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

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.