The OneShirt: A Phoenix from the Ashes [4/24/13 UPDATE: A SHIRTMAKER, AN ENGLISHMAN, CHAMBRAY, AND F

[Manton]

foo is the new me

 

[TheFoo]



@ :foo:, not joking at all. All of the shirts from your pattern matching post on TITC are from Anna, correct? Love them.

Isn't the answer to apply your customary form of determination and locate the most hard-wearing yet comfortable cloth you can find and have her work up some shirts from that?

The cut of the shirts is phenomenal and borders on art. However, the quality of workmanship and level of product declined rapidly after my first order. I will not use them again unless they want to go way out of their way to fix the situation, which I'm sure they will not.

 

[Eustace Tilley]

Perhaps I missed it earlier in the thread, but what is the source of your recent discontent with AM?

Btw, you seem to still love Rubi - why not just get shirts from him?

 

[TheFoo]



foo is the new me

Does that mean I will start growing taller?

 

[TheFoo]



Perhaps I missed it earlier in the thread, but what is the source of your recent discontent with AM? Btw, you seem to still love Rubi - why not just get shirts from him?

See above for what happened with Matuozzo. They downgraded my shirts while charging me the same, higher price. Then they went AWOL on me.

Rubinacci has never done me wrong and has, in fact, bent over backwards to keep me happy. I don't buy their shirts because they don't have enough handwork to justify the expense in my book. I'd rather spend significantly less money on a local shirtmaker who has already got my pattern right and works with great fabric.

 

[Manton]



Does that mean I will start growing taller?

It means you are now Horatius at the Bridge, defending sartorial rationality alone against the Etruscans. While I am sunning myself by the Tiber.

 

[Mute]



Yes, true. But what is more daring? Committing to a bold, carefully considered strategy, or trying a bit of everything in a haphazard manner? The latter is the common practice amongst men when it comes to clothes, and most men are not commendable for their style. That should be fairly instructive.

The latter is a result of ignorance as much as it is poor taste, if not more so. The only true instruction from that is, one should gain some knowledge to assist in their experimentation, not your conclusion which, let's just say it, is boring. If one were of the opinion that white was the go to (no, that's not my conclusion), would you still call it bold?

 

[clapeyron]

Hi Foo, if you want I can take and upload some pictures of my 'Oneshirt' design.

While I don't limit myself to just one fabric, I pretty much stuck with one design with all my shirts after developing my so called 'Über-Hemd'.

1. Semi spread, tall collar with long points.
2. Relaxed, comfortable fit (I'm wearing a jacket most of the time anyways)
3. Narrow placket
4. Back darts (not really necessary since it's bespoke anyway, but I like how they accentuate my otherwise shapeless body)
4.b Double back pleats on heavier fabric (e.g. oxford, royal oxford, linen)
5. Right now I still have gauntlet buttons with all my shirts, but you made me think and I'm considering now to pass on them in the future. I have rather long lower arms so I will see how that will affect the fit.
6. Cuffs and collar without fusing.
7. convertible barrel/single french cuff with cut corners on my dressier fabrics, and convertible barrel round cut cuffs on my casual shirts.

I'm not sure whether the way I solved my cuff dilemma will amaze or disgust you but I hope it will at the very least amuse you.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

First of all, your use of the word "safest" is pejorative. I think blue is, overall, the best shirt color. To whatever extent that makes it "safe" is a completely ancillary consideration and symptomatic of it being the "best." I think it takes taste, education, talent, discipline, etc., to think clearly about aesthetics. The reason why most shy away from what is "safe" has nothing to do with having a courageous spirit. It's actually a combination of changeability and weak self-confidence. True style is enduring, not temperamental. It is about the choices we make and how we make them, not avoiding them altogether. If you ever want to be stylish, and you are a man capable of it, then you will doubtlessly wind up with your own "uniform." This has been true of all the greats. The proof is in the fact each had a coherent, recognizable manner of dressing.

Blue is safe. That's only pejorative if you think being bold is a virtue, and such boldness is only a virtue if it exceeds what can be done safely - which it can, but that is not what you are aiming at. Safety in this context is the highest application of the 'rules' of style. You really don't need to prove yourself beyond this, although you seem to feel the need to demonstrate it and at the same time to condemn 'boldness' with unequivocally pejorative terms like 'weak self-confidence'. You don't need to do that. You don't need to make implications of the character of others who might make different choices than you. Indeed, I would argue that true self-confidence comes from never feeling the need to belittle another person (even a notional 'other') in order to justify what you do. So just get your shirts. Wear them with confidence. Be safe, be coherent and be an example.

 

[TheFoo]



The latter is a result of ignorance as much as it is poor taste, if not more so. The only true instruction from that is, one should gain some knowledge to assist in their experimentation, not your conclusion which, let's just say it, is boring. If one were of the opinion that white was the go to (no, that's not my conclusion), would you still call it bold?

What is the purpose of experimentation if not to find an answer? I'd say nothing. What is the value of experimentation for experimentation's sake alone? I'd say zero. Name a man of great style. Whoever you can come up with, he will be a man who found answers and then expressed them. He will not be one who ceaselessly experimented. If he had, he'd have no recognizable style to begin with.

I'm glad my shirt choices are boring to you. They should be. No man is stylish on account of exciting or shocking choices. Such choices are so remarkably easy to make that the vast majority of this forum engages in the practice. Well, the results speak for themselves. Style is achieved by making good, considered choices and executing them well. I want to be stylish, not receive comments on the shirt I'm wearing.

 

[TheFoo]



Blue is safe. That's only pejorative if you think being bold is a virtue, and such boldness is only a virtue if it exceeds what can be done safely - which it can, but that is not what you are aiming at. Safety in this context is the highest application of the 'rules' of style.

It's pejorative in his usage, as he considers it a negative. I have no problem with "safe" myself and would never hold it against someone else. The only thing that matters is whether something is "good," and that is a separate question.

You really don't need to prove yourself beyond this, although you seem to feel the need to demonstrate it and at the same time to condemn 'boldness' with unequivocally pejorative terms like 'weak self-confidence'. You don't need to do that. You don't need to make implications of the character of others who might make different choices than you. Indeed, I would argue that true self-confidence comes from never feeling the need to belittle another person (even a notional 'other') in order to justify what you do. So just get your shirts. Wear them with confidence. Be safe, be coherent and be an example.

Ah, but you must consider character when it comes to style. The latter derives from the former. We don't discuss it enough, actually. Instead, we focus on what to kop. To save hurt feelings we converge on idiocy.

 

[TheFoo]



It means you are now Horatius at the Bridge, defending sartorial rationality alone against the Etruscans. While I am sunning myself by the Tiber.

What? Then Rome is totally fucked.

 

[emsf]



I like mine stiff and standing up straight. The soft ones tend to roll as the day wears on.

Really, tell us more...

 

[bertie]



First of all, your use of the word "safest" is pejorative. I think blue is, overall, the best shirt color. To whatever extent that makes it "safe" is a completely ancillary consideration and symptomatic of it being the "best." I think it takes taste, education, talent, discipline, etc., to think clearly about aesthetics. The reason why most shy away from what is "safe" has nothing to do with having a courageous spirit. It's actually a combination of changeability and weak self-confidence. True style is enduring, not temperamental. It is about the choices we make and how we make them, not avoiding them altogether. If you ever want to be stylish, and you are a man capable of it, then you will doubtlessly wind up with your own "uniform."This has been true of all the greatss. The proof is in the fact each had a coherent, recognizable manner of dressing.

Second, I'm very happy with how I dress and personally feel I "exceed well-dressed." But that's just me.

Your don't have to pursuade me that you are absolutely, 100% confident in your position: that is self-evident from your rhetoric. Nor do you have to pursuade me that you are well qualified to take up the mantle of defender of sartoriale excellence. I have no doubt you possess the taste, education, talent and discipline, etc. to both make such important sartorial decisions as well explain them to others.

I am merely questioning your position on uniformity as boldness. A bold strategy is something unexpected. Wearing the same thing is kind of the opposite of unexpected.

The greats sometimes had their own uniform but they are generally revered for their legacy of clothing choices and because they are widely seen to be able to dress for the occasion. Grant was known for his grey on grey suit/tie but any google search returns a rich variety of dress. Astaire is known for black tie and flannel suits but preferred odd jackets. Other than his watch and maybe knit ties as uniform, Agnelli was tidy and conservative.

Your uniform sounds more Tom Ford/Armani in its sameness.

 

[TheFoo]

Boldness has got nothing to do with being unexpected. It has to do with strength and conviction. To the extent it doesn't, it's not what I mean by "bold."

Anyway, a plain blue shirt is like bread before dinner (or rice with dinner, if you come from one of the world's more ancient and enlightened cultures). It is simply the right thing to do and says nothing about whether one is well-dressed or stylish. Le Bernardin serves bread before dinner. Does that make it sound like TGIF or Olive Garden to you?