All Things Sartorial

Xellercin

Lol, yep. My style hasn't changed appreciably since highschool.

I was inspired by a trip to Paris when I was 16. I expected everyone there to be in of-the-moment fashionable clothes because it's one of the fashion capitals of the world, but nope, all the chic as hell women I saw in the area I was in wore simple, well tailored basics in neutrals, mostly black. They could have been straight out of a photo of Paris in the 60s, 70s, 80s, it didn't matter. There was virtually no distinguishing feature to their clothes other than great fabrics and perfect tailoring. You could, however, see the trends in their accessories. Burgundy velvet was a huge trend at that time, so I saw a lot of velvet jackets, scarves, hats, gloves, and even shoes.

So that's how I've dressed since. Well tailored neutrals in nice fabrics with trends or mood expressed through accessories.

I've moved towards more athleisure since becoming disabled, but I still follow the same principles. My clothes are all high quality merino wool and fit perfectly, so even leggings and a t-shirt can look sharp.

That said, cuts go in and out of style, so while on the surface my style seems to have not changed in decades, it does by default because of the trends of cuts available, especially in pants.

Even the photos posted in this thread all show such tapered men's pants that would NEVER EVER have been seen as timeless or even remotely fashionable back when I was working in high end menswear in the late 90s. I'm not sure you would have even been able to find them back then. We were also hemming pants long back then, the back of the hem had to almost touch the floor, and it had to slouch at the front of the shoe. Some tailors refused to do this because it destroys the pant hem eventually, but if a hem came back the "proper" length. The client would have a fit.

So what seems "timeless" is actually heavily influenced by trends of the time, especially for men. For women, being a bit retro is always a legitimate style option even if it's off trend.

But for men going retro is a much bolder style statement than it is for women. The taper of pants, inclusion or exclusion of pleats/cuffs, the width of ties and lapels, the position and number of pockets, buttons, etc. These all fluctuate on an ongoing series of trends. So what appears as "timeless" in any given time can be easily tagged to its place in time within 5-10 years.

A woman can dress literally exactly like Audrey Hepburn in a lot of her outfits and not look at all out of place in any decade, but if a man dresses like Humphrey Bogart, Dean Martin, or Roger Moore, he won't look "timeless" at all. And these are men who at the time had what would be considered classic, "timeless" style.

The only similar thing in women's wear is wedding dresses. There's always a sense of what's "timeless" but it's so easy to tag a bridal trend to an era.

What people usually think is "timeless" is just what's neutral for that specific era.

Xellercin

VeryMuchFine wrote: »

Well touché

Thanks for driving a bulldozer through my logic 🤣

As far as what you've said fabrics, I agree on that point. I pay attention to the fabrics I'm purchasing and want to feel like the prices I pay for clothing are worth it for me. From a distance, a garment I'm wearing might appear to be nothing out-of-the-ordinary or special, but can be made of fine fabrics that feel incredible. It's not always about wearing something that stands out above and beyond, it can just be something normal with above-and-beyond fabrics, or maybe play with textures as well.

As far as fit - I firmly believe that the person wearing slightly lower quality fabrics that fit their body perfectly, will look better than the person in the same room who is wearing finer fabrics but the garments are ill-fitting 🤷🏻‍♂️. So to me, fit>fabrics, then everything else like colors, textures, patterns, etc

Agreed. It's never fit or fabric, it's the combo that makes something look great. And it doesn't have to be expensive fabric, it has to be the *right* fabric. For some garments you want more draping, for others you want more structure. For some light reflection is critical, and for others you want it as dull and light absorbing as possible. For some you want a perfectly smooth texture and for others a lot of organic variation and texture.

The thing with fit though is that you can just *make* a garment fit a lot of the time. A great tailor can take an ill fitting gorgeous wool and make it a dream suit. They can't do anything about a bad fabric.

I actually took professional level sewing classes at night so that I could customize my own clothes. I don't touch my husband's though, he takes everything to a master tailor who I used to work with in the 90s and still charges me the same rates When he retires, we're screwed.

ETA: I actually met my husband selling him French cuff shirts. French cuffs were HUGE at the time. Lol. We literally didn't have any shirts in the store without them.

Xellercin

VeryMuchFine wrote: »

Xellercin wrote: »

Unsafespace wrote: »

Xellercin wrote: »

Unsafespace wrote: »

Pro tip: a great way to enhance your style actually has nothing to do with style or clothing at all. Just improve your physique and wear clothing that fits you properly.

And work on posture. The most expensive and best tailored clothes in the world still look sloppy on poor posture, and even just a decent t-shirt and joggers can look slick on perfect posture.

What if a person has a messed up spine and walks a bit "differently?" I don't mean totally off but you know, something peculiar about the way they take steps

I do kind of like exceptional posture as well, though. I don't see it often, but when I do it's hard not to notice it.

lol, you mean like me? Yes, my clothes looked much better on me when I could walk properly. Most people are so distracted by my crutches though, they don't really notice what I'm wearing. I could be decked out in perfectly tailored designer clothes and most people will still just notice that I'm disabled.

That said, I still put a lot of work into maintaining the best posture that I can.

I had no idea this was your situation. If you have talked about it on MFP before, then I haven't seen it. Maybe you didn't take it as such, but I wasn't trying to point out or remind you of your own situation with all that 😬. My own posture is far from perfect. My spine isn't exactly perfect, and my left hip generally wants to stick forward just a wee little bit, also one of my legs stands a tiny bit taller than the other. I can try to appear to have better posture (stand taller, shoulders back, etc), but it takes a lot of conscious effort, it doesn't just come naturally

Lol, no worries. I'm not a sensitive person, take my post with a tone of a laugh, not a sniff and a cry. I get a kick out of the crutches, I laugh about them all the time because as I said, no one notices me anymore, just the crutches. Now everyone has a universal reaction when they see me, they feel bad and they get the f&$k out of my way.

Every time it happens I chuckle to my husband and mutter "feel bad and get the F&+K out of the way" like a hilarious mantra. I'm in Canada too, so everyone apologizes too if they so much as dare to be in my path. Honestly, it's hilarious.

As for having a wonky spine, I too have one of those along with hip dysplasia, and a mangled right rotator cuff so my shoulder wants to collapse forward. Good posture doesn't come naturally to me either, but thats why I work my butt off at strengthening all of the teeny, tiny little back muscles that keep me from slumping over all lopsided. If you get a good PT they can help even you out even if your bones aren't even.

As for modal, LOL, yeah, micromodal was all the rage in the women's department back when I worked in menswear. I personally couldn't stand the feel of it. A lot of people loved it though, but some textures just don't feel right to me.

I'm fine with modal though, just not micromodal. Just typing it gives me the oogies.

Xellercin

Thanks_a_Bunch wrote: »

What is it about micromodal that makes you say 'no,' while regular is something you can agree with? I'm a bit curious. Would micro make for a finer fabric and therefore softer and more comfortable? Does micromodal have a shimmer in sunlight that regular modal doesn't? (I hate clothes that have a shimmer when they catch the sunlight)

It's just a texture thing. I don't like the way it feels when I touch it. And I'm not like that about fabric on general, so I can't really explain it.

Unsafe_Space

Retro drip

ReenieHJ

Oooh unicorns.

Unsafe_Space

Xellercin

Ugh...my city is not known for its fashion. It's gotten A LOT better over the past decade, but it's not a very young city, so pragmatism tends to be on trend here.

That's cool for me, I have a very rich collection of sensible merino items and comfortable shoes. I fit in just fine...most of the time.

But when it comes to events, I go all out. I had VIP tickets to a very over-the-top event where I expected at least the VIP ticket holders to be decked out because there was a backstage meet and greet.

I went with a fairly toned down option: white pants, white crop top, black thigh high boots, and a big fluffy white fur coat. Plus my sexy red crutches, obviously.

I expected to be out-dressed by at least half of the people in attendance. Nope. It was a sea of dumpy old jeans and sensible winter footwear and jackets. The performer I met even called everyone out for it because they're used to their fans dressing up.

Ugh, so lame. So classic for my city though.

My mom dressed up though, but she'll dress up to check the mail.

Unsafe_Space

Xellercin wrote: »

Ugh...my city is not known for its fashion. It's gotten A LOT better over the past decade, but it's not a very young city, so pragmatism tends to be on trend here.

That's cool for me, I have a very rich collection of sensible merino items and comfortable shoes. I fit in just fine...most of the time.

But when it comes to events, I go all out. I had VIP tickets to a very over-the-top event where I expected at least the VIP ticket holders to be decked out because there was a backstage meet and greet.

I went with a fairly toned down option: white pants, white crop top, black thigh high boots, and a big fluffy white fur coat. Plus my sexy red crutches, obviously.

I expected to be out-dressed by at least half of the people in attendance. Nope. It was a sea of dumpy old jeans and sensible winter footwear and jackets. The performer I met even called everyone out for it because they're used to their fans dressing up.

Ugh, so lame. So classic for my city though.

My mom dressed up though, but she'll dress up to check the mail.

Whatever happened to style? 😒

I dunno.. I keep inadvertently picking up new hobbies throughout life, improving my personal style seems to be the latest one

As for white pants - they're my new fave. Highly versatile and just plain looks good

Xellercin

Unsafe_Space wrote: »

Whatever happened to style? 😒

I dunno.. I keep inadvertently picking up new hobbies throughout life, improving my personal style seems to be the latest one

As for white pants - they're my new fave. Highly versatile and just plain looks good

Lol, nothing happened to style here, we never had it in this city. The norm for women here used to be dowdy, conservative suits with knee length skirts and running shoes.

The style has actually dramatically improved here in the last decade, which is why it was so surprising to see this event be so incredibly dumpy.

I used to be very into fashion, but now only dress up for events, galas, etc. My day to day style has become almost entirely pragmatic.

If I were a man I might have maintained more of an interest in style, but women's fashion is just so impractical and generally uncomfortable, I retired my fashion-card years ago, mostly from working a job that required me to basically wear comfortable pyjamas every day. Eventually stuffing myself into the shoes and clothes of a stylish woman just started feeling ridiculous.

Except at events, I go all out for events. I typically attend about 6-10/yr, so that's where I get my style fix. Hence why my wardrobe is just high end athletic wear and gowns, and not much in between. If I had to do a normal job interview, I would be screwed.

I do love good menswear though, I worked in high end menswear for a few years, I think I mentioned that's where I met my husband. So I like to dress him up like a doll because he has a normal job that requires real grown up clothes, although he too has been sucked into the world of merino wool and wears Ice Breaker gear most days.

Lol, my version of dressing like a grown up these days is to wear my nice wool pieces instead of my sporty wool pieces. I lean heavily into my Scandinavian heritage

As for white pants, I LOVE white pants. I actually love white clothes in general. I typically stick to monochrome palates, so I have several all white outfits that are my favourites.

Unsafe__Space

I'm not a fan of logos, branded clothing, gaudy high-fashion brands like Gucci, Montblanc, Louis Vuitton, etc, but this replica gucci jacket was such a high quality suede jacket that I decided to "stick it to Gucci" by purchasing the replica rather than an authentic one. Take that!, Gucci