How to dress well in CM without standing out too much

[dieworkwear]

No, I never post pictures with the intention to inspire.

The OP, as you know, was looking for examples of how to wear braces over a shirt while jacketless. That's a very niche look, and one that generally pigeonholes someone into the above styles. In that sense, they're certainly illustrative.

I think you explicitly said that these looks can work:

Seconded. Also, you might consider adding side adjusters to your summer trousers, as long as your waist allows for them. From your post I'm assuming a larger upper body and a more narrow waist?

Some examples of things that can work:

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Presumably, you are also into these looks since you own braided leather suspenders

I also have a pair made from braided leather. For some reason it strikes me as a warm weather thing, so my braided belt/braces are always worn in the spring/summer.

I would not wear a vest over a sport coat, personally. But Jason's outfit strikes me as a lot less odd than people who wear suspenders as a style accessory.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

I think you explicitly said that these looks can work:

And they certainly can. Just because a look is coherent and fits a certain niche doesn't mean I have to be endorsing it.

Here's another that can work:



Although I'd probably endorse that.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

I would not wear a vest over a sport coat, personally. But Jason's outfit strikes me as a lot less odd than people who wear suspenders as a style accessory.

Do you mean visible braces, or braces in general?

 

[dieworkwear]

Do you mean visible braces, or braces in general?

Exactly as the outfits you said "can work."

 

[Nobilis Animus]

Exactly as the outfits you said "can work."

How is 'can work for the OP' not clear as day to you?

For the record, I never wear braces without a jacket. But since jackets are probably anathema to you these days, I guess any suspension becomes an accessory. (please don't show me your briefs)

 

[TheChihuahua]

That's like thinking it's pathetic for people to no longer speak in a dialect from another century. In your mind it may be the more correct way to speak, but in the real world language doesn't work this way. Meanings and connotations are established by a loose and evolving agreement. If you use language in an outdated way, you will simply be misunderstood, regardless of your own personal intentions, esthetics, or beliefs.

Clothing is likewise language, and it's always communicating something. Your beliefs and intentions don't exert some magical influence over what the words and the syntax mean to others.

In the context of those department stores, you were dressing like the help. Plain and simple. The people around you were fluent in the language of dress in those contexts, because they show up there every day. In that language you communicated something different from your intent. Reframing this by characterizing your mode of dress as "presentable" is very strange. Presentable to whom, and for what purpose?

i don’t know if the dialect example isn’t correct.
More like if you saw somebody write a message like “R U goin 2 sho 2night?” As a new dialect.
Lazy and sloppy.

the two biggest factors in the decline of American society are McDonald’s and Biz Caj attire in the work place.

 

[dieworkwear]

How is 'can work for the OP' not clear as day to you?

For the record, I never wear braces without a jacket. But since jackets are probably anathema to you these days, I guess any suspension becomes an accessory. (please don't show me your briefs)

If things are so subjective that it's purely contextual for the wearer, then there would be no basis for criticizing Jason's outfit. Maybe he wants to wear things that way. So it works for him. (I have no idea if he actually prefers that look; my guess is that he's modeling for a lookbook, where things are often styled strangely for the purpose of catching people's eye. He works as a model).

Just strikes me as odd to call Jason's outfit strange when leather Filson-like suspenders worn with low-rise jeans, hooked onto the outside belt loops, seems stranger.

i don’t know if the dialect example isn’t correct.
More like if you saw somebody write a message like “R U goin 2 sho 2night?” As a new dialect.
Lazy and sloppy.

the two biggest factors in the decline of American society are McDonald’s and Biz Caj attire in the work place.

The real decline of American society is people spelling business casual as "biz caj."

 

[Nobilis Animus]

If things are so subjective that it's purely contextual for the wearer, then there would be no basis for criticizing Jason's outfit. Maybe he wants to wear things that way.

No basis in criticizing the appropriateness of the outfit, definitely, but this:

So it works for him.

is too much. Perhaps this combo makes so-and-so happy, but that doesn't mean everyone will like it, or agree that it's working for him. I could wear pastel green from head-to-toe and think it works, but the only thing everyone else would see is a greyish wraith wearing awful colours. Something may be simultaneously awful and contextual - corporate uniform springs to mind.

 

[TheChihuahua]

The real decline of American society is people spelling business casual as "biz caj."

The two went hand in hand. Like McDonalds and Micky D’s.

 

[paulraphael]

Sorry, my wearing a sport coat and happening into a department store is wrong and “cos-play”?

I didn't say that. I said wearing cm clothes in various wrong ways might lead to someone looking "... inappropriately formal, looking stuffy, looking like you're playing retro cosplay, looking like a waiter, a security guard ... or a clothes salesman."

I'm suggesting that this thread is (in part) about ways of wearing clothes don't fall into these traps.

As far as your outfit, how could I have an opinion about it? I don't know what you looked like. A sport coat doesn't say much. If you're curious, ask the barista why she thought you worked there.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

The only real way to dress well in CM without standing out too much is to be a part of social circles wherein tailored clothing is not completely alien. That way, you can get away with wearing things that general society might consider 'stuffy,' whereas you see them as simply normal.

If the question of the thread, however, is how to dress well without standing out among badly-dressed people, then only the most casual forms of CM will do. Basically, you'd have to revert to the business-casual version of the badassery that is CM - you may be appropriate and neutral, but never sexy or interesting.

An alternative would be what high fashion attempts: an aesthetic approach to dress that involves artistry and craft over conformity and not-too-standing-outness. I've often advocated for this, at least with regard to casual clothing, but to little avail.

 

[MacGuffen]

There does in fact seem to be an undercurrent of thought on the forum these days that CM is too 'stuffy' in general.

Instead of appealing to others' fears of standing out (the horror!), I wish those people would simply admit that they're bad at wearing CM. It isn't the end of the world - no internet points will be deducted.

I think this is very interesting. I'm guessing there has been an influx of younger people discovering Styleforum, but finding the conservative CM a bit inappropriate for their age/work environment/climate/city.

I think this is something everyone goes through once they discover their interest in clothing and style. At first you read about pocket squares, boutonnieres, suspenders, shoes and suits. You try to incorporate the things you learn, probably overdo it and stand out too much. But over time you become more relaxed and confident with what works and what doesn't in your particular environment.

I can tell you that I would certainly stand out in my town just by wearing a worsted navy blazer with pocket square, but in New York no one would bat an eye. That's why I personally found this thread such a breath of fresh air, because the outfits posted are so much more appropriate for my environment.

 

[saskatoonjay]

I miss La Taqueria.

You bastard. I panicked when I read that, thinking La Taqueria had closed down. Google tells me it’s still there. Thank Christ for dorado style tacos ?

 

[paulraphael]

i don’t know if the dialect example isn’t correct.
More like if you saw somebody write a message like “R U goin 2 sho 2night?” As a new dialect.
Lazy and sloppy.

Every generation of language snoots dating back (at least) to the time of Socrates has made this argument—that language is going to hell. The kids refuse to learn proper English (or Sumerian). Everyone's lazy and sloppy.

At least 3/4 or the grammar and syntax you use in your most formal speech was once the subject of derision by elder guardians of the language.

This observation doesn't lead to any easy answers. "Anything goes and everything is equal" doesn't work so well in real life. Neither does busting a new neck vein every day railing against change. Navigating this kind of evolution requires a sense of context and nuance.

 

[JohnMRobie]

The only real way to dress well in CM without standing out too much is to be a part of social circles wherein tailored clothing is not completely alien. That way, you can get away with wearing things that general society might consider 'stuffy,' whereas you see them as simply normal.

This concept really isn’t limited to any one style though is it? If I showed up to the office wearing something like Post Imperial or Engineered Garments I would stand out. If I showed up in denim and a t shirt, I’d stand out. If I show up to work in any type of tailoring or business casual nobody bats an eye and assume I’m dressed for whatever I have going on that day. If I’m dressed more formally maybe it’s client facing meetings, if it’s chinos and a polo maybe I’m sneaking off after lunch to play golf. The guy who always wears a bow tie is the exception to that I suppose. He stands out, but it’s his thing so people just kind of expect it and it fits his personality.

On the other side of that coin, if I fully embraced the traditional CM vibe and showed up to my buddies dove or pheasant hunts wearing traditional shooting attire I’d stand out like a sore thumb and people would wonder why I was cosplaying. If I strolled into a neighborhood barbecue or tailgate wearing a suit and oxfords, I’d stand out and probably get asked where I was coming from or where I was heading after. If I showed up to those in chinos and an OCBD and a pair of LHS I’d be just fine and nobody would notice.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in life is that unless I do something really far on one end of the spectrum and completely opposite of everyone else nobody really cares or notices what I do or what I wear, I’m just not that important. So the question I need to answer is how much will I feel like I stand out and do I care.