The Official Dieworkwear Appreciation Thread

[MichaelPemulis]

Got the new one in Olive. Got both the parka and the Bal in XL, which is pretty much true to size, maybe a bit on the large side of TTS (I go between XL and XXL generally). I was worried about the Bal having short arms, and they are maybe a bit short, but not enough that anyone would notice (not a “big guy in a little coat” situation).

 

[MichaelPemulis]

And I ordered through KB because I was getting weird glitches on phone when trying to order direct through Frizmworks. Figured I would go with tried and tested. Also was considering having the proxy take accurate measurements with the garment in hand to make sure of fit, but didn’t end up doing that.

 

[Octobab]

And I ordered through KB because I was getting weird glitches on phone when trying to order direct through Frizmworks. Figured I would go with tried and tested. Also was considering having the proxy take accurate measurements with the garment in hand to make sure of fit, but didn’t end up doing that.

Same here, the promise of 'free international' shipping kept me trying long past when I should have given up, and then the Bal sold out

Guess there's next year...

 

[zissou]

my frizmworks order just got here from koreanbuddy, and I have to say the Karakoram is really amazing. I also grabbed one of the balmacaans, and it too is great. sleeves don't seem to be insanely short, I am 6'3 and about 240 and the sleeves hit right at my wrist. both are perfect, and all-in was less than $500. also highly recommend KB, as Zissou said, it was easy and fast.

Yaaaaasss. Welcome to Club Karakoram.

 

[Psyko]

Got the new one in Olive. Got both the parka and the Bal in XL, which is pretty much true to size, maybe a bit on the large side of TTS (I go between XL and XXL generally). I was worried about the Bal having short arms, and they are maybe a bit short, but not enough that anyone would notice (not a “big guy in a little coat” situation).

Some pics would be really appreciated, if you're comfortable with posting pics online.

 

[dieworkwear]

Please post pics of your bals

 

[hoodog]

Please post pics of your bals

I see what you did there...

 

[karmaguy]

Derek, are you going to review that new “Black Ivy” book by Jason Jules?

 

[dieworkwear]

Derek, are you going to review that new “Black Ivy” book by Jason Jules?

They sent me a review copy, and I tried getting an interview. Jason was open to it in the beginning, and then we had some scheduling problems. I'm a little cautious about doing an interview after so many outlets have already published something. I was planning to do a Q&A with him to discuss race and Ivy style clothing, however, and discuss some of the images in the book. But if we did something now, it would take me a couple of weeks to transcribe and edit, and then it would be out by the end of the month. At which point, I don't know if this becomes old news given how things move online.

 

[karmaguy]

They sent me a review copy, and I tried getting an interview. Jason was open to it in the beginning, and then we had some scheduling problems. I'm a little cautious about doing an interview after so many outlets have already published something. I was planning to do a Q&A with him to discuss race and Ivy style clothing, however, and discuss some of the images in the book. But if we did something now, it would take me a couple of weeks to transcribe and edit, and then it would be out by the end of the month. At which point, I don't know if this becomes old news given how things move online.

ahh okay good to know. would you say it’s worth ordering? It looks excellent but I was curious what you thought of it is all.

 

[dieworkwear]

ahh okay good to know. would you say it’s worth ordering? It looks excellent but I was curious what you thought of it is all.

I think it depends on what you want to get out of the book. Most fashion books are either aimed at a general audience or an academic audience. General audience books typically have an equal mix of photos and text. The photos are carefully selected to give the reader some style inspiration, and the text is written to accompany those photos. You won't find a lot of hard theory in those books, but they're not really meant to be that kind of book.

Academic books have very few photos, and the few photos inside aren't necessarily aimed to give you style inspiration. They're more aimed to support the author's thesis. These books are much more text-heavy and they're dealing with concepts. Monica Miller's Slaves to Fashion is a good book if you want to read about how clothes and styling have been used to create Black identities in the diaspora. It's not necessarily about Black Ivy, but the concepts and ideas in there can be applied to this specific section of Black dress that Jason covers.

Many books have already been written about how race and identity intersect with clothing. But they are sometimes dense and very academic, which isn't something that everyone is looking for when they read a book. I feel like there are two very different types of audiences when it comes to this market: people who pick up books because they want to dress better, and then people who are dealing with some academic concept. Often, the people who write academic books are not particularly interested in dressing well. Clothing even might be secondary to another interest (race, class, politics, etc).

If you already have a small library of clothing-related books, you may find that you gravitate towards one style of book over the other. That will probably give you a good idea of whether you'll like this book.

 

[d4nimal]

And I ordered through KB because I was getting weird glitches on phone when trying to order direct through Frizmworks. Figured I would go with tried and tested. Also was considering having the proxy take accurate measurements with the garment in hand to make sure of fit, but didn’t end up doing that.

Is the olive parka as shiny as they make it look in their lookbooks? I was hoping for something that felt like a vintage Karakoram but couldn't tell if the newer ones gave off more modern vibes.

 

[MichaelPemulis]

The olive definitely has a bit of a sheen to it in person. I wouldn’t say it’s “shiny” but it also isn’t just like OD cotton like you’d find on a vintage army jacket.

 

[d4nimal]

The olive definitely has a bit of a sheen to it in person. I wouldn’t say it’s “shiny” but it also isn’t just like OD cotton like you’d find on a vintage army jacket.

Thanks, good to know!

 

[mak1277]

I think it depends on what you want to get out of the book. Most fashion books are either aimed at a general audience or an academic audience. General audience books typically have an equal mix of photos and text. The photos are carefully selected to give the reader some style inspiration, and the text is written to accompany those photos. You won't find a lot of hard theory in those books, but they're not really meant to be that kind of book.

Academic books have very few photos, and the few photos inside aren't necessarily aimed to give you style inspiration. They're more aimed to support the author's thesis. These books are much more text-heavy and they're dealing with concepts. Monica Miller's Slaves to Fashion is a good book if you want to read about how clothes and styling have been used to create Black identities in the diaspora. It's not necessarily about Black Ivy, but the concepts and ideas in there can be applied to this specific section of Black dress that Jason covers.

Many books have already been written about how race and identity intersect with clothing. But they are sometimes dense and very academic, which isn't something that everyone is looking for when they read a book. I feel like there are two very different types of audiences when it comes to this market: people who pick up books because they want to dress better, and then people who are dealing with some academic concept. Often, the people who write academic books are not particularly interested in dressing well. Clothing even might be secondary to another interest (race, class, politics, etc).

If you already have a small library of clothing-related books, you may find that you gravitate towards one style of book over the other. That will probably give you a good idea of whether you'll like this book.

You wrote all that but I don’t see the punch line…which type of book is this?