As promised, pictures of my outfits

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I can't even see the clothing through those tragically large tie knots.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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I'll save the sarcasm, since you'll get plenty of that here.

Couple things to note, alot of your shirts look too big in the neck, size down to something that fits snuggly.

I think you may be tieing your ties too short, and thats the reason why the knots are soo huge.

Tie them at a length where the bottom of the tie is touching your belt buckle, and you'll find that the area of the tie your using to make the knot is the slimmer part, resulting in a smaller, better looking knot.

Also adjust the knots after you tie them, i often grab a portion of the knot and pull it tighter and its the difference between a loose, crappy looking knot, and a tight sharp looking knot.

You jackets look too big, have a tailor take your chest measurement, and see about buying some jackets that fit, i think it would be pretty expensive to have most of those altered to fit.

Props for actually making a reasonable attempt to look nice, which is more then can be said for 90% of the people out there, with exception to this forum.

I'm rarely surprised by the amount of sarcasm presented in a post like this, but its pretty disappointing, you guys should be looking to help, not Knock everyone.

The large tie knots are deliberate. This is a style I picked up at a music convention a few years ago, it took a while to grow on me. You tie the tie deliberately short and do not tighten the knot, the result is a huge fat knot and the tie only hangs down to the third or so shirt button. Some guys will even go so far as to layer two ties on top of each other and tie them together to achieve a knot with it's own gravitational pull. I suppose this is a style subculture not found anywhere on the internet, but it is out there.

Originally Posted by Tarmac

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just like 95% of men don't know what a 3-2 roll is, 95% of women think this is "dressing up". Let's face it, positive reinforcement from clueless women is a huge factor in dressing badly.

Originally Posted by knowsnothin

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If you are going to wear clown clothes, at least button your jacket right.

Buttoning only the top button looks foolish.

On a 3-button jacket, sometimes button the top, always button the middle, and never button the bottom button. Top to bottom: Sometimes; Always; Never.

For a 4-button jacket, just throw it in the trash.

Originally Posted by houserichichi

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BTW, did you move the middle button on the second outfit? It looks too far over, like you were trying to tighten the front of the coat around the waste.

I dont care for the 3-2 roll, defeats the purpose of the third button. I really dont care for two button jackets at all, I own a few, but only if the button stance is on the high side. And I dont like 4 button suits, however it doesnt prevent me from owning them, I'm not going to overlook a fabric and color I like just because of one additional button. I went through a phase of 5-7 button suits, dont care for those any more (I never liked 2, 4, or 6) but I have a couple I still wear on occasion.

The top button only is deliberate, because of the length of the tie. When I tie it short enough for the large knot, the top button has to be closed. Sometimes I close the second one as well.

I didnt move the button on the blue/grey coat, but I did notice it. The coat was a thrift store find. I assume someone previously moved it, or it was some strange type of coat I wasnt familiar with.

^^Thank goodness, he's still alive.

Originally Posted by Nataku

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These outfits are terrible. Everything is way too large. Some of those jackets look pretty dated, and the 4-button suit....yikes!

One thing I would actually like to learn, is how to tell a jacket that looks dated from one that is deliberately vintage. My current philosophy: I scour the thrift stores for anything I like. If I like it, and it fits, then I buy it. My thinking is, "If it looks old, people will assume I'm deliberately vintage. I rock." Sometimes it works. Apparently, sometimes it doesnt.

Originally Posted by gnatty8

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They sell Stacy Adams in Wisconsin?

WELL . . . I do own a few Stacy Adams suits. Their shoes are too old man/fake gatory for me. However nothing in these pictures is Stacy Adams. AND . . . in answer to your question, I find very little of what I like in Wisconsin. I buy clothes when I travel; in LA, DC, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc.

Originally Posted by Despos

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Dude, you won't get anywhere with this crowd without a pocket square!

Dude, I got 'em. Plenty. Even the silly ones that come with ties. I usually dont wear them with blazer/jeans, I always thought it was too much (really setting myself up with that).

On second though, I bet if I would have worn a pocket square with every single outfit, my style would have been universally accepted by the forum. Why didnt you get to me sooner?!

Originally Posted by sonlegoman

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Who took the photos? That's the first time I've seen someone laying down to showcase their clothes.

The photographer's idea. She wanted me to "pose" in each shot. Silly woman.

i LOLd

Originally Posted by Hard2Fit

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Your personal style is a little much for me but definitely works for you.
I think the first and third outfits look best.

Originally Posted by KObalto

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I think the fit is bad, the shoes are horrendous, and your basic instincts regarding color and pattern matching are good, As you continue to mature and learn, I predict great things. And to those who scoff, I think your presence here speaks to your desire to learn. I think you are a great addition to the forum ( this from a 50-year old lawyer who prefers Oxxford, etc.).

Just wanted to thank these two (presumably) sincere responses.

I really should just leave these alone, but sometimes I walk right into it.

Originally Posted by whnay.

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Go on wit your bad self...pimpin' dem bitches in Cheesetown.

Originally Posted by jpeirpont

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What kind of vehicle do you drive? A Caddy? This stuff is all to Malibu Most Wanted.

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

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Tuck in your shirts. Buy your jeans a size smaller. Have your jackets taken in and tailored. Buy non-Platypus bill toe shoes. Learn to make a smaller know.

You're not hopeless; but, I'm going with "Grown Up ******"

I'm not a ******, and I drive a Nissan Sentra! The shirts untucked is deliberate . . .

Originally Posted by emmanuel

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i have my own opinions of the poster but refuse to give him the satisfaction of expressing them because i feel like this thread was one big cry out for attention.

Dude, dont you see how much smarter it would have been for me to just keep these pictures to myself? I could have gone on posting, everyone would have thought I was normal, and if I wanted attention, it would be a much more positive type. But now, every response I have in every other thread will not be taken seriously for at least a week-- if not much longer! NOT the best way to get attention.

Originally Posted by teddieriley

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If I had to guess, I would say you were 17. Am I close?

Originally Posted by Mark from Plano

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You mentioned being a musician. Perhaps what you need are some other musicians whose style you could draw inspiration from. I submit the following possiblities:

Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones:

Sean Combs:

Kanye West:

While all these might have their problems or detractors, each represents a huge step up over what your doing here.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by WestIndianArchie

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I totally understand the method to your madness.

When you go out, how much attention do you get?

Originally Posted by whacked

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+1

FWIW, I call BS on those praising the OP's ability to "pull off" such outfits. Sorry, but in my book one does not "pull off" such montrosity just by snapping a handful of awkward pictures of yourself and post them on a online message board...

Originally Posted by dl20

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The funny thing is I bet if the OP was properly fitted by someone with a clue about menswear, he'd trash all of these steve harvey outfits in a second. Even in the last pic he looks a little better with a SC that is 2 sizes to large instead of 6 sizes to large like in the other pics.

RE: the tie knots and deep sea diving flipper loafers, you look like a hot mess my friend.

How old r u anyways? Why not take our advice and try some more form fitting clothing. Do you like anything you see in the WAYWT thread?? You seem to be wanting to differentiate yourself form the herd by wearing crazy and outlandish things. Try making a style statement by wearing elegant or even trendy type stuff.

dl

-Also, i have a few old pairs of 9.5 captoes I can send you if you promise to burn the flipper shoes.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Spiff, you should definitely get credit for posting pictures of yourself. That takes guts.

But I'm confused about what you want to get out of SF. Do you sincerely want to change or 'improve'? It seems like you're pretty committed to what you're already doing. Do you want advice on better fit? Your pictures imply that your standards for fit are completely disparate from what is generally expected here. Or maybe you just want to share your style with us.

Which is it?

Originally Posted by Jumbie

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First off, the OP has earned a certain level of my respect for posting his pics. From what I've seen, he's received a lot of criticism and ridicule on this forum but he has never gotten upset and reacted badly and has "put his money where his mouth is" by responding to the requests to photos of his "style".

For myself, I've only recently started to make an effort to "dress properly". 6 months ago I had no clue that a suit needs to show 1/2" or so of sleeve, about pocket squares, I had way too much break in my pants, that square-toed shoes were awesome, etc.

I'm 28 years old and soon going to be entering a professional working environment once I get finished with grad school and I still have a way to go to define my own look. However, I do think that most of the OP's clothing choices are absolutely horrible. That first suit and the black platypus shoes (as they are being called) in particular. Oh, and those awful tie knots as well. I don't care about a dimple or not but those are huge and obnoxious and just look plain bad.

If he is happy with them, then so be it but I have a hard time thinking that even the "average Joe" (or Jane in this case) would find them appealing. And this is coming from someone who just spent Sat night at a lounge in Manhattan with a bunch of my classmates (all within +/- 4-5 years of my age) celebrating a friend's birthday; whose clothing consisted of square toed shoes, jeans with french cuffs, one "fashion coat" with tie halfway undone and one side of the shirt tucked in, and comments to me of "don't you ever wear jeans?" That's their accepted style yet I'm 99% positive that those same people would not dig this look either so it's not just me being snobby.

Originally Posted by Trojanman74

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im not a big fan of his style either but what im more interested in is spiffy's past. somewhere along the line he accepted this style as his own, i'd like to know what turned him. living in a college town i see more different styles then most see in a month. ive never understood skinny guys need to dress in oversized clothing period, but then my friends dont understand why i put a weeks paycheck into a single pair of shoes. to each their own.


I'll try and answer as much of these as possible with a brief synopsis of me.

I am a professional session musician, as well as a Minister of Music and/or a musician for several churches. I work with gospel, r&b/pop, and hip hop artists. The majority of my industry work is with gospel artists. I started out touring with a youth r&b band in middle school, that band was then hired by a college gospel choir, and from there I was brought into the church. From my work in primarily black churches I was introduced to the industry. My resume, audio/video clips, and links to the pages of several artists I play for can all be found on my MySpace page, which is in my forum profile, as is my age (teddieriley!). Each of these stages in my career involved a different style, and most are/were very fashion conscious. My current style consists of the elements I liked from each area. Black churches practically require the 7-button Stacy Adams-type suit in the brightest color you can imagine. Industry artists require designer jeans, t-shirts, button downs, blazers occasionally, and the pointy shoes are quite popular. I am a non-conformist so I usually lean slightly to the other direction in each setting, i.e. jeans or a button down shirt in church, and a tie on industry gigs. The result is that I am always set apart but still appropriate, and usually get a number of compliments. But the honest truth is that none of the outfits I posted are drastically different from what the majority of people I work with wear, including the fit. I am constantly observing those around me, and pulling out the elements of their style that I like, and incorporating them into my own. That, along with commenting in areas I am knowledgeable about, is what I intend to do (and have been doing) in these forums.

Originally Posted by mt_spiffy

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Dude, I got 'em. Plenty. Even the silly ones that come with ties.

How do you know the pocket square comes with the tie? Did you ever stop to wonder it's the silly tie that comes with the pocket square? Or that they're both silly?

Skipping all the advice that has already been given, I think you could really try mixing up the colors here. It seems like you are figuring that blue must go with blue or brown must go with brown and then you make an outfit entirely out of brown items or entirely out of blue items.

Would look much better if you just shufffled things a bit.

Originally Posted by sonlegoman

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^^Thank goodness, he's still alive.

Dude, you missed my cutoff for funny posts!

Originally Posted by sonlegoman

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To his credit, he probably dresses better than 95% of the people from Wisconsin.

SO TRUE. SO VERY VERY TRUE.

Originally Posted by Clench Million

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Skipping all the advice that has already been given, I think you could really try mixing up the colors here. It seems like you are figuring that blue must go with blue or brown must go with brown and then you make an outfit entirely out of brown items or entirely out of blue items.

Would look much better if you just shufffled things a bit.

I had to look back at what I initially posted. I do kind of have a monochromatic thing going, with blues and browns.


I guess because I figured those outfits would be the safest to post. If I'm being daring I do a lot more colors. Well except for the pony shoes one, that was daring regardless, colors or not!

All joking aside, I think this can be a very good learning experience. I think we should give you 6 months and you should post again with everything you learn from here. We can make things interesting: if you show no improvement, you'll have to burn one of your suits or something (nothing written in stone yet). I think we can really make this a learning experience.

I'm sorry for cracking fun. I hope you take up the offer to post again in a few months and make a contest out of it. If there's even a small improvement, then at least you're at the right place. Hell, I think the members here will even put in collective small amounts of money (1-5$ each) and it can amount to a very large sum. And if you show improvement, you'll get the sum (with other conditions though such as what you can spend it on, etc). Maybe it can go to your church or local high school band or something.

What exactly do you do in the industry?
My only sincere criticism free from my own taste is:
You are trying to hard.
Do you play something?

Originally Posted by sonlegoman

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All joking aside, I think this can be a very good learning experience. I think we should give you 6 months and you should post again with everything you learn from here. We can make things interesting: if you show no improvement, you'll have to burn one of your suits or something (nothing written in stone yet). I think we can really make this a learning experience.

I'm sorry for cracking fun. I hope you take up the offer to post again in a few months and make a contest out of it. If there's even a small improvement, then at least you're at the right place. Hell, I think the members here will even put in collective small amounts of money (1-5$ each) and it can amount to a very large sum. And if you show improvement, you'll get the sum (with other conditions though such as what you can spend it on, etc). Maybe it can go to your church or local high school band or something.

If I can find the time, and money, I would love to do that. I like several of the outfits I've seen here, particularly a couple in the Brown thread.

However it's likely that if I did such a thing, I wouldnt be able to wear said outfit in place of one of my typical ones. The look would not be acceptable for any of my gigs. It's similar to encouraging someone to piece together the perfect business suit, and they work at the mall. Or the coolest vintage tee/designer jeans/tennis shoes ensemble, and they're going to court. So said outfit would largely be for my own personal enjoyment.

That having been said, I like clothes. That's reason enough.