Random fashion thoughts

But that isn't what i said. I said

I think a post-recession climate will push towards a "stylish minimalism" thats less european and more "american" in aesthetic (I'm thinking about Apple aesthetics). Still austere, but understated and sophisticated in it's simplicity. Designers like Ervell and Sander, which are common here, will start seeing a greater popularity. Personally, I see the gap being in a perfect position to take advantage of this shift, if it can recognize the hallmarks of this neomodernist aesthetic (small collars, shrunken/cropped jackets, knits) and capitalize it ala Jcrew's boots-denim-flannel double-down.

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No mention of walmart or TJMaxx anywhere. In fact, one would exclude those stores by the usage of "austere, but understated and sophisticated in it's simplicity."

What I'm trying to say is, people will stop perceiving minimalism as pretentious and european and start viewing it as stylish and understated. Currently, minimalist designers are intimidating in terms of price, availability, and in the way it's presented--it's expensive, hard to find outside of speciality retailers, and intimidating. As a result, it doesn't have the perception as being easy to wear as say, workwear, which became popular because it tapped into both a cultural nerve and wasn't difficult to pull off. In contrast, workwear was pretty no-fuss as far as aesthetics go, and a "no-fuss" "non-pretentious" minimalist aesthetic (what i'm calling an "american" minimalism) is what I see taking the place of flannel, denimz, and boots as "trendy."

What i'm trying to argue is that there will be a move towards minimal-but-not-boring (i.e. sophisticated) as a dominant style. I think that more mainstream designers/stores will water it down somewhat from where it currently is, but it willl keep the essence of the concept-less is more, emphasis on details, fit, precise tailoring etc. that are the hallmarks of minimalistic designers such as Ervell, Jil and APC, but packaged, marketed, and sold as a "no-fuss" sophistication. Like Ikea, but for clothing.


EDIT: SHUT THE **** UP MAGICIAN

Your discussion is dumb.

****** footwear kills so many outfits so often I see people on the street that look really good and then chucks or some other banal ugly ****

EDIT also if i was a girl I would wear high heels non stop I'd get through the pain they look so good BRB buyin rick man heels (4)

Check ou tthis tank i made for my friends cat

lol kitty twoface

What type of minimalism does that tank fall under?

Is that the one that got posted on reddit or did you just steal the idea from the one posted on reddit?

Originally Posted by GraphicNovelty

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No, that's not what i'm saying at all, I'd explain it but but I have a storng feeling that you would rather cherry pick my points in order to disagree with me/poke holes in my theory in order to shut me up rather than actually engage with the ideas i've presented.
lol dude, your write-up makes little sense. The first part, maybe that happens, dunno, seems like you are actually cherry picking one (particularly flawed and hashed out) example from fashion history that fits into your paradigm. Maybe you need to try and explain what the zeitgeist of the times is. How the **** are you gonna tell me workwear is austere, but the aesthetic of Apple products is also austere? How does this relate to what you see as "American minimalism"? Your terms are silly and clearly made up by you, not to mention that they just don't make sense and are not elaborated upon. (limited basis in fashion discourse, mostly stray concepts you have grouped together for the sake of your argument) Hard to get a grasp of what you're saying, actually this:

^ Margiela cool, as opposed to Slimane cool, which, as MR said a while ago, is kind of Rock 'n roll. And American minimalism vs. Euro minimalism, in my mind, is the level of pretention. An american minimalism would accept, for example, a crew neck t-shirt/sweater and jeans in neutral colers, which I don't think would fly in a more pretentious "minimalist aesthetic" which I associate with Jil Sander/APC. "American" minimalism is more the type of minimalism that doesn't require you to have an expensive haircut.

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sounds like your own weird issues. Expensive hairtcut and pretension =European; somehow crew necks neutral jeans = American? What the **** are you saying? How much European clothing have you seen?Your distinction between American and Euro is flawed/strange/unclear. Jil and APC are both European labels, what else do they have in common/why are you associating them together? I think you're a nice guy GN but your write-up makes no sense. A couple people called you out on things/wanted clarification and you got defensive. Seems like there is little substance behind what you were saying. Please respond/elaborate/prove me wrong.

Originally Posted by GraphicNovelty

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What I'm trying to say is, people will stop perceiving minimalism as pretentious and european and start viewing it as stylish and understated. Currently, minimalist designers are intimidating in terms of price, availability, and in the way it's presented--it's expensive, hard to find outside of speciality retailers, and intimidating. As a result, it doesn't have the perception as being easy to wear as say, workwear, which became popular because it tapped into both a cultural nerve and wasn't difficult to pull off. In contrast, workwear was pretty no-fuss as far as aesthetics go, and a "no-fuss" "non-pretentious" minimalist aesthetic (what i'm calling an "american" minimalism) is what I see taking the place of flannel, denimz, and boots as "trendy."

What i'm trying to argue is that there will be a move towards minimal-but-not-boring (i.e. sophisticated) as a dominant style. I think that more mainstream designers/stores will water it down somewhat from where it currently is, but it willl keep the essence of the concept-less is more, emphasis on details, fit, precise tailoring etc. that are the hallmarks of minimalistic designers such as Ervell, Jil and APC, but packaged, marketed, and sold as a "no-fuss" sophistication. Like Ikea, but for clothing.

This makes a little more sense but 1) "people find minimalism intimidating/not easy to wear" seems made up to me, 2) really that's what Uniqlo already does, maybe Uniqlo will expand more but I dunno, 3) americana has been a strong trend for a little while but who it resonates for has shifted over the past five years; I think it is still rising in places closer to the mainstream so forecasting the future may be a bit too soon. Pretty sure we will never see precision tailoring the mainstream, could be wrong though. What do you mean by watered down?

I think that my argument was tripped up by my using the labels "european" and "american" to mean "pretentious" and "accessable" respectively.

All I'm saying is that people are going to buy into the concept of "less is more" as it realtes to design and functionality when it comes to clothing. Right now, I think personally think the current type of clothing minimalism is intimidating because of it's practitioners--though, mind you, I live in New York City and I'm thinking of the people that work in Opening Ceremony and APC and the two or three people I know personally who wear lots of ervell. Basically, funny haircuts all. Maybe it's the close relation to design and the people are remind me of pretentious designers and artists. In contrast, I've always thought workwear and Gothninja was kind of dorky roleplaying costume.

I think that if the less-is-more concept manifests itself in a less intimidating form, a lot of people will jump onto it, because I think the idea of "expressing sophistication through less" is an attractive concept in the same way that workwear/americana was/is an attractive concept. I'm not sure what Calvin Klein is doing but isn't that kind of his bag?

Though we can disagree to the level that workwear/americana is "mainstream."

But yeah, your uniqlo comparison is apt. I think more designers are going to be taking pages from the Uniqlo/American Apparel playbook.

Originally Posted by AndrewRyanWallace

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This makes a little more sense but 1) "people find minimalism intimidating/not easy to wear" seems made up to me, 2) really that's what Uniqlo already does, maybe Uniqlo will expand more but I dunno, 3) americana has been a strong trend for a little while but who it resonates for has shifted over the past five years; I think it is still rising in places closer to the mainstream so forecasting the future may be a bit too soon. Pretty sure we will never see precision tailoring the mainstream, could be wrong though. What do you mean by watered down?
Actually i do agree with that part 100% if nothing else. APC, Cos, maybe Celine, and especially Jil most of the time are all about the fit while wearing a very standard uniform. The problem that I normally run in when doing a minimalist look is one piece doesn't fit quite right and throws off that simple sense of perfection. When we (as in people on this forum mainly) talk about a minimal visual look it is 85% fit, 10% patterns, 5% colors (made up % lol). Something simple like shoes, bags, watches, bangles, etc can throw it all off as well. A woman can wear a little black dress and a white cropped coat but if the shape of that Mulberry is too clunky it is all over. lol about the American minimalism though. I totally thought denim and white tees too.

Anyone have experience with Obscur leather jackets? Thinking of grabbing this trizip off a dude on SZ but unsure of what the leather is like.

need khaftan. help, shah!

Originally Posted by AR_Six

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Anyone have experience with Obscur leather jackets? Thinking of grabbing this trizip off a dude on SZ but unsure of what the leather is like.

hah that's the one that tons of people got and flipped because it looks weird on most people

heard quality is fine though

It looks good on that dude. I dunno, seller's measurements make it sound like it should be perfect. I'll sleep on it a bit.