If your wardrobe is too large, you end up looking worse.

Originally Posted by Nicola

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This week a writer ( I know a writer ) on Bon Ton was interviewed by one of the TV shows. He claimed he never wore a new suit in public before having slept in it for two nights.

I find the comment that managing on a smaller wardrobe is better strange. It's more economical but better?

There are those who like to sound clever by paraphrasing Fred Astaire's quotation about throwing his A&S suits against the wall before wearing them.

I guarantee you, however, that after Astaire wore these suits, his studio valet or butler would have pressed them. He wasn't the kind of guy who would show up somewhere with droopy knees.

The 1930s was a lot of things, but sartorially, it was not a celebration of "lived in" mens clothing...unless one was making a Depression-era sob piece.


- B

Luciano Barbera said that when he got his first suit made, his tailor Mario Pozzi told him to wear it for the next two days and sleep in it.

OP -- can you define "lived in" more specifically? You've used it a couple of times in this thread and I'd like to hear exactly what you mean by it.

Originally Posted by sifl

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Luciano Barbera said that when he got his first suit made, his tailor Mario Pozzi told him to wear it for the next two days and sleep in it.

I think that Barbera is a perfect example. He is almost the poster child of what I think radicaldog is talking about. Most of us like how he dresses today. He looks so dà shabillà in his clothes when photographed in The Sartorialist, right? So lived in. Perfect.



But do you know how old he is? 71. A 71 year old Italian heir wearing his old clothes will be manifesting a pronounced, well, "lived in" vibe. When you are 71, no matter what you are wearing, so will you. Even Mitt Romney, when is is 71, will look a tad less robotic.

Here is the real Barbera, in his prime, in another professionally taken photograph:



Let's say that you are trying to look carelessly done up like a stylish 71 year old man, but you are young and you are doing it on purpose. This is what you get:



Is it horrible? Well, that depends. It might not be horrible, but it is simply not the same thing as what the aged Barbera manifests.



- B

Originally Posted by Bartolo

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OP -- can you define "lived in" more specifically? You've used it a couple of times in this thread and I'd like to hear exactly what you mean by it.

You don't buy my description?

There is a thread devoted to the lived in look on StyleForvm and it is called WAYWRN. Nearly every ensemble is lived in and askew.

If you think about the totality of it, would WAYWRN posters look betting becoming more lived-in and askew, or less?

What could be more lived in than standing on your own carpeted toilet lid?


- B

A couple of random thoughts that might happen to apply to Vox regarding fit.

I think his clothes look lived in (at least those have aren't shot at first wearing) to the degree that it matters.

But two things: I think "lived in" is also describes the frumpiness that results from garments being, to some degree, ill fitting. In Vox's case, his mostly bespoke fits tend to lack the common sloppy shoulder etc that you might otherwise say is the result of being "lived in".
And the other is a choice regarding trousers- the weight of the 2" cuff, the aid it is in keeping the crease and the fact that he and many (hell- I'm even adopting it) sport virtually no break, creates a very clean line in the trouser. Add an inch and your perception would be wholly changed.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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Even Mitt Romney, when is is 71, will look a tad less robotic.

I wouldn't count on that.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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You don't buy my description?


- B


I'm a small-timer, would you take the $1.33 in my pocket?

Mr Vox, your exposà and illustrations would be certainly convincing if they were not so blatantly biased and carefully picked to favor your theories.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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Even Mitt Romney, when is is 71, will look a tad less robotic.

See, in overreaching you've dealt a deathblow to your theory.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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I think that what you might mean instead is simply that you prefer clothes that are maintained less. More wrinkles. More bagginess. More academic and country life, less city, less growing up with a valet. It is an understandable preference to have...but I hope you do not presume it should be universal.
This is my preference, as I live in the modern country. But there is more to it than that. Remember the commentary about Il Vecchio's clothing and why he was comfortable in his clothes? They were old friends, he knew them well, chose them carefully, and he had worn them for awhile. In his case, a decade or two.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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I think that Barbera is a perfect example. He is almost the poster child of what I think radicaldog is talking about. Most of us like how he dresses today. He looks so dÃ

shabillÃ

in his clothes when photographed in The Sartorialist, right? So lived in. Perfect.

But do you know how old he is? 71. A 71 year old Italian heir wearing his old clothes will be manifesting a pronounced, well, "lived in" vibe. When you are 71, no matter what you are wearing, so will you. Even Mitt Romney, when is is 71, will look a tad less robotic.

Here is the real Barbera, in his prime, in another professionally taken photograph:

- B



Great example, B.

Originally Posted by sifl

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Mr Vox, your exposÃ

and illustrations would be certainly convincing if they were not so blatantly biased and carefully picked to favor your theories.

Because one should alays choose images that refute one's case? Damn... no wonder I sucked in Debate

Originally Posted by Cary Grant

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Because one should alays choose images that refute one's case? Damn... no wonder I sucked in Debate

You still have a little bit left on the side of your mouth. slurp slurp

i think a large wardrobe makes one look his best but can also do the opposite. If u have a large collection, you'll always be able to find complimentary articles, whereas if u have a limited collection size, you buy things to compliment articles you already have. Overall, it's not a matter of the size but the articles are in it.