whnay.'s good taste thread

[james_timothy]

Spoiler: edmorel's

[quote name=edmorel]

[/quote]

Edmorel at 144

Macro comment to the gallery. This is an example of a common Italian look that one does not see much outside the upper and professional classes in Italy and to a lesser extent France. The hallmarks are: 1) a tweedish but soft and smooth jacket, i.e., more surface interest than a worsted but much less than a Shetland or Harris; 2) a spread collar broadcloth shirt; 3) nearly always a solid navy tie, either grenadine or knit; 5) gray pants (yes I realize he is not always wearing gray pants).

The point is, this is different than what Americans and English dressers are used to. In America we would tend to wear shirts like that only with suits and we would wear BD collars in oxford cloth or something textured with a jacket. In England, they would either wear a suit or a really countrified jacket but they would find these neither fish nor fowl. In America the ties would tend to be repp or maybe madder and in England wool for the cooler months. But what Ed is doing is very “Continental.”

I'm way behind, but loving it. This is great- I'm learning things on SF/MC again. Thanks for writing, Manton.

 

[Manton]

I think this thread, like Nietzsche's books, should be interrupted occasionally by seemingly random aphorisms. E.g.:

If you have ever worn or considered wearing a yellow tie with a white shirt, you do not have good taste.

Try this Italian classic: wear a very light suit with a very dark tie, or a very dark suit with a very light tie.

Your shirt should never be darker than your tie, except in the case of French blue with light gray, pale yellow or taupe.

 

[Eustace Tilley]

ET@244 cannot tell much, it’s probably pretty good. Suit looks very A&Sy. That ain’t from Naples.

Thanks. Interesting story behind the suit - its made under Raph's label, but this is when he was out sick (in mid-2010). Shattuck filled in as a favor, re-measured me and cut the suit, but all the fittings, save the final, were conducted by Raph's head tailor, Tony. Raph came in at the very end, still weak from his injury, to ensure everything was up to his standard.

Came out quite nicely in the end.

 

[Mr. Moo]

Thanks for the info/comments/tips, Manton and others.

A few more:

Did someone say solid burgundy square?

 

[whnay.]

One step forward, 80 steps back Moo.

#1 - Tie = yes, jacket = maybe, shirt and pocket square = toss. This is a good example of failing to make texture harmonious.

#2 - Boring but good, the square is misplaced.

#3 - WTF

 

[Eustace Tilley]

#2 is good, #3 is awful!

 

[Mr. Moo]

Yeah, these are some older photos... I can definitely seem room for improvement.

 

[Manton]

moo, re #1, I get the feeling from this and other pics that when you grab a suit/jacket with multiple colors, you think "I must find a tie that exactly matches one of those colors." Stop it. Looks garanimally. Otherwise, no disaster here but it's not great taste. The coat fabric I would classify as the same kind of "Italian Bergdorf Luxe" that I think is too common in high end clothes today. It looks expensive but it has very little character.

Second is quite good, tuck in the square.

Everything about the third is wretched.

 

[gazman70k]



I want to like it but I need to see a clearer depiction of the pattern.

 

[ColdEyedPugilist]

For some idea of texture: Suit is the same lighter-than-navy sharkskin, shirt is a two-fold 120 white oxford, bow tie is silk and square is cotton.



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Boring as heck but I was in a soporific mood...

 

[Manton]

Oh, sorry, no. In a much larger scale with some fuzz, that might make a nice jacket, though.

 

[edmorel]

Not that it matters but I don't like that fabric, it seems to be one of those not quite a jacketing, too much for suiting cloths.

 

[in stitches]



Stitchy@243
Ohhhhh god. This is tough love. No reason to lie to you.
So many things. Macro first. The cuts are all bad. From what I can tell they are boxy and columnar. The last closes way too high. Your ties are complete ****. Except for the last one which is really, really nice. Keep that one and cherish it. Your ability to combine colors is … non-existent. Either you go for a straight-up garanimals match or you strike some wildly discordant note.
1. Way too matchy. The white shirt is a disaster. I think we need a thread on how and how not to wear a white shirt. But that is a don’t. White with a fuzzy flannel and purple is just no. The tie matching the check is chessy.
2. Wretched ******* tie. Toss immediately. As a suit, the color of that coat is nice, as a jacket it sucks balls.
3. Burn it all but the shirt. That is the chavviest suit I have seen in weeks.
4. The worst tie of all. Suit color looks decent though.
5. Horribly cut coat, very nice tie.
Sorry stitch, I feel like I just beat up the nicest kid on the playground, I have a little guilt going on.

no need to feel guilty, i knew what i was getting into when i posted that. its really the only way to learn what one is doing right and wrong. i can post for the rest of time in theories (literally, i could do that), but without hard pics of what i actually do, and hearing what is right (almost nothing) and what is wrong (everything else), ill never really learn.

now ill address my questions on your critique.

macro - as i mentioned, i love that SC, so it stays. what color shirt then to wear with it? i have long been a white shirt guy, so i almost always went with one. its only recently i started branching out. so where would you direct me with regards to that SC?

as to cut, since im an OTR guy right now, yes, its hard to find a cut that REALLY works, but i am always trying. i think ill get there someday. i hope.

too bad that i suck at colors, i never really thought that way about myself, but im willing to consider i have been wrong. expect a PM that i sent to whnay earlier about ties, id like your opinion on which to keep and which not.

1. already asked my only question regarding the SC/shirt combo

2. that SC has been discussed in about 4 threads today, no more is necessary, i get the gist. it should be worn daily with all manner of blue office pants..... i keed i keed.

3. ya'll may hate that suit, but it was my only MTM purchase. i dont care if this is totally without class to say, but that chav gear ran me $3300. i aint burin it. gome wear it till as long as i can. a mistake? no doubt. but i cant fathom just chucking it. ill just refrain from posting pics of it, or wearing it when meeting SFers.

4. the suit has been posted before in full, i think the fit is ok. its really a great suit. im really surprised at how that tie is hated here. i thought it was a fine, simple soporific tie. oh well.

5. worst cut coat for my body i ever owned. worn once, and now is on ebay. fantastic kiton cashmere, but utterly unwearable for me. glad you like the tie, i do too.

as to being beat up, ive had far worse on this very site, no need to feel guilty. we are still bros, at least in my book.

 

[Mr. Moo]

Can someone post good and bad version of the "subdued outfit with a pop of color (tie or PS)" look? I always feel that a too bright PS or too bright tie will just look like a beacon of fruity pebbles and ruin the outfit. What's the fine line?

 

[gazman70k]



Can someone post good and bad version of the "subdued outfit with a pop of color (tie or PS)" look? I always feel that a too bright PS or too bright tie will just look like a beacon of fruity pebbles and ruin the outfit. What's the fine line?

And this is how we get to "SF approved" stamp with everyone running around emulating the look.

I say, take the comments with a grain of salt, whether you agree or not, and move on.