ils thread for general menswear and men's clothing ish

i was just making clear to everyone who that was a picture of i.e. Rich Guy Man Alive

ah ok, lol

yes, that is in fact a photo of me ahem

partially out of curiosity, partially out of frustration at not being able to find a pair of NON stretch jeans that i like, i bought a pair of black levis 501 shrink-to-fit for cheap and did the whole soaking and drying routine. not really having ever worn 'raw denim' and seeing this stiff pair of jeans arrive, i did not have any real expectation that this was going to work out. but i soaked them in hot water, hung them to dry, and now i've been wearing them for a week now and this is kind of fun? they are breaking in quickly and already feel extremely comfortable, like i have a custom-fit pair of jeans. as a very thin and small person i can't tell you how nice it is to wear something that feels like it fits me properly. i ignored most of the advice and did NOT size up as much as it is recommended - there are a lot of hilarious "before and after" 501 photos on reddit and bad menswear blogs that made me think the sizing and shrinking guidelines are trash, and i also figured jeans stretch out so much anyways over time. the first day these were pretty tight fitting but that's all it took really.

but really though it was depressing trying on over a dozen pairs of jeans this past month, most of which fit and looked great, that i ultimately had to return because of the ubiquity of stretch denim now. i have no fundamental "raw denim purist" reaction to it in any way, it's just that i have trouble wearing many things that aren't 100% cotton, it can feel suffocating to me. some kind of sensory thing.

there's something incredible reassuring to me about the starchy feel of thick cotton. whether it's good jeans or a clean stiff oxford shirt or a towel just off the clothesline.

i too like pure cotton

i have fancy japanese denim jeans and then also some regular levis and the levis just feel like such a freakin joke all super light weight and stretchy smh

I picked up a pair of Levis "premium" and a pair of Levis "made and crafted" in a sale. The "premium" denim def feels nicer and is a little sturdier but still p soft. The "made and crafted" pair has a slightly more rigid "these are real denim jeans" kind of feel to it. Not 100% sure what each of these labels connotes though.

I’ve probably said this here before but I have a friend who works at Levi’s and she says the jeans they make for Europe and Japan are much higher quality than the US pairs

I don't know how I've ended up in this situation but I'm now deliberating over tracking down the perfect white t shirt. Ridiculous, but it's so that it goes with a sweatshirt I bought recently with an interesting wide, raised neck. it needs the right flash of white to work. I'd be conscious wearing a white t on its own though, so God forbid I'd have to take the jumper off in public

I don't know how I've ended up in this situation but I'm now deliberating over tracking down the perfect white t shirt. Ridiculous, but it's so that it goes with a sweatshirt I bought recently with an interesting wide, raised neck. it needs the right flash of white to work. I'd be conscious wearing a white t on its own though, so God forbid I'd have to take the jumper off in public

if it's perfect then you're good though, right?

if you find the right post, submit it twice imo

yeah it's not often i nail these things.

and Tracer, exactly - in an ideal world I'd be very happy wearing it just as a shirt

https://www.amazon.com/kirkland-signature-white-t-shirts/s?k=kirkland+signature+white+t+shirts

Just pay the shipping imo. Absolutely the best white tshirts outside of spending an arm and a leg on fitted muscle bullshit. And they hold up for YEARS.

IDK if they've changed them since, but the last kirkland white tees I bought were overly thick and weird

The canonical "perfect white t shirt" is Velva Sheen, right?

Kirkland ts are legit bad ,better than fruit of the loom I guess but that's not a high barrier

uniqlo supima cotton are my current goto

I have a lot of questions about deodorant (specific brands?) causing the underarms of white undershirts to get really discolored and impossible to remove. But maybe this should be a larger internet search. Or maybe I should just throw all of his out and buy new ones. Are the kirkland ones too thick to be an undershirt?

deodorant is bad and smells bad imo

Yeah, I detest the smell of it. Plus, I am asian (have that weird gene) so never had to wear it.

Spouse can't give it up

http://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-mens-white-t-shirt-according-to-men.html

Generally valid. I guess I rep for kirklands because I also tuck mine in (as undershirts) and I personally don’t mind the collar

I kinda stopped wearing undershirts some time ago. No one has noticed or cared; also my dress shirts are unbesmirched, armpitwise, as far as I can tell.

Your armpits may vary, of course, but I definitely seem to sweat less when I wear one shirt instead of two.

question: is the wearing of “undershirts” or not a US/UK divide. i associated it v much with the US. i myself will *very* rarely wear a tee under a shirt being more likely to stick a jumper on top.

i say US/UK tho suspect it may be europe/rest of world thing.

or possibly a “me v rest of world” thing idk.

I'm American and dislike wearing undershirts

I don’t recall ever seeing anyone do it or it occurring to me to do it in the UK.

Certainly seems the done thing over here though, to the extent i did it myself until I moved to California (where I now wear slides and basketball shorts and a bin bag).

Perhaps everyone in the UK was doing except me but they werent vulgar enough to allow the T-shirt to show at the throat (vneck or tie).

Warmer climate in much of the US, maybe?

i'm not a guy but I assumed it was because of i) nipple coverage ii) chest hair coverage iii) too much temperature variation between buildings/outside iv) save the armpits of nicer shirts or iv)easier to change out of business clothes later

The lovely Emma B (French) thinks undershirts are weird. I’m American and wear them all the time. I feel like they help keep my real button-down shirts cleaner longer. And then I wear them as pajama tops! So versatile. Now you know my whole routine. I should have live-journaled this.

yeah warmer climate is a strong possibility, but a significant fraction of the people who wear shirts to work in the UK commute on the tube, which is hotter than the sun iirc.

I've worked for a couple of weeks at two offices in canary wharf and I really do think most men wear an undershirt of some kind under their button downs. I really think it would've been noticeable if they didn't.

hmmm, i see they used to just wear a vest/tank top.

My impressionistic memory of UK business menswear 1996-1999 was that there were way more spread collars there (relative to point collars and button-down collars). Also UK men's ties had way bulkier knots (presumably Windsor and half-Windsor).

I didn't undress any businessmen (as far as I remember) so I don't know what they had on underneath.

i don't think it's necessary to take a hard and fast position on undershirts, but in the winter they can be an extra layer and in the summer they can keep your real shirt dry if you tend to sweat and have to spend time outside. i do loathe exposed undershirts which almost never look nice, and advocate the v-neck if you usually have your top button undone.

i have observed what i would term an NYC young professional bro thing where guys wear tight-fitting, fine cotton solid dress shirts without an undershirt and find it to be a weird and tacky choice.

I liked undershirts when I was thin. They made me look bulked out and strongish. When I got chobbo they just accentuated the insulation around my torso, and pressed against the optimistically low-numbered waistband of my trousers.

American here and can’t imagine not wearing a button up without an undershirt. For me it’s mostly because I run warm and almost always feel the need to shed layers. A button up with no undershirt is a commitment. Plus, what Tracer said about needing to wash them less often. I think I traded button ups for hoodies for the office around the time I hit 40.

same for me and underpants. i run warm and almost always feel the need to shed layers. trousers without underpants is a commitment.

what do folks around here think about loafers as office wear? Obviously they are "acceptable" but I can't decide if they're a step too far into dockers land. I'm sort of looking for something that's in that zone of the casual side of dressy.

i have some brown suede brooks bros loafers that dont look too cell phone holsterish. i think it's the shiny pleather on cole haan-type loafers that gives off that vibe. suede lets you dodge the whole question.

if you want to go full douchebag do what the europeans do and wear suede Tods to work. pair with salmon chinos, a big silver diving watch and a sweater loosely tied around your shoulders. only $475.

https://cdn-images.farfetch-contents.com/13/58/67/35/13586735_21589824_480.jpg

do it

um, I ordered some Kirkland t shirts and while they were indeed good quality, they were extremely baggy and tent-like with very roomy sleeves. Too much material in all for me - I prefer something a bit more fitted (but not super tight). Might suit other people.

um, I ordered some Kirkland t shirts and while they were indeed good quality, they were extremely baggy and tent-like with very roomy sleeves. Too much material in all for me - I prefer something a bit more fitted (but not super tight). Might suit other people.

the collar is perfect though

I’m sorry dude!

nothing ventured nothing gained, I'll send em back. US cuts tend to be a bit bigger than UK so maybe if I'd ordered a smaller size they'd been fine