Why did you do it?

[BDC2823]

So what got you interested in stylish clothing? For me it was a couple years ago when I stared at my wardrobe and realized that I didn't really like what I saw and it was time to do a wardrobe makeover. So i decided to hit up Al Gore's beautiful invention...the internet. Did some research and came across this site. As with everything I become interested in, the more knowledgeable I become, the more invested I became in it and the more I started looking at the best that there was to offer. This forum has helped immensely. So now I wear clothes I never knew existed 2 years ago and I'll buy a dress shirt for $200 and think that I got a steal when 2 years ago I woulda thought I was crazy for spending that on just a shirt. So what was it that peaked your interest in the Kiton, Isaia, Brioni, C&J's, Lobbs, AE's, etc... (stylish and high end clothing) of the world?

 

[rjakapeanut]

Well a friend of mine told me about this forum. Warren G. We've been best friends for years and we seem to do the same things together. We're a bit older now but back when we were younger we always had similar hobbies and things like that. Once he found styleforum, he showed me and now we do it together.

I never realized how poorly I dressed until I came to styleforum. When you spend all of your life wearing clothes that don't fit you at all, then you come here and get even something simple like a well fitting t shirt or dress shirt...its huge. The difference is huge, this forum has really helped me.

Btw my family always rides me about how much I spend on clothes. $300 for jeans? $500 for dress shoes? Maybe a year ago I wouldve said the same thing...

 

[Zenny]

When I got my first suit tailored, my tailor gave me a book of style tips (discreetly), he told me to look over it and decide what I wanted in a suit; because I had walked in and said "I want that *points to a suit*". I talked to my tailor and he showed me various style blogs and GQs Style Guy, and from then on I was hooked. I was 16 at the time.

 

[j]

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[bluemax]

I don't remember how it happened but one day I just came to the realization that I'm in my mid twenties and was dressing like an immature slob, so I decided to update my wardrobe with more mature and classy clothing.

For me, finding this forum was like discovering the Matrix, and all its poorly dressed people. When I first joined I'd been dressing like an AmJack stereotype and thought all the shoes in the shoe p0rn thread were ugly old man shoes. Used to think $100 shoes were "expensive". Now just a couple months later I'm wearing A-E's and can't stand rubber-soled square-toed shoes. Go figure.

 

[Spilotro]

I was tired of looking like a redneck slob.

 

[Eagle]

As a youngster, I caught a lot of teasing for wearing secondhand and hand-me-down clothes. During my early teen years, I was working part-time jobs and used a good bit of what I earned to start buying my own clothes. Perhaps over reacting, just a bit, my choices were largely of the "preppy" or "Ivy" ilk, a style preference that has continued throughout my life.

 

[AntiHero84]

I guess I've always been interested in style. Around the age 12, I became fascinated with ska music. The clothes the rudeboys and skinheads wore were amazing. I remember thinking how incredible popular musicians would actually wear suits. In trying to imitate the look, I begged my parents for a pair of steel toed Doc Martens. Not soon afterwards, my tastes gravitated toward punk rock. There remained a strong emphasis on style, just a different way to present yourself. Your jeans had to be tight, the jacket had to be studded a certain way, you either wore boots, creepers, or chucks. As I progressed past this stage, I entered into the dreaded lazy college slob. Nothing like listening to reggae all day and stumbling out to class in a dirty hoody.

But after graduation, I realized I would need to start dressing for an office job. Needless to say, my first attempts must have looked rediculous. Websites like GQ and AskMen.com were my only resource until I found this messageboard. Now I find myself returning to a greater interest in style.

 

[bmulford]

Ever since I was little I had admired Hollywood actors of old who dressed so well. Fred Astaire, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Arroyl Flynn. But how they achieved their look was unknown to me. Since I was a teenager I tried to buy suits or jackets but never came close. I loved brown shoes, but couldn't explain why - and was way too influenced by women repeating the line "no brown in town". I found that I in part gave up trying. I had drifted towards buying things that were comfortable and matched. Which meant I had a lot of black and grey. One day, my Wife asked me a simple question: "Why do you dress the way you do, and is it saying what you want it to?" In answering the question I found my childhood ideal still existed in me, and set out to at very least understand that elusive world. I started by wandering into "expensive" stores that had intimidated me for years, read up on fashion reviews, and started learning. Then I found SF - which is like a concentrated source of information. Before I knew it I could understand why a pair of shoes could reasonably cost $500 or even $1000, and what made a suit "good" vs "bad". Most of all I learned that the popular brands weren't necessarily quality. Since then I've had the good fortune to aquire a nice wardrobe and more importantly reflect the look I've wanted since I was a child.

 

[LarsC]

I didn't do anything. I've always had an attraction to quality clothing.

 

[acidboy]

I needed a diversion from the face.