The Mystery Of The Henley: What Is Its Appeal??

[raginberriodoom]

^^^i would say no. showing the placket under the vneck sweaters just looks wrong in my imagination.

 

[Robert]

Five damned pages to the Henley. Who'd have thunk it.

 

[cmrocks]

I've always thought henleys look better if you have a decent build.

 

[allcapitan]

^^Well, everything looks better when you're in shape, but the henley is unforgiving.

 

[tagutcow]

Originally Posted by KaiserSose

I really don't know why you post in the streetwear forum. Pretty much everyone of your posts indicate your views are aligned in a pretty strict sense with the men's forum. Also, you represent your location very well.
I don't know if the last sentence was meant ironically, but Asheville is the biggest epicenter of sloppy hippieshness this side of Portland. Alsotoo: crack. I'm glad that this thread is confirming my own feelings, namely that a henley has to strike a balance between extremes. I agree with Chrono that Dexter's henley is too tight and looks like thermal underwear. I'm guessing it's AA. For some reason, short narrow plackets remind me of kids's pajamas. On the other hand, overly long, wide plackets seem poncey and fantastical to me, like something Chris Dane Owens would wear. Somewhere in between you hit the functional/masculine sweet spot. I have two henleys, one from Topman, the other from RLPL. I'm not totally satisfied with either, but then I paid about $15 each for them. Until I see the henley that matches up with my Platonic ideal of what a henley should be, I'm not gonna be laying out major money for one. Alt.A eco-heather henleys seem nice too, though.

 

[VictorC]

Im after 5 henleys for each day of the week. What are the 5 colours i need to get? The colours rowers would wear in henley on thames in their rowing boats.

 

[cancel.sing]

I like henleys.

 

[DLester]

I have a black MMM henley with MOP buttons. I will post a photo later so you can rip on it.

I see that SF now needs two henley threads to meet the overwhelming demand for henley information.

 

[Robert]

Originally Posted by tagutcow

I don't know if the last sentence was meant ironically, but Asheville is the biggest epicenter of sloppy hippieshness this side of Portland. Alsotoo: crack.

.


He and I conversed about this. As I mentioned to him, I'm on the fringe here, i.e., weird, because I don't dress sloppy bohemian/hippy, but quite the opposite. So in this supposedly open-minded town, I am often judged by my appearance just because I happen to prefer chinos, desert boots, and buttondowns and polos instead of grungy tie-dyes and bell bottom jeans. Also doesn't help that my hair is about 1/8 inch long as opposed to the prevalent dreadlocks.

Asheville is beautiful but weird.

 

[stylo 9000]

Originally Posted by wagthesam

They look like undergarnments.

Has anyone tried layering henleys under v neck sweaters? I've been considering this. Does it look good?

if you look a couple pages back to my first post you'll see cheapmutha layering a henley under a military button sweater, which looks quite good. i can't really see henley + v-neck as a great look, but hey, try it out.

 

[jammasterjoejoe]

Originally Posted by PattyC

I've got two deep placket henleys, is wearing a t shirt underneath them alright? Or should I just button them up leaving one button undone? Also does anyone know where I can grab a henley similair to this design?

Thats from BDG, the urban outfitters brand...I think I have that same shirt but I got it like 2 or 3 years ago so I don't know if it will be released again or not...

 

[Man Of The Cloth]

Brad Pitt may wear a henley well, since he has mesomorphic movie-star proportions (not to mention other premium pieces of apparel to layer with the shirt); but as mentioned above, the henley is unforgiving: a skinny frame will look more skinny; a chunky frame will look more chunky. Most critically, the neck is not framed well in a henley, and neck shapes outside of perfect mesomorphic ones will be hilighted to their detriment.

For the same reason the henley is a difficult piece to wear well (viz., how it reveals chest, shoulder, and neck proportions), it excels at displaying a fit and balanced body shape. Hence, the henley's move in the public eye from army undershirt to iconic old-school muscle shirt.

If that's the look you're aiming at, I'd much prefer a close, not skin-tight, fit -- letting the suppleness of the jersey fabric (rather than elastic tension) show the shape of the upper torso it's resting upon, and drape more loosely around the midriff. This embraces the sense of ease and movement that are part of that iconic masculine look. (The Dexter pics: too tight = tense, desperate to show off the body)