Random fashion thoughts

[notwithit]



If you compare the best male posters to the best female posters, then there is not much difference. There is simply a far wider variety of guys than there are girls posting there. It is a very unusual women who posts to SZ, but many of the men appear to be regular guys who woke up one morning and decided they wanted to dress "goth ninja". The result is not pretty.

Another factor is that goth ninja is on its way out. Over time it is becoming increasing difficult to wear these styles without looking strange. However women will be judged less harshly when attempting this style since society is more accepting of women wearing unusual clothing.

Lastly you may be attracted sexually to the women. There are so few women on the forum that they come off as a novelty, similar to having an island with 100 men and 1 woman. This often results in the woman's outfits being viewed more favorably.

You got me there: I am attracted to women. I think in this case, the attraction is more aesthetic than sexual. Women are more likely to appear shapely and graceful, whereas guys can easily look like shapeless blobs when wearing a bunch of oversized and/or drapey stuff (IMO, obviously).

You make a good point about the ratio. SZ is essentially a men's forum, so the barriers to entry are higher for women in that they have to accept that they'll comprise a small minority of posters. The women who do join, by this logic, would likely be a self-selected group with a significantly higher level of interest in all things SZ than your random guy who, as you say, woke up and decided to dress "goth ninja".

Speaking of which, what's the etymology of the term "goth ninja"?

 

[dfagdfsh]

I think I saw Interest1 in a Starbuck's in SoHO the last time I was in NYC.

Just wanted to share1!!!

 

[Fuuma]



You got me there: I am attracted to women. I think in this case, the attraction is more aesthetic than sexual. Women are more likely to appear shapely and graceful, whereas guys can easily look like shapeless blobs when wearing a bunch of oversized and/or drapey stuff (IMO, obviously).

You make a good point about the ratio. SZ is essentially a men's forum, so the barriers to entry are higher for women in that they have to accept that they'll comprise a small minority of posters. The women who do join, by this logic, would likely be a self-selected group with a significantly higher level of interest in all things SZ than your random guy who, as you say, woke up and decided to dress "goth ninja".

Speaking of which, what's the etymology of the term "goth ninja"?

I don't really see "goth ninja" as being on its way out as much as dark looks being something that have been a constant in fashion since the 80s and coming back in the spotlight every 3-4 yrs or so. If you had to take a long term trend you'd be hard pressed to find a more solid one than that. Urban lumberjack is more of the moment but then "authentic" manly men clothing has more depth than that and cycles with about the same speed as goth ninja.

 

[Fuuma]



I think I saw Interest1 in a Starbuck's in SoHO the last time I was in NYC.

Just wanted to share1!!!

All I mean is that I was at the NYC SZ magazine launch/Atelier party. Laugh all you want but the crowd was much better than what I anticipated (asian virgins who used to connect nike but now collect CCP and are waaaaaaaaay akward).

 

[dfagdfsh]

I wasn't mocking you - i really do think i saw her at a starbucks in soho.

anyway ive met many, many sf people are some are cool, and some are awkward.

 

[macuser3of5]



Vegas is a fashion wasteland with roided out dudes and fake boobed orange women. Never seen so many platform heels in my life.

a lot of fake gucci/chanel/lv bags too; I went in july and it suprised me how 'dressed up' women got in the clubs while their boys just bummed around in stripey tees, baggy jeans and junky loafers.

How many hooker cards did you get? I hit around 200.

 

[fuji]



Good designers know how to design. Good tailors, not so much. Designer clothes are also usually better made than even top tailored clothes cause good factories have the same guy doing the same stitch all day, everyday while tailors practice different things (good for them). I know this goes against common wisdom but it is mostly true, Saville row tailors can stitch decently but not as good as the people making Jil Sander or Lanvin.

Lanvin suits are pretty ****. Unless they've improved in the last year or so then they're not that good quality. I know they're made by Caruso, but the quality is much worse then that of Caruso mainline or other RLBL, which is also made by Caruso. Fabric is also from what i've seen pretty ****. Have to disagree with you on pretty much the whole post.

 

[notwithit]



I don't really see "goth ninja" as being on its way out as much as dark looks being something that have been a constant in fashion since the 80s and coming back in the spotlight every 3-4 yrs or so. If you had to take a long term trend you'd be hard pressed to find a more solid one than that. Urban lumberjack is more of the moment but then "authentic" manly men clothing has more depth than that and cycles with about the same speed as goth ninja.

I see the whole lumber-workwear-icana as a slightly different animal than goth ninja. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the former start out in the realm of mid-level streetwear, whereas the latter came from runway designers and fashion houses?

Also, I see workwear - at least among the unwashed masses in America - as to some extent a reflection of the economic climate. As the job market grew worse and worse, the "manly man" identity provided a sense of security that employment, once taken for granted, could not.

 

[afixedpoint]

Wore my tiger fleece for the first time today, so incredibly warm

 

[artishard116]



I see the whole lumber-workwear-icana as a slightly different animal than goth ninja. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the former start out in the realm of mid-level streetwear, whereas the latter came from runway designers and fashion houses?

Also, I see workwear - at least among the unwashed masses in America - as to some extent a reflection of the economic climate. As the job market grew worse and worse, the "manly man" identity provided a sense of security that employment, once taken for granted, could not.

Americans don't have jobs so they go out and buy $200 chambray shirts?

 

[LA Guy]



I see the whole lumber-workwear-icana as a slightly different animal than goth ninja. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the former start out in the realm of mid-level streetwear, whereas the latter came from runway designers and fashion houses?

Also, I see workwear - at least among the unwashed masses in America - as to some extent a reflection of the economic climate. As the job market grew worse and worse, the "manly man" identity provided a sense of security that employment, once taken for granted, could not.

This type of analysis is ****. I rejoiced when I heard Simon Doonan say the same. Fashion designers don't design with the economic climate in mind. Retail buyers do become more conservative. However, the whole idea that people turn to the idea of the "manly man" IN FASHION because the economic climate is bad, is preposterous.

 

[shoreman1782]

Don't have an in-depth trend family tree on hand, but I'd say the Americana resurgence was in pretty full force before the streetwear scene really hopped on it--altho they're certainly not unrelated.

The goth ninja thing, as I understood it, is still related to music/art scenes from the 80s, rather than really coming from big design houses (hard to define anyway).

 

[artishard116]



This type of analysis is ****. I rejoiced when I heard Simon Doonan say the same. Fashion designers don't design with the economic climate in mind. Retail buyers do become more conservative. However, the whole idea that people turn to the idea of the "manly man" IN FASHION because the economic climate is bad, is preposterous.

Right because these manly 'workwear' brands aren't cheap. Which is kind of an oxymoron in itself. Nobody actually works in that stuff, it's fashion like you said.

 

[Nouveau Pauvre]

I dunno man. I know carpenters and electricians who love their selvage, Tattoo artists too if that counts.

Of course these are guys who are punks and young east coasters, not claiming that some contractor in Idaho is gonna blow a paycheck on some iron hearts.

 

[Manfred Freitag]

I had some seriously **** jobs in my life. Asbestos removal, cleaning the inside of coal plant boilers, working inside nuclear reactors, chicken processing plants, etc. I did all of that work in $29 Sears Diehard boots and $7 flannel shirts from Kmart and they served me just fine.

So, briefly self-psychoanalyzing, I think I buy higher-end "work wear" as a giant **** YOU to that world I could've spent the rest of my life trapped inside. There is no nobility in there, just an endless back-breaking **** sandwich that killed my father and uncles before they even met their grandkids. So if I want to rock some bowery boots and a chambray workshirt it's not out of an atavistic need to recapture a bygone American era. It's my way of honoring my own narrow escape.

Or maybe I'm easily manipulated by advertising, who knows?

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