Random fashion thoughts

where2kop inexpensive mesh shirts for summer anyway?

Originally Posted by jet

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reflection of car tells me this is not the m3, perhaps an sl ?

Originally Posted by Lane

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but acting on impulsions doesn't usually bring a good end result. In fact that's why I want to visit stores now before buying more complex items, since they are much harder to gauge if they truly fit in my wardrobe. Uncontrol's right that I've just started to penetrate the aesthetic, and that's why I need further "test" before I commit to something. Kinda like a science experiment, I just wanna see what works with my current wardrobe that way I don't have to continually be branching out.

Wha?!!! Branching out takes thought, staying within your comfort zone does not. And buying on impulse, or rather, on intuition, imo, always produces the best results down the line. You might figure this out 3 months, 6 months, a year down the line, but if you see it, and immediately want it, it's probably a good choice for you.

This is also one of the reasons that I think that reselling something right away is a big mistake, unless the sizing is just off, or it truly looks terrible. Of course, these things don't happen nearly as often if you either stick to brands whose sizing and style you know very well, or if you actually try on the piece, and buy it, at a brick and mortar. Actually, it would probably save a lot of people a sack of money if they just flew to NYC or LA during the beginning of a season (but after the stores are stocked), and just loaded up. Plane tickets and a cheap hotel for a couple of nights, in say, late September/early October, would probably run most people under $700, all told.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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I'm gonna lean towards calf, since the grain seems pretty smooth, but it could be front quarter horse. It's creasing and graining like calf. Calf and horse can both be thick naturally, over 2mm thick if you want it that thick. Bridle cow leather is obviously very thick, it goes up to like 6mm or more.
Yeah not so much the thickness as the consistency and how the leather looks, if you look at that closeup. There is some scarring and the way it's tanned is pretty distinctive so I am hesitant to suppose it's calf.

I agree, intuitive buys almost always work out the best (not always, see: DBSS pony sneakers haha). When you start thinking too much, when you start reaching too far, you end up buying stuff that doesn't really work for you. I've learned to trust my instincts, and even if that means I have a lot of gaudy floral leopard snake shiny bullshit, I know this is stuff that works for me and it's stuff that I won't dislike 3 months from now.

Originally Posted by LA Guy

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Wha?!!! Branching out takes thought, staying within your comfort zone does not. And buying on impulse, or rather, on intuition, imo, always produces the best results down the line. You might figure this out 3 months, 6 months, a year down the line, but if you see it, and immediately want it, it's probably a good choice for you. This is also one of the reasons that I think that reselling something right away is a big mistake, unless the sizing is just off, or it truly looks terrible. Of course, these things don't happen nearly as often if you either stick to brands whose sizing and style you know very well, or if you actually try on the piece, and buy it, at a brick and mortar. Actually, it would probably save a lot of people a sack of money if they just flew to NYC or LA during the beginning of a season (but after the stores are stocked), and just loaded up. Plane tickets and a cheap hotel for a couple of nights, in say, late September/early October, would probably run most people under $700, all told.
I've only been doing this for about two and a half years but I'm gonna +1 this. My best decisions have been fast/instantaneous "yes this is dope", though granted knowing brands is important (and you can't do much if your brands sizing changes every season or two) and of course sometimes you look at something after letting it sit for a while and you realize there's something off, but generally I dunno. Impulse buys have a kind of logic to them. /psychoanalysis

Random boring work thought:

I was just in a departmental meeting, and the person leading the meeting talked about how Marlboro's old branding strategy was to look at every ad and every representation of the brand and ask, "Would a cowboy do this?"

Modify appropriately to fit your own aesthetic direction.

Or just stick with the cowboy thing, because cowboys are awesome.

Except not the Dallas Cowboys.

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

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I agree, intuitive buys almost always work out the best (not always, see: DBSS pony sneakers haha). When you start thinking too much, when you start reaching too far, you end up buying stuff that doesn't really work for you. I've learned to trust my instincts, and even if that means I have a lot of gaudy floral leopard snake shiny bullshit, I know this is stuff that works for me and it's stuff that I won't dislike 3 months from now.

tbh, the items that immediately pop into my mind as stuff I want to buy I immediately save them in memory, and once I found all the items I think I want; I make decisions on what to buy based upon my current amount of money. Then I choose which to buy, and which to put off for some other time or not buy at all.

the situation has some wise words to say about this very subject:

If you want to bust out a deep-V that's safety-cone orange because you think that's your color, then wear the hell out of that fruity shirt so everybody in the club knows that nobody owns it like you do. ... I wear what makes me feel good because I'm at the tip of the spear — the cutting edge of fashion that's fresh to death. ... When I enter a store, I trust my eye to zero in on what's mint. That's the single most effective system I have for knowing when to pull the trigger on a purchase. If I find myself hemming and hawing, that's a clear indication that the garment in question is not destined to make my rotation. I walk away from the rack because I've failed to make a connection to those threads.

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Just read that Blackbird interview. Ouch. If I was Nicole, I'd definitely not advertise that in the Blackbird blog. It is miserable in NYC in July, and she must have been having a bad day, because she comes off terribly.

There seem to be two types of boutiques these days.

1) Julius, MA+, LUC, Attachment, CCP, Boris whatever the **** his name is, Augusta, Ann D, Werkstatt Munchen (the goth ninja man jewelry of choice these days, it seems), Rick Owens, The Viridi-Anne, Damir Doma.

or

2. Acne, APC, Engineered Garments, Wings+Horns, Robert Geller (used to be Nom de Guerre) Rag&Bone, SNS Herning, Rag&Bone, Comme des Garcons Play, Junya Watanabe, Band of Outsiders, Common Projects, and, of course, for the truly brave, Gitman Vintage, Alden, and Filson.

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

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I agree, intuitive buys almost always work out the best (not always, see: DBSS pony sneakers haha). When you start thinking too much, when you start reaching too far, you end up buying stuff that doesn't really work for you. I've learned to trust my instincts, and even if that means I have a lot of gaudy floral leopard snake shiny bullshit, I know this is stuff that works for me and it's stuff that I won't dislike 3 months from now.

At least I benefit!

Though the DBSS are like that for me, saw em and instantly want them. My Rafstros were the same way and I toyed with selling them right after I got them, but I'm glad I didn't. They're one of my favorite pairs of sneakers right now

Originally Posted by GraphicNovelty

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the situation has some wise words to say about this very subject:

Ah, I see that you bought his book. How is it?

Originally Posted by kwoyeu

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maybe this has been posted before ... interview w/ blackbird's owner
It is funny that she rails on NYC, but then prefers goth labels, which, in my opinion, are probably much better suited to NYC than the PNW.

Originally Posted by randomkoreandude

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they just want to get as many hits possible and be outlandish enough to get the "normal" folk's attention and get wvg's name out there but yeah i wonder if its actually accomplishing anything positive to the brand ...
It's a sad day when outlandish is normal. We see it everywhere, though, from Men's Health Magazine to 'style' sites like UrbanDaddy (yes, you can pour the perfect martini AND buy your girlfriend the best dildos at the same time!) that just become more popular with time. Makes me

Sorry, I spoke too soon. I forgot about ye olde boutique:

Monitaly, Yuketen, Universal Works, Billy Kirk, SNS Herning, RRL (best when accessories are in bins), Quoddy, Pendleton and Filson (for that authenticity,) Woolrich Woolen Mills or Engineered Garments, LVC, probably Our Legacy and or Haversack, of course, Alden, Gitman Vintage, and Filson (I sometimes wonder if there is not a package deal there,) and you know, some grooming stuff - manly, no ****. Baxter of California, and stuff like straight razors.

Barring that, you just go all Freemans, and everything is done for you, just like the dry goods stores of olden tymes.

"New York was really just J.Crew, yet way overpriced."

FINALLY SOMEONE SPEAKS THE TRUTH.