Anyone here looks like a slave to fashion compared to me. Shorts from a dollar store, blood-bank t-shirts (1 new a month), gimme-cap, running shoes without socks.
I have two outfits for jury duty or whatever. Very dusty.
i've mostly quit making attempts at style since i've been in college/grad school. i used to have cool shit. now its all hipstery/thrift store or stuff thats generic enough to wear all the time. wearing totally foppish stuff can be fun, but everyone only talks abotu what you're wearing when you first interact. which is probably something like being a girl and having people tell you you're hot, now that i think about it.
140: I did; age & infirmity have long since caught up with me. [[sigh] Try being graceful with a recently re-attached Achilles tendon - I'll never do my Emma Peel savate routine again.] My progenitor had the idea that his daughters ought to be able to comport themselves in a ladylike manner: Know how to ride a horse, play a decent game of tennis, shoot a gun, rewire a lamp and kick ass.
I fear the only thing I've done lately is the lamp thing.
also annoying: popped collars as a trend. i played lacrosse; i rowed crew. but i've had to stop wearing polo shirts the last few years as its turned into this hollister affectation.
I once bought a purple suit at a thrift store that some guy had had custom-made in Hong Kong back in the seventies. Polyester with paisley lining. It fits me better than any other item of clothing I own. I'd like to wear it more, but I'm never sure what sort of occasion calls for a purple suit.
144: Oh, that sucks. Tendon injuries are the worst, as I know to my sorrow. How did yours detach? Your dad's list of ladylike accomplishments kicks ass itself.
143: I was mostly joking; I want to go to hong kong but probably won't get there for another year or two. But when I go, I definitely want to get some clothes made.
146: That makes sense, as the exchange rate on the mainland is insane, or was when I was there. What is happening or has happened to Hong Kong currency?
106, 115. The knot, actually well-described by Smasher, is called a four-in-hand. Recognize it by it's length to width, and characteristic asymmetry. All other knots, half and full Windsor and Shelby, are wider and symmetrical
146: It is, but you can daytrip there from HK. Plus, some of the old-school tailors are (I think) still hanging on, many of whom give volume discounts.
I was just thinking of knots in general, and then tie knots specifically. You generally tie a bowline or a triple-half-hitch for reasons having to do with the force you expect to be applied to the knot, or whether you'll need to adjust or untie it quickly or for other reasons (not that I remember how to tie those knots, or when). But to my uneducated eye any of the usual tie knots seem to get the job done of keeping the tie from choking you or falling off your neck.
Right, which is why I was wondering if functional considerations - in the way I understand them with respect to knots in general - ever played any role in differentiating the various knots. The answer seems to be no. I have no problem with there being stylistic reasons for one knot or another.
Fuck that! I want a cheongsam. Or a suit. For serious. If someone has cheap connections, let me know. I found a purple cashmere blazer at a thrift store not long ago. I still haven't worn it.
Emma Peel was my earliest role model. It's all her fault.
now that I'm back up I wanted to say to megan: try harder on the vintage clothes. even if you only have one great 50's dress you can wear it to parties all the time and it's incredibly easy since you don't have to wear anything else besides shoes to look great. keep trying them; the upper body thing is a problem for many people, but you'll get lucky eventually.
I have several dresses that look lovely and feminine on me. Dresses aren't as hard as other outfits, because they are just one clothing, shoes and jewelry. I don't have any fantastic 50's dresses though, so if you tell me they are different, I'll keep looking.
What I also don't get is when to wear dresses. Some women wear them when it isn't a fancy occasion. Like, they wear a dress, and then look pretty just when they are sitting at a cafe. But going to a cafe doesn't require more than jeans and a t-shirt (for example), so they must not feel self-conscious wearing more than the minimal clothing required by the occasion. When I wear dresses, I get distracted by: 1. my cleavage, all hanging out everywhere and shouting at people, 2. the moving hemline, because it is curling and swaying, and 3. the idea of my increased girliness. You just get used to those things? Even when they are gratuitous, and instead you could be thinking of what your friend is saying or whether you would rather swim or go to yoga tonight?
You get used to hemlines and the increased girliness; the cleavage thing depends on the dress.
In a way, actually, dresses are very practical and not "more" than what's required--after all, it's just one piece of clothing, you slip it on, you're done getting dressed.
I like skirts. They feel dressier in some ways, but they're also much easier to deal with as opposed to shorts. Plus, when you're buying a skirt, the only aspect of the fit you usually need to worry about is length and waist. Everything else is flowy.
Some of the shops here are/were selling these dresses that have a 50s-retro meets Japanese gothic-lolita thing happening. Black with big bows and sashes at the waist, puff-sleeves, full skirt and tight bodice.
My wife is rockin' that look at the moment as it's just about formal enough for work but quirky at the same time.
Back to the handiness thing--my dad never really taught me a blamed thing about tools (we built a set of bookshelves, once), and I only had a quarter's worth of shop class. I'm now handy enough that I have completely refinished a basement (wired new overhead lighting, hung a drop ceiling, built new walls, including hanging doors, and put in a 300-square-foot tile floor). I learned all the necessary skills watching This Old House, reading the Home Depot omnibus on home maintenance, and being willing to blow some money on a professional if I fucked up. It took about five years.
This is more of a guy thing, but one thing you can do is pick a store whose clothes you like then buy all of your clothes from that store. Hardly, anyone will know and even fewer will care that you buy all your clothes from bananna republic. You should wait until sales to make big purchases. Pick a store that doesn't make a lot of radical changes seaon to season.
The other tip I have is to make sure you have your sizing right.
Anyone here looks like a slave to fashion compared to me. Shorts from a dollar store, blood-bank t-shirts (1 new a month), gimme-cap, running shoes without socks.
I have two outfits for jury duty or whatever. Very dusty.
Posted by bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 4:03 PM
We need to make an Unfogged field trip to Hong Kong. Custom suits for all! Plus cheongsams for the laydeez! Alameida can find us somebody, right?
He also built a pair of nunchucks into a purse for me when I went off to live in NYC.
Really? do you know how to use nunchuks? That sounds like Emma Peel territory.
Posted by mcmc | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 4:55 PM
"and forget that it doesn't express inner (or outer) truths about yourself. It's clothes. They don't."
it does say what subculture you're identifying with, at least for the evening.
Posted by yoyo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:04 PM
i've mostly quit making attempts at style since i've been in college/grad school. i used to have cool shit. now its all hipstery/thrift store or stuff thats generic enough to wear all the time. wearing totally foppish stuff can be fun, but everyone only talks abotu what you're wearing when you first interact. which is probably something like being a girl and having people tell you you're hot, now that i think about it.
Posted by yoyo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:09 PM
140: Grew up in Hong Kong; still probably have enough connections to hook people up if anyone's actually serious about that.
Posted by Anarch | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:17 PM
140: I did; age & infirmity have long since caught up with me. [[sigh] Try being graceful with a recently re-attached Achilles tendon - I'll never do my Emma Peel savate routine again.] My progenitor had the idea that his daughters ought to be able to comport themselves in a ladylike manner: Know how to ride a horse, play a decent game of tennis, shoot a gun, rewire a lamp and kick ass.
I fear the only thing I've done lately is the lamp thing.
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:26 PM
also annoying: popped collars as a trend. i played lacrosse; i rowed crew. but i've had to stop wearing polo shirts the last few years as its turned into this hollister affectation.
Posted by yoyo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:30 PM
140/143: I thought Shenzhen was the new bespoke suit Mecca.
Best trick: Fly courier - it's cheap - and pay for an extra piece of luggage to bring home the clothes. [Courier flight use one's baggage allowance.]
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:31 PM
I once bought a purple suit at a thrift store that some guy had had custom-made in Hong Kong back in the seventies. Polyester with paisley lining. It fits me better than any other item of clothing I own. I'd like to wear it more, but I'm never sure what sort of occasion calls for a purple suit.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:32 PM
I never saw a purple suit...
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:35 PM
144: Oh, that sucks. Tendon injuries are the worst, as I know to my sorrow. How did yours detach? Your dad's list of ladylike accomplishments kicks ass itself.
143: I was mostly joking; I want to go to hong kong but probably won't get there for another year or two. But when I go, I definitely want to get some clothes made.
Posted by mcmc | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:35 PM
i've seen a couple of purple suits. alwasy on a black man during lunch at a restaurant on sunday.
Posted by yoyo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:38 PM
146: That makes sense, as the exchange rate on the mainland is insane, or was when I was there. What is happening or has happened to Hong Kong currency?
Posted by mcmc | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:40 PM
148: Apparently eb doesn't like the NBA.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:41 PM
He's not alone.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:43 PM
I'm not going to make 148 explicit.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 5:51 PM
106, 115. The knot, actually well-described by Smasher, is called a four-in-hand. Recognize it by it's length to width, and characteristic asymmetry. All other knots, half and full Windsor and Shelby, are wider and symmetrical
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 6:00 PM
Are there functional reasons for the existence of different kinds of knots for ties?
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 6:15 PM
Apparently some work better for certain kinds of tie than others. Wolfson knows the details.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 6:22 PM
I only know the four-in-hand, and the asymmetry can be kind of irritating.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 6:27 PM
bigger/fatter faces require bigger knots; emaciated faces on smaller guys require smaller knots. also can depend on the length of the tie.
Posted by yoyo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 6:37 PM
146: It is, but you can daytrip there from HK. Plus, some of the old-school tailors are (I think) still hanging on, many of whom give volume discounts.
Posted by Anarch | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:09 PM
Skinnier ties require bigger knots. I resent the implication, from a Buckeye, that my face needs the larger knot.
Posted by Armsmasher | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:12 PM
It depends also on shirt collar.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:13 PM
I suppose I need to redefine my understanding of the word "functional."
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:30 PM
To address these issues you should probably define it so that it applies to ties in the first place.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:32 PM
I was just thinking of knots in general, and then tie knots specifically. You generally tie a bowline or a triple-half-hitch for reasons having to do with the force you expect to be applied to the knot, or whether you'll need to adjust or untie it quickly or for other reasons (not that I remember how to tie those knots, or when). But to my uneducated eye any of the usual tie knots seem to get the job done of keeping the tie from choking you or falling off your neck.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:38 PM
The thing is that ties are purely ornamental, so the main consideration when it comes to knots is how they look.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:40 PM
they also have signaling uses, especially the original repp ties
Posted by yoyo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:43 PM
Right, which is why I was wondering if functional considerations - in the way I understand them with respect to knots in general - ever played any role in differentiating the various knots. The answer seems to be no. I have no problem with there being stylistic reasons for one knot or another.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 7:45 PM
Plus cheongsams for the laydeez!
Fuck that! I want a cheongsam. Or a suit. For serious. If someone has cheap connections, let me know. I found a purple cashmere blazer at a thrift store not long ago. I still haven't worn it.
Emma Peel was my earliest role model. It's all her fault.
Posted by Paul | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 8:33 PM
now that I'm back up I wanted to say to megan: try harder on the vintage clothes. even if you only have one great 50's dress you can wear it to parties all the time and it's incredibly easy since you don't have to wear anything else besides shoes to look great. keep trying them; the upper body thing is a problem for many people, but you'll get lucky eventually.
Posted by alameida | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 9:20 PM
I have several dresses that look lovely and feminine on me. Dresses aren't as hard as other outfits, because they are just one clothing, shoes and jewelry. I don't have any fantastic 50's dresses though, so if you tell me they are different, I'll keep looking.
What I also don't get is when to wear dresses. Some women wear them when it isn't a fancy occasion. Like, they wear a dress, and then look pretty just when they are sitting at a cafe. But going to a cafe doesn't require more than jeans and a t-shirt (for example), so they must not feel self-conscious wearing more than the minimal clothing required by the occasion. When I wear dresses, I get distracted by: 1. my cleavage, all hanging out everywhere and shouting at people, 2. the moving hemline, because it is curling and swaying, and 3. the idea of my increased girliness. You just get used to those things? Even when they are gratuitous, and instead you could be thinking of what your friend is saying or whether you would rather swim or go to yoga tonight?
Posted by Megan | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 9:35 PM
You get used to hemlines and the increased girliness; the cleavage thing depends on the dress.
In a way, actually, dresses are very practical and not "more" than what's required--after all, it's just one piece of clothing, you slip it on, you're done getting dressed.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 9:43 PM
dresses & skirts seem very practical, but i'm not going to break through that barriar.
Posted by yoyo | Link to this comment | 09-10-06 10:20 PM
I never hope to see one.
Posted by standpipe b | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 7:02 AM
But I can tell you this, to boot:
Posted by standpipe b | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 7:02 AM
Standpipe B is a purple cow!
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 7:04 AM
Also: my dad wore a purple suit to my wedding.
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 7:05 AM
I like skirts. They feel dressier in some ways, but they're also much easier to deal with as opposed to shorts. Plus, when you're buying a skirt, the only aspect of the fit you usually need to worry about is length and waist. Everything else is flowy.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 7:11 AM
Some of the shops here are/were selling these dresses that have a 50s-retro meets Japanese gothic-lolita thing happening. Black with big bows and sashes at the waist, puff-sleeves, full skirt and tight bodice.
My wife is rockin' that look at the moment as it's just about formal enough for work but quirky at the same time.
Posted by nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 7:17 AM
Plus cheongsams for the laydeez!
I initially read this as 'cheongasms.' Because the one thing I really like is giving laydeez cheongasms.
Posted by Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 7:30 AM
Back to the handiness thing--my dad never really taught me a blamed thing about tools (we built a set of bookshelves, once), and I only had a quarter's worth of shop class. I'm now handy enough that I have completely refinished a basement (wired new overhead lighting, hung a drop ceiling, built new walls, including hanging doors, and put in a 300-square-foot tile floor). I learned all the necessary skills watching This Old House, reading the Home Depot omnibus on home maintenance, and being willing to blow some money on a professional if I fucked up. It took about five years.
Posted by Chopper | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 9:30 AM
All that and curing meat.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 9:31 AM
This is more of a guy thing, but one thing you can do is pick a store whose clothes you like then buy all of your clothes from that store. Hardly, anyone will know and even fewer will care that you buy all your clothes from bananna republic. You should wait until sales to make big purchases. Pick a store that doesn't make a lot of radical changes seaon to season.
The other tip I have is to make sure you have your sizing right.
Posted by joe o | Link to this comment | 09-11-06 10:39 AM