(Journal) Fact to Fantasy: From inspiration to complete fabrication.
I had a fun time with yesterday’s WAYWT and inspired by @zeometers excellent journal post I just wanted to write it down before it disappears down the memory hole. Usually when I put together a fit it’s not really an iterative process. I already have a strong idea in my head from daydreaming about it before or I’m riffing on something I’ve already done. Yesterday I had a concept in mind that I liked before I even bought the key piece.
When I think of archetypes that resonate, a lot of it comes from 1970’s film. It’s why I’m in the same Ivy and milsurp pit as a lot of MFAD. One that popped to mind that combined my love of milsurp and numerous pockets was a combat photographer. I had a couple roadblocks in that I didn’t want to rock full fatigues and I didn’t plan on dropping stacks on an SLR so I was going to have to be evocative rather than literal.
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In lieu of an SLR I went with a photographer’s vest. Rounded out with officer chinos, olive thermal, boonie and workboots in place of combats.
It’s not terrible but it doesn’t exactly spark joy and I didn’t think the colours worked. I didn’t want to give up on the concept so I tried to tweak it. Swapping in an OG107 shirt wouldn’t fix the colours. I felt the chinos didn’t play well with the vest, the boonie and the thermal were too much and the work boots didn’t sub as I’d hoped.
Perhaps some light ripped denim would gel with the vest and still land me in the time period I’m aiming for, same with the canvas sneaks. I’d lose the boonie for a hat that pairs with everything. The tweaks got me here.
Which is nowhere. Looks like nothing. The dream is dead, all life is suffering.
I thought I could at least salvage the fit so I threw on an inoffensive white shirt that should work with everything else and at least I’d be wearing clothes that worked together if not as a concept.
When I looked at it, I liked it but it felt like it was missing something. I’m still some kind of cameraman but what’s the story behind it. It looks light and summery. It’s vaguely 70’s. What the fuck is a summery 70’s cameraman doing. Spaghetti westerns popped into my head and Giacomo the camera operator on some no budget exploitation flick was born. I considered what would he finish this fit with and the obvious answer was shades and an Italian silk neckerchief.
So I went from a strong concept based on something that existed to some dreamt up nonsense that gave me a fit that I’d never have put together under normal circumstances.
Cool post! As someone recently intrigued by fashion it was cool to see the evolution of the fit. The first iteration is heavy fisherman vibes, but the end fit is way smoother and metropolitan and more interesting. I’m still imagining some other accessory/bag to keep the vest company—drive home storage as the theme and not let it all hang on one piece. Did you mess around with that at all or you think it’s too much?
My dream addition would be a mini lemaire camera bag that would tie the whole thing together but I can't justify the cost for a single fit. :xdcrying:
Oh yeah that’s a beauty
Thanks for writing this up and taking multiple pics. Really insightful
i have far more detailed thoughts when i'm not bogged down in work but i am flattered by the compliment and appreciate the time you took to write this out, because i really liked this fit
off the top though your first inspiration pic was also one i used for the hiking fit in fit battle 🤘 so cool how the same thing can inspire people in fairly different ways
yay, not bogged down in work, absolutely love this
more than the clear inspiration (many of your fits lately have that balanced between utility and whimsy but it makes make sense given the 70s as an influence) is the callouts as to why the early fits were less effective
it would've been easier to submit (and certainly wear) the first or third and been content but acting on instinct yielded a far better outcome
It's an eye I've only developed since I started posting to WAYWT and watching what succeeds and doesn't. I used to have an attitude of just getting "good" pieces and putting them on but I'm starting to develop instincts for when an outfit is more than just the sum of it's parts. It's very satisfying when it hits, like solving a puzzle.
great write-up! It's been fun to watch you go off with your fits lately, and your final fit here is v fuckin cool
Man, you really cracked some kind of code recently
The sunnies are such a magic trick
suddenly very different vibes
I really like the idea of dreamt up nonsense, I might have to experiment with that a bit
I can't speak with any authority but for me it was a way to access stuff that I wouldn't associate with my own identity if that makes sense. Conjur a character and dress them.
Obv you have to stay true to your own taste and style, but It might be a good way to get over hang-ups / limitations I guess?
it's more alchemy than science
It could very easily devolve into cosplay and that's where you have to refine your taste
One really silly idea I recently had was to basically imagine the archetypes that I feel drawn to as major arcana in tarot, give them pretentious sounding names and a list of associative traits and stuff just like with real tarot
Im not even into tarot
but a few friends like it as a tool for introspection
less as a mde of divination and more as a semi structured association game
That's deeper than I've gone. It's really just summoning up something from pop culture, or even a melange of pop culture to dress to. I'm terrible at putting any structure to things. I don't build galleries of inspo or anything. It's been really useful being here and just consuming all the inspo, it's all going somewhere. Subtle tacit knowledge. But if you benefit from documenting etc. go for it, can't hurt and sounds fun.
i have some long train rides ahead of me next week, maybe i get to it
this makes sense
authenticity is an odd concept with respect to personal style but i think inspiration can come from multiple dimensions (aesthetic, vibe, station in life); as long as you can connect to one it can act as a foundation as you reach towards a different kind of fit
I'd never dress in a way I didn't authentically love. The different fit might be one I love on someone else, fictional or otherwise, but might not have mapped onto myself. Like I would never have put ripped jeans on even 6 weeks ago but I'm madly in love with them rn after using that as a stepping stone.
Especially when it's grounded in reality - WIth a world population in the billions there's a high likelihood that person [x] who did thing [y] in place [z] exists, they just may not have been photographed.
100%, What would a [photographer] from [italy] in the [70s] look like and you're madlibbing your way to a distinct but identifiable form.
You still need taste, skill and a diverse wardrobe to some degree.
I get you're talking about authenticity as it relates to the inspiration as well. But if the end result lands as what you were going for then it's reflecting something in the collective culture. I need to do some reverse inspo hunt and see if there's any images that some close just out of curiosity.
this is how i’ve been dressing honestly. at least a little bit. and it covers the realm of retrofuturistic sci fi work wear i’m looking into, too…even though i’m not exactly sure how that’d look on the streets lmao
Sounds like a wild mix. Styling suggestions is a great testing ground for fits you’re uncertain about
yeah. the problem is i don’t have a lot rn that leans into that vibe. i’ve been covering a lot of bases for my more typical skater punk wardrobe lately, but if i find something that works in both, life is good
tbh i’ve been considering getting a nice quality repro of han solo’s shirt as a starting point
I’d lean into something inspired by the shirt rather than the shirt itself
It’s fit vs cosplay but live your joy
imo it leaves the realm of cosplay when you’re not doing a full fit based on that character’s wardrobe
using a commonly practical piece in a larger outfit vs stealing the entire look
like full-stop i have a collection of ff14-inspired earrings and the insert coin jacket and a mountain of assorted bags
and a lot of those earrings are based on in-game items
for people who know, it’s a cool reference or a neat detail
to everyone else it’s just a slick fit
What a great post, has me thinking things!
This is obviously an evolution of the original idea that landed somewhere in communist revolutionary territory. I have one more iteration I want to try and land that’s probably not a great deal different but I’m not done with the concept yet.
i think the brilliance of this as a hobby is that (usually) there's no finish line, so the ceiling is high in terms of what to achieve
none of the changes were that vast or that difficult aside from maybe the shoes, and yet it's a largely different look; i can't imagine where this goes next
Absolutely loving the look. The communist revolutionary vibes were coming across quite strongly even before you clarified that.
(What are the shoes btw, still on the hunt for something similar so its good to know the options out there)
Calling it now: If Elevander joins the next fit battle I think he will be a hot contender for at least ro4
They are boots, Tricker's burford / superboots. One of my first purchases when I started getting into clothes and they just keep getting better with age.
I'm too competitive to ever enter, I wouldn't have any fun.
Thats a wise decision then
Nice, it seems all roads lead to trickers shoes rn :xd:
They are the perfect balance of refined chonk and the build quality is ridiculously good.
as a super competitive person, i found there to be a positive pressure that turned my need to win into a need to do well to see what i was capable of, and a lot of the fun manifested from the process of doing that
joining fit battle if/when it happens is a personal choice but i would certainly be interested in whatever you submitted if so
I appreciate that. I know what limitations I've matured out of and what ones are best avoided and competition would be a great way to ruin a chill hobby. Even one as light hearted as fit battle. The waywt reacts are plenty of motivation to explore for me.
It's been a while since you posted this but it popped into my head this morning and immediately I felt inspired. Been in a weird rut/turning point with my style and closet lately, and really appreciate how your documenting of approach shows both play (just rummaging in ur closet & putting that shit on), as well as a concrete step by step in how to hew closer to a vision you have in ur head!
That’s incredibly nice to hear, thank you.