ils menswear and men's clothing part 2: 2023 until we all need stillsuits

just checking in to say i haven't reached the turtleneck phase yet but we can circle back to this post in 10 years

i guess i'm ok with the turtleneck as like a 'settling into type' of some kind? way out of my lane though.

i got a corny email from filson after i bought my trucker hat from them, like "how do you like your provisions?" below a huge image of some dude on horseback, and i wimpered in shame because i loved it lol.

one of the funniest all time garments is the mock turt

https://i.imgur.com/SSUTVq7.png

mock turts can be hot but only if you're a professional football player

athlete driving a jeep is the prototypical mock turt wearer, you could even have a team turt with the logo on the collar, but then somehow steve job in a high fashion mock turt is its most famous wearer

it's sad imo, fuck steve jobs

make mock turts great again

i respect that he sought out an expensive japanese mock turt and wore one every day, true lunatic behavior

sleeveless mock turts in a jeep or gtfo

amen brother, & the mock turt maker better send me an email saying "happy trails" after it's delivered to me.

It's the only type of shirt that is also a type of soup

As far as I know

Red wing and Nintendo have teamed up to bring Super Mario’s Shoes To Life (2023) pic.twitter.com/0yqFdXnpqf

— Outlander Magazine (@StreetFashion01) March 10, 2023

lmao

cant wait to stomp on all my enemies

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/09/australia/australia-william-leslie-arnold-cold-case-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

wow chambray double needle workshirt, such authentic, is it selvedge, where can i cop?

‘Well, he was an orphan. He didn’t lie about that, but he killed his parents, that’s why he was an orphan.’

👌

who's looking snazzy for summer

https://img.staticdj.com/0db3f52ccc134a79e32104a267bc5f39_1080x.jpeg

for real though i got this filson mechanic shirt and i can't wait to cosplay rough trade at the club

https://filson-canto.imgix.net/3qrso6g9vh57785bqmdpdcil37/gs6KD7w7k41qERPg97FERgdWi3Y/original?h=2000&w=2000&bg=ffffff&q=80&auto=format,compress&fit=fillmax

stussy has done many iterations on this workwear classic

besides the fact that i've never quite been able to pull off hickory stripe, i also have a morbid fear of catching my chest hair when adjusting the zip

i could not make it work personally but it's a cool style of shirt

my summer look is “aging crustpunk” or “hippie preppy”

The one with the half zip is odd but it is at least comprehensible as clothing for a male adult human in the western hemisphere.

I don't really understand the blue shirt above it with what I guess is a keyhole neckline?

Not my personal thing, but if that is something you wish to wear, go ahead; rock on with your bad selves.

I do not know what crust is so I'm prolly gonna keep dressing like my father, my stepfather, and almost every male person I ever knew who has a PhD in the humanities and a drinking problem. Our collective aesthetic is "louche English professor" and mostly it is working out for us.

We wear tweed nine months out of the year and linen for three months, and we do okay.

god bless

i'm also on the lookout for the douchiest sport sunglasses imaginable, i think it might have to be these oakleys

https://assets2.oakley.com/cdn-record-files-pi/c6ca0fe9-4ff1-43c5-8fa3-aefd00ef8cc0/77a5f4ac-6e0d-4929-bd9d-aefd00f83d56/0OO9271__927153__P21__shad__qt.png?impolicy=OO_ratio&width=2000

for the record, the blue shirt was a joke

i used to sling secondhand & vintage clothing as a side hustle and have the kind of eclectic wardrobe that goes with the territory.

my favorite stuff has tended to be postwar era- not too military, not too rockabilly, more outdoor and phys ed apparel. it's blockish and severe and looks good with my buzz cut.

i've gained a lot of weight in the last few years, though. i resisted buying any new clothes, instead i've tried to squeeze into anything i had that was oversized or less fitted. but it's got to the point where that's no longer an option.

so the first thing i noticed is that used clothes cost as much as new clothes now. not just coveted vintage pieces, i mean absolutely everything. wtf?? i guess i'm glad more people are buying secondhand shit but this is crazy.

i'm not going to buy fast fashion bullshit that falls apart in 3 months and ends up in a landfill. i'm not going invest in heirloom pieces because of my fluctuating weight (i was S/P and could fit into youth sizes, now i'm a true M/L) and also i'm living with uncertainties about my health. and i'm def not paying what ridiculous vintage repro brands charge for basics, holy shit.

digging around the online secondhand market a bit, it's really hard to find anything that justifies the price. Billy Reid stuff is about the best value, with a lot of pieces made in Italy under $30. i'm also seeing some deals for Steven Alan, though the quality and price point is much more variable there. this kind of stuff is a little more "normal guy" than what i usually go for, but i like it well enough i guess. the guys i see on the subway who dress like that always look like they have their ducks in a row. the problem is that as it's sort of blandish no individual piece inspires me to pull the trigger.

i'm through with buying clothes, forever. fashion is the biggest racket going, better drop those pounds fast i guess.

Not my personal thing, but if that is something you wish to wear, go ahead; rock on with your bad selves.

fixed

gah

Not my personal thing, but if that is something you wish to wear, go ahead; rock on with your bad selves.

:D

i doubt this is up your alley because it's very military but i need to evangelize about soffe silkies (or "ranger panties") for a second. if there was a god in heaven more men with nice legs would wear them. they're incredibly short. they're also incredibly comfortable. i wear them to the gym every day, whaddup.

https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-19fkae7/products/361/images/1548/M020_ranger-olive__50494.1563829773.1280.1280.jpg?c=2

i once sold a pair of champion running man herringbone gym shorts in military olive color with a < 3" inseam for like $150.

i have 1940s basketball shorts somewhere that are shorter. alas, my legs have seen better days.

ftr i am pro gym shorts. on guys with nice legs it's not even a question.

YMP, “crust punk” is wearing cut-off tees with hardcore bands or cop-fighting anime characters or trains on them with booty shorts . it gets hot in Philly.

“hippie preppy” is wearing nicer clothes but they’re a little too bright and strange and it might seem like i’m on drugs. LL Bean but make it drug-running

preppie gone druggy is classic story

i like ll bean too, but it's a good example of the secondhand market insanity with items that used to reliably fetch $10-15 starting around $50. guess i'm done with ll bean.

Seth from Dufus is the ultimate crust punk. he doesn't wear a ton of black but i saw him on the G train c. 2001 with huge mounds of actual garbage glued to his shoes.

whats a good bargain on the second hand market these days

Wow I literally have no idea what you folks are talking about but okay

I only shop LL Bean at discount shops or at the outlets in Maine— I save a couple hundred just for clothes on my annual Maine trip.

(or at least I try)

i find ll bean made in usa pieces on ebay for $10-15 regularly. usually when sellers don't put it in the title and you gotta scroll the pics to see the tags. 90s era denim/chambray shirts in partic.

not usa but ll bean camp collar shirts are plentiful, affordable, and good for summer. i have two in a pleasingly colonialist batik print that look great with the sleeves rolled way way up for flexing purposes (the default unrolled silhouette is very tommy bahama).

levis 550s (the relaxed fit) are very cheap on ebay and comfortable year round in nyc imo.

my man!

am i not as patient and resourceful as i used to be or are we looking at different pieces?

not seeing a big price difference between made in usa and imported tbh. i have seen the camp shirts real cheap! i don't want em because tommy bahama silhouette is otm

also i like camp shirts a lot but why does every fucking short sleeve shirt have a camp collar now?

annual Maine trip.

ppl who have figured out how to live

As much as I like the patterns on a lot of camp collar shirts, I am very much sticking with butch collars; they just sit better on me. I’m currently scouting around for colourful print shirts, but with long sleeves. I never actually wear them long; instead I roll them up high above the elbow, as the shape nicely masks my skinny upper arms.

camp collar is code for “i’m available”, can’t believe you guys didn’t know this

deflatormouse, one of my oldest friends comes from some money, her family has a spot on an island off of Maine— dreamy place, but i certainly couldn’t afford such a trip if i were paying for anything besides gas, tolls, and gifts

I'm happy that this forest-green Land's End barn jacket, with a corduroy collar -- it was my late dads, from the 80s/90s -- is now suddenly in style.

like a Barbour jacket?

A lot like this one (I guess Lands' End is still making them!).

Oh, and here's the jacket itself on Ebay, though mine is less faded.

that sounds amazing table, my last comment was without irony or judgement, i'm glad you get to experience that place! i've only been to maine once, with a guy i was dating who grew up in the portland area. we went for a visit and hit boothbay, it was insanely beautiful.

as midcentury leisure shirts go i'm into the early 60's italian collar and have one in my rotation currently
https://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/_img/8384-3.jpg

those barn jackets never went out of style.

i have one, it makes me look hopelessly awful

my enormous 80s bean barn jacket--with a waxed poacher's pocket and webbing for shotgun shells--is one of my prize ebay scores. it is best with the collar flipped up

I've been thinking about what I could contribute to this thread. I bought this pair of shoes a couple of months ago, they're the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn:

Allbirds Men's Tree Dasher Relay

So apparently ankle socks and trainer liners are exclusively for old people now (god forbid) and it's all about proper socks, even in the summer.

But my question here lads is what the fuck do you do about the heat with these thick things round your calves? And I say thick, because the only ones I see being worn and modeled are not the kind of thin ones you might have worn with office shoes.

How do people cope?

you wear what is comfortable not what everyone else is wearing

I fell for these raw denim pleated chinos. not sure if they are still on the market

https://www.g-star.com/en_ca/shop/men/pants/d18129-c518-001

i hardly ever wear socks in summer unless i have to wear shoes (eg for work) and even then. obv will wear invisible socks if needed. don’t really like the whole socks with shorts thing.

xpost

i’m really enjoying my pleated linen trousers this summer!

Re crew socks with shorts you really have to lean in to your inner American to get over that hump but if you aren’t feeling it don’t sweat it.. it’s not for everyone.. but if you are.. the rewards *leans in conspiratorially* are significant

those G-Stars are great. I'd have never thought pleats would ever look good, but here I am

i'm so glad no-show socks are falling out of style. they're fine with sneakers but i honestly consider the no-show sock + dress shoe combo to be the worst menswear trend of my lifetime

It’s bad

yes hated it intensely

c’mon a pair of loafers it’s fine. (laced dress shoes agree). but mainly if im at home im in my trusted huaraches. the most comfortable summer footwear i’ve ever worn.

yeah loafers are excepted for obv reasons

fizzles, where'd you get your huaraches? I'm contemplating

while fizzles searches his memory banks, on this tip i am in love with my turkish leather slippers. No they are NOT Sabahs, though instagram will apparently fight to its dying day to sell me a pair; they are a much cheaper brand, also made in Turkey, but with a rubber sole, and they're made very well - I can't see how Sabah charges so much. i guess when you're a darling of Instagram you can charge what you like. anyway the brand is Atlantis. they appear to be slightly in thrall to a hippie "grounding" vibe. no i did not choose the version with the copper rivet in the bottom so i will never know what it feels like to plug my body directly into the earth's electricity field. in any case they are very comfortable and actually fit on my feet without slipping off the heel, which has sadly been an issue with every pair of espadrilles i've ever owned. and they have this sly ability to be both very casual and dressy if you want.

https://www.atlantishandmade.com/collections/mens-turkish-slip-ons

chamula iirc $$ but they've been incredibly robust. check for sizing recommendations though. Otherwise, i think you can get decent deals on etsy.

cool, ty. I'd been looking at them & think I'm ok with the money if I can nail the sizing. But seems like Son of a Stag stock them, so I can do this in the real world.

I really wanted to get some linen pleated pants like these, I think they are basically womens' pants:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1164/3142/files/Fallou_SS2018_1223_print_1024x1024.jpg?v=1527007914
https://www.blluemade.com/blogs/journal/1950s-influence-in-spring-shorts-and-pants

but I don't have $$$

I'm over it now. I don't buy clothes anymore, I just recombine the clothes I already have in new ways #lifehacks

i'm so glad no-show socks are falling out of style. they're fine with sneakers but i honestly consider the no-show sock + dress shoe combo to be the worst menswear trend of my lifetime

― paul mccartney and wigs (diamonddave85), Monday, June 24, 2024 2:22 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Agree on dress shoes, not on no-shows more generally. There are shoes that look good without socks (light weight slipons and such) and a no-show sock is just a way to deal with sweat/stink when you wear them.

FWIW, I have noticed a thing with young dudes in my area wearing pulled up black crew socks with their sneakers. Seems kind of corny to me and I don't think I'll be jumping on board as a 44yo.

yeah pulled-up black crew socks still code as Lame Dad for me.

oddly, I don't mind scrunched-down navy crew socks though (which code as 80s/90s preppy for me)

i’ll kind of allow it for some US style looks, and i’m sure TH with his arcane arts and occluded purpose can carry it off, but the UK look of it is… bad. blindingly white hairy leg stumps plomping around, or weedy white pipecleaner legs attached to a sort of peptobismol drink of a person.

it evokes a sort of damp and slightly fascistic social grotesquerie.

tho now i write that i feel consumed by snobbery and a voice saying “like you look so great, my man - take it with some water”.

anyway, where’s my linen pleated trousers. they’ll make me feel better.

i think the only way to carry off black crew socks with shorts is 1) be wearing black shoes 2) in fact be wearing black all over ie some kind of health goth monochrome look

i remember one particularly hot day about 5 years ago i went to work wearing black shorts, black adidas and RED crew socks and was mocked for it by pretty much everyone

Fizzles i am incredibly flattered that you think i can swing any of this.. i do think that being American somehow unlocks access to an unselfconscious ability to wear crew socks

I keep getting ads for Alex Mill and Alex Crane and I can never remember which brand is which.

I walked up the shop the other night and met my (15yr old) kid and her crew coming back - mildly pissed - from the park. They were ALL wearing white socks halfway up their calves and gave me loads of shit for not having any socks on with my trainers. Brutal.

Kids are always going to goof on the way old people dress - whether we wear our age-appropriate fashion or (even worse) try to wear theirs. I don't like the way most of the men my age (Gen X) dress, but I've never been adventurous either. My personal style for the last few decades has been all about attracting the least amount of attention. The older I get the closer I get to thinking that a casual suit would the best way for an older person to dress. Maybe in ten years or so.

My current personal style consists pretty much of Outlier, Muji, and Uniqlo. I like comfortable and functional clothing. I don't like brand logos, and I avoid loud colors except for accents (sometimes).

My daughter and her friends give me shit for being monochrome and dressing in pretty much all black and gray. My one concession to youth fashion is footwear: I'm almost always in either Hoka Transports or Crocs.

I walked up the shop the other night and met my (15yr old) kid and her crew coming back - mildly pissed - from the park. They were ALL wearing white socks halfway up their calves and gave me loads of shit for not having any socks on with my trainers. Brutal.

― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Wednesday, June 26, 2024 3:43 PM (forty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Aha! I knew I spotted a trend.

I'm definitely in an ongoing struggle to find that right balance of accepting dadness while having a bit of style.

dads are the most stylish, wtf are you talking about! you can do a straw hat, a suit, sandals, shorts, bright purple asics, nothing matters, you can build it out however you want! i think it's freeing to be older.

I just bought a few colorful t-shirts from this company

https://archivalapparel.co/

They are stylish, while having the decidedly dad vibe of being all retro classical and jazz designs. They achieve my goal of having a wider color palette, more interesting graphic designs, and representing my personal interests.

I was wearing a Slayer t-shirt; ultimately, I won.

with a shirt like Slayer's poking out
no way the dad could lose

hard to lose a t-shirt face off in Slayer, it's true.

i bought birkenstock bostons today, this is truly a life event

They're so good. Lean in and let go

yeah, welcome aboard

Derek Guy really is a national treasure. Here's an 11-y-o article (2 of 4!) about the evolution of the oxford shirt:

https://putthison.com/the-ocbd-shirt-series-part-ii-the-golden-era/

Omg that is total puffin-nip. Thanks for posting, Tracer.

shocking: this 50-year-old didn’t know what “waist” meant

i swear to you i thought it was the same thing as your hips because that’s where i’ve always buckled my belt. now that “high waist” is a thing for the first time in my goddamn life i have come to realise that your waist is waayyy higher than your hips!

Waist-to-hip ratio is often used to differentiate apple-shaped vs. pear-shaped bodies.

Research has suggested a possible link between being apple-shaped and a greater risk of heart disease (which on a layperson level kinda makes sense because your body fat is more wrapped around your heart). But like everything related to body fat the research is contested.

wth are you talking about my body doesn’t look like an apple. or a pear. maybe a parsnip?

It's a standard way of talking about body shapes

https://www.mayoclinic.org/-/media/kcms/gbs/patient-consumer/images/2013/08/26/10/07/ds00522_im04175_mcdc7_metabolicsyndromethu_jpg.jpg

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/metabolic-syndrome/multimedia/apple-and-pear-body-shapes/img-20006114

Dunno about parsnips

I still don't understand the apple and pear thing. Not being purposely obtuse, honest! I don't look like either of those people and the link doesn't explain it. ANYWAY. the waist thing. I was in a shop in Crouch Hill last weekend called Mahala and they sell these amazing trousers. Apparently all copied off a pattern that the designer got from a guy he saw gardening one day. I tried a few on and they were FAR too drapey and dramatic for me. They looked incredible but I just couldn't.... go that far. The designer suggested I try some in cord. So I did and instantly loved them. I got them. I wear them around the house all the time and I wear them outside with my pea coat and scarf. I can feel myself becoming a.... swishy swoopy guy? A flowy guy? I'm not sure. Oh but the waist thing. So somehow, magically, the waistband of these sits pretty high and doesn't fall down, even with no belt on. It's just an inch or two below my belly button. And when it sits high like that the way the fabric falls is fantastic. So clean! So I realise this is probably a case of 1) I am getting older and comfort is becoming more important 2) tight is out, flowy is in 3) low waist is out, high waist is in .. Am I just thoughtlessly succumbing to all these social signals and to the natural style moves guys make when they hit their 50s? Maybe? but.. idc, I kind of love it. Have you guys found yourselves in similar slipstreams?

Anyway here's the link to the trousers (which you have to buy in the shop) - and they have them in way more fabrics than they show here. Some gorgeous flannels and tweeds. technically the brand is "Roomi" - a pun on their shape and also the Sufi mystic poet.

https://mahala.co.uk/the-trousers/

They also do these long billowy overcoats that I have my eye on....

I've been wearing more trousers than jeans and definitely more relaxed fits. I got a pair of Barena wool trousers on sale last year and they're prob my favourite pair of trousers I've owned. Charcoal, wool, drawstring waistband and are comfortable and informal but also suit wearing with a suit jacket.

I got a pair of black chino type trousers of the same line in the January sales and they are nice also.

I find it hard to find loose fitting trousers that aren't way too long for me, but these are perfect.

Here are some pictures from that shop. Swoopy style.

https://www.instagram.com/mahala_london?igsh=bm14cHVwcWIwdGcy

"pleated dockers" is an ebay search term goldmine if this is your vibe, cheap enough to try a few random pairs to see what works.

I am 52 and parsnip shaped as well and have been experiencing the comfort thing if not the fit thing.

About 10-15 years ago, I got over an aversion to color. I like wearing some pretty aggressive colors, especially in the summer. Bright red sneakers, pink shirts, Italian shirts with classic but bold patterns, etc. I love dark jeans with a real pop of color from shoes or a shirt.

Lately, I've been finding myself attracted to a more "natural" look that I haven't worn in 20+ years: earth tones, creams, leather, tweeds, etc.

I think it is mostly getting older. Old man swag. A graceful surrender.

I'm not sure I would feel comfortable in those trousers. I don't like tight, but I want stuff to fit. I don't like baggy. But maybe I should give something like those trousers a try.

Those Mahala trousers look great & I'm up that way Friday so might drop in.

Mostly out of jeans - 90% of time in either stan ray painter pants (I keep buying them on sale - wearing green cord ones right now) or saucezhan fatigues. Did need to wear _proper_ trousers recently & pulled out my grey wool old towns and god it was nice to have them back on. Maybe I'll sharpen up this summer

have been thinking about hunting for madras shirts this year, break into strong vile pinks and limes come summer. Probably just going to stalk ebay for RL polo madras as a starting point, see where I end up.

love those trousers tracer, they look like what monty don would wear if he got into hacky sack (complimentary)