The Look goes on...

[Mr Knightley]

They have more 'outré' offerings a la EG (patchwork, color block, etc), but they are all in Uniqlo 'Dry' material (polycotton) that i don't like… They have a slimmer fit.
For the price, material, overall quality, and the label, i think the oversized cotton ones are great value.

Just tried to order one online and it did not go through! In light of your comments probably just as well as I feel I now need to examine them in the flesh when in London.

Going back to the points made by @Yorky and @Thin White Duke , I have always felt the Look is at least sometimes about wearing things that are, historically or in the accepted sense 'wrong'. My old tailor (now retired sadly) used to have a good go at me for wearing brown shoes with navy. It seems wrong but is now accepted at least in certain circles. Adopting penny loafers with shorts was done in my small circle precisely because it was unexpected.

 

[Thin White Duke]

Just tried to order one online and it did not go through! In light of your comments probably just as well as I feel I now need to examine them in the flesh when in London.

Going back to the points made by @Yorky and @Thin White Duke , I have always felt the Look is at least sometimes about wearing things that are, historically or in the accepted sense 'wrong'. My old tailor (now retired sadly) used to have a good go at me for wearing brown shoes with navy. It seems wrong but is now accepted at least in certain circles. Adopting penny loafers with shorts was done in my small circle precisely because it was unexpected.

Well I think back in the day especially people were always looking to push the envelope - with varying results. Barnes mentions the one upmanship, as well as brief trends like bell bottoms and the city gent look that were tried but didn’t catch on so only made a brief appearance, whereas other attempts to stand out like the bowling shoes story gained more traction.
During the revival period we were more about recreating the look from the past so it seemed more important to stay within the cannon and stand out in subtle ways (tie clips, pocket squares) than with reinvention. Plus we were largely clueless teenagers!
Nowadays the options [whether to stay strictly within cannon or be ‘out there’ with experimentation] are limitless with the access we have to the global market.

My previous post was an attempt to paraphrase a series of top drawer posts that the late lamented @voxsartoria made in describing how to achieve success in combining what he called a ‘coherent’ outfit. The descriptors he used were city vs country but could easily be formal vs informal etc. and went a long way towards explaining the ethereal enigma of why some outfits just seem to work and others don’t.
We can experiment by wearing the ‘wrong’ thing and occasionally uncover a great combination or a new trend but more often these experiments are failures. Would Marriot or our Ivy student look better with opera pumps instead of plimsoles and pennies? I doubt it. Why? Because the clash in formality is too jarring. Brown shoes with a navy suit is acceptable to many now but not so for your tailor. It crossed an imaginary line of conventional formality in his aesthetic approach. Same for me when it comes to loafers with shorts!

 

[Clouseau]

Posted a 'fit' of the U x EG polo there:

The What Are You Wearing Today (WAYWT) Discussion Thread, Part II

Airport fit

www.styleforum.net

Definitely street and not mod !

 

[Mr Knightley]

Well I think back in the day especially people were always looking to push the envelope - with varying results. Barnes mentions the one upmanship, as well as brief trends like bell bottoms and the city gent look that were tried but didn’t catch on so only made a brief appearance, whereas other attempts to stand out like the bowling shoes story gained more traction.
During the revival period we were more about recreating the look from the past so it seemed more important to stay within the cannon and stand out in subtle ways (tie clips, pocket squares) than with reinvention. Plus we were largely clueless teenagers!
Nowadays the options [whether to stay strictly within cannon or be ‘out there’ with experimentation] are limitless with the access we have to the global market.

My previous post was an attempt to paraphrase a series of top drawer posts that the late lamented @voxsartoria made in describing how to achieve success in combining what he called a ‘coherent’ outfit. The descriptors he used were city vs country but could easily be formal vs informal etc. and went a long way towards explaining the ethereal enigma of why some outfits just seem to work and others don’t.
We can experiment by wearing the ‘wrong’ thing and occasionally uncover a great combination or a new trend but more often these experiments are failures. Would Marriot or our Ivy student look better with opera pumps instead of plimsoles and pennies? I doubt it. Why? Because the clash in formality is too jarring. Brown shoes with a navy suit is acceptable to many now but not so for your tailor. It crossed an imaginary line of conventional formality in his aesthetic approach. Same for me when it comes to loafers with shorts!

Excellent post @Thin White Duke

What did happen to Vox? I still follow his tumblr feed, which today comprises a great series of images mainly from the second half of the last Century and featuring beautifully dressed men and women.

Turning now to plimsolls, what is their correct place in a modern wardrobe and which should one get?

 

[Mr Knightley]

Posted a 'fit' of the U x EG polo there:

The What Are You Wearing Today (WAYWT) Discussion Thread, Part II

Airport fit

www.styleforum.net

Definitely street and not mod !

It is quite loose-fitting but I like it.

 

[Thin White Duke]

Excellent post @Thin White Duke

What did happen to Vox? I still follow his tumblr feed, which today comprises a great series of images mainly from the second half of the last Century and featuring beautifully dressed men and women.

Turning now to plimsolls, what is their correct place in a modern wardrobe and which should one get?

I dunno exactly why Vox left but he was good value for money and is definitely missed.

As for plimsoles I have no time for them. Too close to the daft gym shoes we wore in the infants when we did ‘music and movement’ in the school hall in our kecks!

Using that ‘trainers with a suit’ thread as a reference, one way to look at things is to ask if there’s a better alternative. In place of plimsoles there are a number of better alternatives. I really like drivers (6 pairs) Gazelles or Stan Smiths ... even your espadrilles. There was a time here on SF when everyone was drooling over Jack Purcells but I try to avoid those pop up trends. Ditto for Supergas. A pair of white Stan Smiths or similar is an infinitely better choice IMO, and by “or similar” I don’t mean those ridiculously priced Common Projects ripoffs which don’t even look as good but seem to be the compulsory igent casual wear option.

I’ve got some navy linen Seavees which look a lot like tamed Vans so I suppose Vans could be an alternative in subdued colours to avoid the geriatric skater look!

 

[Yorky]

They sound great, Inspector. I shall have a look now.

In the meantime, I have worn my made in Portugal FP x GdG Shirt, with a zip-up collar - for the first time for a long time (it has a slim fit and I recently lost a little weight).
View attachment 1186487

View attachment 1186473

Like that FP Mr K, FP have done some nice collaborations over the years, and different variations on the standard polo. I had ironed the top below before reading your post. I decided not to photograph myself wearing it as my skinny white ankles seem to upset certain people. I also have one in white and blue, but would have liked one in a white/green colourway.

 

[Yorky]

I dunno exactly why Vox left but he was good value for money and is definitely missed.

As for plimsoles I have no time for them. Too close to the daft gym shoes we wore in the infants when we did ‘music and movement’ in the school hall in our kecks!

Using that ‘trainers with a suit’ thread as a reference, one way to look at things is to ask if there’s a better alternative. In place of plimsoles there are a number of better alternatives. I really like drivers (6 pairs) Gazelles or Stan Smiths ... even your espadrilles. There was a time here on SF when everyone was drooling over Jack Purcells but I try to avoid those pop up trends. Ditto for Supergas. A pair of white Stan Smiths or similar is an infinitely better choice IMO, and by “or similar” I don’t mean those ridiculously priced Common Projects ripoffs which don’t even look as good but seem to be the compulsory igent casual wear option.

I’ve got some navy linen Seavees which look a lot like tamed Vans so I suppose Vans could be an alternative in subdued colours to avoid the geriatric skater look!

I don't think that Supergas are a pop up trend, I bought my first pair about 28 years ago from Russel and Bromley when it still sold good quality footwear, I still have said pair which are now gardening garb.

 

[Yorky]

“Not having fully lived the lifestyle”?
I have no idea how you come to that conclusion or what it’s supposed to mean in the context of me trying to explain the ‘logic’ behind my opinion.
‘Coherence’ is not a set of rules but is an explanation of why certain combinations of clothes ‘work’ and others don’t. Anyone can choose to accept or reject the idea but you could think of coherence as a way to apply objective reasoning to what is in many ways a subjective way of thinking. “I like that outfit” ... “I don’t like that outfit” - yeah, but why?
As for ‘rules’ - that subject is debated ad nauseum on here. I don’t believe I’m strictly bound by any rules, there are just certain conventions I choose to accept and others I don’t. I suppose we’re all like that in some way. You suggested wearing a tie with a button down. I said no - not because I’m bound by any ‘rule’ about this, I just subjectively think it looks crap. Certain combinations of clothing items cause us to viscerally reject them - in some cases it may just be a subjective reflexive reaction, in others as I stated above there may be some personal logic behind it.
BTW Crombie with jeans and boots never looked good to me - Crombie with chunky brogues and two tone strides looked great. Marriot looks crap in that picture above but I can’t stand canvas plimsoles in any context. Again, aside from my personal prejudice of disliking scruffy cheap looking canvas gym shoes, it looks discordant (i.e. incoherent) to be wearing them with tailored strides. The likes of GQ have been pushing us for some time now to wear shoes like these with suits and there was a long thread about it on CM a few months back but I can’t remember many/any examples of it looking good. YMMV as they say on here.

By living the lifestyle, I mean, experiencing everything that goes with the look. Seeing people who try to push the look but keeping it sensible, going up and down the country to allnighters, weekenders ( staying up all weekend) DJing, dancing, etc etc. Some of the geezers I have met over the years could piss on most of the people who post on some of the style forum threads, they didn't even have to try.
You seem to live an online life, where on another website you seem to have different views to posters, e.g. A Spanish guy who dresses like a grandad and always wears a bad flat cap.

 

[Mr Knightley]

Like that FP Mr K, FP have done some nice collaborations over the years, and different variations on the standard polo. I had ironed the top below before reading your post. I decided not to photograph myself wearing it as my skinny white ankles seem to upset certain people. I also have one in white and blue, but would have liked one in a white/green colourway.

View attachment 1186600

I like that. I can’t quite make out the label on my iPhone - is that a Comme?

 

[Yorky]

I remember just how great the Small Faces looked in their early days (before they discovered drugs) - quite different from any other bands at the time.

Yes, we all have our own take on what I loosely called 'The Look' (for want of a better term). Some of the style references in my wardrobe today definitely owe more to the 1980s than the late 60s. The penny loafer with shorts was a strong look in the late 80s in my area. By then the 'plain man' had started to adopt the more expected Timberlands, so what better way to respond than to wear a combination that is harder to 'get' - even though it may look a little outré

The Small Faces always took drugs even in their typically Mod days. They recorded their first Decca album live on acid but Kenny Jones went for speed.

 

[Yorky]

I like that. I can’t quite make out the label on my iPhone - is that a Comme?

No it's just a bog standard FP from about 6 years ago. The FP outlet shop in York always used to have samples in. I have a madras type patterned monkey jacket, that I bought from there years ago, quite subtle and hardly ever wear it, the shop assistant told me that they had some matching shorts, I just nodded and gave him a steely stare. Now that would have got some comments on here, especially if I wore them with tasseled weejuns!!!?

 

[cerneabbas]

Some interesting opinions and choices on the last few pages,for me
I didn't like the Crombie/jeans/boots look
I do like a plain,light coloured BD with a tie
Plimsolls no
Trainers not any more
Espadrilles no
Baggy polo shirts no
Loafers with shorts no (Moccasin type boat shoes for me)
Music no
Drugs no

 

[Clouseau]

They have more 'outré' offerings a la EG (patchwork, color block, etc), but they are all in Uniqlo 'Dry' material (polycotton) that i don't like… They have a slimmer fit.
For the price, material, overall quality, and the label, i think the oversized cotton ones are great value.

No it's just a bog standard FP from about 6 years ago. The FP outlet shop in York always used to have samples in. I have a madras type patterned monkey jacket, that I bought from there years ago, quite subtle and hardly ever wear it, the shop assistant told me that they had some matching shorts, I just nodded and gave him a steely stare. Now that would have got some comments on here, especially if I wore them with tasseled weejuns!!!?

Two days ago i went to a trendy parisian store, looking for Stan Ray fatigue shorts. They didn't had any in that shop, and one of the youngest salesman showed me a striped/pinstripe (blue and white)awful LEE short, skinny style, telling me it was the same style! i was close to slap him in the face, and just gave him the steely stare and a 'NO !' in a Clouseau voice when he is searching where Kato is hiding.
Fakin'hipsters.

 

[Clouseau]

Some interesting opinions and choices on the last few pages,for me
I didn't like the Crombie/jeans/boots look
I do like a plain,light coloured BD with a tie
Plimsolls no
Trainers not any more
Espadrilles no
Baggy polo shirts no
Loafers with shorts no (Moccasin type boat shoes for me)
Music no
Drugs no

Yes to baggy polo shirts ! They have an advantage when it's hot, you don't feel the same heat than with a fitted one.