Menswear Collecting

[FionaMckay]

Hi there,

Hope all is well with you?

I'm a student in London doing a Master's in Fashion Curation at The London College of Fashion. For my final project, I am looking at collectors of fashion and how they currently use online resources.

I wondered if anyone who would consider themselves collectors could spare 5 minutes to answer a very brief questionnaire? The questions are below; you can either answer in this thread or PM me the answers.

All the best and I look forward to hearing from you!
Fiona


​

· Describe your collection and how you got started?



· A collector of fashion is not as straightforward to identify as say, a collector of fine art. At what point did you consider yourself a collector?



· How do you catalogue and classify your collection?


· How important is it to you to ‘display’ your collection and in what ways do you do this? i.e. wearing, posting photos on blog etc.


· Would you say that your collection is a 'space' with which you can express yourself, even reaffirm your identity?


· How do you current use online resources for your collecting practice?


· Do you take part in any discussion forums online apart from StyleForum? Do you see a potential for forming a community around the display of your own collection?


· Would you have any issues in terms of copyright and distribution of images of your collection online?


· Anything else to add?

 

[Quadcammer]

Fiona,
Don't you think this would be a more popular topic on a female fashion forum?

I can think of only maybe 5 people on here who may have a "collection" of clothes. sure everybody here is a clothes horse for the most part, but its mostly a useable wardrobe, not a collection (in the art sense at least)

 

[FionaMckay]

Hi there,

Thanks for the quick response.

I've looked through the forum and found a multitude of collector themed posts which is what initiated me to create a new thread. With fashion (both mens and womenswear), a collection tends to start in the wardrobe unless you are talking about historic pieces then of course they are probably not worn.

That's great that you know of 5 collectors; mind pointing me in the right direction so I can get in touch with them directly?

All the best
Fiona

 

[FaceOfBoh]

^^^
I don't know... I've seen a few guys making comments about their collections of ties or cufflinks and seen photos here of closets or rooms with polished shoes lovingly aligned.

And certainly there are more than a few people here who fetishize certain items of clothing. I think walking down the street in $1,500 handmade shoes may be like Ralph Lauren cruising around in one of his Bugattis.

Interesting idea for a project . Good luck!

 

[unbelragazzo]

I can't think of anyone who would admit to being a "collector". Except maybe that guy that posted all those pics in the G&G thread.

 

[unbelragazzo]

Oh, and Hermes Man of course.

 

[PTWilliams]

Im posting responses here in the hopes of getting others to respond. I hope others will post pictures to supply content for her project.

Describe your collection and how you got started?
Although all clothes fit me and are intended for wear rather than display, I have been interested in the different personnalities that can be projected by clothing.
How do you catalogue and classify your collection
It occupies three closets, but its a lot easier just to look at it.
How important is it to you to ‘display’ your collection and in what ways do you do this? i.e. wearing, posting photos on blog etc.
]Wearing it and posting pictures on this forum
How do you current use online resources for your collecting practice?
[Ebay, including vintage clothing category.
Do you take part in any discussion forums online apart from StyleForum? Do you see a potential for forming a community around the display of your own collection?
Yes. Particularly around issues of preservation, history of particular pieces, perhaps value, although that stuff is distributed around the web. Events particularly oriented to fashion, e.g., like recent Great Gatsby party.
Would you have any issues in terms of copyright and distribution of images of your collection online?
No
Other comments:
People do collect clothing but probably not in the same way as stamps, coins, etc. Hermes ties, shoes, cowboy boots, sunglasses, watches, hats, maybe not so much pants, shirts, or coats. You might also try the Fedora lounge (internet site), Bookster (tweed), vintage clothes sellers on Ebay, Purseforum for women clothing. This Inverness cape is probably the closest thing I got to a collector piece.

 

[unbelragazzo]

But Fiona, in all seriousness, I think if you want to get some information out of board members, you'll have to be a little more stealth about it by not using the words "fashion" and "collection", which have womanly and consumerist connotations. Most on this board at least aspire to a refined male sense of elegance, which isn't obsessed with useless trinkets and brand names.

So you'll find men here with quite a large wardrobe of bespoke tailored clothing or footwear. And some with a large collection of RTW, occasionally specializing in a specific brand because they have found that it fits them well. For the former, online activity is not really much of an issue outside of choosing their tailor in the first place. For the second group, there may be some online activity in finding a good deal or a rare item somewhere online.

But for the vast majority of the members of this forum, when thinking about buying something new, they aren't thinking, "I NEED to have this piece from that collection because it's rare and desirable" or "because it completes my collection of these particular items." They're thinking, "I'd like to have a more casual suit to wear in less formal business settings" or "I need something in a lighter weight to help me through the hot summers". In other words, they are thinking about how they will be wearing the items, and so how they fit into their wardrobe, not how they fit into their "collections". Any time you see somebody starting a thread here asking the question of what they should add next to their shoe or suit collection, the immediate questions are ALWAYS what situations they find themselves in most, in the case of the shoe collection, what their suit collection is like so it can be discerned what sort of footwear is most appropriate, etc..

Finally, and this view is less universal, but on the MC side of the forum at least, it is often thought that if you can express yourself or your identity through your clothing, you must have very little to say indeed. Your clothing is not "who you are". It is merely a backdrop that allows you to present yourself in the most flattering and elegant light possible.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Fiona, pictures of some of the items in my collection can be found in this thread:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/23001/vintage-stuff-from-vintage-gent

· Describe your collection and how you got started?

My collection consists mainly of men's vintage clothing from the 1940s and 1950s, although I do have a few pieces made before then. During my high school years, a few of my friends and I would scope out the local thrift stores for items from the 1960s, an aesthetic we shared a fondness for. My father had a beautiful Harris tweed odd jacket from the early 1960s, and my brother and I both coveted it deeply. It was better by a fair margin than just about anything we could get our hands on at the time. From college to my late 20s, however, the vintage habit lay dormant. By my late 20s, the habit was back in full swing, and I began collecting in earnest.

· A collector of fashion is not as straightforward to identify as say, a collector of fine art. At what point did you consider yourself a collector?

At the point where I began to acquire pieces even when they didn't fit me, appreciating the garment as an object-in-itself.

· How do you catalogue and classify your collection?

My collection is not cataloged. It is organized by garment type.

· How important is it to you to ‘display’ your collection and in what ways do you do this? i.e. wearing, posting photos on blog etc.

I only display items from the collection when I wear them. All of my suits, odd jackets and dress shirts are contemporary bespoke, so I only wear the vintage items when I dress informally (e.g. the weekend) or when I pull out a specialty piece, like a vintage dinner jacket for a black tie affair.

· Would you say that your collection is a 'space' with which you can express yourself, even reaffirm your identity?

It is not, although there comes a point where the very act of collecting becomes part of your identity.

· How do you current use online resources for your collecting practice?

I have purchased a handful of vintage items online, although most of my collection is the result of dedicated thrifting. (Edited addendum: In the past, I have used a variety of online resources to help me narrow down the date range for certain items. For suits made in the United States, for example, I was able to learn the date ranges for certain union labels.)

· Do you take part in any discussion forums online apart from StyleForum? Do you see a potential for forming a community around the display of your own collection?

None that are style-oriented. I see absolutely no potential in creating community around the display of my collection. At best, it's only food for thought in the context of a larger community.

· Would you have any issues in terms of copyright and distribution of images of your collection online?

I do not.

· Anything else to add?

Over time, my interest in adding to and maintaining the collection has waned. Today, I see my vintage clothing collecting as a stepping stone. Collecting men's clothing from the past, when garments were generally made to a higher standard, let me to places like the Style Forum, where whole new vistas of men's style opened up.

 

[SpooPoker]

Man I wish Vox was here.

 

[Naka]



But Fiona, in all seriousness, I think if you want to get some information out of board members, you'll have to be a little more stealth about it by not using the words "fashion" and "collection", which have womanly and consumerist connotations. Most on this board at least aspire to a refined male sense of elegance, which isn't obsessed with useless trinkets and brand names.

So you'll find men here with quite a large wardrobe of bespoke tailored clothing or footwear. And some with a large collection of RTW, occasionally specializing in a specific brand because they have found that it fits them well. For the former, online activity is not really much of an issue outside of choosing their tailor in the first place. For the second group, there may be some online activity in finding a good deal or a rare item somewhere online.

But for the vast majority of the members of this forum, when thinking about buying something new, they aren't thinking, "I NEED to have this piece from that collection because it's rare and desirable" or "because it completes my collection of these particular items." They're thinking, "I'd like to have a more casual suit to wear in less formal business settings" or "I need something in a lighter weight to help me through the hot summers". In other words, they are thinking about how they will be wearing the items, and so how they fit into their wardrobe, not how they fit into their "collections". Any time you see somebody starting a thread here asking the question of what they should add next to their shoe or suit collection, the immediate questions are ALWAYS what situations they find themselves in most, in the case of the shoe collection, what their suit collection is like so it can be discerned what sort of footwear is most appropriate, etc..

Finally, and this view is less universal, but on the MC side of the forum at least, it is often thought that if you can express yourself or your identity through your clothing, you must have very little to say indeed. Your clothing is not "who you are". It is merely a backdrop that allows you to present yourself in the most flattering and elegant light possible.

The bolded is so dumb it makes my brain hurt. The rest of your post just confirms that you are not the type of person Fiona is looking for, making your post redundant.

Uncle Mac is a perfect fit for this thread.

 

[FionaMckay]

Thanks everyone for your input. I received some great responses, of all sorts, which are tremendously valuable in my research.

For those of you who answered my questions, I'll get in touch individually.

All the best
Fiona

 

[unbelragazzo]

^^ Naka, explain? You disagree that most people here have a negative reaction to the words I mention?

 

[Quarks]

Describe your collection and how you got started?


My collection can be aptly be summarised as 'things of beauty' and consists not only of clothes but of accessories as well (ie. cufflinks, belts, wallets, bags, etc). I got started when I found myself buying items that I seldom wear but rather, having the pleasure of being able to own them and being able to admire them.Such manner of purchase is considered a taboo here on these forums. It is just the way I am and how I choose to spend.


· A collector of fashion is not as straightforward to identify as say, a collector of fine art. At what point did you consider yourself a collector?


I am not so much of a collector of 'fashion' but a collector of items which I consider beautiful, classic & timeless.
It is quite an irony as nothing lasts forever. Even less with clothes, as we grow older, our bodies ages & changes. Hence, I value health among anything else in the world. Things I collect are wearable in everyday circumstances. Collector fashion may not be so, depending on how radical the fashion items are.


· How do you catalogue and classify your collection?


I have not yet catalogued my 'collection'. Classification through 'brands'.


· How important is it to you to ‘display’ your collection and in what ways do you do this? i.e. wearing, posting photos on blog etc.


Not very important. I display my collection by wearing them, when I get the chance. I seldom post pictures of them on the forum/blogs, etc.
The importance is possessing them, being able to admire them at my leisure, being able to express myself by wearing them. I do not take pleasure in flaunting them ironically although most items I own is a form of luxury. Subtle designs that evokes captivating emotions can be described when I come across an item that triggers my impulse. Subtle by design, purposeful attention-to-detail. A work of art.


· Would you say that your collection is a 'space' with which you can express yourself, even reaffirm your identity?


Yes, reflects my personal taste of what I consider of beauty.


· How do you current use online resources for your collecting practice?


Every possible way through the readily available resources. This forum as part of my many resources.


· Do you take part in any discussion forums online apart from StyleForum? Do you see a potential for forming a community around the display of your own collection?


No and No.


· Would you have any issues in terms of copyright and distribution of images of your collection online?


Depends.


· Anything else to add?


None.

 

[MikeDT]

Describe your collection and how you got started?

Western, Chinese and Mongolian.

A collector of fashion is not as straightforward to identify as say, a collector of fine art. At what point did you consider yourself a collector?

If I were to start hoarding large numbers of items, like shoes or umbrellas.

How do you catalogue and classify your collection?

Is there an app for that?

How important is it to you to ‘display’ your collection and in what ways do you do this? i.e. wearing, posting photos on blog etc.

Wearing.

Would you say that your collection is a 'space' with which you can express yourself, even reaffirm your identity?

Yes

How do you current use online resources for your collecting practice?

Yes, Taobao.

Do you take part in any discussion forums online apart from StyleForum? Do you see a potential for forming a community around the display of your own collection?

Yes and no.

Would you have any issues in terms of copyright and distribution of images of your collection online?

No.