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

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).