The Official Dieworkwear Appreciation Thread

[Dadacantona]

Any recs for bucket hats? Looking for something that’s light and not green...

I really like the O’Connell’s bucket hats. Very Jack Lemmon.

O'Connell's Fisherman's Bucket Hat - Khaki

O'Connell's Fisherman's Bucket Hat - Khaki

oconnellsclothing.com

 

[Thethrill]

I think faux distressing gets a bad rap because we associate it with some terrible clothes from the aughts, but I think that some distressing can look good. In particular, I like the look of "repairs," like in the Chimala shirt pictured, and lord knows I don't have the patience to earn that wear and tear authentically.

I think this article is particularly relevant here:

"Can't Wait to See How This Breaks In," Says Man Who Buys New Clothes Every Week

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Sitting in his small one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, Anthony Storres, 34, confirmed Wednesday that he’s...

putthison.com

Afraid to say Derek but your opinions can no longer be trusted on chambray. Pls see exhibit a.

Prosecution rests yr honour.

View attachment 1622253

 

[DavidLane]

I suppose I will just keep wearing my Lands End chambray's until they have holes. I am close on one of them, and for a budget option they are actually quite nice.

-DL

 

[zissou]

I think faux distressing gets a bad rap because we associate it with some terrible clothes from the aughts, but I think that some distressing can look good. In particular, I like the look of "repairs," like in the Chimala shirt pictured, and lord knows I don't have the patience to earn that wear and tear authentically.

I think this article is particularly relevant here:

"Can't Wait to See How This Breaks In," Says Man Who Buys New Clothes Every Week

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Sitting in his small one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, Anthony Storres, 34, confirmed Wednesday that he’s...

putthison.com

I associate it with wasteful water use, nasty chemicals, and taking years off the life of a garment. It takes me about 4ish years to get a chambray to that condition.

 

[scurvyfreedman]

Everyone wants to look like they work in the trades, but don't want to get beat to hell like someone who works in the trades. My grandfather was a UA plumber for decades. His knuckles were permanently swollen decades into retirement. His clothes would get beat to crap, and I mean literally crap. He worked his last few years at a sewage disposal plant. When I was growing up I used to go to my grandparents' house after school. He was about to leave for the swing shift. I remember most of his clothes had patches at the elbows and knees. He'd wear them until they were threadbare. He'd have to take them off in the laundry room each night when he got home because they smelled like sewage. This distressed look-style is a little weird to me b/c of that. Earn your wear and tear.

 

[pwbower]

My "white collar" version of authentic wear would be the holes that reliably appear at my elbows from propping myself up in front of my screen for hours on end.

But yeah, faux distressing is definitely a pose. Whether or not it's distasteful ... eh. I mean it's not like "blue collar" folks don't wear distressed clothes too.

 

[dieworkwear]

Is it any more of a pose than guys who dress up like Italian industrialists, Ivy academics, and blue-blooded WASPs while not having any authentic connection to those cultures?

 

[Peter1]

I suppose I will just keep wearing my Lands End chambray's until they have holes. I am close on one of them, and for a budget option they are actually quite nice.

View attachment 1622365
-DL

They are, actually. I had one about a decade ago that cost $35 and lasted a couple of years before the elbows blew out, but I have pointy elbows.

 

[mak1277]

They are, actually. I had one about a decade ago that cost $35 and lasted a couple of years before the elbows blew out, but I have pointy elbows.

I always thought elbow blowouts were cause by sleeves being too short.

 

[Mercurio]

My old distressed western shirt...

 

[UrbanComposition]

Everyone wants to look like they work in the trades, but don't want to get beat to hell like someone who works in the trades. My grandfather was a UA plumber for decades. His knuckles were permanently swollen decades into retirement. His clothes would get beat to crap, and I mean literally crap. He worked his last few years at a sewage disposal plant. When I was growing up I used to go to my grandparents' house after school. He was about to leave for the swing shift. I remember most of his clothes had patches at the elbows and knees. He'd wear them until they were threadbare. He'd have to take them off in the laundry room each night when he got home because they smelled like sewage. This distressed look-style is a little weird to me b/c of that. Earn your wear and tear.

I’m a union electrician, and I don’t care. Why do you? Real question.

 

[stdavidshead]

Is it any more of a pose than guys who dress up like Italian industrialists, Ivy academics, and blue-blooded WASPs while not having any authentic connection to those cultures?

Aren't both "poses" a little silly?

 

[polyfusion]

what have I done

 

[UrbanComposition]

Dudes who were into hotrods in the 50s wore motorcycle jackets even though their vehicle had four wheels. Pete Townsend from The Who wore coveralls in the 60s even though the only instrument he used was a guitar. Western wear was popular in the 70s even though most had never been outside a city. Skate, basketball, and running shoes are worn grocery shopping. And so on.

As fashion is recycled over and over through the decades, the separation between a garment’s original purpose and the wearer increases. By now every style in modern history is available on a Pinterest board, and people can order clothes online, because it speaks to them and their personality.

If someone wants to wear something from a different social subculture they think is cool, who cares? I really don’t see an issue.

 

[dieworkwear]

Aren't both "poses" a little silly?

I suppose it depends on whether you want your clothes to reflect some kind of true inner self. And how you think of the concept of a true inner self. I personally don't have a problem with people playing "dress up," so long as they don't affect some kind of phony persona.

I also think that people are complex and have different identities. To the degree there's some true inner self, I think it's more about your personality, temperament, mental state, etc. There's a British documentary called Up, where two filmmakers track fourteen people over a period of something like 56 years -- nine episodes, each spanning 7 years apart -- and you can see how people's personalities remain remarkably consistent. To the degree there's a true self, I think that's probably more meaningful.

The other stuff seems really superficial and complex to me. Do you fancy yourself as a rugged guy, intellectual guy, outdoorsy guy, etc? People have all these things in them, mixed in with reality and aspiration, and they can reveal/ hide them as necessary in different social circumstances. You can dress in ways that reveal your actual activities or just some idealized version of yourself.