yellow or brown skin - therefore, khaki, brown, olive and yellow aren't exactly flattering colours (which limits us a little in terms of shoes). Gold, too, may not be ideal, depending on the exact skin tone. At the same time, other colours which are not so flattering on others may look better on us - black, for instance, tends to suit us very well, owing to our already-black hair, as does silver. White tends to be better than ivory or cream, while vivid colours - deep purple, ruby and fuschia - look great.

What about Italians, especially Southern Italians? They're of European descent, and many of them share the same black hair and olive complexion.

 

[Jl24]

Maybe its just me, but whenever I go around Union Square I see a lot of Asian guys dressed as following: Black jacket, white shirt, dark indigo jeans, and black shoes. I'm Asian and although I think that looks good, its overdone by just about everyone. Any suggestions on how I can break away from the crowd?

 

[Python]

Originally Posted by Jl24

Maybe its just me, but whenever I go around Union Square I see a lot of Asian guys dressed as following: Black jacket, white shirt, dark indigo jeans, and black shoes. I'm Asian and although I think that looks good, its overdone by just about everyone. Any suggestions on how I can break away from the crowd?

It's all about the details. Black jacket? Play around with the style (sports jacket, peacoat, etc.), material (wool, leather, suede, cashmere, silk or a mixture) and detailing. Black shoes? Are they loafers, Chelsea boots or casual sneakers? What about the detailing? Is the finish normal leather or sueded? Jeans? Again, many options here - fit, finish and other details. Shirt? Play around with the colour and detailing - lots of scope here. Also, you can substitute light-coloured jackets and shoes for the black - white (particularly white leather with some detailing) looks good too.

 

[whacked]

I beg to differ. He was looking for something other than the classic black n' white/ high contrast combination, which is precisely what you're promoting.

I say it depends on your exact hair color/skin complexion and body type and there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Guess there's no other way than figuring out on your own. As of myself, with black hair and half-yellowish + half-olive skin tone, earth tone colors like olive green, medium gray and certain shades brown do just fine.

 

[tiecollector]

I think anyone can wear black. I think redheads and blondes do just fine. Reheads have the fairest skin of all and it really makes their hair stand out. It is a little hard to generalize so much just based on skin tone. Sometimes color placement will also matter, if you have dingey teeth, don't wear white too close to them, if you have a super fat gut, you don't want to put a punch of color at the waistline, that kind of stuff.

One color I don't rally like is too much camel color, it looks too close to almost everyone's skin tone except Africans. I try and avoid earthy tones. I like colors that create contrast or pop.

btw, I'm a dirty blonde with blue eyes.

 

[Jsoftz]

Originally Posted by Jl24

Maybe its just me, but whenever I go around Union Square I see a lot of Asian guys dressed as following: Black jacket, white shirt, dark indigo jeans, and black shoes. I'm Asian and although I think that looks good, its overdone by just about everyone. Any suggestions on how I can break away from the crowd?

Being half Indian and half Mexican (but 100% American, no doubt), I have a slightly fairer complexion than most other Indians. I've found that while the black short zip jacket/white shirt/dark indigo denim/black shoe works for me, I too find that really boring. Colors that work for me (other than black and white) are pale blue, navy, and particularly pink. Anything that is off white/pale yellow makes me look almost sickly so I avoid it. What I like to do to avoid that archetype you mention is wear a blue blazer with a pale pink/blue/lavender shirt and.. well, dark denim. Some nicely antiqued brown shoes further diferentiate you (or at least me) tastefully. Though, the others are right in that you can't really define one thing that works for a couple billion people. Best of luck, though.