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

How often do you carry shotgun shells adam

better to have extra pocket features today than to be the guy with loose shells rattling around like a fucking dork tomorrow

I might be tempted to use those shotgun-shell loops for those mini airplane liquor bottles

Or harmonicas in a bunch different keys, like the dude from Blues Traveler

Maybe just go straight-up absurdist and carry like five different kinds of toothpaste or skin moisturizer

i inherited a waxed canvas Barbour-type jacket from my uncle which i absolutely love but am wary about wearing here in the UK because of pretty vivid associations with rich land-owning Tories

something his brother told me that i never knew before is that they were originally invented as motorcycle jackets!

wear mine a fair bit in spring and autumn. walk around brockwell park with a shotgun under my arm. bray loudly at the ducks etc.

a bit of brexit for lunch

xp don’t forget your red cords

correct xp

i haven’t got any red cords. i have got a splendid brick-coloured… well what colour are we calling this?

https://i.imgur.com/UPlDBuA.jpg

Rusty, which is just brown-red

brown, yes.

men should all be required to wear trousers that match the colour of their dog

barbour jacket required to do this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GRSbr0EYYU

l m a o

update: i'm super pleased with my football-game-watching dad oakleys

sorry for thirsty gay selfie vibes but here's the ensemble

https://scontent.fslc3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/347625421_618616300224043_2288187012472386737_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=m81i8f_RjowAX_vg1Ix&_nc_oc=AQnnmf-rqpc-x76yL4-MLkg4VO6OiUMg6dMU55rUFVoUQGU60uRVZJQKUHxD0RhNX_tjiRt4JU6aQLVyxajoRtW_&_nc_ht=scontent.fslc3-1.fna&oh=00_AfDfROhzEMM1w7pYztvhLjgJMM_tFK6vaG8kLezCml-hYw&oe=646CE2C1

"meet the best selling whiting overshirt in marine beatnik"

I'm sorry? I understand nearly all the words individually...

just changed trains at Jamaica, guy on the platform was wearing these. "where to buy weed?" answered.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0232/3955/7200/products/IMG_3735_940x.jpg

Searched around and found Matsson's cardigan from the Succession finale.

nice!

the successionfashion IG account was a good follow.

for just $350 you too could own a mohair cowhican bathrobe

xxxp damn engineered garments really jumped the shark huh

i just bought a washed denim six panel ballcap (not stonewashed, sort of medium dark)

might be too bold of a move, idk. the only dark blue caps i have rn though are us navy caps for ships that are still on active duty here and a a fake padres "LSD" hat. both are ... not versatile enough for my needs

https://www.grailed.com/listings/24490992-handmade-san-diego-padres-lsd-festival-meme-trucker-hat

https://image.shutterstock.com/image-vector/patch-pocket-flat-sketch-vector-260nw-1970807894.jpg

daiki: put this pockets on the front of the jacket
seamstress: which pockets?
daiki: yes

don't forget the king of edible pockets, the hot pocket

all my pockets are hot

pocket like it’s hot

xxxp damn engineered garments really jumped the shark huh

pockets, like Sassafras, can be countable or uncountable. the race is on to see who can achieve "pocket".

meantime we're left with a bunch of sassafrasses

flaneur called their creation "58 pocket shorts", so we know they're playing a different game entirely: all 58 pockets are just slightly larger than a 50 sack

nothing Edward Learian about that, these are strictly for letting the good people know you're dealing

sassafras is also a cool brand with cool pockets

well thx for explaining my dumb joke

ohhh nice

officially middle-aged because bucket hats and plaid pajama bottoms trigger me

i recently found out that the guy from Semisonic's bucket hat is called an Oxford bucket hat, ffs. because of the ribbon.

wait, Semisonic = Closing Time?

ugh, i meant the New Radicals.

i love a bucket hat

happy to report that white Muji crew socks, the ones with two stripes on top, which they call "L Shaped Socks" for some reason, are excellent quality and my favourite socks now. although slightly too thick for summer.

Oh the right angle socks? They’re pretty legit but the person who pairs this household’s socks, Uniqlo ones are better ito wear and tear

Oh yeah, "right angle socks". Okay good to know but it's going to take a lot for me to look on the other side of the fence on this one, the Muji ones are so goddamned good.

Blame it all on Jonah Hill and the Emily Dawn Long hat

hahahaha daft yank bastard. wait for it pic.twitter.com/37mRWahQGW

— dom (@JUNGLlST) November 15, 2023

i want nice wool sweaters but in this economy?

ikwym map, the moths, the moths eating my money! still hope dies eternal and there is nothing like a wool sweater for comfort and good wearing. i've got a lovely ecru jumper, which obv it's important to spill infinitessimal but immediately visible drops of coffee on first thing in the morning (yesterday) and a great brown roll neck.

recent purchases include some old town trousers - their trousers absolutely fantastic and hang beautifully - and giving them one more go on the shirts, which are fine initially, but tbh don't seem to wear very well, particularly as they shrink. this involved a long conversation with Marie, the principle dame of Old Town who has Strong Views. I deliberately ordered a larger size so with washing it would still be a good fit and she strongly demurred, and we ended up coming to a compromise. I hadn't helped that on a previous purchase a couple of years ago, which she remembered, I'd managed to forget my height, making myself two inches shorter than I am. She said at the time 'normally it's the other way round, people (especially men) pretend they are taller! (and slimmer)'.

Anyway, this time she said perfectly affably and requesting that I not take offence, that 'why is it that customers from europe never have a problem with sizes, but it's something i get persistently with people in the UK'. I suggested that perhaps assuming a certain like-for-like type of person, that europeans were generally better dressed, to which she strongly assented, 'I mean I say to my chief cutter (or whatever it was I can't remember), just look out of the *window*, for god's sake, and see how people are dressed'. I immediately had to demur somewhat, as most nations are capable of dressing as badly as each other and often seem to seek to outdo each other in this regard, and frankly who cares tbqh, and also that the sartorial bricolage of youth is often exceptionally good but not conventionally "well-dressed" as such. but i sort of get what she means - at a certain level of smartness many continental europeans do it better, I mean have you *seen* how badly clearly quite prosperous men dress even when trying to look conventionally smart?

anyway, the trousers are great.

bought some flannel shirts from proper cloth for winter too.

I'm quite addicted to this guy's beautiful voice and ASMR videos and the whole fantasy of owning a bespoke Saville Row suit - "fashion is to discredit what you have so that you go out and buy something new" lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVYSPZBBmns

lol. the way he says 'style' is delightful.

Oh yeah that is a joy to listen to. But always maybe next year, the bespoke suit.

Haven't picked up much this year - a couple of denim shirts, and a couple of pairs of Stan Ray 80s painter pants. But thinking about yet another flannel for the winter - maybe one of the UES extra-heavies that just dropped. Also maybe another arc'teryx proton in a disgusting colour (bright orange), given my proton in a disgusting colour (teal) gets a lot of wear.

I am notoriously fussy (usually the only person in the building wearing a tie, let alone a suit) but even I have never done the three-piece thing.

Lately I am digging the middle ground of "relaxed" linen and cotton sportcoats. Pockets without flaps. Slubbed fabrics. A step down from the tweedy Northeastern drunk-English-professor look I spent 25 years cultivating.

i'm a filson whore now. i got this on sale, still v expensive, but i haven't been this happy with a winter coat in my life, absolutely love it.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/B30AAOSwWUNkqipE/s-l1600.jpg

also a pair of their tin cloth pants, which how can one get excited about wearing canvas 5-pocket pants? yet i put them on and i feel awesome. a miracle. maybe next year i can afford some more. heart eyes emojis and embarrassment.

Map, I can see why you like that but... are you secretly a Jawa?

https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/jawas-main_a668013b.jpeg

it's true that some say so, but nobody really knows

I can't imagine getting a 3-piece suit - it'd just be coat and trousers if I went bespoke. Deep brown donegal tweed is what I keep thinking of but really I have no call to wear a suit now, much less one that'd be pretty country. Still, one day, one day.

fizzles:

i have always liked the look of old town. feel like it would be easier to wear without someone shouting "oi monty don" at me from a passing car where i live too. but i can't deal with the shipping/returns. one day!

i have a couple of proper cloth shirts but struggled with dialing in the fit. did you need a few attempts or did you get it right first time? any tips?

currently getting a lot of wear out of these corduroys from uniqlo which unusually fit me off the rack https://www.uniqlo.com/eu/en/product/smart-corduroy-ankle-length-trousers-459706.html. also enjoying some alex mill stuff (mid price americana basics, worth a look imo).

Old Town trousers are the best but I barely wear them now I'm not in offices.

With Proper cloth, I got very close by measuring a dress shirt I could 100% trust (Sean O'Flynn bespoke, made for my wedding) though I think I actually screwed up the first order by fudging numbers to make it more casual.

proper cloth is great

caek:

this is a live issue! i’ve been using them for a while now (think it was woof who put me on to them actually) despite exchange rates etc.

initial orders fitted fine but i noticed a couple subsequently (same measurements) didn’t so much. now i will be the first to admit (after a period of denial) that this may be because i have become slightly more Of Thick Tum but also the older ones are still fine.

anyway i loosened the measures somewhat but im not sure it’s exactly right. i mean none of them look like clown clothes obv, and we’re talking relatively fine margins here. but obviously the one thing is conducive to smartness is a good fit so. might have an nyc visit soon so thinking of hitting up their measuring service tbh.

lol i did not know they had a measuring/showroom place 10 blocks from where i now sit.

IDK if this is the right thread, but I got invited to a 70s costume party and I am always really terrible at costumes, but I want to come with something a little better than just a stupid cheap looking brown polyester wide lapel jacket and a fro wig.

Help me brainstorm a look and where to get it. I sort of like the idea of a turtleneck sweater and tinted glasses, like a 70s sophisticate cocktail party sort of getup.

I have done this. My wife's company hired KC and the Sunshine Band for a 70s theme party.

Your nearest party-supply store will have a cheap peace-sign bead necklace and the requisite sunglasses. A thrift store could probably hook you up with a synthetic paisley shirt.

i can’t stand all that costume store hippie crap tbrr

i like your idea man alive

if you can’t find tinted glasses you could keep the turtleneck and go for more of a campus look and find some corduroy. i’m thinking elbow patches on a corduroy jacket

^ wtf this is how i dress

maybe fizzles can attend and you won’t have to go man alive

if i ever get invited to a 70s party i'd like to go with "joe don baker in a trucker movie"

xp Mr Kotter was another idea I had. I have the hair for it, would just need to shave the facial hair other than moustache/sideburns. Corduroy Jacket, brown pants, wide tie, wide collar shirt, IDK what kind of shoes but probably doesn't matter.

maybe fizzles can attend and you won’t have to go man alive

All these ideas are really lame
You should go as Gene Simmons in full makeup, with the fake blood pouring out of your mouth and most importantly, the pyrotechnics
You could walk around staining the carpet with the false blood and “inadvertently” starting house fires all evening.
If you don’t overdo it you are really missing an opportunity. You can dress up like a dorky fucking professor whenever you want.

sorry but my joe don baker in a trucker movie idea is objectively hot

oh shit sorry i missed that 1

to be read in the voice of a gay german videographer:

70s professor, okay yeah, sell the ice storm to me, corduroy jacket and round glasses is basic level, you're fucking the other professor's wife like john updike, i need to feel the arrogance and the absent-mindedness, i'm thinking you need a pipe and a pair of basketball shoes otherwise no one cares.

had to google. that's a timeless look
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDIzMDdmNTYtMDY2Mi00NGIwLTlmMzQtODljOWFmZWEyZmE5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzI5NDcxNzI@._V1_.jpg

i think you can dress like that whenever you want, too.

Powers Boothe as Jim Jones

https://c8.alamy.com/comp/HD4XX4/guyana-tragedy-the-story-of-jim-jones-diane-ladd-powers-boothe-1980-HD4XX4.jpg

i think you can dress like that whenever you want, too.

― Deflatormouse, Monday, January 22, 2024 8:52 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah this is basically my look tbh

hey @zach_tbd, do you think you could photoshop map's Oakleys (pictured upthread) onto Joe Don Baker's face TYVM

OK map is totally bringing it with the Updikean academia adultery theme. I bow to map's vision.

Fwiw I already have all those jackets (tweed and corduroy, with and without leather elbow patches). A former girlfriend once described my aesthetic as "drunk English professor" and I didn't disagree.

fall and winter = hippie mainer

spring and summer = crusty faggot

good looks

i'm feeling metal band tees this year

keep trying to find an outfit for my oxbow tee. keep failing. it’s not really a v good tee but i do like the album title “Love’s Holiday”.

jealous, i wish i had an oxbow shirt

finding new favorite bands from the style thread: classic

this vitriol tee is on its way

https://vitriolwarfare.bigcartel.com/product/servants-of-the-secret-fire-pre-order

this richard dawson tee i picked up last year gets a lot of wear

https://i.imgur.com/pcblyDh.jpg

Had the trousers and just ordered the jacket for the full look.

https://i.postimg.cc/qvxzx5Gx/IMG-0255.jpg

I am not sure Erdem will do another men’s collection for a while, which is a shame.

what are some of your favorite men’s fashion blogs? moreso interested in casual/street wear but anything will do

I'm in this interzone where I feel like men's fashion has changed a fair bit in the last few years, and also I am now safely in young middle-age and my whole wardrobe looks like it's from another era.

Plus people in Bristol, UK tend to deliberately dress down (you don't see people in tailored or vintage stuff, it's all skate and sportswear), so I feel daggy if I go for anything more preppy than an overshirt.

All the plain t-shirts I bought from Cos as staples a couple of years back feel too "fitted", not baggy enough, especially since the cut of jeans has relaxed significantly. I could do with some new ones.

Currently I'm really not sure how to shop for myself really. I'm conscious of trying too hard to be down with the kids - I already have some fairly baggy Carhartt WIP carpenter jeans and, like, one t-shirt that actually works with it.

Likewise, the places I hang out and the overall vibe of where I live, smarter/preppier looks make me feel like a narc.

Also: I don't have a heap of money, but with summer coming up I kinda need to do something

They’ve updated their wardrobe pic.twitter.com/IikQNUPARc

— Call me Rose🌹 (@SlayyyRose) April 18, 2024

What are good brands these days for sunglasses under $150 and preferably under $100? I've had Ray Ban new wayfarers for several years but the lenses got scratched.

Idk about up and coming, I got some polarized ones from Blue Planet and I love the color, shape, and design. They also provided me excellent customer service when I broke one of the parts and asked over a year after purchase if they would sell me a replacement part, and they couldn't do that but the agent sent me a new pair(!!!).

https://www.warbyparker.com/sunglasses/men

i've been off that skinny fit and doing 501s for a while now but thinking about going baggier. i saw a fashion guy wearing what appeared to be designer JNCOs, looked cool but not for me. saw a cool guy wearing something less exaggerated and got me thinking. any advice? are 550s a good compromise?

I wound up ordering some Raens (these), which were around my price range with the discount code:

https://raen.com/cdn/shop/files/Raen_Wiley_S797_02.png?v=1709224879

I like them a lot, frame seems well-constructed, brown polarized lenses are v nice and the view is light enough that I forget I'm wearing them when talking to people.

note: they don't have that "P" on the lens irl

lol, wait they do, it's just not very visible

haha why do they have that?

because they’re p dece

“Polarized” I assume. Anyway it doesn’t really seem visible while wearing.

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)

while most of my workwear has basically become sweats and shorts since i work at a gym, i have been wearing much more flowy clothing in the past year or two— in the best shape of my life but also need to be comfortable, fuck wearing uncomfortable tight clothes

I feel like my wardrobe could do with zhuzhing up a little. I've been living in the same two checked flannel shirts with interchangeable carpenter pants and t-shirts for the last couple of years. Still going strong, but it's starting to get a bit samey. I feel constantly stuck between wanting to go back to a more tailored/vintagey look and the general Bristol uniform of skate/streetwear. It feels increasingly hard to find clothes that suit me in my mid-forties. Anything too faddy looks ridiculous; but I'm not a dad either, so I don't want to go too M&S either.

Doesn't help that there aren't actually many men's shops about - yes there's Burton and a River Island and a Size. There are pricey Carhartt and Finisterre outlets up the road. But I'm not feeling inspired by any of those.

might be obvious but if you hunt around Derek Guy/Die, Workwear threads and articles on budget/ebay shopping there's a lot of inspiration - needs some translation to the UK just for brand availability but he's often aiming for roughly that spot.

fwiw if I were told no carpenter pants & no flannels, then I'd probably go for a shirt in chambray or denim, maybe cords or OG-107 fatigues. It'd be doing the same workweary thing really but maybe an unstructured jacket might disguise that.

thanks woof. i've not heard of Derek Guy etc so anything like that in terms of links or suggestions is helpful. I do like my carpenter pants and flannels, mind you - not averse to this look, could just be looking for some variety.

Saw a great snap of someone wearing a kind of distressed gray denim jacket that descended quite low down to the hip rather than waist-length. Very very cool, but the jacket was like £500 and I don't have that sorrta dosh

i'd love to get better at ebaying / vinted / charity shopping than buying new stuff. i find it hard though. i can't usually tell if something's going to fit or suit me from a photo

In terms of where to buy stuff, Marrkt is worth a look as you’re in the UK. 2nd hand ‘designer’ clothes, a lot of it veers towards either Japanese/American workwear or British/Italian more tailored looking stuff. Not cheap but loads of bargains and stock updates every day.

(jkust had to google "OG-107" and I actually have two pairs of olive green trousers like this :-)

xp oh nice! I'll take a look thanks crisp

xp - cool - they are very solid and surprisingly flexible - like this album (from the male fashion advice reddit) has ideas:
https://imgur.com/a/icon-og-107-fatigues-K8NWvG4

I have a pair of US Polo-brand canvas pants from TKMaxx just like those and I've worn them so much they've become a bit tatty. I'd love to get another pair just like them in fact.

Just happened on this vintage / secondhand site I'd not come across before https://loopi.com/

back when i was a student i favoured fatigues and a roll neck for a time, and i've gone back into it recently. they just age so well, and get v soft and worn in.

TIL that TJ Maxx is called TK Maxx in the UK.

i've been to both

j/k

I've been to both

But I've never been to me

i've found myself getting a bit addicted to Vinted recently. At first I thought it was a load of rubbish, but friends convinced me that the more you use it, watchlist items etc, the better tailored your results will be. Sure enough, if you search for a specific item or label you can find some decent stuff.

It is pretty great tbh

- oversize everything
- untucked everything
- cropped trouser legs
- ballcap

what are we doing here fellas

Not everyone can be Marcelo Mayer

lol you can play me like a fiddle, you know how much i love to post these pictures. it’s funny how close Mayer gets to this yet in the gap is a gulf. ballcap - check. oversize shirt - check. but he tucks his shirts in like an adult yes i said it and the trousers while full are straight leg and not cropped so instead of the kind of generalized dutch sourdough hipster cyclist i just described he’s got bite and definition to his look

https://i.imgur.com/GS6mAFl.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/9OfMKbG.jpeg

and look at those shoes! this is a no-veja zone

really enjoying straight leg trousers atm i have to say.

likewise, just a delight to wear.

if a 22-year-old minor league ballplayer from chula vista can look this good in the tunnels of a spring training practice facility then the rest of us don’t have any excuse ihibidtace

this is one of those things where I look at it and I'm like "fashion has once again baffled me", and then later on it'll no doubt start to make more sense. a tucked-in t-shirt is still something I struggle to parse as being a good thing (even though people have been doing it for ages now), but especially tucked into what look like school greys and Sunday shoes, it comes across like an overgrown kid on the last day of term to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ4He2kY1gI

ymmv but I enjoyed this video on ‘sentimental craftcore’ (Bode, Kartik Research, etc).

There’s one T-shirt that I do tuck in, as it’s too long to leave flapping around my nether regions: a Keith Haring NYC Pride shirt which I’ve had since 1990, and whose time has come again. Untucked in general doesn’t work on me if there’s too much loose fabric; I’ve got the wrong body shape for it. Anyhow, tucked in done right looks hot!

i kind of have to wear baggy t-shirts because i have a permanent colostomy.

today i wore a pair of women's running shorts and my matching Dave of Finland shirt, and while i looked cute and gay af, i also was like, "my man, you are 40 years old and maybe shouldn't dress like such a slut all the time," but oh well.

that sounds like a v beguuiling combo

this is one of those things where I look at it and I'm like "fashion has once again baffled me", and then later on it'll no doubt start to make more sense. a tucked-in t-shirt is still something I struggle to parse as being a good thing (even though people have been doing it for ages now), but especially tucked into what look like school greys and Sunday shoes, it comes across like an overgrown kid on the last day of term to me.

― DLC Soundsystem (dog latin), Wednesday, May 7, 2025 12:11 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

I think a lot of us haven't learned the fashion language to interpret some current looks. There's a lot to recommend straight-leg trousers and higher waists in menswear, it's why fashion icons of the 1930s and 40s etc look so good and easy and relaxed yet tailored. It's before capitalism made every company cut patterns tighter and tighter to use less fabric.

I work with a 20-something who regularly wears used men's dress shirts as very oversized women's office wear. I also wore used men's shirts from 1996-2006 but I couldn't have re-cast them as work-wear no matter what I did, we just weren't there.

there’s a good article about the high waist in the WSJ of all places, from last year. they talk to david lane, who is kind of a style icon now, and for good reason, he always looks great. (his instagram is bigfits1)

https://archive.is/cqUuh

filling in gaps, one gaps is footwear for abroad and hot but reasonably walkable but also for lunch/dinner

now what im saying is smart sandals (not boat shoes i dont think, too warm) and yes theres lots of options but what are some good ones

obv we'll be avoiding the german hiker ones and the minimalist flip flops are too far the other way

honestly prob just go birkenstocks? not the clog ones that are omnipresent in the last couple of years.

Just back from abroad & seconded - standard two-strap Birkenstocks cover almost everything. Flip flop ones also reliable but some people don't like the toe-post feeling.

Either way get to know them/break them in before you go ofc. Raw spots on feet can really become one's only focus for days of a holiday.

(Non-sandal: still intrigued by huaraches following Fizzles' posts upthread)

I do absolutely love the classic Adidas slides also, which are mostly for the pool on holiday but I wear them at home when working all summer, and to the shops etc any day every day. Indestructible too.

oh & from my footwear survey of other middle class middle aged male tourists in a hot place, New Balance always and everywhere.

ty ty

Espadrilles

im kinda feeling- as with boat shoes- that im looking at an option very much designed to be as open as possible and to combat to the macimum extent the problems inherent to bare soles and sweat as a combo

Chuck Taylors or gtfo

The Adidas sliders are great for around the pool or whatever, but if you are going to actually walk a bit, even if its just around a hotel, you may want to think about getting a slider with a bit of padding on them. Since I upgraded, it was a game changer.

Fizzles, how are those Huaraches holding up for you. I have a pair of from Chamula that sat in the closet for years but I started wearing them this summer and in a matter of weeks many of the small leather strips near the toes started breaking. I'm contemplating getting them fixed but that seems beyond regular shoemaker skills.

i’ve been eying those classic cross strap leather sandals, something like this

https://www.russellandbromley.co.uk/dalvey/242129

im informed that those are indeed nice

just make sure glaucon doesn't already have the same pair

Fizzles, how are those Huaraches holding up for you. I have a pair of from Chamula that sat in the closet for years but I started wearing them this summer and in a matter of weeks many of the small leather strips near the toes started breaking. I'm contemplating getting them fixed but that seems beyond regular shoemaker skills.

oh no, that really sucks! i’ve had mine for two years, wear them constantly in the summer, and they’ve been through beach and sea-wear and more recently fording a stream and walking over difficult terrain and they’re no different. a bit battered obv but fine. and yes short of going over to mexico (or more obviously taking the time to find a specialist) i’m not sure i’d know how to go about getting them repaired. fiddly looking.

is it possible it’s a size thing? i think i may have got exactly the right size more by luck than judgment. obv its their great virtue that they stretch slightly to adapt to your foot - so comfortable! - but getting that wrong might cause overstretch. or maybe i got lucky.

share the birkenstock sandal love, but they haven’t left the cupboard since i got these. also have a pair of espadrilles i wear occasionally.

Benetton have a very nice sawtooth pocket western denim shirt for a ridiculously cheap price rn

https://gb.benetton.com/western-denim-shirt-light-blue-5RZKUQ03F_902.html

some p nice stuff from benetton. got some pyjamas/lounge clothes that i really like from there, crew neck top, no buttons.

rip all North American benetton locations except Sausalito California apparently

I also miss Massimo Dutti, they’re only in Canada now

Fizzles,

it could be a size thing but not like you'd expect. I got these quite cheap on clearance but they are a size too big which is why I hadn't worn them much until now. due to a foot injury I have been walking slowly which made wearing these shoes more viable. maybe the leather dried out too much and maybe because they are loose I end up putting extra stress on points I normally would not. they are nice and got me a lot of compliments while they lasted.

i bought this the year before last in the states and got to wear it four times and now its far too big on me and im gonna have to sell it and im heartbroken

https://www.hepcat.se/brands/tellason/tellason-coverall-jacket-garment-dyed-green

has anyone any experience in using vinted or the like?

(or does anyone want a worn-four-times one of these in large (this honestly, across the shoulders and chest its bigger than large tbh)) id sell to an ilxor at a reasonable discount if i knew what a reasonable discount even was

i do use Vinted. if you're willing to sell very low it will go. If you want something like a fair price you may be waiting around for awhile. That's a gorgeous colour. L of any stripe is too L for me though

im in proximity to dublin's hipster second hand sellers and areas i wonder if thats simply a better option

Could be. I often enjoy just kind of chatting to people who run vintage shops, I always seem to learn something.

i've sold stuff on ebay before but not for a while now.

depop also is quite popular and i have sold the odd thing there too. idk if depop works in ireland tho.

i suggest putting a decent price on it. people will try to haggle on vinted and depop and feel like they've done well when you knock five euro off, so factor that in on the price. if you go low, they will still often try to go lower.

then its really just how fast you want it to go. thats a sweet jacket, with a well written blurb it should still get interested quite quickly at a decent price.

tyty arteta out obv

if you go low, they will still often try to go lower

This is true. It's crazy, you put something on for £8 and they'll be like, would you do this for £5.50?

if you like it that much have you not considered getting it altered? it's denim so should be a trivial job for a decent tailor. could also try shrinking it in a hot wash.

Vinted has been fantastic for me since I found out about it a few months ago. At first I thought it was just slim pickings, but once you've used the app a bit, liked a few things, personalised what brands, sizes, colours etc you like, it really starts delivering the goods. the only issue is that you obvs can't send something back if it's not right

Yeah I've found it best for stuff where perfect fit is not so much of an issue eg cardigans, jackets etc

Not a Sedaris fan, but enjoyed this piece on Comme des Garçons. Goes well with John Waters's one in Role Models.

i got a pair of “cowboy cut” regular fit wranglers ie their 501 equivalent. the main thing I like about is they look ok for a dad and they are $30.

Lol they’re £60 in England! But I agree they are great. No stretch. I have two pairs - one a nice deep blue and one a “chocolate black”.

Rocking my baggiest jean in years lately and it's a nice change. By a Canadian brand called Dime. Straight fit and very loose.

Jncos or gtfo cowards

cowboy cut also comes in a comfort fit if you want some room in the trunk.

for your gun

I have five pairs of jeans these days, none of them are levi’s for the first time in over a decade, and they all feel great.

those wranglers do look pretty good imo and yeah they're crazy cheap. i used to pick up pairs from a department store here called "fred meyer's" that was kinda like a sears with a grocery store.

I’ve probably said this before but I have a friend who used to work for Levi’s and she told me the reason jeans are so much cheaper in the US than in Europe is because Europeans expect higher quality so they have to make better jeans for them lmao

People keep talking to me about Japanese jeans. Do I need to get Japanese jeans? (I wear jeans pretty much every day. I'm 50.)

No

Actually let me adjust. Do you want to talk about your jeans at hipster parties? If yes, go right ahead. Hopefully you get the right fit on the first try and/or free returns.

I’ve probably said this before but I have a friend who used to work for Levi’s and she told me the reason jeans are so much cheaper in the US than in Europe is because Europeans expect higher quality so they have to make better jeans for them lmao

I am sure your friend is trustworthy but I also suspect this is foutaise totale and the real reason is Europeans are just suckers willing to pay more for American-branded blue jeans than the American market will tolerate

Actually let me adjust. Do you want to talk about your jeans at hipster parties? If yes, go right ahead. Hopefully you get the right fit on the first try and/or free returns.

Haha. Fair enough. I don't go out, so seems a waste.

I’m still blown away that we live in a world where Carhartt can command a price north of $120 USD for a pair of their jeans. Carhartt!

i've thought about getting poly blend "chinos" from a web site called "barbell apparel" because the high-quality jeans i bought from filson strain over my gigantic upper legs like sausage casings and those are all the pants i have left. don't really like the look or feel of poly blend, and i'm suspicious of anything stretchy over $100, but it sure is useful if you want to .. do yoga in your cubicle, like me, a giant dweeb. i should probably look at uniqlo though. maybe carhartt too honestly, i bet they have some sorta stretchy 5 pockets or something.

Carhartt is considered a pretty worthy upper-mid-range streetwear brand in the UK as opposed to literal workwear like in the US

There are two brands - Carhartt is the regular workwear one, Carharrt WIP is the more expensive streetwear stuff.

the real reason is Europeans are just suckers willing to pay more for American-branded blue jeans than the American market will tolerate

this is the theory i came to her with and she disabused me of it pretty quick. the only europeans still in thrall to the romance of american jeans are like 70 years old

yeah Carhartt WIP is a separate thing, not for the traditional Carhartt market.

tom perhaps the way we can both be right here is with the notion that jeans, whether american or no, are considered a more premium product in europe

bottom line my £60 wrangler straight cowboy cuts are going to last longer than caek’s $30 ones. depending on how many broncos each of us bust obv

I guess I’m also a weirdo for not trying to wear my jeans until they actually start to fall apart

I haven't worn jeans in years but lately been yearning for a roomy pair Ironheart.

in my ahem 20s i went through a period of almost exclusively wearing 501s bought in vintage/charity shops and i remember once deciding to stump for new ones from the levis shop on regents street and being appalled by both the price and how shitty the quality was. every pair they had was thin elasticated denim. at this point they had already introduced a highly tiered system of 501s where you had to spend a lot more to get normal denim ones, but they were not available in the london shop. a few years after this i switched to getting jeans at uniqlo instead, generally buying them too large and taking in the waist to get a wider cut (this was before you could easily find a wide-legged pair of jeans anywhere). isnt the 'japanese denim' thing supposed to be that all the proper denim looms that levis once owned have been sold to japan? (this is what i've absorbed somewhere along the line, may be nonsense). i feel like a classic 501 look is chic again but not for me.

im only recently relearning the need (well the opportunity) of looking for pants of any sort that do more than close, so am in the first blush of enjoying the pair of 501s i picked up during the year on a heavy sale, but the elusive mix of fit, quality and price for a pair that might wear as a "good" pair of jeans for more than say a year still eludes me

herself has been buying from a few places that market heavily online as better quality alternatives but whether that's just a new instagram advert gap that has been taken advantage of or not i havent yet decided- arket seem ok but not amazing, fits tend to boxy, octobre stuff i do like but haven't really had a chance to wear long enough to know for sure

really tho im heading as quickly as i can towards heavier wool, pleated, high waisted if i need to be seen at all for work or occasions, and joggers at home

chinos have had their day

Getting trousers that fit nicely is a mission, always. Have found a few brands that work for me lately and thankfully trousers tend to last quite a while, but accidentally forgetting to bag a nice wool pair has left me down one due to a moth attack. No matter what I do I can't get rid of moths, just mitigate against them by storing stuff properly.

any tips? we have moths too even after fumigating, v annoying (and potentially expensive)

Micro-wasps!

The sprays and hangers and stuff probably have eased the numbers a bit but besides that I just got loads of Ziploc plastic bags for my wool for the winter, conveniently forgetting to put favourite pair of trousers in one, and it got absolutely destroyed.

The other stuff is all grand tho

we store out season in plastic boxes in the attic with some sort of anti moth strip of paper (and a bar of soap) in each and usually get away with it

tom of course you're a weirdo. whatever gave you the idea you weren't??

I vacuum-pack my seasonal clothes. Seems to work

I have a friend who used to work for Levi’s and she told me the reason jeans are so much cheaper in the US than in Europe is because Europeans expect higher quality so they have to make better jeans for them

I feel like Levi's is one of the all-time kings of producing just wildly different quality levels for different markets without much marking or branding them as such? Not just globally but even coursing into the same geographical space — like NYC has "Levi's stores" selling $90 jeans sitting down the block from "Levi's stores" crammed full of $19 pairs, and they've (probably wisely) avoided using any of the usual designations to reflect that (like "Signature" or "Factory" or whatever). They've helpfully marked a certain class upward: what I would consider a standard-issue non-fancy U.S.-market pair is now "Levi's Premium," so you can at least order that online and expect a certain floor of quality. Blindly order anything just marked "Levi's," though, and it's honestly kind of amazing how many different quality levels and fabric types and sizing schemes you might wind up with. There's some whole globe-spanning machine pumping stuff out and you wind up holding some jeans with no resemblance to the others you have in that cut and size, wondering if this is what they normally aim at Egypt or Poland or the Philippines.

At some point recently I took to wearing Levi's pearl-snap western shirts as a most-days uniform, and thankfully this variance was less pronounced there, but there's still a good deal of it, like each color scheme being a completely different fabric from a different source.

I've been on the verge of trying those much-loved Wranglers for years, like constantly putting them in a cart someplace, and then I always think no, you have enough clothes, and if these are as good as people say you will just start pointlessly buying more of them, stop shopping and go give $30 the food bank instead. But now I lost a few pounds and actually need some new jeans — should I give them a go? (Even if I have an ass?)

imo they make your ass look pretty good because they’re a reasonably medium rise and the back pockets sit up pretty high, compared to other jeans. go for it nabs

I've got some wheat-colored Levis that, luckily, I remembered to dig out and wear today, since they only seem right this exact time of year.

nice

They're basically these.

wrangler has "must make man ass look good" deep in their genes hurhur

my jeans have good ass

(I had to check the label, but mine are 501s, not 514s like that link. I've had them for more than a decade, but they're still not feeling quite broken in, since I've only worn them a few times a year.)

Haven't had a pair of Wranglers in a long time, but all this makes me want to try them again.

I hate jeans, I have gone full sweatpants— including very fancy sweatpants, mind you— and I don’t plan on going back. Absent an occasion, I won’t wear pants I find uncomfortable. Life’s too short.

wfh and dog walks ive gone same way this year

allows for a more curated and separated wardrobe selection for when i have to dress for any other occasion tho

I’m not really a jeans guy but I do love those two pairs of Wranglers. My only other jeans are a super loose “relaxed” pair of Gap jeans that are like at least one size too big for me and they’re super comfy, like as comfy as sweatpants. I wear them high up on my waist with a belt. Good for walks or being in the garden

my boss told me that my in-cubicle yoga is "a little distracting". she suggested a curtain lmao. what you don't like seeing my huge ass downward dogging you?

i'm such a dumb whore for overpriced 'tactical' pants from the internet. i think i gotta dial back the money though and just get me some carhartts.

Update: okay, I get the love for those Wranglers, the fabric would be great at three times the price. (Including the color; I wish more rinse jeans started bluer.) But if you're not actually wearing them cowboy-style, tight up top and long enough to stack over boots, the fit can feel a tiny bit ... stodgy? Less like the rodeo guy and more like the 60-something rancher at the cattle auction? Only a little, and I'm sure one of their variant fits would get around it, but it seems like the main thing that'd keep these from being a go-to.

they are definitely old square guy jeans and yeah they look better accompanying a generic western look. also better if one has a certain kind of athletic-looking lower body. wrangler cowboy cut jeans are very tight but if they fit your body type and your lifestyle, like you regularly throw bags of feed into the back of your truck in the walmart parking lot in green river, wyoming, they are god-tier imho. i'm sure wrangler or maybe other western jean makers are doing styles that lean more post malone than george strait these days.

nabisco i know that feeling. as a child of early 00’s music culture the cut feels so wrong, but what’s that thing they say when your car starts fishtailing, you have steer INTO the swerve. remember how lame the “obama jeans” were? suddenly those are the cool ones. i know it’s crazy. but i could never go back to my 511s now. maybe it’s where i always wanted you be i just never knew it. feels like home, man

meanwhile i finally bought the raglan sleeved tweed overcoat of my dreams and i might expire from delight it’s so wonderful

pics or it doesn’t exist

It turns out that wasn't my issue, Tracer! My denim preferences are pretty fully updated; it probably helps that I still liked looser 501-ish straights and Herbert Walker Bush-era fits even in the slimmest era. But I usually wore those cuffed, which helped me realize that my thing with the Wranglers was length-related. They're built to really stack up the calf in that cowboyish way — if I go slightly shorter the shape feels fine. (Possibly even better worn long enough for a big cuff, though apparently some people view that as a gross misapplication of this garment.) I have plenty of stodgier pants that I love; it's the taper-and-stack combo that was a little unflattering on me personally. I get more successful cowboy vibes from Levis 517s anyway.

So yeah, I guess these officially join the list of plain staples / uniform elements that are starting to make my closet look like a cartoon character's. These, Shaggy Dog and Howlin' wool sweaters, Levi's 501s and 559s and pearl-snap shirts, RVCA's all-cotton equivalent of the Dickies cut, Ben Sherman polos, Allmade tees, the surprisingly good wide chinos Gap's done lately ... give it a year or two and I may be forced to trade out Doc Marten shoes and suede Clarks for some kind of orthopedic or hiking shoe, and then I will fully become mister utilitarian "I have six very specific things I wear and I like it that way."

I think you meant “This is my stillsuit, there are many like it but this one is mine”

Ah okay nabisco I think I've visualising this now. Okay. Lol @ six very specific things. Sometimes when I allow myself to really get taken away on classic menswear flights of fancy I do somewhat pine for an era and/or lifestyle that would allow me to simply have all my clothes made at the same tailor, the one that I had decided made clothes that flattered me. Two jackets, three suits, three pairs of trousers, yes they're all the same "brand" so what HE GETS ME. He REALLY GETS ME.

This has some good info on how Levis differ (and is a pretty great channel in general).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPdGhZHT7JU

The town where I grew up had this one very old proto-mall — like late-40s Streamline architecture with the parking all in front, every corner has an ashtray or a gumball machine full of ancient peanuts — where every business was basically elderly or on its way out: they had appliance repair, a travel agent, a cobbler, the old model of independent menswear or specialty shoe retailer. The average customer looked slightly too old to have served in World War Two, and I feel like almost every time I set foot in the men’s store I’d overhear an old guy complaining about how he’d been wearing some specific shoes or pants or whatever for 30 years, exclusively, and now they’d changed or discontinued them or started making them in Honduras and the world was going to pot.

I don’t know if I want to hit THAT level of dependency, but I do like knowing that if I need X garment I don’t have to shop for it, I can just issue myself a new copy of something I already know is ideal. Like if my house burned down there are all kinds of irreplaceable favorites I’d be sad to lose, but I would also just immediately order five each of my mass-produced uniform staples and end up dressed basically the same within a few days.

That said, if anybody knows good sources of really nice striped wool sweaters, please shout. I think of a stripe sweater as very basic, but for a long time people seemed to view them as distinctly Freddy Kreugerish (and/or “grunge”) and they basically vanished — I see them finally returning now, but haven’t found a perfect one. (Howlin came closest.) I’d be pretty pleased if the 90s-style athletic-stripe ski sweater came back, too, but I guess those were all acrylic, and I’m still enjoying my children being old enough that I can wear wool again without fear of jam, juice, vomit, honey, snot, marinara, markers, etc.

Anyone know where I can get this look?

https://i.postimg.cc/YqMZD0ys/unnamed-(2).jpg

That said, if anybody knows good sources of really nice striped wool sweaters, please shout. I think of a stripe sweater as very basic, but for a long time people seemed to view them as distinctly Freddy Kreugerish (and/or “grunge”) and they basically vanished — I see them finally returning now, but haven’t found a perfect one. (Howlin came closest.) I’d be pretty pleased if the 90s-style athletic-stripe ski sweater came back, too, but I guess those were all acrylic, and I’m still enjoying my children being old enough that I can wear wool again without fear of jam, juice, vomit, honey, snot, marinara, markers, etc.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/20010195?page=Signature-1970-Matinicus-Rock-Crewneck-Sweater-Mens-Regular ?

idk about shipping nabisco but Carrier Company has some striped sweaters that I'm sure are very nice

https://www.carriercompany.co.uk/collections/mens/Type_Knitwear

Shipping nabisco may be costly

here is something: can anybody recommend a place where i can buy conventional all-cotton boxer briefs without such things as "moisture wicking" and other icky things that make the fabric shiny and slippery? i'm in the USA. for some reason it feels harder than ever to obtain basic information about basic articles of clothing, and my luck in places like walmart and target has been spotty

Uniqlo is decent for boxers.

All my underwear comes from Lands’ End.

and goes straight to your rear end!! haha

fellas, i went through a trucker hat phase a few years ago (i know, 15 years too late). i wanted to look a certain way in a hat, but i've come to terms with two things 1) i don't like wearing hats and 2) i look better without them. yet i still look at dumb trucker hats on the internet all the time. i have a problem!

My brief military career put me off wearing hats for life. I choose to live in a no-cover zone until I’m dead now.

i’m so about the revival of various forms of the ‘90s dad hat, truly a golden age for baseball caps. felt like for a while all you could get was various forms of sporty golf hats or like the fitted ones

i wear tweed flat caps or knitted beanies because im bald

i would consider an everyday hat hat when commuting i think

it would suit you imo

a trilby?

a hornburg?

a rolled felt bucket style?

hard to say

I was a dedicated no-hats person for like 25-30 years, and thought every hat in the world looked terrible and wrong on me. Then maybe a decade ago a flatcap somehow got me, and after a year or two of that I went to baseball caps, then a brief bucket-hat thing that didn't work out, then baseball again, then beanies, and now if it weren't such a thing I would probably tip into being a fisherman-beanie-inside-all-day guy. (Doing red right now despite getting the occasional Jacques Cousteau joke.) Can't believe people with hair have been enjoying this kind of scalp-coziness all along. My only issue is that lots of people surely think I wear hats all the time because I'm trying to hide being bald. I need a t-shirt that says I haven't had hair since I was 18 and still spent my 20s walking around with no hat, in the snow, because I thought I didn't like them.

It would be tempting to lean hard into a Homburg. they're pretty unusual these days. but it's a real commitment to a look. it might be hard to make the rest of what you're wearing work with it idk

I think trilbys are a little too small, unless it's made of straw and you're at like, Carnival or something and drinking something sweet and minty?

i think bucket hats work for music festivals and picking blueberries that's about it imo

hate to say it but a fedora might be best??

xpost bald people look so good in hats, is the thing, especially beanies/watch caps

wait what am i saying dmac you obviously need a TYROLEAN hat!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Tyrolean_hat_3.jpg

I've got quite into baseball caps. I really like how if I'm dressed in an overcoat or trench coat and/or blazer they kinda remove a bit of the seriousness and formality. In winter I wear wool ones which are warm. I have a brown check one from Arket that similarly is a more formal pattern but with the casual nature of the cap is nice. I guess I like mixing and matching caps in this way with more casual or streetwear stuff too. Also have lots of different lighter ones for summer.

I have one beanie with a bobble cos I find them sort of too utilitarian otherwise, but in general they look sort of stupid on me or seem to widen my face.

I like a wool winter cap and coat combo with sunglasses on a crisp, cold day, tho it's a bit Logan Roy.

a plain grey baseball cap can be very smart

wouldnt see a fedora on me tracer but a good rundown

i dont wear a hat cos im bald and want to distract from that, tbf, i wear a hat because i need warmth or sun or shower cover really

I gave up on having hair at the age of 20, fortunately I had my granddad's trilby, it was a decent quality one and lasted me a good five years or so, but since it broke I have been unable to settle on a new hat.

Another trilby? too much like a fedora, and since "fedora guy" became a thing, that's a definite nope.

A flat cap? If I were from almost anywhere else I could pull this off. but an English man wearing a flat cap in 2025 is very much wanker-coded.

A baseball cap? I am not a baseball player, a rapper or an American.

A trucker cap? I am not a trucker, an indie musician or an American.

a bucket hat? going to music festivals in the late 90s has taught me that this is the uniform of a toxic male cunt

a beanie? yeah if I'm cycling. it does keep the cold out I guess. but it makes me look like fucking Bod.

I do have a summer straw hat, but it's the one every old English guy wears and you know, the rage of Caliban seeing his reflection, etc.

it would be good to resolve this before I spend another winter with a cold head.

Go porkpie or gtfo

(It really is sad what happened to fedoras.)

I've started wearing baseball caps this year too after never ever ever wearing hats. I like them. I feel they complement things in the same way nice trainers do

you prob just need to experiment and one will feel natural after a time. but it's to do with your other clothes too i think.

xpost

I have grey felt baseball cap I wear maybe one time every other month when I am too lazy to do anything with my hair when running errands. I've never felt baseball caps were comfortable for me, mostly because of how they feel on my forehead. I love wearing a winter beanie when it is cold out because I have big ears that get cold below 50 degrees F and it makes me feel toasty.

I have my grandfather's Stetson fedora which is 55-70+ years old but it doesn't fit me properly because his head was so tiny (or mine so big).

when I get to my 50s (not far off now) it would be good just to be an old guy who wears suits all the time, then I can have a good non-novelty fedora. but will need to update wardrobe and lose some weight.

my philosophy, now that i'm an old twat, is if something is calling to you just go ahead and wear it. even if it's not "you" it can become you (or you can become it) much more easily than you think

get your homemade pork pies right here

https://i.postimg.cc/nLZWsrVP/hvyhp8vyx3v91.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UzL8fyn.jpeg

if a felt trilby is a thing then i think im going that way

I have been a hat guy for years, it used to be a functional thing since I worked in the sun, now I only wear then on sunny days. I have five beanies that I rotate through in the winter, depending on temperature and color of my outfit.

I have always had a liking for hats. I own flat caps, bucket-type hats and woollen tweed hats of various descriptions, but I never wear any of them. I just find that with ANY hat, aside from the negative associations that may emerge with the type of person who is said to wear a hat of that style, it inevitably makes my head feel itchy, hot and sweaty. But I never throw out any of my hats. I hold on to the idea that one day I might wear them, because I still like them in theory.

It's definitely true that even on the coldest winter night a hat can still feel too much. Like unless you're outside for ages.

Though I do wear my hats fairly often, I guess this why I don't really wear beanies. I like to wear scarves also and both a scarf and a woolie hat gives a sense of your mum having called you back into the house before leaving, which sadly doesn't happen anymore.

I bought a peaked beanie this year. i like it

I like to wear scarves

Me too. I own quite a few traditional wool and cashmere ones. They do keep you very warm. I also find they are handy in at least partly covering up the effects of aging on the appearance of one's neck.

the older i get the less tolerance i have for any form of coldness in the extremities and yes this includes the ears and head, and increasingly, neck

^^^
I don't care if I look like a 8 year old at a bus stop, I want to be warm.

I bought a new dress shirt (Izod) for the first time in years, and it came with:

A plastic bag

Seven straight pins

Lengthwise cardboard stiffener

Cardboard collar stiffener

Plastic collar-shaping insert

Tissue paper for fold

Duplicative plastic sheet for fold

Three cards indicating the brand, size, and style

Two stickers indicating the brand, size, and style

Like, I used to work in men's stores. I know the packaging was intended to make it look sharp in a store, but this was ordered online. I already knew I wanted it. And I would think that years of environmentalists carping about excessive packaging might have had an affect, guess not

I have apparently decided that 2026 is the year for more Rocket City Trash Pandas merch to be part of my regular office wear. I picked up a light blue short-sleeved hoodie (classic coach normcore) and a navy hoodie in a very lightweight fabric, both featuring the mascot.

Okay, my current style thing is about footwear. I feel bizarre in anything remotely sneakerish, apart from Chuck Taylors, and mostly wear plain-looking leather stuff like desert boots, Docs / derbies, etc. But I'm also old and decrepit and recently messed up one foot somehow, so I've been wearing a pair of highly supportive hiking shoes while it gets better. Now I think I might be standing at the Rubicon of old-man-ass walking shoes? First I got a pair of straight-up elderly orthopedic-looking New Balances as an emergency measure. Then some mildly technical-looking hiking boots I've been wearing to the office. I can't really warm to giant foamy-neon Hokas or whatever, but did come pretty close to thinking some puffy all-black velcro walkers actually looked cool.

Hiking boots seem like the option that fits most easily with my usual clothes, but they're still kind of a tough match some days. Bracing myself to see where this leads. There's like a 15% chance I rethink everything from the ground up and start dressing like ... I was going to say "a middle-aged German dad" but it's probably more "a middle-aged guy from northern Colorado, instead of southern." But presumably somebody makes some aggressively foot-friendly shoes that don't require leaning into a look, right? (Hilariously, I'm pretty sure what messed up the foot in the first place was getting a pair of the old-school Campers I wore every day back in 2000, and remember being incredibly comfortable; I wore them twice and my foot's been all annoying ever since.)

I had tendonitis in my foot/ankle a few years ago and the specialist I saw told me to get Hoka's for the gym and kicking around. I wear a new pair to the gym and then the previous gym pair gets demoted to errand shoes. They take a day to get used to because they have that thick padding. I referred to them as my orthotic shoes when I first started wearing them, but I like them now and I haven't had any problems since I finished PT.

eccos

(eccos)

seriously tho

eccos are unbelievably good walking shoes ime, and styled as works for a number of looks

The day my feet stop being healthy enough to tolerate the minimalist interior of Chuck Taylors I am fuuucked

Hoka Transports fixed my plantar fasciitis and with style

no, no they didn’t. Hokas are hideous. I’m sorry.

I do see a shitload of dudes in my line of work wearing Ons over the last few years but that doesn’t make them less ostentatiously gross in their own special way. But at least socially acceptable amongst tech dorks.

IANAM but have similar foot/ankle/knee issues from gnarly injuries + aging. I am empathic but also pissed because think about dudes vs chicks when it comes to footwear.

By which I mean the bar for dudes in “orthopedic/foot-friendly” footwear is different than for women.

Tombot what are women your age/older at your level wearing on feets?

mother in law has found brooks fantastic after a knee replacement fwiw

(Hilariously, I'm pretty sure what messed up the foot in the first place was getting a pair of the old-school Campers I wore every day back in 2000, and remember being incredibly comfortable; I wore them twice and my foot's been all annoying ever since.)

― ን (nabisco), Thursday, December 18, 2025 3:39 PM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol i had multiple pairs of campers from this era that i couldn't technically afford, looking back i have no idea why i liked them so much

hokas and ons are both funny, my attitude toward them is at least they're trying something. i did get basic black ons for running errands or walking around in athleisure and they're super comfortable and convenient. i would never wear them to work or anything i cared about but plenty of people are doing that, same with hokas. i will rock sneakers to work a lot but more USA new balances, air max ones, and vejas (new to the rotation but really nice).

i don't mind hokas but have an aversion to ons when i see them out and about, that tread squicks me out. i think ons peaked a little while ago maybe, for a year or so they were everywhere. i had plantar fasciitis two years ago and the podiatrist i saw recommended hokas too. i stuck with altras and eventually it healed through laying off running and fixing my foot strike. i bought a pair of black canvas "ballistic" training sneakers made by goruck last year because i'm a sad mark for that kind of marketing but was really pleasantly surprised by how solid they are, they are seriously built like tanks. they are my daily lifting shoe and i don't have to change out of them for work, they cross over very smoothly. i've been lifting in them for over a year and the right one has only started to blow out at the far outer edge, which is always the demise of every sneaker i lift or run in. i was also a bit of a mark for "zero drop" and minimalist shoes a while ago. i had toe shoes ew. thankfully those are no more and i'm less doctrinaire about what footwear one should wear during exercise. but i've gotten really used to the spacious toe box on the altras, which are generally really solid for running (i've been running in the lone peaks for years, they are on the minimalist side but still with plenty of cushion imo). altras are pretty ugly unfortunately but i've just fully embraced my blowhard gym dad destiny at this point so i don't give a shit anymore, function over looks and "functional look" is my jam, with a side of gorp. i really wanted to like these salomon trail runners i tried on one time but they were narrow as slippers.

the vejas look nice, haven't noticed those out yet.

I find New Balance are especially comfortable in general, even if you don't get the bigger soled ones. I really like the plain white CT500 tennis type one. They last ages but are just notably far comfier than other sneakers imo.

There was a week of my life, about a year ago, where I saw 3 different old women wear hiking boots that had fabric like an old rug or cosby* sweater on them. You know the kind, often burgundy, a dark green or navy, with paisley swirls or whatever going through them. They looked like the coolest thing I've ever seen and I have really wanted a pair since. But my googling has found nothing.

*i guess this name should be retroactively changed.

If this discussion of hiking boots has anyone come across something like this, give me a shout.

I usually look for the cheapest Hokas that are one model older than the current model. Sometimes I get lucky and that means all black or something else relatively sedate; other times I end up with a cartoonish monstrosity that I just have to power through for 6-12 months.

I like to think I walk a lot: about three miles a day (6,000-7,500 steps). I like support, sturdiness, and durability; it is okay if the shoes are not fashionable.

If you love sneakers, good for you, but most are simply not up to the task; Chucks would be shredded quickly and I'd be buying them again and again.

Historically I do a low hiking shoe from Merrell and equivalent brands. Recently I let an REI salesperson talk me into a trail runner instead (Salomon Genesis). He said that if I wasn't going off trail I had no need of boots.

They're light and fast but too sci-fi coded and cold for my taste. And sadly I don't think they are long-haul shoes; I can feel them getting thin. So with a sigh I find myself reverting back to fugly old Merrell mocs and low hikers.

nabs a lot of “nice” shoes have removable insoles and you can fit something orthotic in there that might even be better than whatever sneaker you might get

I walk loads and sneakers are fine ime.

I already upgrade insoles on a lot of things — especially the Docs derbies, since they don't do half sizes. And there are definitely Eccos and Mephistos and such that track with what I'd normally wear. I think the month of emergency support is just making me think, like ... what if I embraced the world's most utilitarian footwear, aesthetically?

I don't know why I feel weird in sneakers. There's definitely that very normal strain of office clothes that's like an oxford or even dress shirt, tucked into jeans or even chinos, on top of Ons or Hokas or Cole Haan-ish hybrid dress shoes with sneaker soles — I don't necessarily see those people as looking bad, just hyper-normal. I'm pretty confident it'd look bizarre and grotesque on me, though! But there's also a relatively normal office thing of wearing modern hiking boots in a similar way, maybe with more jeans and shaggy sweaters and flannels — not a fashion gorpcore thing, just a nondescript office worker in Merrell Moabs and a backpack — and that one suddenly tempts me. In the past I always got retro all-leather hiking or work boots, not modern synthetic stuff, but suddenly some of these current ones feel chill and practical and unassuming in a way I like.

This may well be that aging thing where you think it's cool to be a little anti-stylish because you don't care, not realizing you're now old enough to look like you don't care in a bad way. I assume this is how it starts, and then eventually you're a 90-year-old in prescription shoes thinking "oh, I'm doing this knowingly, it's a cool thing I adopted in my 40s."

Oh also Puffin, I think three weeks in a pair of low Merrells is what has my foot basically back to normal — I'd had them sitting around for a while but rarely wore them because the arch support seemed too intense! I'm not sure which model it was but they looked nice to me even before this.

And Quincie, yeah, totally hear you: it's tricky to match some of these things to casual men's clothes, so I can only imagine how it'd sit with huge portions of a woman's wardrobe. I feel like there's a whole recurring conversation I have with women where there's this longing for certain types of practicality that men get (utilitarian shoes, heavy fabrics, big pockets), and it's like ... there are tons of things for women that offer all of this, but fully accessing them requires embracing a particular look and self-presentation that would be way too much of an identity-revision for most people.

a hoy hoy, inkkas makes a hiking boot that fits your description as i understand it

i am not a woman but am somewhat envious of the modern urban pioneer/prospector/house painter look that i see some artistically minded but vaguely eco middle class women i see sometimes, who look like their clothes are made from industrial canvas tents and burlap, overalls and work shirts with large aggressively square pockets. love how it looks on them but i’m 100% sure it would make me look like an insufferable douche if i dressed liked that, what can you do

wearing modern hiking boots in a similar way, maybe with more jeans and shaggy sweaters and flannels — not a fashion gorpcore thing, just a nondescript office worker in Merrell Moabs and a backpack

this is good imo

like an oxford or even dress shirt, tucked into jeans or even chinos, on top of Ons or Hokas or Cole Haan-ish hybrid dress shoes with sneaker soles

this is bad please never do this

theres not really any good or bad sorry now

I'd never be able to do the latter, but it has definitely moved from a notable fashion fail into being average/unremarkable, at least in my area. Even young guys do it, sometimes in a winking fashionable Seinfeld way. I have one older coworker I think looks actively pleasant in his daily uniform of Levis, Ons, and tucked-in checked shirts — like a friendly suburban dad in a commercial — but he is generally likable and also tall and skinny, and I think at a certain height your shoes are so far away that they can get away with doing their own thing.

it’s the “dress sneaker” i have a problem with - in fact an oxford with like chinos or jeans and a just like regular sneaker, whatever, is fine actually

deems good and bad is what i live for don’t take this away from me

Tombot what are women your age/older at your level wearing on feets?

“Sensible flats” mostly. The ones who favor sneakers are wearing, like, Nikes or Chucks, the very occasional Brooks or Hokas. My partner just got a pair of Adidas Tokyos for Hanukkah.

Chucks would be shredded quickly and I'd be buying them again and again.

The trick is to 1) only invest in Chuck 70s, they are far better build quality than the standard issue Converse 2) have enough pairs that you can rotate so the soles don’t wear through so fast as they would if you wore the same pair every day.

I follow my own advice obv and I own multiple pairs of Chuck 70s that have lasted me over a decade at this point, to the degree that the toe cap rubber is becoming discolored before the rest of the shoe has worn out, or the laces have come apart and had to be replaced.

Yeah, I've never touched a horrifying dress sneaker but I find it really hard to imagine they're any more comfortable than a decent derby with a lug sole. Honestly my suspicion is that certain suit-wearing guys worry a more normal shoe could make them look like the kind of guy who doesn't have anything dressier, so they jumped up the hybrids as looking more intentional — but then that trickled down to guys in khakis who would look way more coherent in a comfortable pair of bucks or whatever. (That and I suspect some people are just so accustomed to lightweight foam that they have trouble with the weight of rubber!)

Clearly everyone recognizes the immense market potential of "Chucks but good for your feet," so I assume the fact that nobody's quite managed it means it's not really possible? I'd pay crazy amounts if this existed, though. The Chuck 70s are definitely better than originals, but if they could R&D a whole new supportive build that still looked similar, there's almost certainly a generation of upscale Gen Xers who'd shell out whatever it ended up costing.

I have had a bad knee since I was 11. I bought one pair of Chucks when I was a teen that I wore 2-3 times before getting rid of them because the cardboard-like sole instantly caused pain in my knee.

Chucks are practically begging for a replacement insole and work fine with them installed! I have an old buddy who swears by this technique.

i haven't worn chucks in years but some people in the rowing machine radicalised communities i occasionally visit recommend them as the sole is so thin it's good for the feel, like you don't want a big sole for rowing machine.

Clearly everyone recognizes the immense market potential of "Chucks but good for your feet," so I assume the fact that nobody's quite managed it means it's not really possible? I'd pay crazy amounts if this existed, though. The Chuck 70s are definitely better than originals, but if they could R&D a whole new supportive build that still looked similar, there's almost certainly a generation of upscale Gen Xers who'd shell out whatever it ended up costing.

Actually I have a theory here. It’s not that it’s impossible to build a cozy supportive Chuck, it’s that the marketplace assumption that Chucks are unsupportive as hell is so powerfully ingrained that Nike would have to put on some kind of incredibly obnoxious campaign for months and months to get the idea into people’s heads that Chucks can look like themselves and still do a Hoka’s job. And it simply wouldn’t pay for itself, or wouldn’t be worth the risk of failure. They have messed around with the classic in multiple ways over the years - trust me, I get all the emails and texts - and nobody up top wants to charge over $120 for a pair, or consider “how do we make these work for the middle aged.” It’s a very intentional decision not to pursue that path.

But like I also said - you can put insoles in them! There’s room!

Oh wait a memory springs forth - they DO make comfort foam Chucks, the CX series - https://www.converse.com/shop/cx-shoes - but the classic plimsoll lines are gone which kind of ruins the look imo

I've tried on CXes and put various insoles in 70s — I feel like they can all make things squishy but there's still some underlying flatness and instability that's hard to get around. I can definitely see why Converse doesn't totally pour resources into a new shoe where the value proposition is "it looks just like cheap ratty ones but please believe us that it's better." I'm more surprised nobody else does; there are some Japanese brands that I think come close, but they can't resist making the shoes look too slick.

Glad to learn I should be wearing Chucks on the rowing machine, though — now I'm worried I was unfair to the Campres and a period of rowing in athletic shoes was my problem in the first place!

I've still never tried it, the Adidas I use are prob too thick a sole but haven't been bothered getting a replacement!

I don't just want squishy/supportive, I want clompy. I want something defiantly substantive between me and the ground, thanks.

I'm just wearing in a new pair of Blundstone boots and it's noticeable that they feel separate from my feet, causing me to feel slightly unsteady at times, whereas with the previous pair, where the soles are worn down and the footbed is moulded to my foot through heavy wear, the boots feel like an extension of my feet, not separate, and I'm more in touch with the ground, through literally being closer to it, and consequently feel steadier. On the other hand, feeling in touch with the ground is less desirable when walking on a footpath with lots of loose, jagged stones on it. This can be painful on occasion when wearing the old boots.

I must admit I've noticed that my feet are much more prone to discomfort now I'm older. Maybe it's time I considered other types of footwear for hiking, as discussed here. I've also been experiencing quite a bit of ankle and shin pain in the last year or so, and it's hard to pin down the cause. I've read that too much walking up and down steep hills can cause this. This might be due to moving from London to South Wales. You can't dodge hills here unless you stay on the coast.

I really like the look of Blundstones but they had the weirdest sizing of any footwear I've ever tried. They were so wide that I had to go down two sizes to make them fit and by that point there was no room in the toe box at all.

my footwear goal at this point is a high quality lace-up boot that i fall in love with. i would love to wear boots more in the winter but haven't found something i can live in all day.

I guess no one remembers the "Chuck II"?

kinda like Converse's version of New Coke

I really like the look of Blundstones but they had the weirdest sizing of any footwear I've ever tried. They were so wide that I had to go down two sizes to make them fit and by that point there was no room in the toe box at all.

That's weird that the sizing was so far off for you. I started wearing them in the 1990s, then stopped, but started wearing them again about 10 years ago. I've always taken a size UK 9 (Euro 43) and I remember them being comfortable straight out of the box in the 1990s. I guess my feet have broadened or got more sensitive now I'm older. They take quite a bit of wearing in now and I have to start by using blister plasters on my ankles else they rub nastily at first. I did ponder going up to a 9.5 this time but decided not to. The thing is, with heavy wear the size 9s end up being incredibly comfortable, I've found, so I was worried that would work less well with 9.5s and they would end up feeling too loose.

I have never liked the appearance of technical hiking boots. I want something that covers both hiking and everyday wear and that's why I have been a fan of Blundstones for so long. Plus they used to be relatively inexpensive (much less so now). But maybe I'm starting to get a bit bored with them and it's time I tried something else, such as the trail runners type thing. In the past I've disliked the look of that, but maybe now it's become more fashionable in a way, I might consider it. But comfort, and not messing up ankles/knees/shins etc., will be very important as I do a lot of walking.

I remember about 10 or 15 years ago looking in the window of a rather old-fashioned shoe shop on Holloway Road and they had some plain black leather lace-up boots with a marbled grain finish to the leather. And they weren't expensive either. Recently, I tried searching for similar boots and I couldn't find anything that looked quite like I remember those. There's a firm in Derbyshire that makes boots to order costing around £240 a pair. I would spend that if I really liked the appearance of them, but there was something I didn't quite like about them. I also saw some Rockport boots that were nothing like the ones I saw in Holloway Road, but I liked them. Then it turns out they are not really available anymore or can only be shipped in from the US. Rockport has started up some sort of UK heritage operation where they revive some of their 1990s designs, remanufacturing them in Portugal, but I hate the look of those.

Then I saw some plainish Skechers work boots that have the marbled grain black leather I was looking for. Only £90, reduced to £60 on recent sale, so I bought them. I really like the look of them but haven't worn them yet. Some people say they are very comfortable, but others the complete opposite, so I don't know how it's going to go.

my footwear goal at this point is a high quality lace-up boot that i fall in love with. i would love to wear boots more in the winter but haven't found something i can live in all day.

― call all destroyer, Friday, December 19, 2025 11:30 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

After I tried the Blundstones, I got a pair of these almost a year ago. Stiff but comfortable right out of the box, I've worn them for most of the day, on planes, etc. and they pass the test for me. I like them because I can dress them up or down a bit. They are waterproof (I shoveled light snow in them last weekend). So far a great purchase.

Ty budo

At 45 I feel like i'm entering some weird midlife fashion crisis where things are getting kind of colourful and slightly eccentric. This is abetted by impulse purchases on Vinted, the fact I work from home so no longer need to buy office wear, and being a middle aged DJ who doesn't want to look like a middle aged DJ (but in the process ends up looking exactly that)

https://i.ibb.co/7dDRWFN6/IMG-20251219-WA0013.jpg

I wear hiking boots (leather, trad styled) a lot for dog walking in winter. Usually do about 5 miles a day, pavement and mud, so they get beaten pretty hard (also I'm heavy, with high arches, so tend to drill through soles).

I honestly thought the trend from about 7 or so years ago for high-end/bench-made retro hiking-styled boots was ridiculous - found them ugly and wouldn't touch them. But when I shifted out of tweed & old town towards full flannel/denim workwear in the pandemic (& got a dog) I thought they might work to cover a lot of bases - practical traipsing and matching the look I was sinking into, so I started to experiment.

I'm fond of the look of the Italian classics - Fracap and Diemme - but have only had one pair and they've always been a slightly awkward fit; I wouldn't go back unless I could nail the sizing.

The best were a pair of Paraboot Avoriaz that I found at good discount. Tough, comfortable, supportive - practical - and at the same time they're the boots that best pull off the difficult double-vision trick of 'this is an ugly hiking boot'/'this is a handsome menswear boot'. They were as close as I've come in years to an every-day, all the time boot. They've got some nasty splits now but still come out on dry days. I'm not sure I'll be able to justify or afford another pair (along with the good discount, I was buying before shoe inflation hit big, post-pandemic) but I loved those boots.

(Love Blundstones and I think I will always have a pair on the go. Got a fairly wide foot so a 10.5 is basically true to size for me.)

I should add that I assume they'll never be as comfortable/stable/supportive/light/breathable as a proper modern technical hiking or climbing boot. You're making clear compromises for the 'look at my handsome rugged leather boots' pleasure.

you've got me wondering whether i should pivot my search from trad lace-ups or indy style to italian alpine.....those fracaps are compelling

i’ve still got an extremely hard-wearing Skolyx rip off of the Edward Green Galway boots, which have served me well for years. wouldn’t want to go much over five miles in them, tho have done ten.

i really need some trousers rn. woof, where you getting your flannels from? it’s my favourite winter fabric tho the damn moths ate my favourite grey pair.

i mean i don’t need them *right now*. that would suggest some sort of personal emergency. just generally i am down a pair or two.

A few months ago I was really taken with these Ralph Lauren alpine-style shoes

i really need some trousers rn. woof, where you getting your flannels from? it’s my favourite winter fabric tho the damn moths ate my favourite grey pair.

― Fizzles, Monday, December 22, 2025 12:46 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Ah I meant flannel shirts (most of mine are UES). I too am at two pairs of grey flannels both a few years old, one Old Town RIP, one a Mr Porter own-label pair.

this question is relevant to my interests

i have a pair of grey flannel trousers from hawes and curtis that i got on sale and they’re fine, but a little bit slim (“tailored”) and i wouldn’t mind a fuller cut. on instagram i got served up an ad for some very full cut trousers and okay i bit and it took me to some fuckin gentleman dandy cosplay website. chastening.

there are a number of places that will do very nice ones but it would be great to find a pair for under £100 ngl

If you can find the vintage "Dalton" model from Polo on eBay in your size, those are good flannel trousers. High waist, roomy fit, etc. Though with double forward pleats and cuffs they could be too fuddy duddy for some.

i now have a sewing machine as of this weekend

i am ordering these https://aetherapparel.com/products/dolomite-boot-espresso-brown

i now have a sewing machine as of this weekend

I genuinely look forward to tales of homemade trousers

They are beautiful cad

this is my default warm weather shoe brand - i buy two pairs every year. i usually keep a pair in the office so during the winter months i just switch out of the boots and into these.

https://verbenas.com/en/collections/alpargatas

Those are very very nice cad.

The one I keep getting tempted by is this UK-brand Diemme-manufactured Alpine but I think it might be just a bit too huntin'-shootin'-fishin', like do I want to be in the world of a company that makes actual stalking boots.

otoh maybe I want to be a dude stomping round Catford in these

I'm obsessed with the Red Wing Postman 101 shoes but I guess they are discontinued. I almost bought them years ago, but my partner mocked them saying they look like "old man" shoes, which is a plus to me now.

ok maybe they aren't as rare as I thought. there seem to be a few shops which have them. any opinions on them?

ime that kind of slightly blobby plain-toe blucher abstractly feels like it hits a comfort/smart/clean/functional spot but can look a bit dull on the foot. I've never had a nice pair, but when I used to wear something like it I'd look down and think 'ehhh just something to liven it up, a toe-cap, something'.

My interest in them was renewed from seeing them referenced in a Jason Vorhees costume. I think with Dickies pants.

they look nice? hard to say too much when there are so many contingencies like the cut of pants, rest of the outfit etc. don’t know how to say the technical terms but one thing i’ve notice for boots and dress shoes is i like a break between the heel and sole as opposed to a continues line which i associate with sneakers, if that makes sense

i’ve worn thorogood work boots through the last few winters. i like them but have thought about upgrading to a pair that they make in USA rather than the chinese ones i have, cuz slightly nicer and probably easier to pull off if i ever need to dress up slightly. hard to decide between moc toe and round toe tho

although tbh i don’t have $300 to spare on boots right now so it’s more like just something i occasionally think about

The one I keep getting tempted by is this UK-brand Diemme-manufactured Alpine but I think it might be just a bit too huntin'-shootin'-fishin', like do I want to be in the world of a company that makes actual stalking boots.

― woof, Tuesday, December 23, 2025 11:06 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

these are definitely more on the technical side otoh they look completely indestructible.

i’ve worn thorogood work boots through the last few winters. i like them but have thought about upgrading to a pair that they make in USA rather than the chinese ones i have, cuz slightly nicer and probably easier to pull off if i ever need to dress up slightly. hard to decide between moc toe and round toe tho

Yeah, the crepe sole is pretty casual. It's a walking shoe for sure. I truly hate those weird Cole Haan sneaker hybrid things, and I see how similar these might look especially with a white sole. Maybe I should get sometime more like the Doc oxfords.

if you have the cash, i highly recommend SAS brand shoes. I wear these for work and more dressy occasions and they are insanely comfortable. https://www.sasshoes.com/mens-venetian-slip-on-loafer/2010.html

All of their shoes are really something, I have also enjoyed the fancy sneakers they make, though I haven’t bought a new pair after my first pair blew out after several years of wear

dude much respect but that SAS loafer looks like some junk you get off amazon for 1/4 the price. idgi!! Maybe it’s just not for me to get.

you’re an adult man singing the praises of Chuck Taylors, don’t really care what your opinion is about shoes

but fwiw, they are hand stitched in San Antonio and have an excellent reputation for quality and comfort, backed up by my own (admittedly anecdotal) experiences with them. you don’t get it, sure, but i also don’t get why anyone would wear Chuck Taylor’s, even with inserts. they’re cheap shit shoes that wear out quickly— whereas I wore my first pair of SAS shoes nearly every day for 2.5 years straight before they finally wore out. you get what you pay for!

you’re an adult man singing the praises of Chuck Taylors, don’t really care what your opinion is about shoes

Dude it’s fine, don’t care about yours either obv

Part of my personal baggage is I can no longer stand wearing the same shoe every day, I need variety (unless it’s slippers for puttering around the house). Chucks let me afford my preferences

i understand your first point– I don't wear the SAS shoes every day. i have running shoes (Brooks), casual weight-lifting and non-cardio workout and just "general" shoes (Vans slipons in black), winter boots (Salomons), a pair of slides, and a pair of Tevas. don't need much else! i actually need to buy another pair of Vans slipons, which yes, rival Chucks in their cheapness, but they're slightly more comfortable, and i admit that i hate shoes with laces. (i also own seven pairs of climbing shoes, none of which are laced)

also sorry for being nasty, i was just like "this dude is comparing the nicest, most comfortable shoes i wear to cheap crap" and i got huffy

I appreciate that buddy, thank you for the apology. We’re all just here on the internet to have mostly inconsequential opinions and it’s OK

For my part I opened your link and got crazy sticker shock so I made a snippy post which should probably have been deleted halfway through drafting

yeah, i think when i first went to their website, i also got sticker shock. my first pair was a display pair on sale for $80 at a shoe store in Chico, California.

but i guess that one of the things i have learned over my experiences is that many times, the clothing or footwear that seems insanely expensive is actually expensive for a reason. the first time i spent more than $75 on a pair of jeans i felt insane, then i wore them every day for a year before they even got a single stray stitch or hole, and it wasn’t like i was treating them well or living comfortably.

i get that for many other people this isn’t their experience, and i still buy cheap clothing and etc, but certain things are worth springing for, to my mind.

Thus the parable of the rich man buys one pair of boots while the poor man buys a dozen, or however it goes. I buy into that, but then don’t adhere to it whatsoever because I gotta have color-matched sneakers for my cheap tops from landsend.com and shit like that.

One "problem" with super durable clothes is sometimes they outlast the stylishness of the cut. I still have Outlier pants from ten years ago - the probably tail end of "tailored fit" / tapered legs menswear.

i got a very nice mauve-ish red cashmere sweater for xmas, in a sort of batik design

wait what how

(“batik” and “cashmere” in the same garment description has broken my admittedly unimaginative brain)

https://img01.ztat.net/article/spp-media-p1/afa946e4bea949118082efd28d4e7211/4a9a665ec5be4037b4c1f87ae7536b54.jpg

been looking for a pair of black chelsea boots for a while and the sales presented the option today

looks like you could kick some serious shit in those

xpost tom it’s not actually batik i’m guessing but it’s the sort of pattern that you would see on a batik tablecloth or something.

I think I might go for these, in my attempt to find vintage fabric hiking boots. It’s the closest thing I’ve found to what I want.

https://goodhoodstore.com/products/merrell-wilderness-se-dark-cherry?variant=55600138748281¤cy=GBP&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21435608829&gbraid=0AAAAADcsvN14YUln9jEJbp8_LVL7NZiTQ&gclid=CjwKCAiAjc7KBhBvEiwAE2BDOVuNjBt2Mi21MMRPcoubuo2K0nrTznu5e__uJ4UN4SjMpbCgWIDPxRoC7zkQAvD_BwE

nice. goodhood always has nice stuff. wish they still did their own-brand plain white/black t-shirts, they were great fit and quality.

I got talking to someone in the pub a few weeks ago, who sells nearly new cashmere for much less than brand new cashmere, making it a good deal more affordable. I bought one crewneck for myself, and two more crewnecks as Christmas presents. We are all delighted; they arrived in immaculate condition.

https://www.nearlynewcashmere.co.uk/collections/mens-cashmere

Who doesn't like cashmere?

Um, goats?

I'm kind of digging Wax overshirts, although I'm afraid the boxy cut won't look good on me

https://waxlondon.com/collections/overshirts?filter.v.availability=1&filter.v.option.size=L&filter.p.m.filter.filter_category=tops_L&sort_by=price-ascending

mike that cashmere site is fab, i never knew about it!

Those Wax overshirts were not for me.

I got very very interested (maybe through the shacket thread?) but once I got one I realised it just wasn't in my space. It could never look like a shirt - too stiff, too boxy, buttons too big - but would never function like a jacket primarily because of the lack of any hip pockets. Looked a bit weird worn over a shirt & I just felt a bit stranded wearing it over a T or sweatshirt. I gave it to my step-daughter's boyfriend (younger millenial, had a wardrobe that suited it better) and just recommitted to heavy flannel and denim shirts after the experiment (with jacket on top for hip pockets ofc).

(Also I chose a blue-white pattern that kept making me think it looked a bit like the top half of the kind of two piece suits that nuns wear when they're not in their habit.)

These are all obviously me issues - I felt like I learned a lot about my taste and clothing logic after giving it a run and I think they def work for other people.

Have tried again to break my denim/flannel shirt tyranny, and athletic/sweats still quite not my thing but currently liking power goods after getting a heavyweight hoodie from them. Good colours, good weight, may try their plain t-shirts. UK suppliers of high quality heavyweight blanks sometimes feel in short supply.

also now tragically hypnotised by high quality limited edition unlicensed band t-shirts with slightly too large designs on them (night gallery, octopus's garden). Yes I would like to pay £30-40 plus international shipping for a t-shirt that doesn't not look like something I could have bought outside Leicester Poly for £5 in 1990. No I would like the band to get any money.

Night Gallery made one of my favorite tshirts ever, a Dave Matthews Band/Tom of Finland mashup that is both exquisitely designed and very funny.

here are the images: https://www.instagram.com/p/CixRUeauyyd/

i wear it with these 3” orange and blue running shorts in the summer. big slut energy

Ohh that is nice. Night Gallery really are a cut above, actually perk up on news of a drop.

I never wear t-shirts except as undershirts, not even in summer in the tropics. The graphics on my tees are for my appreciation only.

I have one of those Wax jackets and had roughly the same experience with it as woof. I like the idea of it more than I like wearing it

hose Wax overshirts were not for me.

I got very very interested (maybe through the shacket thread?) but once I got one I realised it just wasn't in my space. It could never look like a shirt - too stiff, too boxy, buttons too big - but would never function like a jacket primarily because of the lack of any hip pockets. Looked a bit weird worn over a shirt & I just felt a bit stranded wearing it over a T or sweatshirt. I gave it to my step-daughter's boyfriend (younger millenial, had a wardrobe that suited it better) and just recommitted to heavy flannel and denim shirts after the experiment (with jacket on top for hip pockets ofc).

(Also I chose a blue-white pattern that kept making me think it looked a bit like the top half of the kind of two piece suits that nuns wear when they're not in their habit.)

These are all obviously me issues - I felt like I learned a lot about my taste and clothing logic after giving it a run and I think they def work for other people.

― woof, Friday, January 2, 2026 6:38 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, this is exactly what I feared it would be like, and I v much do not have the kind of stick-like frame that seems to work with square/boxy overshirts. TY for saving me a wasted purchase

I'd love to find shirts with similar patterns/fabrics but actually designed to fit me

llbean and landsend are RIGHT THERE

or even j crew for crying out loud

(those wax things do seem to have some fun patterns but yes, built to fit chonky honkers like me)

maybe something like Filson? even Dickies Hertitage?

I've had my eye on those overshirts for a while, and, despite the wise warnings on here, pulled the trigger on a nice looking one that is on sale. We'll see how it goes!

I got an overshirt I liked a lot recently from Finisterre, it just isn't a very warm overshirt and I could use a warmer one.

I have one shacket, which I love, it's very lumberjack-coded and I usually wear it when I'm doing whatever passes for "rugged" in my life eg walking in the woods, grilling. Most of those high-end overshirts though feel like a sort of dress sneaker eg "what if chore coat except bouclé" or "what if mackinaw except silk and linen" and I recoil from it. I think at this point I'm #menswear pilled enough that if I wanted something to wear over a shirt I'd probably be looking for a sport coat or a cardigan.

I find the boxy ones can be a good fit even if you're not very thin, tho I don't wear the more wooly ones as they aren't really warm enough for winter and don't work in the more transitional times of year.

I find a slightly lighter overshirt is nice for holidays in summer, like linen or similar. Can look a little smarter without dressing up too much and easy to take off or carry unlike a blazer or whatever. I only ever wear basic crew neck tees under overshirts/shackets.

In general tho overshirts/shackets seem hugely overrepresented in men's fashion and that means finding nice ones is incredibly difficult.

My favourite one is about ten years old, very light black linen, one breast pocket. It's some NYC brand that's now defunct. It's pretty faded and prob needs the bin but I can't for the life of me find one to replace it. I do have others I like but that was my ultimate favourite.

There are sadly a lot of really ugly overshirts out there.

Most of those high-end overshirts though feel like a sort of dress sneaker eg "what if chore coat except bouclé" or "what if mackinaw except silk and linen" and I recoil from it. I think at this point I'm #menswear pilled enough that if I wanted something to wear over a shirt I'd probably be looking for a sport coat or a cardigan.

I agree with the facts you’re stating

I have one chore coat (advertised as a chore coat) I’ve worn like three times in as many years

The dress sneaker analogy is good - that's sort of how I feel about the Todd Snyder stuff I tried last year and wound up returning, including a shacket.

This is why I'm drawn to the Wax Kondon ones, I live in a warm climate, but I need not-too-heavy long sleeve shirts for the occasional cool weather, and I want to look like a fancy lad.

I think the shacket and chore coat are not for me. I briefly tried the latter and my round shoulders and stoop... all looks very droopy, very sad. I want a stiff seam and fabric up there.

80-90% of my year in the English climate is heavy flannel/heavy denim over t-shirt (plain navy/charcoal/black/white for work rather than band/graphic, & I usually stay buttoned anyway). One very very heavy proper aran(*) for exceptionally cold periods, or the heavy hoodie if I don't mind looking slack.

Sometimes I look at something like a very heavy CPO shirt and think 'hmm practical, that could work' but in the end I think if I'm going out I just throw a jacket on. I'm just not comfortable in the shacket and overshirt hinterlands.

* A thing I've learned about myself is that I am dreadful at looking after wool unless it is absolutely critical to look after that bit of wool. I know what to do but I just get forgetful and unless it is a precious item of clothing my attention slips as winter fades and so holes appear. The moths win. I am currently waiting for what is effectively my second jumper, a gansey that I ordered in whitby last summer. Like the aran I will defend it with my life - money is one thing of course but it would also be disrespectful to the people who knitted them.

i need a good wool protection strategy. i do have moths. ive tried traps and they do get tons of the fucking things but i want to get to a place where there just aren't any moths. maybe that's impossible. i live in a terraced house. i don't know. i have considered a "bomb" but i don't like the idea of those chemicals and i read you have to open all your drawers and wardrobes because the moths have to actually get touched by the mist to die. bags? with... something... (not mothballs) inside?

Can you get predatory wasps there? They absolutely worked for me—I first read about them in a NYT article; let me see if I can link it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/magazine/moths-clothes-trichogramma-wasps.html

i picked up a shacket - military olive and with a little shape at the waist at Kestin, which is a really nice clothes shop in Edinburgh. also picked up a lovely brushed wool flannel shirt and a mustard cardie in honour of this look

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2019/10/24/consider-the-spy/

(i misremembered the cardie part but the colour is apt)

the mustard cardie doesn’t get a lot of public service because, well because it’s mustard, but it does go well with a roll neck for a sort of cocktail party murderer look. i may recreate the george smiley look itself for work tomorrow actually now i think of it.

wool is a colossal pita as everyone say. well wool isn’t as such, though remembering to wash after a couple of wears and regularly-ish after that doesn’t always happen, but yeah the moths. i managed to get two years out of my william lockie jumpers by shoving them in the freezer at the end of winter but i’m going to need to get the darning needle out again come spring.

my navy drawstring wool trousers some gigantic moth or bunch of them ate a massive hole in the crotch and they’re done for which is a huge shame as they were great for winter and when your dietary control wasn’t what it should be…

kestin btw

https://www.kestin.co/

I have the moth problem, think it might be inevitable in London. I've followed all the eradication advice and reduced numbers but can't get rid of them. Get a load of Ziploc plastic bags and put all your nice stuff in those through moth season. This is the only solution I've found and have lost some nice stuff along the way.

Or there are lots of other boxes or bags that will do the trick.

Also don't forget any items, I cannot stress this enough

yes. always one jumper that you leave behind that sits in your hands reproachfully when you dig it out as autumn comes round.

i make do with cotton bags folded over which seem to work but again, you need to actually use them, and not eg take the garment out of the bag and forget to put it back in.

Shackets don’t work on me at all, so I rely on cheapo cashmere (see above) which is just the most extraordinary fabric; how can anything so light be so warm. I’m also big into wool; thankfully we don’t have moths, and I use a Lakeland bobble buster to shave the furriest one.

The little shits got the corner of a patch pocket on one of my j keydge slack jackets last year. I can style it out but it still pissed me off. Takes ebay grinding to get them nowadays.

Oh man, I used to be huge on shirt jackets — though in retrospect that was probably because I was less huge on getting clothes to the laundromat, and it seemed helpful to just keep throwing the same shirt jackets over things. These days I do have one I love, but unfortunately it's not made anymore — Outerknown, which does the chunky flannel Blanket Shirt, briefly had a jacket version of it with a square hem and side pockets. Wish they'd do that again, but I haven't seen it since 2020 or so. Flannel-wise the shirt's solid, really ropy and substantial in a way that breaks in nicely, though the last time I got one something had changed about the cut and sizing that pretty much ruined it on me!

Also re: Lands' End they sometimes have an extra-chunky "rugged flannel" that, when it's not being made in the absolute ugliest plaids imaginable — like plaids that resemble a hardcore gamer's computer in 2003 — I have considered maybe weirdly superior to that Blanket Shirt for like a third of the price? They do have some real occasional scores on the shirt front! A few years ago my wife and I were walking down a street in Cincinnati and this older guy ahead of us was wearing the most beautiful shirt — an ordinary plaid-ish patterned shirt but just looking flawlessly soft and casual and fitting and hanging ideally — and after I spent a whole block talking about how weirdly perfect this guy's shirt looked, she jogged up and asked him where it was from, and he was like (takes off shirt to look at tag) oh, it's Lands' End. I used to spend way too much time trying to find items where normal or cheap brands ended up producing something better than upscale equivalents, and somehow there's like .01% of Lands' End shirt designs that seems to fall in that bucket.

lol my favorite plaids from LE all look like somebody took a picture of a malfunctioning computer screen and hit invert in photoshop, it is true

i like Land's End henleys fwiw

Pendleton is good for flannels and wools. Full price is kinda steep, but they have sales often. I live near their factory store, luckily, and have found some good deals there. (And maybe I was the last to learn that The Beach Boys originally called themselves The Pendletones because of their matching flannel board shirts.)

Who is wearing all the neon plaid from LE, I wonder? Only plausible answer I can imagine is working guys trying to match their hi-vis vests.

BTW if anyone was in suspense I’m pleased to
say my foot went back to normal, though I’m still spending a lot of days in Oboz Bridger boots. I think the trick with modern hikers as everyday wear is actually to avoid any of the ones that make you think “oh nice, that mostly looks like a normal boot,” because those will indeed seem like you’re wearing normal boots you have really bad taste in. You want something that is confidently up-front with technical details like toe kicks or speed lacing or different materials — everything that says “hello yes I am 100% a hiking boot” apart from garish sneakerish colors. Also helps to get them scuffed and dirty as quickly as possible; half of what can make them awkward is looking unnaturally fresh

(PS Pendleton sometimes has a really good pearl-snap western shirt, both in trad poly-cotton and wool, with top-notch color schemes.)

Also helps to get them scuffed and dirty as quickly as possible

so relatable, also one of those things that makes me feel that i'm a grown man who has not progressed past the mentality of my nine-year-old self

re wool, we have these vacuum storage bags that work wonders.

Aww, I don't consider it juvenile or superficial to say some things look awkward when new! Daily-wear hiking boots actually hit all three of the main categories I can see for such stuff: things meant to be broken in and molded (leather, raw denim, waxed canvas), things where part of the aesthetic goal is to feel like you're casually throwing on an old practical favorite (trucker jackets, certain flannels, old-school puffers), and things built for a purpose specific enough that it looks actively odd if they've clearly never been used for that purpose (outdoor gear). But I dunno, I guess I may be too much of a fan of the old WASPy "wearing nice stuff that's been absolutely beat to hell" thing ... not to a cracked-shoes Adlai Stevenson level, but my favorite sweaters definitely feature some 20-year-old holes

Those cherry Merrell 1trl's posted above are beautiful. Picking up a pair today.

My daily wear Tasmanian Laincot pants have acquired a purple hue from sunbleaching. Mixes well with a vintage Australian made flannel (still plenty of beauties to find in this nations rural op shops) + my cherry Salomons. Summer is set. No desire to wear anything else

xp me neither but to me there's something quite mature about being able to lean into it, "yup, i know looks a bit off but it's brand new and that comes with the territory, they'll develop wear soon enough but in the mean time i'm wearing them anyway" yknow rather than scuffing them up shamefully in a corner

Washing machines and dryers on no-heat / air fluff mode are astounding at making your good new things look beat up fwiw

I find it hilarious that my friends and colleagues consider me a stylish person despite the fact that I thrash hard against all the orthodoxies espoused in this thread. It has to be because I live where I live, where the ability to match colors and wear outfits that aren’t just brown and navy blue or gray and black is like some flagrant expression of individuality people can barely get their head around

getting called a hidebound traditionalist from the guy who only wears one type of shoes ever, designed in the 1920s smh

ouch, well zung

My mother is a violinist; a while back she bought a new violin case to replace the one she got in like 1953.

Apparently she thought the new one looked incongruous and possibly dorky (like the other violinists were gonna give her shit about it and call her teh noob).

Anyway she had me take it outside and kick it around in the driveway for 10 minutes

Hahahaha, sorry that tickled me

Are there any orthodoxies in this thread? I can't remember any.

Not really. I do feel like the tendency here seems to be somewhat conservative? I’m still grumpy that nabisco suggested that some of my favorite flannels look like alienware laptops.

I've always been a little on the conservative side myself. I grew up with a dad who wore suits to my little league games. We have a photo of him as a young child in a suit on the beach. His dad made suits.

I also work in a field that tends to be more conservative, although my office is casual now. I still feel a little weird when I wear jeans to work even when they're "nice" jeans. I had an argument with my family about how I don't think there's such a thing as "nice sweatpants."

Most of my dressing is either for the office or just weekend bumming around. I'm a suburban dad and have no reason to not dress like one. I like wearing my patagonia jacket (actually the inside of a 3-in-1 coat) everywhere not so much because I love the way it looks, although I like it, but because it says "I'm here to pick up my kids." No one will ever doubt that I'm there to pick up my kids when I'm wearing my patagonia jacket.

There are pairs of sweatpants that cost as much as 2-3 pairs of decent jeans, and they’re better constructed than those jeans, too.

in my world, jeans and suit pants and pretty much all other forms of long pants other than sweatpants are simply not even part of the thought process. this world sucks, why do i need to be uncomfortable in it just so i can fit into some bourgeois ideas of propriety?

It's prob a life's work to define our own personal relationship to menswear or streetwear or both, lol

I would completely agree with that

yeah, agreed. i only came around to sweats a few years ago, now i wear them most of the time in the colder months and actively resent when i have to put proper jeans on. i even bring an extra pair of sweats with me so if i have to run errands after teaching, i don’t have be uncomfortable.

I received my overshirt, and I'm very happy with it. I'll probably wear it as a shirt rather than a jacket for the most part. Very lucky to nab one at a steep discount that is an actually nice, non-garish color combination.

Probably the most comfortable pair of pants I've ever owned is my tailored wool pants from Suit
Supply. But... almost as inappropriate for everyday use
in my life as sweats.

Moleskin pants have been the most comfortable ones I've ever worn. Had a Gap pair in the 90s and then a few from the Canadian brand Caban...All wore out from heavy use, but loved 'em and still keep an eye out for similar ones.

Ok but do you have any idea how many moles need to die to make those pants