ils thread for general menswear and men's clothing ish

The florals you mention are good. I like solids as well but I would not recommend relying on them so much. Have you considered paisleys?

Personally I don't like to have too many ties with geometric patterns (stripes, plaids, etc.) because I am leery of how those patterns will work with a patterned shirt or jacket.

The rule that you shouldn't mix patterns may be outdated (I see doodz doin this all the time nowadays) but I still follow it. For ne:

Checked or plaid jacket, solid shirt, paisley tie = ok.

Solid jacket, striped shirt, floral tie = ok.

Herringbone tweed jacket, solid shirt, floral or foulard tie = ok.

This has been my world and I am comfortable with its rules. There are loads of variations within those basic boundaries. Lots of room For creativity.

HOWEVER, lately I am seeing tech sales doodz with a checked shirt and a striped tie! Or a striped tie and a differently striped shirt. Maybe things have changed since I learned the rules. Or maybe I'm right and they're wrong. Who knows.

Also, what is up with doodz wearing a button-down collar with a suit. My understanding was that a button-down collar works with separates, but a suit requires a spread or point collar.

your pattern guidelines are reasonable....in theory you can do things like a checked shirt and striped tie if the scale of the patterns contrasts. it gets pretty case-specific.

button-down collars with a suit is possible but 99% of guys trying it don't have the means or the taste to pull it off.

if you're not wearing a jacket then IMO you shouldn't wear a tie. otherwise you look like a waiter (no v-neck) or a cosplay professor (v-neck).

for that budget, unless you have time to thrift, go to drakes.com, find ties you like, and replicate them on tiebar.com. probably a grenadine, a club tie, and some dots.

Also, what is up with doodz wearing a button-down collar with a suit. My understanding was that a button-down collar works with separates, but a suit requires a spread or point collar.

― Gunther Gleiben (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, January 20, 2019 10:23 PM (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/05/17/ap_13031217768_custom-66eeec2d50d54311045e0e4f530b765d3dfc1078-s1200.jpg

it's a classic US prep look.

lil touch of waspy frumpiness

mueller's oxfords are nice, they might just be brooks brothers but he's got a mean collar.

it's still not a look i would recommend for most people.

Macys has a wide selection and they often have good coupons so you can easily get ties you like for the $20 range. I am very anti purple or any derivative of that color in a tie. And depending on where you work, I would also say to keep the shine under semi-gloss. Try your luck at a vintage/thrift store too, but that may not be your style.

guys sorry to derail for a second but as threatened earlier i went to topman to replace my khaki chinos and wound up with... "relaxed taper" - you know what i mean

so now i look like every other asshole but i'm kind of enjoying the way they move and fit SUE ME

I feel like some basic dark repp ties would be good. They seem to work better dressed up to combine with a suit, or dressed down to go with an OCBD + tweed jacket or blazer etc.

I probably wouldn't wear a tie with a v-neck sweater though! Unless it's a very deep v sweater vest (with a rustic jacket) or cardigan (again with a jacket). I think it's weird when you just see a tiny little obligatory inch of tie between a collar and sweater.

I also think a dark brown, navy, or burgundy knit tie would be super versatile.

personally i think professor cosplay is fine but then again i work at a university so

i did one time do all that (corduroy, striped repp tie, v neck sweater) and i put a duffle coat with wood and rope toggles over it and the kids all asked if i’d missed the train for hogwarts

lol fn owned

the children are truly our future

i think it was mainly the duffle coat

it finally got cold enough to wear my shawl neck cardigan last week (w a tie and navy brooks chinos) and lo and behold a wool collar rubbing on your neck gets pretty annoying after eight hours, who’d have thought

I like professor cosplay. Probably because I never had to wear uniforms at school. I am pro-tie under v neck sweater.

well the kids are in uniforms so there’s that too

that makes it so i can get away w madness like tie under coach jacket, which is what i’m doing next week

This time of year is tricky for me. Spring, fall, and most of winter I wear a jacket all day (indoors and out). Put it on in the morning and just leave it on. It's warm enough to get me to the subway or the car, but not too warm for the office. It's got lots of pockets, I won't ever feel underdressed for a surprise meeting.

And (perhaps most importantly) no one can tell if I've just arrived for the day, whether I'm leaving for lunch, or whether I'm done for the day and am going home.

However, in very cold weather I need an overcoat. Lately I am doing overcoat + vest, rather than overcoat + shirt and tie (not enough) or overcoat + jacket (too much). I don't do sweaters or sweater vests.

The young professor look makes me think of Joseph Gordon levit in 500 days of summer tbh

actually what is the young professor look? is that tie + sweater and no jacket?

this is what i have in mind

http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0907/360_500_summer_0713.jpg

http://www.streetfoodcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/500-Days-of-Summer-Website-Banner-2-980x363-1.jpg

https://video-images.vice.com/articles/5b6c4efeef17ed0008cb4f6b/lede/1533824872007-Screen-Shot-2018-08-09-at-152728.png

that looks like a cute movie

I wore that outfit basically (minus tie ) to work half the time. I likes it because you don't really have to iron your button down. Or even really make sure it's buttoned.

well you can just buy the same clothes but in cuts that fit your body differently than that, then you won't be as punchable as JGL

also you don't have to go w/ an "indie movie" color palette, just do a simple white shirt and navy sweater and a tie in saturated colors, boom no more bullies kicking sand in yr face

i guess the downside to that is you look like you're wearing a school uniform, which is actually an upside for me

yeah that was my 'I am at work' look for years. I can't remember last time I wore a tie outside of a wedding now though

does anyone just rip their clothes to shreds in the course of normal use??

e.g. Levi's is the only brand of jean that I don't manage to rip the crotch out of with 6 months
I wear the sole off shoes in record time. I can't buy Air Max because the air unti will be punctured with a couple of months. I love wearing Hoka running shoes as casual shoes b/c they are so outrageously comfortable, but I will have worn through the rubber on the sole into the foam within weeks.

(sorry for typos)

I destroy levis in six months or less.crotch always the first thing to go

Yeah I def have the crotch rip problem with jeans and pants -- curious to see whether these wellthreads (which I guess are a denim blend and not 100% cotton) are less vulnerable to my crotch sweat

Crotchblast is a common occurrence if your thighs rub together (normal) when you walk.

what are we doing wrong. i do sit indian style a lot, which creates stress. i sit a lot, period. i'm an active guy, but when i'm still i'd rather be sitting.

xp hmm good theory

yeah my thighs don't rub together v much but come to think of it i sit indian style a lot and when I'm at home i almost always sit with the ankle of one leg resting on the thigh of the other.

get better denim, and when they blow out, get em reinforced/repaired

i haven't bought a new pair of jeans in years (altho i was gifted a couple of pairs 2 years ago, one of which i haven't even started wearing yet)

define better denim tho.

i have bought many different brands of jeans including expensive ones, none have been hard-wearing. i suppose if i went for raw selvedge that stand up by themselves i might have more luck, but they seem like they wouldn't be comfortable

yeah i like softer denim. $50 levi's have outlasted the most expensive jeans i've owned, so i mostly stick with them

i'm looking for some black boots that would be at home both at a goth show and with a workwear-ish look. are dr marten's my best choice?

raw denim isn't comfortable at first but once they break in there's really nothing better. i know you've heard it before but i mean it. imo 100% worth the discomfort during the first couple months. and by "better" i generally mean a heavier denim, i find a lot of cheaper jeans are like a lighter denim (maybe a 10-11oz? maybe lighter?) and have had the shit beaten out of them in production (i'm not even talking "pre-distressed" looks here, i'm talking about just your regular jeans like levi's from the store). all that shit-kicking is just making them last less long, i feel?

if the softer pre-broken levi's work for ya then keep going for it i say! but all i'm saying is i've had 4ish pairs of raw jeans, 2 of which i wore hard for 1-2 years before needing repairs (and if you find a good spot, they'll chain-stitch the hell out of em, and patch em, and reinforce the entire crotch zone, so if it starts to blwo out again, you have an extra layer of protection), one of which is almost a year in with ZERO repair needs (and they've been probably worn about 50% of days!), and a 4th pair i'm not even gonna start wearing until i need to retire one of the old pairs.

fyi the ones that have really hung in the longest are Big John brand. things are *knocks wood* invincible

Here is my general look:

OCBD or muted flannel
Plain-ish tie
Cashmere blend or merino v-neck in colorblocky pattern OR some kind of seasonally apt coat, ideally with elbow patches
Khakis, black denim, or lightly patterned trousers
Chunky old sneakers (Air Maxes, Jordan IIIs)

I’m not gonna apologize for the v-neck-and-tie professor look, on account of that is fairly close to my job.

xpost Last year I just got a pair of Dr Marten chelsea boots that don't have the yellow stitching (my optometrist was wearing them and they looked so great). But I see they don't do the no yellow stitching for men. I would wear then easily to any office job.

they seem to have a monochrome black in the 1460 boot but i'm torn between the style of the yellow stitching and the versatility of a monochrome

I vote monochrome. The yellow stitching kind of cheapens it? But that may be my thing, since I'll always associate it with teendom. I have a pair of doc oxfords monochrome too and they got far more use than if there had been yellow stitching.

does anyone just rip their clothes to shreds in the course of normal use??

Yes and it's hard with women's clothes because the fabrics tend to be delicate. Sweaters always get pilled and abraded under the arms from swinging my arms when I walk, pants wear out in the thigh/crotch, shoes get walked down quickly and soles/heel pads always need replacing (if you can find a cobbler who does it), fabrics don't launder well, and on and on. I sometimes wonder if people who get in their cars and drive to work have these problems or if it's because we do so much walking in NYC.

actually this might be the best of both worlds. apparently these are made in the former dr marten's factory https://www.solovairdirect.com/collections/soloviar-boots/products/solovair-8-eye-derby-in-black

i like those boots.

xpost the water where I am is very very hard and I have noticed that my clothes are wearing out super fast.

1. I am so old and so unhip that my "professor look" is still a tweed sportcoat with actual leather elbow patches. Dress it up with a tie and a white shirt; dress it down with a striped shirt and no tie. I am a 70s/80s creature. The punchability of Joseph Gordon Levitt is just not a factor in how I get dressed each day.

2. Rip, jim, man alive, what the hell are you doing with your crotches? This has never happened to me. I buy like Banana Republic or Lands End chinos. After four or five years they start to fray around the hems, but the crotches are intact. This is while doing normal stuff, but also vigorous playing with small children, biking for errands, walking in urban settings, etc.

3. Will, sorry but I am not going to be uncomfortable for weeks in order to hit some future nirvana of comfort that may last for a year or so before I need to repeat the process. That is not a good advertisement for your sartorial vision. See above; one can buy clothes that are already comfortable. I look like a burb dad a lot of the time, sure, but I AM a burb dad so it fits. And I'm not waddling like a penguin for a month waiting for my jeans to hit the right degree of broken-in-ness. Sorry for the strident tone but sheesh.

I have a tweed overcoat with leather elbow patches. I love the look,

it isn't as bad as you make it sound, they're just a little stiff for a while. and you can even mitigate that in most cases with a cold water soak when you get the jeans. and you don't need to repeat the process every year. i'm saying that's exactly what you /don't/ need to do. two pairs each ended up with a totally repairable tear after about two years of FREQUENT wear, and have since been repaired and are still in rotation and look great. honestly barring significant changes in weight, or some kind of jeans disaster, i should not need to buy another pair of jeans for the next ten years or so. seriously.

also like i said it isn't for everyone, but like honestly complaining about the comfort makes no sense to me. i find EVERY pair of jeans i buy to be uncomfortable at first, particularly random levi's, because no two pairs (even in the same fabric, in the same size, in the same store, on the same day!) ever seem to fit the same, and they hug the love handles or the crotch wrong or they sag or they ride up, and you kinda just get used to them, and they never change -- they just feel 10-30% uncomfortable until the crotch blows out and you throw them in the trash. with raw, at least in my experience, you feel like that for a couple of months, but eventually they feel like they were custom-made for your body. the pair i am wearing right now are more comfortable than any jeans i've ever worn.

and inner thigh rips are not caused by doing crazy shit in your jeans, it's from your thighs rubbing together, which for some of us is inescapable.