Figuring out what you like
This is much more of a philosophical question than anything else but I'm having difficulty finding what I like within clothes. I've done my obligatory visit of #waywt and #inspiration and everyone looks great <3 but I'm having difficulty settling on something I want to try to emulate or like the look of. Part of it might just be an unwillingness to explore and put that shit on, but I'd appreciate some input on what people like about certain fits or think about when finding outfits they're trying to emulate
39 Replies
An easy way to narrow it down is to look at your lifestyle. Wear what looks aesthetically pleasing within the clothes that fit what you do for hobbies or whatever your job might be. What kind of weather usually happens in the city or town you live in? Just a starting point.
wasting a lot of money šŖ
for me it was all about how it made me feel when i put it on
as my tastes ""matured"" brand ethos also started to matter a lot more
does the brand vision align with how i feel ? yk
If I look at a garment and think āthatās coolā and then put it on and think āniceā then itās good and if i donāt then itās bad
Also look beyond just this server
But ya it's kinda just vibes
Try saving the stuff you really like and then look or post when you have a bunch and see if there's a theme
But ya also just think about what you wanna express with how you dress and what clothes do that
Truth isā¦.its always going to change and youāll always gravitate towards more expensive garments as years go by. Iām ready to have my first purge(eBay) and there isnāt much I really want to keep after discovering a few new brands.
this is not necessarily true, plenty of people do very well never spending $$$ on clothes
i want to make sure we don't perpetuate the myth of fashion as inaccessible/reserved only for people with money here
I think the best answer is already in your post: just go try stuff on! It could be fun to go in with the expectation that youāre not buying anything. Just try on tons of stuff, save items you think you like and THEN go look search through inspo stuff for those items.
On the development of personal style
āfinding the self through embracing self-expression and cultivating personal styleā
i think you're ultimately right about trying stuff on
there's something about a tactile experience of seeing yourself in clothes, feeling how they lay or drape, and negotiating the mental image you had of your inspiration with your actual reflection
Also wearing that shit out
Thereās a good blackbird spyplane article about how just putting shit on you like but arenāt sure of and wearing it a few times changes your perception of it
shrimple as
there's something both exciting and fearful of just wearing things
I was being glib but itās been a years long and still ongoing journey of figuring out what kind of looks I like, what clothes I feel good in (across all dimension of color, fit, fabric, form), and what clothes I can make work in a fit
also ty all for the advice i will be making a submission to #waywt this month
There really isnāt a shortcut just try, seek feedback, integrate, repeat
oh i got that dw, but its also like, at the end of the day its what you want to wear, and what you enjoy
Iām 4 years in and I still donāt know what I truly like because thereās what I like on other people and then what I like on me, and then thereās comfortability, location, weather, peers, etc.
I agree with edenede
Think about the kind of person you actually are, then look at how to elevate your look within that subculture.
So if you work in a job with a suit, look at fancy suits. If you're in a manual job, look at fancy workwear-inspired trends.
I always wanted to be a suit guy & it makes me look like an idiot and feel awful. What makes me look and feel good is 'a bit burning man' - not an aesthetic that excites me a great deal - & when I actually look at my life, that's the person who I am (politically, and in terms of lifestyle and social status). Fashion is a communicative language, of course I look dopey in a suit, I'm unemployed and psyched about permaculture š
The other thing is learning what silhouette works for you and then repeating it, in different genres. Ie unless you have a neutral body canvas, there's probably a waistline that's best on you and a shoulder proportion that's best on you, and you can do that in a tailored suit and a dressed down jacket etc
Once you find one thing that works for you, you can repeat it a lot. I do a kind of 1970s rock god thing, which sort of came after growing my hair out and having a lot of fun with it at karaoke, so now I actually look at photos for that and look out for accessories to exaggerate it. I've got a Robert Plant style silk jacket & a ridiculous fur coat, I'm looking out for some good heel boots etc.
You build up a lil accessories and options library around one particular look that has worked in the past and now you have a handful of looks.
This is tricky tho, because fashion is made up of individual garments, and often those garments are not exciting. They're only exciting as a combination, and learning combinations is easier and faster with a bigger buffet table.
I only thrift partly by preference, partly by necessity) and it can be fun to have the creativity challenge forced on you by restriction ('emerald green formal trousers? OK let's work with that')
But it's also frustrating in terms of developing a style, like when a basic cut of jeans simply won't appear for months on end. & within my small budget, I still have a LOT of clothes - many of them mismatched and in need of a final piece to complete the look.
Shopping gets easier when you're filling in gaps; its harder for people in OPs position, and buying widely does speed it up.
I guess that can be some advice: try thrift stores. A good way to experiment with colours and fits and genres without it being a massive commitment, and when you find what's working for you, then invest in serious pieces in the same style.
Alright you have no obligation to dress in a way that represents your life style. It can be a starting point, but you don't need to wear suits for work to be a suits guy, you don't need to be fighting nazis at punk shows to dress punk, don't need to skate to dress in streetwear, etc. Fashion is fun because it is expression without restriction. Plenty of suits guys who have no reason to wear a suit besides the fact they like suits.
While some silhouettes might not work due to someone's build, there's no "best" silhouette for someone. Fashion doesn't have an ideal look (though certain looks will be trendy and others will be out at different times). Balenciaga is famous for absolutely crazy silhouettes to challenge this whole idea.
Fashion is easier if you have money, as you have to spend less time searching sure. Plus some people don't enjoy thrifting (like me). But its absolutely possible to be into fashion on a budget if that is a limitation, and that is extremely important. Plenty of absolutely great dressers who have mostly or all thrifted wardrobes. Espicially with the internet its pretty easy to get good deals on lots of clothing used without having to wait for it to show up in a local thrift store.
Eh, I agree with your first paragraph up to a certain degree. That degree being that this thinking is used sparingly and in special events or for random days of the week when your desire to be creative or whatever shit you want to call it comes out. I don't mean to disagree to change you or anyone else's mind as this whole clothing thing is built from matter of opinions. It's just my opinion that lifestyle should generally dictate what you wear on most days. That doesn't mean that it has to suck and it shouldn't be confused with some dull and boring routine. Being resourceful and working with what you've got is a beautiful thing that has lead to great style innovation. What you wear has potential to have much more meaning and weight when it's connected to how you live your life. It's a biased approach though, as I'm someone who likes weathered clothing. I'm also someones that likes to wear the same pieces of clothing for hobbies and casual life. I also enjoy learning about why someone's articles of clothing are beat they way they are. I know not everyone can be a hobbyist painter to get sick splatters or isn't a serial hiker that wears hikers on casual days but it's that much cooler imo when you find out that someone is either of those two things. It's a great thing when someone asks if you do a certain thing bc of the thing you're wearing. I've always enjoyed that aspect of clothing. But I'm showing my age when I say shit like that because dressing up and "cosplaying" has become much more accepted and normalized with the younger crowds. It's different and it seems fun but I guess it's just not for me.
Respectfully, both dressing to match your "lifestyle" and repeating the same silhouette over and over are horrible pieces of advice.
I am genuinely sorry that yall haven't found the confidence to wear things outside of your comfort zone but you are both projecting hardcore with these takes.
I want to second what carrion has said, dressing purely based on the job you do or hobbies you engage in sounds extremely restrictive. I love workwear/americana/westernwear despite having neither a job or hobbies in these areas. Wear things because you love them and make you feel happy & confident, not because they are related to your job.
i currently work from home in a tech-adjacent field and, despite no incentive to do so, enjoy wearing tailoring and suiting vs say, just wearing t shirts and athletic shorts (now)
while i agree that clothing is symbolic ultimately the wearer is deciding what that symbol is convey, and that doesn't necessarily have to be "i work at/do [x]" but "i value [y] and am conveying it through clothes". maybe the wearer is exploring some new idea in them, maybe they have a different intention, who knows?
Time - Money - Quality trade off pyramid. If you donāt want to spend the time to find the pants you want in the quality youāre hoping for, itās going to cost money. That said, no one is making you buy emerald green formal trousers. You can have a ābigger buffet tableā if you make compromises on either Time or Quality by buying cheaper secondhand pieces that are in the genre of what you want to explore (so, say, you donāt spend $400 on tapered trousers just to realize you hate the silhouette.)
I also emphatically disagree that individual pieces of clothing canāt be exciting. If you are buying clothes that are interesting but donāt fit in your wardrobe, that is an opportunity for you to zero in on an aesthetic you feel is more consistent.
This thread has lost the plot a bit due to some pretty terrible advice for OPs question of āhow do I figure out what I like?ā
The answer is not, as harpua said, buying or trending towards more expensive things.
The answer is not, as edenede said, ādress as is befitting of your lot in lifeā else all the tech bros in workwear or streetwearā¦ wouldnāt be wearing that.
Echoing what smiles said, there is no ābest silhouetteā.
OP came in here in good faith looking for good, general, subjective advice and support.
Providing prescriptive, cynical perspectives does more to harm the community than help it. Iād love to encourage yāall to post more in #topic-of-the-day and #fashion to share and get more perspectives on some of these things.
Providing prescriptive, cynical perspectives does more to harm the community than help it. Iād love to encourage yāall to post more in #topic-of-the-day and #fashion to share and get more perspectives on some of these things.
I feel like my message has been horribly explained bc the takeaway has been totally misunderstood. It is what it is lol
You literally said "lifestyle should generally dictate what you wear on most days" and you compared putting clothes on to cosplay. You aren't being misinterpreted, you just don't like that people disagree with you.
An assumption was brought up incorrectly that I possibly donāt dress outside of my comfort zone. Thereās a lot of glorification around expression yourself but dressing within your means automatically gets shit on bc people think that taking cues from lifestyle means you get locked in. I said for most days, relax people haha. Iād like to believe we arenāt dressing up on most days bc work does dictate where we are most of the time unfortunately.
hi!
please feel free to elaborate.
I am having a hard time interpreting "you should only be creative or whatever shit you want to call it for special events and random days of the week."
I am having a hard time reading your opinion that "lifestyle should dictate what you wear" and using "cosplaying" to describe certain aesthetics as something other than "if you work an office job you shouldn't own double knees."
It seems like you value clothing that has been worn. Do you distress all your own clothing yourself? Is buying pre-distressed clothing stolen valor?
It's not uncommon for people into clothes to be asked if they work in fashion, and that can feel pretty good. Should only people who work in fashion wear designer?
Again, you're projecting. A lot. One look around #inspiration #waywt-highlights #waywt literally any other channel will show you that. Smh you sound like a redditor from 2013, "but can you change a tire in it" ass argument
Whoa bro. Before you say Iām projecting. Maybe ask. A lot of my words have been twisted out of intentional/ive done a lazy job of explaining myself. I thought I made it clear I wasnāt here to change anyone mind and that it was simply my opinion lol. I do agree that this just been hijacked.
Itās really not as deep as you think this is. Yes. Someone else somewhere made those claims youāre assuming but Iām not. Thatās not happening here. I just value one over the other. Thanks for asking tho.
I am quoting you.
and asking for clarification.
I know. For clarity. Itās helpful
I just donāt get how this turned into me vs you and a right vs wrong š
People are so obsessed with being right or???
no, you're just giving bad advice (possibly in good faith) to someone asking a question from a place of naivete. It's not helpful and doesn't present the breadth and wealth of options available to people in a fair light.
You liking what you like is fine, presenting it - as you have - as a 'correct' way and disparaging other modes isn't fine.
Again, I've covered my bases, as I've reread my og statement. Not here to change anyone's mind. If anything, it's just context for my opinion. Someone brought up projecting. Bro an opinion relies on projecting. We give an advice on the basis of seeing ourselves in the given scenario. When the fuck did I ever say it was the correct way LOL. I literally wrote my shit out as an opinion in a sea of opinions. OP could take the advice if it applied to him or ignore it if it didn't. I know why some people felt the speak up. I just don't think it was handled properly. Carrion's first comment included a slight remark assuming something about me, like cool, thanks for the welcome instead of asking.
if several people tell you they've understood your words to mean something you didn't intend, maybe you should take that seriously and either explain better or get down off your high horse.
"it's just my opinion lol" is historically a great basis for explaining yourself though.
It being "just an opinion" doesn't mean that people aren't allowed to challenge it if they disagree, and I don't think leaving clown emojis on other people's comments furthers your cause much either š¤·āāļø
feel free to reread the thread. It was one dude and the other guy just asked for clarification. I woke up and happened to answer. I wasn't totally looking at the number of people, who said what. trust me, I'm not trying to be a smart ass about it
Time to cool off friends. Eat an ice cream. Say hello to a fluffy animal. Iron your socks. Whatever you do to relax.
I left a clown emoji on the particular one bc it seemed emotionally driven to say what they sid tbf
this post is locked because it's gone so far off topic, feel free to ask your question again @brandon