Random Fashion Thoughts (Part 3: Style farmer strikes back) - our general discussion thread

[sinnedk]

Just when I thought I was out…

they pull me back in.... aka the biggest disaster for a closeout to a trilogy ever, j/k there is worse

 

[GT-R]

I've always felt that fashion (and taste in general) is mostly sociological and not aesthetic. We form our opinions about aesthetics based on our identities, tribal affiliations, and how we view other people. We express that taste to both affirm our individual identity and tribal affiliation, and to raise our perceived status.

A few writers have written about this sociological component of taste. Pierre Bourdieu and Terry Eagleton have written about how taste is legitimized through the ruling class. Thomas Packard and Thorsten Veblen have written about consumption is used as a way to express class. Contrast this with Kant, who believed we can "understand" beauty and aesthetics if we just think hard enough.

I think we like and dislike certain things because of how they're associated with certain groups, whether in reality or our minds. Why do people on SWD hate Allbirds? Because they're associated with normies. Why do CM guys hate ALD? Because they hate fashionistas, the riff-raff, modernity, etc. This is not so much about aesthetics but about sociology.

Regarding what makes "tradition," two thoughts:

1. There is something as a "classic look." It remains classic because of the stability of a certain British and American lifestyle, which mostly disappeared starting in the 1980s. That was a lifestyle of elite education, business, sport (often polo and rugby), hunting, Scottish estates, and other gentlemanly pursuits. Although that class has mostly disappeared, their taste has been coded as "good taste" and it remains aspirational, as people want to seem like they're of that class.

2. The term "classic men's style" is also a collection of looks, not just one. The Mods wore skinny bum freezer suits in the 1960s; preps and prep revivalists wore crazy patterns and bright colors in the 70s and 80s; Hollywood actors wore drape cut suits in the 30s through '60s. And so forth. It's useful to also think of classic men's style as a diverse tradition. But notably, with some rare exceptions, they are almost always a reflection of an upper class or privileged life. There are some enduring non-elite looks, as well. But they tend to be workwear and coded as "SWD" on this board.

Anyway, I think some CM guys hate this stuff because CM is generally a more "normie" aesthetic than non-CM looks and it's easy to react negatively to things that aren't normalized. Second, it's about identity and tribal affiliation. I think some CM guys have formed a CM identity online -- rules they've learned about through blogs and forums -- and are thus prone to attacking anything that's outside their tribe. Thirdly, as Bourdieu and others might say, this is just about class aspiration. Rich people from an older generation are considered higher status and thus worth emulating. Modern rich people are less worth emulating. Regular "street" people are not worth emulating at all.

I love this because it's always how I've approached fashion.
There was a time when I felt fashion was stupid, shallow, a waste of time; when my 13-14yr old friends started seriously paying attention to the trendiest fits, and I felt what we had in common slip away - if but slightly.

It's still stupid and shallow but perception is so important. That's why the first thing I did was distance myself from tracksuits, air maxes, and air forces, and the like. I couldn't be associated with any of the riff raff in the area, who all dress the same anyway, and by that I mean ghetto. Whether it's chubby legs squeezed into amiri denim and air force 1 lows, or some other dirty-gaudy-nasty-new-money-concoction.
Besides, there are already aspects of my look that we already share that are strictly out of our control.

I love it when someone says they love what I'm wearing. When I'm receiving 4 compliments in a day. Why? Because I know I look good. I love and need the affirmation. One guy asked me if I spend a lot of time thinking about what I wear, while slightly looking me up and down, and I loved it. I loved how perfectly he put it. I've noticed women will say stupid **** like "I love your jacket". I want you to say "I love everything about what you're wearing. I love you!".

Now, I'm at the point where I'm aggressively weaponising my understanding of the social component of clothing against everyone I meet. We all do this of course but I wonder if everyone can accurately guess the difference between a young, nigerian, migrant, who probably migrated between the ages of 11-18, purely from the fit and cut of their suit, haircut, and choice of watch, versus any other average male in a mediocre suit?

I like wearing clothes to feel different, and special, and unique. But most importantly... to feel better than everyone else. ****, I hate it when someone wears something similar.
A hipster? Call me what you want. I look better anyway.

P.S. I don't like GTRs anymore; they've been dirtied by losers and poors.

 

[Superb0bo]

 

[Nyarlathotep]

House of Gucci feels more exciting than House Atreides right now.

Definitely, Dune seems to be gearing up to be a middle-of-the-road big budget sci-fi film, complete with a 'dystopian' blue-grey colour tint, Matrix wire Kung Fu, and Batman's leftover wardrobe.

 

[OccultaVexillum]

what the ****

 

[norsefanboi]

I love this because it's always how I've approached fashion.
There was a time when I felt fashion was stupid, shallow, a waste of time; when my 13-14yr old friends started seriously paying attention to the trendiest fits, and I felt what we had in common slip away - if but slightly.

It's still stupid and shallow but perception is so important. That's why the first thing I did was distance myself from tracksuits, air maxes, and air forces, and the like. I couldn't be associated with any of the riff raff in the area, who all dress the same anyway, and by that I mean ghetto. Whether it's chubby legs squeezed into amiri denim and air force 1 lows, or some other dirty-gaudy-nasty-new-money-concoction.
Besides, there are already aspects of my look that we already share that are strictly out of our control.

I love it when someone says they love what I'm wearing. When I'm receiving 4 compliments in a day. Why? Because I know I look good. I love and need the affirmation. One guy asked me if I spend a lot of time thinking about what I wear, while slightly looking me up and down, and I loved it. I loved how perfectly he put it. I've noticed women will say stupid **** like "I love your jacket". I want you to say "I love everything about what you're wearing. I love you!".

Now, I'm at the point where I'm aggressively weaponising my understanding of the social component of clothing against everyone I meet. We all do this of course but I wonder if everyone can accurately guess the difference between a young, nigerian, migrant, who probably migrated between the ages of 11-18, purely from the fit and cut of their suit, haircut, and choice of watch, versus any other average male in a mediocre suit?

I like wearing clothes to feel different, and special, and unique. But most importantly... to feel better than everyone else. ****, I hate it when someone wears something similar.
A hipster? Call me what you want. I look better anyway.

P.S. I don't like GTRs anymore; they've been dirtied by losers and poors.

Is this a copy pasta from reddit or something?

 

[hoodog]

Me trying to see the logical/semantic/cognitive/narrative connection between @GT-R's post and the quoted @dieworkwear post.

 

[xeoniq]

I respect GT-R's sigma male octillionaire grindset.

 

[BlakeRVA]

I love this because it's always how I've approached fashion.
There was a time when I felt fashion was stupid, shallow, a waste of time; when my 13-14yr old friends started seriously paying attention to the trendiest fits, and I felt what we had in common slip away - if but slightly.

It's still stupid and shallow but perception is so important. That's why the first thing I did was distance myself from tracksuits, air maxes, and air forces, and the like. I couldn't be associated with any of the riff raff in the area, who all dress the same anyway, and by that I mean ghetto. Whether it's chubby legs squeezed into amiri denim and air force 1 lows, or some other dirty-gaudy-nasty-new-money-concoction.
Besides, there are already aspects of my look that we already share that are strictly out of our control.

I love it when someone says they love what I'm wearing. When I'm receiving 4 compliments in a day. Why? Because I know I look good. I love and need the affirmation. One guy asked me if I spend a lot of time thinking about what I wear, while slightly looking me up and down, and I loved it. I loved how perfectly he put it. I've noticed women will say stupid **** like "I love your jacket". I want you to say "I love everything about what you're wearing. I love you!".

Now, I'm at the point where I'm aggressively weaponising my understanding of the social component of clothing against everyone I meet. We all do this of course but I wonder if everyone can accurately guess the difference between a young, nigerian, migrant, who probably migrated between the ages of 11-18, purely from the fit and cut of their suit, haircut, and choice of watch, versus any other average male in a mediocre suit?

I like wearing clothes to feel different, and special, and unique. But most importantly... to feel better than everyone else. ****, I hate it when someone wears something similar.
A hipster? Call me what you want. I look better anyway.

P.S. I don't like GTRs anymore; they've been dirtied by losers and poors.

When you don't read the book, but still have to write a paper on it

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

More like Ligma Male Grindset

 

[sinnedk]

Me trying to see the logical/semantic/cognitive/narrative connection between @GT-R's post and the quoted @dieworkwear post.

View attachment 1646350

not related to sneakers or Gucci I skipped past it

 

[Fuuma]

Bourdieu co-wrote Les Héritiers, Les étudiants et la culture in 1964 and wrote La Distinction in 1979, they're important books for a certain strain of sociology and widely used in social critique but you're better off employing their approach to analyze anew than repeating their conclusions verbatim. You guys need to calm the **** down with the elites have elite taste and everyone emulates that **** with a top down distribution. You'll also note that Bourdieu at his most deterministic never affirmed that subjects did not sincerely possess the taste for Beethoven and Cicero or whatever that they claimed to have. My own mother is super happy if I put on some Arabian folk song or 70s french pop or even some Sade, this isn't the 1920s and even the racism that another poster mentioned would usually take on a non-hierarchical (i.e. differential) nature.

Good discussion hey no hate, just saying if you guys are like all erect about working class (usually non-white) cowboy retro virility and Ivy meets Northeastern black street-style you're not special or an early adopter, pretty much every actually existing poster on the MC side is engaging in similar working class lionization. just with different stuff.

 

[Fuuma]

I love this because it's always how I've approached fashion.
There was a time when I felt fashion was stupid, shallow, a waste of time; when my 13-14yr old friends started seriously paying attention to the trendiest fits, and I felt what we had in common slip away - if but slightly.

It's still stupid and shallow but perception is so important. That's why the first thing I did was distance myself from tracksuits, air maxes, and air forces, and the like. I couldn't be associated with any of the riff raff in the area, who all dress the same anyway, and by that I mean ghetto. Whether it's chubby legs squeezed into amiri denim and air force 1 lows, or some other dirty-gaudy-nasty-new-money-concoction.
Besides, there are already aspects of my look that we already share that are strictly out of our control.

I love it when someone says they love what I'm wearing. When I'm receiving 4 compliments in a day. Why? Because I know I look good. I love and need the affirmation. One guy asked me if I spend a lot of time thinking about what I wear, while slightly looking me up and down, and I loved it. I loved how perfectly he put it. I've noticed women will say stupid **** like "I love your jacket". I want you to say "I love everything about what you're wearing. I love you!".

Now, I'm at the point where I'm aggressively weaponising my understanding of the social component of clothing against everyone I meet. We all do this of course but I wonder if everyone can accurately guess the difference between a young, nigerian, migrant, who probably migrated between the ages of 11-18, purely from the fit and cut of their suit, haircut, and choice of watch, versus any other average male in a mediocre suit?

I like wearing clothes to feel different, and special, and unique. But most importantly... to feel better than everyone else. ****, I hate it when someone wears something similar.
A hipster? Call me what you want. I look better anyway.

P.S. I don't like GTRs anymore; they've been dirtied by losers and poors.

Ok guys I am so sorry for what I posted above, nvrmind, we're all doomed.

 

[zxcvbn]

I love this because it's always how I've approached fashion.
There was a time when I felt fashion was stupid, shallow, a waste of time; when my 13-14yr old friends started seriously paying attention to the trendiest fits, and I felt what we had in common slip away - if but slightly.

It's still stupid and shallow but perception is so important. That's why the first thing I did was distance myself from tracksuits, air maxes, and air forces, and the like. I couldn't be associated with any of the riff raff in the area, who all dress the same anyway, and by that I mean ghetto. Whether it's chubby legs squeezed into amiri denim and air force 1 lows, or some other dirty-gaudy-nasty-new-money-concoction.
Besides, there are already aspects of my look that we already share that are strictly out of our control.

I love it when someone says they love what I'm wearing. When I'm receiving 4 compliments in a day. Why? Because I know I look good. I love and need the affirmation. One guy asked me if I spend a lot of time thinking about what I wear, while slightly looking me up and down, and I loved it. I loved how perfectly he put it. I've noticed women will say stupid **** like "I love your jacket". I want you to say "I love everything about what you're wearing. I love you!".

Now, I'm at the point where I'm aggressively weaponising my understanding of the social component of clothing against everyone I meet. We all do this of course but I wonder if everyone can accurately guess the difference between a young, nigerian, migrant, who probably migrated between the ages of 11-18, purely from the fit and cut of their suit, haircut, and choice of watch, versus any other average male in a mediocre suit?

I like wearing clothes to feel different, and special, and unique. But most importantly... to feel better than everyone else. ****, I hate it when someone wears something similar.
A hipster? Call me what you want. I look better anyway.

P.S. I don't like GTRs anymore; they've been dirtied by losers and poors.

you sir have won the internet today!

 

[jaaz16]

Styleforum, oscillating between considered critiques of Bourdieu to "aggressively weaponising my understanding of the social component of clothing against everyone I meet."