What's the silliest thing you do for style's sake?

[PeterMetro]

The messenger bag discusssion piqued my interest, because I'm in the market for a new bag. Unfortunately, all the bags I liked didn't have handles, only a shoulder strap.

I wear a suit every day, and I don't use shoulder straps because it pulls down one shoulder and basically ruins the way it drapes on my frame.

Now I realize that this is a bit silly, but I don't care. I refuse to do it. I'm betting you guys have similar quirks - what are they?

 

[Phil]

same quirk- i refuse to sling a bag over my shoulder when I am wearing a suit. I dont care if the bag weighs 200 pounds. i will drag it along side me if need be.

 

[aybojs]

Two things I can think of, most of them as a result of my college situation:

First off, let me say that I absolutely hate the process of maintaining/cleaning clothes, which is especially irritating when you live in a dorm with a crappy laundry room that's two floors down and constantly requires waiting and competing with other kids for limited washer/dryer space. Even worse is having to handwash or clean out stains, because the only sink is a dank communal bathroom that also requires waiting and competing for space. The vast majority of stains acquired came from various sorts of messy carry out food that I regularly ate (meatball subs, Chinese, pizza, etc). So I eventually got into the habit of coming home with takeout, placing it down at my desk, then changing into an undershirt and gym shorts to eat. Eventually this became my standard habit for any potentially messy activity (room cleaning, laundry, etc). Kinda silly, but it saved me a lot of stress over the shape of my clothes. I almost never had any unexpected visitors to my room, so it's not like I had to worry about being presentable just in case.

Another quirk is that I just hate winter clothes by nature: throwing on 10 layers gets tedious, I hate the way hats look, and scarfs just irritate my skin. So even when it was dead in the middle of winter, the most I'd do is throw a cashmere 3/4 coat (which did the job most of the time anyway) and just suck it up hoping that my walk in the cold wouldn't be too long to bear. Needless to say, I don't plan on living in the east coast once I'm done with school.

 

[dah328]

heh, same deal for me with the bag. Â Also, I purposely wear the pair of shoes least recently polished if it's going to rain. Â Why get a newly-shined pair all wet? Â When going to the gym in the morning and carrying my clothes, I keep the shoe trees in my shoes. Â I always walk on the shaded side of the block (in NYC) to minimize perspiration, but I guess that's more of a comfort thing. Also, I amused a fellow guest at a recent wedding. Â I was wearing my nicest suit and had placed the jacket on the back of a chair strategically chosen to avoid traffic. Â I wouldn't normally have removed my jacket, but it was very hot and humid, and we had to stay outside until the food was served. Â In any case, two other guests decide to sit at the table with my jacket, one of whom was smoking a cigar and flicking ash dangerously close. Â As nonchalantly as I could, I went over and moved the chair holding my jacket as far away from that person as I could. Â Several minutes later, the same guy rested his hand holding the cigar on my jacket. Â I couldn't believe it. Â I immediately went over, took my jacket, and wore it for the rest of the afternoon. Â Granted, clothes are just clothes and shouldn't be obsessed over (too much), but resting one's cigar on some else's jacket is unbelievably ridiculous.

I like nice clothes, but I can't afford to replace them frequently, so I admit to being a bit on the anal side when it comes to taking care of them. Regards, dan

 

[kidkim2]

dah328--

Interesting, readable post.

But I ask again, in a voice that's beginning to crack from mounting frustration and impotent fury, "What in heaven's name possesses you to venture forth without your overshoes?"

Just asking. . . not.

Mike

 

[dah328]

Hmm, now that I've managed to acquire some respectable shoes, I may have to consider that. I cringe at the thought of stepping into a slush puddle. I really don't see many people in NYC wearing overshoes, but then, I don't see very many shoes worth protecting here, either.

dan

 

[PeterMetro]

Also, I purposely wear the pair of shoes least recently polished if it's going to rain.  Why get a newly-shined pair all wet?  

I've been told, and maybe the shoe cognoscenti can weigh in here, that the best time to get your shoes shined is when it starts to rain - it protects your shoes the best.

 

[dah328]

That's true, but it's like waxing your car the day before it rains. It does protect the paint, but the rain will take the edge off the shine.

dan

 

[VMan]

What's the silliest thing I do for style's sake? Wear clothing in the first place.

 

[LA Guy]

Another quirk is that I just hate winter clothes by nature: throwing on 10 layers gets tedious, I hate the way hats look, and scarfs just irritate my skin. So even when it was dead in the middle of winter, the most I'd do is throw a cashmere 3/4 coat (which did the job most of the time anyway) and just suck it up hoping that my walk in the cold wouldn't be too long to bear. Needless to say, I don't plan on living in the east coast once I'm done with school.

Odd for me to say, but I love the rich, warm colors and textures and general weight of winter clothes and rather dislike the lighter colors and flimsy textures of summer clothes.

 

[Phil]

I will tell you why I cant wear overshoes:

Last winter was a miserable one in NYC. I wear suit and tie everyday, and am fairly obsessive about my shoes. I have pairs that I wear in the rain and snow, but I had to be at a very important meeting, and I really needed to look my best. I decided to wear a pair of Totes overshoes. The day was going fine, and I was very happy with them, until I got to the office building where this meeting was to take place. I got to the lobby, signed in, and then realized I HAD NOWHERE to put these slushly, slimy overshoes. The guy at the desk looked at me like I had 10 heads when I asked him to put them behind his desk. I sure as hell wasnt bringing them up to my clients office. I was forced to leave them by the door at the lobby of the office building. When I came back down they were gone ofcourse. first and last time for overshoes.

another quirk - I keep a felt cloth under my desk to give my shoes a quick buff if they get scuffed up.

 

[dah328]

another quirk - I keep a felt cloth under my desk to give my shoes a quick buff if they get scuffed up.

That's a good idea.  I keep a small bottle of club soda in my desk in case I get anything on an item of wool clothing and some of those little stain pretreatment towlettes in case I get anything on a cotton shirt.

dan

 

[aybojs]

another quirk - I keep a felt cloth under my desk to give my shoes a quick buff if they get scuffed up.

That's a good idea. I keep a small bottle of club soda in my desk in case I get anything on an item of wool clothing and some of those little stain pretreatment towlettes in case I get anything on a cotton shirt.

What about the salt... Club soda and salt...

(someone get the reference)

 

[kabert]

Silly: Two pairs of pants have equally beautiful fabric, yet pants A has barely invisible hand-stitching on the pockets and the fly and pants B doesn't. Pants A costs $200; pants B costs $100. I buy pants A.

(This silliness recently came to light when I bought both some Incotex and Borrelli slacks as well as some Hickey-Freeman slacks on EBay. The Italians were in the $150 range and the HFs in the $60 range. I've been quite impressed with the HFs. Very nice fabrics. Good fit. Who cares if there's no hand stitching that no one can see anyway (except someone who spends alot of time staring at your crotch....)).

 

[JohnMS]

One of the silliest things I saw years ago...

I used to work with a guy who was a manager at Florsheim shoes, back when they made good shoes. He had kangaroo leather, calfskin, lots of different styles. At the time I thought his shoes were boring (but back then I knew no better). Wish I could have some of his shoes now.

In any case, we had a covered parking garage about 50 yards from our building. When it would rain, this guy would very calmly and slowly take his shoes and socks off to walk to his car. At the time I thought that was being really silly...now what scares me is that it doesn't seem so silly here 15 years later.

I would never get myself in that situation in that if there is even a hint of rain I wear my older shoes and carry my good shoes in my work building. If I were to be caught in a downpour with only my good shoes, I would have to do some serious thinking...