How do you put together your look?

[MetroStyles]

For those of you that really pride yourselves on your street style, how do you put together your look? Do you look for inspiration in fashion mags - and try to copy the look exactly or edit a few pieces here and there? Do you just go and buy whatever items you like blindly and then try to piece them together into a nice outfit at home? Or do you take a few key pieces like your favorite blazer and look for pants and shirts to complement that?

I want to put together a bunch of really hip street styles but its hard to make it perfect...just looking for opinions on methodology here. Thanks.

 

[mack11211]

Build around your favorite things.

Build a wardrobe for the life you have, not just the life you want.

 

[cheapmutha]

i dont really think too much about it. i do alot of thrift shopping, and am in a navy town, so milatary outerwear is always a big part of my look. i wear the same jeans nearly everyday, so its really just getting some shoes and shirt that look good.

most days i just throw on the clothes that are closest to me when i wake up.

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

For those of you that really pride yourselves on your street style, how do you put together your look? Do you look for inspiration in fashion mags - and try to copy the look exactly or edit a few pieces here and there? Do you just go and buy whatever items you like blindly and then try to piece them together into a nice outfit at home? Or do you take a few key pieces like your favorite blazer and look for pants and shirts to complement that?

Hmm... pretty much all of the above. Not so much from fashion mags, but I do notice what other people are wearing (in things like the What Are You Wearing threads here and on SuFu, on the street, occasionally in movies or on tv), plus everything else you've mentioned. I think it's more about defining your style; once you have a fairly coherent style, you can immediately know whether a new piece will fit into your wardrobe or not.

 

[cheapmutha]

Originally Posted by Saucemaster

I think it's more about defining your style; once you have a fairly coherent style, you can immediately know whether a new piece will fit into your wardrobe or not.
exactly. you need to know you beforer you drop a bunch of cash on clothes. once you know how you want to look to the outside world, then you can find peices that work within that. take inspiriation from outside sources, but dont bite... thats a big thing.

 

[ninjapie]

Originally Posted by cheapmutha

exactly. you need to know you beforer you drop a bunch of cash on clothes. once you know how you want to look to the outside world, then you can find peices that work within that. take inspiriation from outside sources, but dont bite... thats a big thing.

I like wearing different kinds of styles. I usually base my outfit on 1 clothing piece I'd like to wear that day, usually a pair of jeans, and see how it works for me.
On other days (pretty often) I do what cheap does:

most days i just throw on the clothes that are closest to me when i wake up.

Since I already filtered them out of my closet they usually look okay.

 

[LA Guy]

All my clothing, with some notable exceptions that are generally in the back of my closet, is workwear, western, and military inspired, with youth culture associations (like The Cast hoodies, studded belts, and classic sneakers) Has been since college. My wardrobe is even more coherent now. So, every day, its a pair of jeans (one of about 4-5 in rotation, just have to decide on how loose or how tight I want them that day,) a belt (either Baltazar or Engineered Garments, depending on what mood I'm in,) a hoodie or sweatshirt(usually some shade of grey or something like the w+h black tiger fleece - switch it up wit some color occasionally) with a contrasting tee, and Chucks, Adidas, or Vans of various types. Military or Engineer's Cap and workwear or military jacket when I step out the door. Messenger bag (just got a Chrome olive/khaki with black one this weekend.) Or a leather messenger for the weekends when I really have nothing to lug around.

Really pretty simple. I like it. Saves my feeble brain.

 

[denimdestroyedmylife]

i like to watch the weather forecast and choose a jacket accordingly. then i pick appropriate shoes. then i build everything around those two things.

i find i go for utilitarian, well-designed, well-constructed pieces; i think those considerations dictate my style, for the most part

of course, the way i wear my clothes is informed by my personal history (skateboarding and music) and my interest in subtly subverting classic styles (cowboy/trucker/military)

 

[sygyzy]

I pick out something I really want to wear that day and build it from there. Like if I think I want to sport a new pair of shoes, I make the rest of the outfit work.

 

[afaludi]

I alway wear denim, pick out a teeshirt and a hoodie. if going to class ill just throw on some outerwear depending on the weather, peacoat, duffle, or a m65. If Im going to work ill throw on a collared shirt over the tee, layer with a hoodie and match some shoes.

 

[Yet Fung]

I'm the worst at outfits because I don't actually think about what I already own when i go shopping. If something catches my eye, I usually buy it. It's not until I get home that I realize I may actually need some pieces to go with it. I end up mixing a lot of things I probably shouldn't for lack of a better option, but luckily for me, I've made most of them work.

 

[Max]

From the shoes up.

 

[ratboycom]

I draw inspiration from many sources: Here on the forums, Japanese Mens Fashion Magazines (usually with full spreads of street fashion sectioned into different districts, ie Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakameguro, Yokohama, Ginza, etc), Car magazines (gotta support all of my habits), bazzare creations of my own mind (see: Halloween costume pants).

I usually go simpleish with my style but often include many different elements of influence.

Shoes: I either wear my pointy heeled leather shoes, Brown Puma Speed Cat, White Puma Roma, or occasionally Geta (for comfortability/shock value) or reef sandals.

Jeans: Almost always denim: slimmer fit, straight leg (although I have a lot of loose boot cut I dont wear anymore), Dark raw Indigo.

Belt: This varies from studded belt to plain black belt to something outrageous with a Huge Toyota T Emblem for a belt Buckle

Shirt: I have plenty of Graphic Ts with Car/Bike performance brands on them or funny graphics (my favorite is a brown slimfit NoStar shirt with a Seagull on the front with a plastic 6pack ring stuck on his neck, under it it says "Party Animal&quot. If I dont go that route (most days lately I havent been) I wear a slim fit collared long sleeve shirt untucked.

Accessories: To school I cary a Brown and blue (dont care for the blue part) Uniqlo Canvas Messenger bag that I bought for stupid cheap when in Japan because I needed an around town bag, I always have two silver rings on my right hand ring finger (one is plain silver but my little brother hand made it for me, and the other has waves carved in it), Sometimes just to make a rather original fashion statement I wear a shoulder strap style holster or my Joe Rocket riding gloves (with Carbon weave Knuckle Gaurds)

So you can see my style ranges from the plain to outright strange. Depends on how I am feeling that day/how balzy I feel.

 

[theshonen8899]

Originally Posted by Max

From the shoes up.
I also build from jackets.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

I draw inspiration from many sources: Here on the forums, Japanese Mens Fashion Magazines (usually with full spreads of street fashion sectioned into different districts, ie Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakameguro, Yokohama, Ginza, etc), Car magazines (gotta support all of my habits), bazzare creations of my own mind (see: Halloween costume pants).

I usually go simpleish with my style but often include many different elements of influence.

Shoes: I either wear my pointy heeled leather shoes, Brown Puma Speed Cat, White Puma Roma, or occasionally Geta (for comfortability/shock value) or reef sandals.

Jeans: Almost always denim: slimmer fit, straight leg (although I have a lot of loose boot cut I dont wear anymore), Dark raw Indigo.

Belt: This varies from studded belt to plain black belt to something outrageous with a Huge Toyota T Emblem for a belt Buckle

Shirt: I have plenty of Graphic Ts with Car/Bike performance brands on them or funny graphics (my favorite is a brown slimfit NoStar shirt with a Seagull on the front with a plastic 6pack ring stuck on his neck, under it it says "Party Animal"). If I dont go that route (most days lately I havent been) I wear a slim fit collared long sleeve shirt untucked.

Accessories: To school I cary a Brown and blue (dont care for the blue part) Uniqlo Canvas Messenger bag that I bought for stupid cheap when in Japan because I needed an around town bag, I always have two silver rings on my right hand ring finger (one is plain silver but my little brother hand made it for me, and the other has waves carved in it), Sometimes just to make a rather original fashion statement I wear a shoulder strap style holster or my Joe Rocket riding gloves (with Carbon weave Knuckle Gaurds)

So you can see my style ranges from the plain to outright strange. Depends on how I am feeling that day/how balzy I feel.


thanks for the great reply. can you give me some names of Japanese magazines to get? I live by a few comprehensive international news stores so I'm sure I will be able to track them down. Thanks a bunch!