My Sartorial Epiphany

i was recently looking at some old pics and found one from 9 years ago when i got engaged and my first thought was;

man i used to look so good in a suit and tie, i was 30 pounds lighter and had more hair(not sure how that part impacts my suit but it was still sad to see) . i was wearing an OTR josepb abboud suit and looked better than i do now in suits i pay at least five times as much for. i decided that i will never look that good again, life sucks.

soon after i noticed posts in WAYWN and various other pics of well dressed guys who are in worse shape (and have less hair) than i am now and looked immaculate, WTF! i thought. then came the epiphany;

the reason behind my first thought is that i am still trying to look like i did back then. if you accept your age and body shape and dress accordingly with regards to style and fit you can always look great, life no longer sucks!

so i ask you all, am i being delusional becuase i dont want to get on the treadmill or is there any truth to what im thinking?

Yes.

Originally Posted by Wideknot

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Yes.

awesome the snarkmoblie has arrived!

Dressing you age is never a bad thing, but neither is loosing 25 pounds that you don't need.

Why accept being overweight? Not carrying around extra weight isn't just about looking good in clothes, it's also about your overall health.

Originally Posted by in stitches

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i was recently looking at some old pics and found one from 9 years ago when i got engaged and my first thought was;

man i used to look so good in a suit and tie, i was 30 pounds lighter and had more hair(not sure how that part impacts my suit but it was still sad to see) . i was wearing an OTR josepb abboud suit and looked better than i do now in suits i pay at least five times as much for. i decided that i will never look that good again, life sucks.

soon after i noticed posts in WAYWN and various other pics of well dressed guys who are in worse shape (and have less hair) than i am now and looked immaculate, WTF! i thought. then came the epiphany;

the reason behind my first thought is that i am still trying to look like i did back then. if you accept your age and body shape and dress accordingly with regards to style and fit you can always look great, life no longer sucks!

so i ask you all, am i being delusional becuase i dont want to get on the treadmill or is there any truth to what im thinking?

I think you're in the right ball park. Still, getting in better shape pays dividends above and beyond just your surface appearance. You'll feel lighter, stronger and healthier and those things translate into energy, confidence, etc., all which impact your 'appearance' as a whole, which is more than just the sum of jacket/trousers/shoes/accessories that people tend to obsess over.

That said, just as people who are abnormally short/tall, or with physical anomalies like a low shoulder, high right hip, etc., do what they can to address those things, so can you as you 'age' and gain BMI. Trying to look like you're 25 when you're 45+ is just an example of a lack of total self-awareness, just as a 25 year old who dresses like a 45+ year old makes a similar error in judgement (just in a different direction).

I think there's a 'sweet spot' between your physical, real age appearance and clothing's ability to make you look your best. The people you refer to have ostensibly found this style/fit equilibrium.

Originally Posted by in stitches

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awesome the snarkmoblie has arrived!

Not snarky at all. I can see both as being true. Unlike you, I got engaged about 36 years ago. Back then I, too, was 30 pounds lighter, had hair (not just "more") and the suits I wore were the inspiration for Tom Ford. I looked good! This morning, my wife and I skipped the gym and, instead, sat around the house drinking an extra cup of coffee, thus insuring the 30 extra lbs. will stay. Instead of wearing some awesomely cut suit, I've got on a pair of jeans, PTBs, pink Bengal stripe OCBD, and a sack-cut navy blazer--it "suits," but it ain't the same. Gym tonight. Definitely. After dinner. And a movie. With popcorn and a beer. Maybe.

Being comfortable in your own skin is a wonderful thing. Being healthy and living a great long life is also great....so you do not have to hit the treadmill but should put down the doughnuts. With that said I like the attitude you are portraying but one thing is true.....you do not want to like like a bag of fat in an expensive suit regardless of age. So I take that back maybe you will want to take up an activity to keep your cardiovascular system and waistline in check.

Originally Posted by Wideknot

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Not snarky at all. I can see both as being true. Unlike you, I got engaged about 34 years ago. Back then I, too, was 30 pounds lighter, had hair (not just "more") and the suits I wore were the inspiration for Tom Ford. I looked good! This morning, my wife and I skipped the gym and, instead, sat around the house drinking an extra cup of coffee, thus insuring the 30 extra lbs. will stay. Instead of wearing some awesomely cut suit, I've got on a pair of jeans, PTBs, pink Bengal stripe OCBD, and a sack-cut navy blazer--it "suits," but it ain't the same. Gym tonight. Definitely. After dinner. And a movie. With popcorn and a beer. Maybe.



i know that loosing weight is something i need to do for my health but thats not my point, what im saying is an older person or less shapely person can look just as dapper as a 25 year old in great shape if he dresses accordingly, i think so anyway or am i wrong?

Originally Posted by in stitches

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i know that loosing weight is something i need to do for my health but thats not my point, what im saying is an older person or less shapely person can look just as dapper as a 25 year old in great shape if he dresses accordingly, i think so anyway or am i wrong?

My fear is that you are perhaps deluding yourself in order to make yourself feel better. Can you look better without losing the weight? Possibly. But to look just as rakish and dabble as you would without the weight? That's pretty tough.

Originally Posted by Lightbringer

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My fear is that you are perhaps deluding yourself in order to make yourself feel better. Can you look better without losing the weight? Possibly. But to look just as rakish and dabble as you would without the weight? That's pretty tough.

This. Impossible, actually. Hie thy carcass into the gym, you'll not only be shaped better, you'll have better posture, better skin tone, move moar youthfully, have greater general steez.

I'ts work, but it's the bestest and cheapest style improver you can get.

Aloha,

Poinz

Originally Posted by in stitches

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i know that loosing weight is something i need to do for my health but thats not my point, what im saying is an older person or less shapely person can look just as dapper as a 25 year old in great shape if he dresses accordingly, i think so anyway or am i wrong?

Do you ever watch Turner Classic Movies? The host Robert Osborne is always well dressed and like me seems to prefer mainly solids over patterns. Anyway I always used to think he did himself no favors with his weight gain as he had a substantial paunch which caused his suit jackets to hang over his belly and thus there was always a step down from the hem of his jacket to the front of his legs when this should of course be a smooth transition. He seems to have lost weight recently and his jackets are looking much better on him. I use all this blather just to illustrate that a well tailored slim man is always going to look better than a well tailored fattie.

What is it exactly you see that doesn't look as good as before? Presumably you have more knowledge about things sartorial so that would help you look better.

So either your see your choices of cut, colors etc as being too youthful for you or maybe you are acknowledging you would look better with a bit of weight loss. Or you are overanalyzing and you look great (my suspicion).

For me hair or lack thereoff depends on the person. I think I look better now bald then I did with hair - or am I being delusional??

BTW to a few of you - it is "losing weight" not "loosing". No need to thank me.

Originally Posted by Ianiceman

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Do you ever watch Turner Classic Movies? The host Robert Osborne is always well dressed and like me seems to prefer mainly solids over patterns. Anyway I always used to think he did himself no favors with his weight gain as he had a substantial paunch which caused his suit jackets to hang over his belly and thus there was always a step down from the hem of his jacket to the front of his legs when this should of course be a smooth transition. He seems to have lost weight recently and his jackets are looking much better on him. I use all this blather just to illustrate that a well tailored slim man is always going to look better than a well tailored fattie.

this is more of what i was getting at thanks for your thoughts, i guess the best dressed slim guy beats the best dressed fattie, but does being a bit overweight mean you are doomed or not? this is the question my friends

Originally Posted by in stitches

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this is more of what i was getting at thanks for your thoughts, i guess the best dressed slim guy beats the best dressed fattie, but does being a bit overweight mean you are doomed or not? this is the question my friends

I don't think so, look at Will from A Suitable Wardrobe. He isn't the thinnest guy out there, but he always looks great.

I think it goes back to the confidence thing too. Know you look good despite your weight and hold yourself high. This always makes a difference.