Gaffes and novice mistakes

[ledouche]

The last time I saw my uncle, he wore the most terrible red jacket. It was less of a standard red, more of a bright crimson and made of a billowy nylon or polyester fabric with a metal zipper running down the middle. The jacket had puffy shoulders with epaulets, and oversized, flowing sleeves like a steroetypical genie from 60s TV shows might wear. The generous chest tapered to an elastic waistband decorated in (I believe leather) stripes of a few different colors. Normally I'm fine to let people wear what they want without much concern, and given that we were in a rural part of the midwest, I might have had even less reason to care than usual, but as my aunt's (his sister) funeral went on, I could tell the in-laws weren't pleased with that jacket.

Not to open this thread entirely at my uncle's expense, I'll share one of my own. I was a student in New York when I first started showing interest in classic menswear, and I was proud to own my first pairs of goodyear welted Allen Edmonds and Alden shoes that I'd studied and saved up for. A friend of mine worked in a position where he regularly came across steeply discounted menswear, but he was more interested in streetwear (although it may have been called something else at the time), so he always let me know when he thought they had good CM deals coming in and let me get first stab at things I wanted before the store opened. One time he shows me a large assortment of shoes they had marked down to the $175-250 range. I grabbed one out of its box to inspect it, feels nice, but when i turn it over to see the sole, I notice it's missing the threading that connects the sole to the welt and the upper. So I explain to my friend that they look nice, but they're not welted shoes, just glued, and I pull up my foot to show him the threading on the bottom of my AE boots, a hallmark of quality. Not being interested in classic menswear, he sluffed it off with "ohh, okay" and leaves me to browsing some of the suits and things on the rack before I head out with nothing. Today I recognize those shoes as Edward Greens, and the style of sole as a closed channel. We're still friends over a decade later, and he still doesn't care about classic menswear so I've been fortunate enough not to be reminded of this incident except by my own conscience.

Anyone else make some sartorial mistakes in the past that they'd like to share?

 

[manowar]

My biggest issue has been wearing oversized suits because I got them for a deal. Heck, I still have a few that I wear sometimes just to fill in my rotation, but I need to get rid of them.

I've learned to avoid anything labeled "classic fit", "regular fit", or "original fit" because they are going to be like a tent on me.

Also, the first pair of dress shoes I bought were boxy square-toed plastic leather monstrosities that creased irreparably the first time I wore them. I thought Alfani was a nice, quality brand...

 

[ter1413]

Novice mistake? Feeling that you have you have to study/research before making a purchase. Sometimes, just buy what you like.

Also, realize that everyone is not interested in CM or streetwear or well made suits.

To answer your question....I have regretted purchasing items that I don’t/never wear. I also regretted not purchasing items because I was in a rush, thought I had something similar, price was a little over budget, etc.

I don’t sit back and track “sartorial mistakes”.

 

[ledouche]

My biggest issue has been wearing oversized suits because I got them for a deal. Heck, I still have a few that I wear sometimes just to fill in my rotation, but I need to get rid of them.

I've learned to avoid anything labeled "classic fit", "regular fit", or "original fit" because they are going to be like a tent on me.

Also, the first pair of dress shoes I bought were boxy square-toed plastic leather monstrosities that creased irreparably the first time I wore them. I thought Alfani was a nice, quality brand...

Whew, long days at work recently. That's a good one, something could have beautiful fabric, construction and everything else you'd like, plus a great price, but if it doesn't fit, then the price might not be so great after all.

I remember Alfani as well, it's practically enough to keep me out of Macy's.

 

[ledouche]

Novice mistake? Feeling that you have you have to study/research before making a purchase. Sometimes, just buy what you like.

Also, realize that everyone is not interested in CM or streetwear or well made suits.

To answer your question....I have regretted purchasing items that I don’t/never wear. I also regretted not purchasing items because I was in a rush, thought I had something similar, price was a little over budget, etc.

I don’t sit back and track “sartorial mistakes”.

Lol, cool dude, more power to you.

 

[dauster]

like most people here stated mainly designer stuff that was " cheap" but ended up in the back of the closet because I ended not really liking it or because the fit was not great - avoid buying outlet/ discount stuff only for the price