When did we lose it?

[GBR]

Blame it upon the constant search for low prices. There is none worse than here with so many wanting advice on cheap suits and how to buy them online etc without much concern for the quality other than how it looks.

More and more new posters are arriving here and have no wish to understand the better points of creating a decent garment. The rot set in about 12 months ago with the increasingly commercial approach of the place.

 

[deveandepot1]



Canvassed vs. fused.
Welted vs. cemented.
Split waistband vs. "jean construction"
These are all distinctions that our fathers' fathers new quite well, but almost noone today has any knowledge of them. Now, everyone I know seems to think $50 will buy you an amazing pair of trousers and $120 will fetch you the finest shoes how can own. We seem to have lost knowledge and interest in a very short amount of time.
As a young person who can't remember it happening, I want to ask: When, and how, did it happen?

Well, 95% of Americans don't even need to wear a tie to work. If you only wear a suit 3 or 4 times a year for funerals, weddings, and job interviews it would be silly spending time learning about the quality of fine men's clothing.

 

[OinkBoink]

Blame it upon the constant search for low prices. There is none worse than here with so many wanting advice on cheap suits and how to buy them online etc without much concern for the quality other than how it looks.
More and more new posters are arriving here and have no wish to understand the better points of creating a decent garment. The rot set in about 12 months ago with the increasingly commercial approach of the place.

I resemble that remark. I've asked a few questions about lower-priced suits. I've never owned an "expensive" suit (always in the $500 range from Macys or Bloomingdales or whatever) as I never had a need to, having worked in a casual industry. But now that I work in asset management (and I'm working on an MBA part-time), I have a greater need for some better suits here and there, but also some "beaters" for MBA-related events.

That said, I'm waiting on my first ever MTM suit to come in. I learned a lot about what elements of quality to look for by lurking on this forum. I really had no idea that there was so much to consider and I appreciate this board's more sophisticated members' sometimes disturbingly extensive knowledge on the subject.

I don't think there's a problem with "cheap" as long as it yields a good "value". Sometimes it does. Often it doesn't. But expensive doesn't necessarily mean high quality. It could just mean operational inefficiency.

 

[F. Corbera]

All of you, quit your bellyaching.

Just keep in mind that in the golden past imagined by the OP, there were no Iroh's Guides.

 

[celery]



Blame it upon the constant search for low prices. There is none worse than here with so many wanting advice on cheap suits and how to buy them online etc without much concern for the quality other than how it looks.
More and more new posters are arriving here and have no wish to understand the better points of creating a decent garment. The rot set in about 12 months ago with the increasingly commercial approach of the place.

This.

Capitalism and marketing. Capitalism doesn't mean the best products rise to the top, it means the businesses in the best position to compete rise to the top. And who can forget how expertly marketing has evolved, they sell ideas, concepts, lifestyles rather than the products. Axe deodorant has brilliant commercials, but it's horrid.

Of course there's the deal hunting that's becoming more and more pervasive. If you want everything produced for as little as possible, and you want to pay next to nothing to get it, then what do you expect? Go pay full price and show some support.

 

[F. Corbera]



This.
Capitalism and marketing.

This rings true since there was very little capitalism or marketing in the past.

 

[F. Corbera]



Well, 95% of Americans don't even need to wear a tie to work.

Actually, through the StyleForvm process of dialectic, the number that was established is 99%.

 

[thegreatgatsby]

What is so unfortunate about the occasional snobbery on this board is that it manifests itself in illogial, nonsensical ways.

To suggest that you need to have the knowledge of a Savile Row tailor or a tradesman from Napoli to "purchase" or "appreciate" a suit is preposterous.

I don't have to know the inner-workings of an Aston Martin to enjoy the ride.

StyleForum continues to be an excellent resource for a lot of us (even us "new" posters).

Moreover, even the most high-minded sartorialists on this board like to get good deals. Please don't suggest otherwise.

 

[F. Corbera]



Canvassed vs. fused.
Welted vs. cemented.
Split waistband vs. "jean construction"
These are all distinctions that our fathers' fathers new quite well, but almost noone today has any knowledge of them.

It is a heavy burden today to be a tailor's grandson.

 

[F. Corbera]



What is so unfortunate about the occasional snobbery on this board is that it manifests itself in illogial, nonsensical ways.

StyleForvm was at its best when snobbery was more than occasional.

 

[thegreatgatsby]



StyleForvm was at its best when snobbery was more than occasional.

-1

 

[F. Corbera]



I'd argue part of it is that the inferior construction methods have gotten better over the past few decades.

It is implicit in the word "inferior" that it gets better over time.

 

[Superfluous]

at age 17

 

[F. Corbera]



-1

+1

 

[F. Corbera]



Addendum: Seriously, though: Probably in the cheapo '70s, things started on their long decline, with things bottoming out in the early '90s.

The good news that is the main take-away from the Mens Clothing forum is that the bottom lies ahead.