The Contentedness thread

[WBaker]

If you give a mouse a cookie or: how I got over the impulse buy and learn to love the hunt

This kids first Margiela side zip was back around 08 or 09 from Aloha Rag. Black calf, covered zip, nice medium thickness soles. I opened the white box and like dominoes 101 new outfits fell into place. I felt like id never need another pair of shoes again, id just find and buy these same black side zips till someone, one by one, zipped me up in my coffin. Ive never once gotten a single compliment, comment, or remark on my black side zips and that's why they're perfect. My gut reaction if someone compliments something i'm wearing is that it's because it was sticking out like a sore thumb and they don't feel comfortable enough to say "your new pinky ring forces me to reassess you".

Everything was simple and satisfyingly naive till I saw this taunting image:

The devil comes in mysterious forms, and for me it was a silly zippy shoe. Ive gone on to pick up four or five more each one purchased under the guise of being the last; yet I still want those pony hairs, far left second row, because just one more will be the answer. Right? Right!?!?!

Not pictured: First tries and sure things that never fit because Margiela likes to punish assumptions with their sizing.

Since were on a roll, this pic (maybe a few before it) was a Pandora's Box of contentedness:

Credit @thatoneguy (I believe)

I thought it would be my new cool super scarf, but then I took a fit pic of it on. So it got thrown on a sofa, but his friends looked pretty naked. (Not included 207 YahooJapan searches later.)

Fan of this thread, happy to take a stab at it

 

[WBaker]

X-Post to Geller Thread.

On reflection I feel like this post might better fit the initial intent of this thread. Take two!

WBaker:
@kiya major props to self edge LA for treating my favorite Geller stuff better than I ever did.

I finally wore a hole in the knee of my FW11 Flight Pants after years of wearing them to the airport, or to bed, or to bed at the airport. I knew I wanted to patch them up, but I wanted to do it right, so I start calling around about Tencel and Cupro by the yard. I had no idea what I was doing. Yard minimums meant I might as well make my own flight suit if I gonna patch the pants.

Then I remembered getting some jeans fixed at Self Edge way back when and how they called to check on a detail during the process and I loved that so goddamn much because I hate picking up stuff from the tailor only to find they made things worse. I can not give a **** about my things all on my own, I dont need a strip mall tailor to help me with that.

I went and picked these up and no one had to tell me that some lovely person sat for good long while and did them up right. The patch is this great ribbed cotton in this perfect rhombus shape. Props to whoever did this for me. Ill buy you lunch PM me.

They also did such detailed work on a Geller x Levi shirt that I wear gardening/cooking so it was in ribbons. They matched the Spanish blue threads that run inside of the button placket. Cool.

 

[g transistor]

I love those flight pants. Best iteration. I wore mine so often and patched them so much that it just stopped working. Finally had to retire them after a couple of years. Sad day.

 

[CityHunter]

I have a problem with holding on to "coveted/archived" pieces that I don't wear anymore - and they just fill up my closet, gathering dust. Does anyone else have this problem? How can I be cured?

So, I have some pieces that may be consider "coveted"...not necessarily by me, in the general sense within the mens' fashion ecosystem. Namely, pieces that are very difficult to find nowadays like Number (N)ine, Cloak, older Undercover and CDG, etc, to staples like a Margiela 5-Zip. My caveman brain makes me feel special by having these items - "no one has this but me!" (obviously untrue...but like, it's at least very rare) and it gives me a sense of elitism that is only recognized/appreciated when I'm by myself, posing in the mirror. I don't wear these "coveted" items, I just enjoy the fact that I own them. I need to get out of this rut. I'm sure some of you have dealt with this...tips? How were you able to separate from your rare items?

ps. I'm very sentimental

 

[Parker]

I have a problem with holding on to "coveted/archived" pieces that I don't wear anymore - and they just fill up my closet, gathering dust. Does anyone else have this problem? How can I be cured?

I think you have to just "pull off the Band-Aid". Unless you have lots of space at your house and it doesn't bother you to store clothing, my advice is let it go. Sell, consign, donate, give to a friend. Like probably many others, I've had -- and still have -- fun chasing down "grails" only to wear them once or twice and moving them to the back of the closet for a year or two. At some point, it's just feels like baggage. Sometimes it's nice to have less stuff that you wear more often. 2¢

p.s. every 6 mo or so I do the Marie Kondo test. try stuff on I haven't worn and see if I still love it. If it's "no", it's out. If it's a "maybe" goes back in until next time I do that.

 

[jet]

Here's the thing, how would you feel letting it go since you can never replace them again? Put yourself in that position and if you can accept you'd be fine then do what Parker suggests.

 

[Benesyed]

Reviving this:

Recently I've been wearing my And Wander fleece jacket almost non stop. Much like the bee cardigan, this jacket is versatile, comfortable, reliable, and most importantly it has an excellent design. I've loved it so much that I have even thought about getting it in the khaki colorway.

The jacket is a combination of polartec fleece, primaloft insulation and pertex and provides reasonable wind resistance, great warmth (especially with the hood up), and modest rain resistance (although if its a downpour i dont think it would last wear it is fleece and not the pertex. It works well with technical/street fits but is also just a great every day jacket on top of my scrubs, over a tee or sweater.

Its been very well received by the general population. People from my mom, to my streetwear friends, to a few of my attendings have asked about it as the design strikes the perfect balance of being slim yet still padded by using clever paneling.

It has certainly rattled up interest on my part for more and wander products in the future!

 

[Biggskip]

I think you have to just "pull off the Band-Aid". Unless you have lots of space at your house and it doesn't bother you to store clothing, my advice is let it go. Sell, consign, donate, give to a friend. Like probably many others, I've had -- and still have -- fun chasing down "grails" only to wear them once or twice and moving them to the back of the closet for a year or two. At some point, it's just feels like baggage. Sometimes it's nice to have less stuff that you wear more often. 2¢

p.s. every 6 mo or so I do the Marie Kondo test. try stuff on I haven't worn and see if I still love it. If it's "no", it's out. If it's a "maybe" goes back in until next time I do that.

I read this and my first thought was: Stars - They're Just Like Us

 

[Parker]

haha, I have no idea what that means. Is that a reality show? I would defintely watch a Hypebeast/Styleforum/Grailed episode of Hoarders though.

 

[ghdvfddzgzdzg]

I thought this thread needed to be revived so here we are. I wanna talk about this Epaulet belt I bought in 2011, an unfinished bridle leather belt. Here's a product photo from back in the day

and here's my belt now

I have worn it probably half the number of days since I got it in October 2011, and the math on that comes out to 1430 days. I put Obenauf's LP on it every few months. i'm wearing it right now.

 

[1969]

Good to see this thread pop up again, thanks^ I just used Obenauf's LP on a very old LC2 chair last week. Great product.

 

[WBaker]

I feel like this thread is long overdue for a come back, and very relevent thematically given what's going on in the world. Take some time to inventory and appreciate what you have, don't live for the next big purchase.

Here are some of the oldest things in my wardrobe that I've gotten the most use from. Doing this made me realize just how much they'd fallen into my day to day background and how deserving they were of some conscious appreciation.

Robert Geller - Spring 2013 Richard Knit

Spoiler: Slubby Goodness

I've talked about how much I love this piece several times over the last few years, so much so that this is my second one. My first one I had worn so many times even deep cleans couldn't save it. There's something satisfying about reaching the end of a garments usable life without it being caused prematurely by damage, stains, or loss. I've slept in these countless times, worn them on dozens of flights spanning Europe, Japan, and criss-crossing the US. Key elements for travel are the two button total (hardware sucks when traveling because at some point you will sit on/against them or get them caught up on something) plus the wrinkle proof material. 85% acrylic makes for a silky and comfy hand, key for wearing with short sleeve tops. The open weave means this hits the perfect warmth for wearing in air conditioning, or balling up in a bag incase the evening cools down. I'd probably pick up a third.

Robert Geller - Spring 2013 Pajama Shirt

If you've seen one of my fits, odds are this was in the mix. The PJ shirt is oh so versatile, it's gone from being paired with terry house robes to a suit, I've worn it to bed and on stage. Silky 100% tencel, another travel staple, mended at the tailors four or five times over the years. This is a sample piece differing from production in that it has chest pockets, so far as I know I have the only one. I get a kick out of knowing I'll never run into someone wearing exactly the same thing.

Cloak - Fall 2006 Large Hounds Tooth Scarf

I know people champion Cloak quite a bit, but I still feel like it's generally underrated in terms of resell pricing. The quality and details are hard to convey without seeing the garments in person. I paid like $40 for this new with tags the year I joined Style Forum. It's a soft wool intarsia knit with a totally timeless design as well as a grey and brown color pairing that works perfectly with most of my wardrobe. Most wools that I find warm enough are too itchy, this could pass for cashmere. I imagine I'll be wearing this for a very long time to come.

Robert Geller - Spring 2010 Officer Jacket

Spoiler: Patches make the world right again

On paper a belted one button linen jacket might not seem like the most versatile, but this thing makes me feel so cool I make it work whenever possible. I haven't been drinking for about a year, but a drunken incident involving showing off and some monkey bars resulted in a torn armpit. Once upon a time Geller used to include a small fabric swatch with the outwear so patches could be done down the road. I took this to Self Edge in LA and gave them my swatch, never have to worry about repairs with self edge as the stuff always comes back looking better than new. Thanks @kiya, it's great having a place that not only fixes your favorite garments, but takes the time to make choices that means they come out looking like the main character's garment in a feature film. That's the closest comparison I can think of, the patch Self Edge put on my Geller flight pants makes them look straight out of a Sci Fi blockbuster in the best sort of way.

Spoiler: Flight Pants Patch Goodness

One last thing,
Margiela - 2015 Sailor "Briefcase" Bag

Paid retail for this at the Margiela boutique in LA. Haven't seen another since. This just feels like it was custom made for me, the odd pairing of warm tan and stone grey leather, the thick padded handles as I hate using shoulder straps, and the multiple D rings for clipping keys and sunglass cases to. The leather is super high quality and everything about it just feels substantial. I use it for carting everything that doesn't go better in a backpack.

◈​

Curious to hear about the garments of the past couple years that other posters would never part with! I wanna see patches, sunfaded fabric, and one of kind garments, stuff I can't just go out and buy.

 

[1969]

A recent read, which made me think of this thread. I picked this up after taking an interest in mingei art, thanks to Terry Ellis' Instagram posts. Would recommend if you're interested in this thread, not just for the 'less is more' ideas but also just a good discussion of the history of the philosohy and the material aesthetics.

 

[GoldenTribe]

I remember this thread fondly, and I'm surprised it didn't get more attention during (peak) lockdown.

 

[WBaker]

The first 20 or so pages of this thread give me some seriously good nostalgia. I was reading this around the same time I started to hone in on what I wanted to get out of my clothes. This is were I basically formed (stole) a lot of my thoughts on how to move away from the fleeting joy of the next impulse buy and toward re-falling in love with garments that have become the fixtures of my every day life. I've definitely strayed from time to time, but I keep coming back to the truths I found here. I've tried to get this going again a few times, will probably try again shortly.