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

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

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.