if hemingway was 15, skinny, & listened to indie music...

[reprehensible]

Originally Posted by wmmk

Musically: Hercules and Love Affair, Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire (kind of), Stars, the National, Grizzly Bear, Walkmen, Sufjan Stevens, the Decemberists (kind of), At the Drive-In (before they broke up), LCD Soundsystem, Sigur Rós, MGMT, etc.

Sartorially: basically hipsters.

Music: are young people still listening to They Might Be Giants at all? God I feel so old. They've got a shockingly good band these days.

Of the bands you mention, the Decemberists, Arcade Fire and Stars on a day when I'm feeling generous are worthwhile. AtDI had "One-Armed Scissor", which was a pretty good song, but none of the rest of "Relationship of Command" really grabs me. MGMT contains the seeds of awesome, but does not follow through. Etc.

Indie is a cramped space, I think. Bands like Foetus and Swans are certainly independent, but not "Indie". Larger gripe.

Sartorially: amusingly, I have no idea what modern day young hipsters wear. See above re: "I feel so old."

 

[Lel]

Originally Posted by wmmk

Lel, I genuinely appreciate your thoughtfulness (and the Gulag Orkestar avatar--I love Beirut). In my original post, I probably underemphasized that I'm basically just looking for CHEAP clothes with a minimalist/literary/indie vibe. My presumption was that only a few designers would make clothes that fit this criteria.

I suppose it'd be better to look through WAYWT, find specific pieces, and then ask if cheap versions of them (or cheap close approximations of them) exist.

It's ok because I have been in your shoes not too long ago so I will speak from experience.

Cheap is bad. Get "good" stuff on sale, used, or whatever. I'm tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. Overall the indie look is ok, but I'm growing tired of seeing ****** vintage oxfords and boxy blazers with all the buttons buttoned up. I'm not saying thrifting is bad, but in my opinion it's worth the money to splurge on nice items.

I'm not saying you should blow your money on full retail items but like I said, the Buying/Selling sections of the forums are amazing, especially Superfuture.

If you want to splurge on the cheap then you can go crazy with H&M and Topman and build your wardrobe from there. That's find, but personally for some items I would rather pay for a good quality.

Sometimes, however, there are no cheap alternatives or you may not be satisfied with them. It sounds elitist, but sometimes you just want the real thing and not the cheap version. This may just be me, but I would rather spend $200 and be happy vs. $40 and be dissatisfied.

The reason why I personally dislike graphic tees is that people think that makes an outfit, that a crazy or interesting screen print gives them style. No, no it doesn't. Wearing a t-shirt and jeans doesn't give you style. I currently have a dislike for all my shirts because I like to layer, and the graphics just throw everything off. I understand the understated casualness of t-shirt and jeans, but honestly if that's what you do 90% of the time then it's just laziness not style that's driving your outfits (unless the weather doesn't permit anything else).

To me, save your money for footwear, because it adds to an outfit. Everyday I see guys who are fairly well dressed, then I look down and see something like sketchers or ugly plastic square toes. An item that will go a long way would be some kind of leather ankle boot that you can literally throw onto any outfit and still be comfortable. And, hopefully, if you start building a nice show collection, they just get better with wear and age and you won't grow out of them as easily as you would say an over sized Robert Geller chunky knit.

And one last thing, you must first learn the rules in order to break them. Sometimes style just works because the wearer makes it work because they have steeze. Don't let the clothes wear you. People can make anything work, thus negating every bit of advice I just typed out.

 

[LabelKing]

I think it's good that a 15 year old is aware of Hemingway and Voltaire.

 

[reprehensible]

Originally Posted by wmmk

I suppose it'd be better to look through WAYWT, find specific pieces, and then ask if cheap versions of them (or cheap close approximations of them) exist.

Oh, and your answer here is that you're in for a world of pain, pretty much. Cheaper clothes tend to fit horribly, or be made of papery materials, or some other baffling deficiency. Not always, but a good percentage of the time.

 

[FlyingLotus]

u might like american apparel for some basics..
simple, decent fitting clothes for pretty cheap.

 

[tagutcow]

Originally Posted by reprehensible

Music: are young people still listening to They Might Be Giants at all? God I feel so old. They've got a shockingly good band these days.

*pssssssst*

http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...1410&postcount

I thought you might be a fan judging from your name, but Reprehensible is a pretty obscure song even by TMBG standards.

When you said "iconoclastic nerd", however, there was no doubt in my mind.

As great as TMBG are, they've never inspired anyone's choice of clothing!

 

[AR_Six]

Originally Posted by reprehensible

Of the bands you mention, the Decemberists, Arcade Fire and Stars on a day when I'm feeling generous are worthwhile.
Oddly, of those he mentioned, these three are fairly mediocre (Funeral notwithstanding; Neon Bible was a big letdown from AF). The National's "Boxer" was arguably the best album of last year and Sigur Ros just makes incomparably beautiful music. MGMT is excessively hyped and will consequently lose their appeal to people of the hipster persuasion who are unable to like anything once other people know about it. As far as the OP goes, if he has a part time job and is assumedly still living and eating at home for free, then with some diligent bargain hunting and a little patience there's no need to forego all of the good stuff, wings + horns particularly would suit his purposes and is not prohibitively expensive. Also, there's no need to worry about growing a couple of inches re=unhemmed NCs, though you may find that you develop muscle at a rate which does make it a problem.

 

[Mushroom77]

Originally Posted by wmmk

Not to beat a dead horse or keep asking different versions of the same question, but if I've worked on a couple political campaigns, would vintage thrifted campaign t-shirts fall into the same category as threadless and band tees?

So long as you're not basing your whole look around the graphic on your t-shirt, it's still possible to pull off graphic tees. I'm pretty much supporting what Lel said.

And as for money vs quality, it's important to go for quality when you can - but don't buy anything just because of the brand, or just because of the price. Especially when you're spending such a high proportion of your disposable income on clothes, it's important to buy things that you'll get a lot of use out of.

That being said, when you're starting out it may be better to look for the right silhouette or fit, rather than expensive or SF-approved brands. I know that I've had to compromise because I would never be able to afford some SF-approved brands (importing to Aust is also a problem), but I've been able to find similar items that are still good quality for the price.

I also agree with the people who have been saying to develop your own style by reading, lurking, watching, and what have you. Read the WAYWT thread, look around at SuFu, and just incorporate the stuff that you like together.

 

[JO3B]

i have to disagree. neon bible is def on par with funeral.

 

[Nouveau Pauvre]

Originally Posted by JO3B

i have to disagree. neon bible is def on par with funeral.
I hate to hijack this dude's thread - but Neon Bible is really good, really underrated. It's not quite Funeral, but how could it be? MGMT is HYPE The National is just Band of Horses for pussies (And Band of Horses is just My Morning Jacket for pussies) Stars are the least interesting Canadian indie rock band (and that's saying something if you heard Broken Social Scene's most recent album) Beirut is fun, but I listen to Alaska in Winter more.

 

[grundletaint]

what does hemingway have to do with any of this? are you an alcoholic?

 

[gawkrodger]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

I think it's good that a 15 year old is aware of Hemingway and Voltaire.

and on a New Balance tip.

As someone with a love of trainers, especially New Balance, get a pair of 577s. One of the finest trainers ever!

Wear political t-shirts only if you're prepared to be pulled up, questioned and argued with

 

[Jekyll]

Forget about Hemingway. You should try to emulate Dos Passos.

Also, saying you listen to "indie" music sounds a bit pretentious and is annoying. Indie refers to how the music is published, it says nothing about the music itself.

 

[DBoon]

Originally Posted by Jekyll

Also, saying you listen to "indie" music sounds a bit pretentious and is annoying. Indie refers to how the music is published, it says nothing about the music itself.

everyone hates a pretentious 15 year old

 

[mr.loverman]

yea definitely don't buy anything expensive. look in thrift stores for cool ****.

get some basic levis or wranglers. focus on getting a good fit with these.

sneakers. id say cons or vans or something. those are cheap

get some basic solid color tees that fit you well. i'd check out target. this is not something you really can find at a thrift store

. go to shows and see what the kids are wearing. make note of stuff that could be found easily in thrift stores. best things to be found at thrift stores are cool flannel shirts or other button downs, outerwear such as blazers or over coats. high quality belts are also around in thrift stores. i can't stand ****** belts.

for winter, look for some cool boots or something off ebay or from a thrift store. people notice shoes and accessories the most, so don't skimp on those.


definitely get stuff that fits in with your peer group. not the exact same **** but definitely on the same level.

i went to boarding school and when i came back home i always had to switch my style to avoid looking completely out of place.

army/navy stores are a good source for cool stuff.

DO NOT COPY THE SF LOOK take from it what works for you.

overall if you want to spend a lot of money on something make sure it is quality and will last.

Don't buy anything unless your sure about it. research any big purchases.

having a few clothes that you love is way better than having a closet full of stuff that you are so-so about.

take time to break stuff in and get attached before you think about new purchases.