Timelessness - Topic of the day 8/1/24
We all know that the word 'timeless' carries a lot of baggage. But setting aside our slim fit jeans and minimalistic white sneakers for a second, what's something in your wardrobe that you think actually has no expiration date?
243 Replies
ironically enough the most timeless thing in my wardrobe is my luggage đ
My underwear. Theoretically, practically it at some point wears down
Because if we talk about timelessness we usually talk about cultural timelesness and not the usual wear and tear
my wallet, also an old standard
that's all đ
once upon a time i enjoyed the idea of r/buyitforlife thinking i could wear my common projects knockoffs and redwing ripoffs and uniqlo t-shirts into the sunset
10 years later i've changed physically and mentally and socially so i got rid of all of them
:IslanderSigh:
I think its a nice romantic idea
but it always fails
my wallet was brat before brat
point is, timelessness is kind of a way to just describe things one would call "just clothes"
I think my white minimal sneakers are timeless. I saw a photo of James Dean wearing them decades ago in an old photo. And people still wear them today.
this is yellow
it's chartreuse you blind french bat
mm get better lighting??
My outfit was finally timeless after I stopped wearing a watch
idiot??
but yeah, luggage, the card holder i got from target, hanes socks, and the timex weekender i got from my parents are timeless and that's about it
mhm
I donât think there is such a thing as âtimelessâ style. Whatâs âin styleâ or âon trendâ will always be in some sense temporary.
Getting stuff because itâs timeless is an effort doomed to fail for one reason or another. Itâs definitely possible to wear stuff youâve had forever and have it and you look good, but it definitely wonât be in style a few years down the line.
And thereâs also stuff thatâs been around forever, more or less unchanged, made by the same brands that have been making it forever. And thatâs cool too, but also something that will go in an out of style.
Being interested in fashion to a degree necessitates going with the times, I suppose, because if I wear all the same stuff for the rest of my life, will I have truly been interested in fashion?
I think to the degree that timelessness exists it only exists within specific subcultures/aesthetics.
OCBDs are timeless in a ivy aesthetic, cowboy boots in a westernwear one and so on
WIDE
Scientifically the only way of having a timeless outfit is to have pants so big that they collapse into a blackhole, shattering the time-space continuum beyond human comprehension.
The reason your fits are not timeless is because your pants are not big enough
But those aesthetics fall in and out of style ofc
But nothing is timeless
Take OCBDs for example
Sure the core garment exists and will always be used in ivy
but the cut will change
Wide cut, slim cut, all subject to trends
Timelessness discussion
Nothing is timeless
this will set you free
Whatâs also important to note, bouncing off that, some subcultures (ivyâŚ) are less âtimelessâ and more âfrozen in timeâ
Sure some subcultures have slower trend cycles
but they still exist and change
yeah look at how ALD got a hold of ivy and made it wearable for example
Also it really depends on the timescale too. For an average human lifespan you can likely buy some stuff pretty much unchanged for all of it (thatâs a rarity though! Iâm thinking of like guernsey sweaters or sth.). But thatâs pretty much the only timescale that works in.
Something like âband shirtsâ will probably never die, as general as that is. They get cooler with age
but that defeats the point
the point is stupid
if you strip everything from the description
then ofc you can claim its timeless
even though its the wrong cut
there is more to a garment than the style
either you make your definition too broad to the point its useless
or its not timeless
shirts never going out of style smh
I suppose in a subculture you have more of an opportunity to be traditionalist as well, so it looks more like itâs timeless.
Who knows if everyone will be wearing dresses or jumpsuits in 50 years tho
shit I buy the vintage subculture stuff for extra $$$ for the details
miss me with the modern repros
I might be a bit too philosophical talking about timescales and stuff. This might be actually missing the point.
i would contend time is part of what gives a fit context
wearing a pair of jeans in 1960 vs 2020 for example
Like Iâm pretty sure the Romans thought the toga would be timeless, but that doesnât really pertain, does it?
lotta romans thought rome was timeless
it still exists
oh fuck
ironically though, it proves the point
well there is probably a lineage... like the hoodie is an evolution of the hooded cloak
it sure isn't their Rome anymore
probably, i just made that up
im big on keeping close because nothing is timeless but things circle back around to a point you might like them again. i have a lot of clothes i wish i never got rid of i liked 8 years ago that i would probably like just as much now if not more
The only truly timeless thing is this topic of the day being posted
I think absolute timelessness certainly does not exist. But there are still garments that are more timeless (i.e. less subject to trends etc.) than others and reducing this discussion to absolute timelessness makes it a very uninteresting topic
What always makes me think is when people say: âI canât believe I thought this looked goodâ about outfits that are just very much on trend for their time.
Didnât it look good? It makes it sound like fashion is somehow working towards an objective idea of outfits looking good and with every trend we somehow get closer, realizing an older trend was objectively worse.
I think thatâs a very weird perspective to have - while stuff isnât necessarily timeless, I donât think anything has to stop looking good just because itâs not on trend anymore.
ive thought about this as well, I wonder if there are two separate things going on 1- moving on from a trend, ie slim to wide fits, but simultaneously 2- one's personal eye and skill changes, so it can be hard to distinguish if "bad because slim fit" or "poorly executed slim fit"
swag is timeless
if your off-trend fit is unapologetically yourself and not harming others i don't see the issue
there is also the typical aversion to the most recent style, like in 2012 the crazy y2k stuff was gross, now its really cool. Now slim fit is icky, in 10 years probably people will say the same about super big pants. Takes a while to become free of that prejudice imo and separate good/bad styling from style preference
my typical issue with the word is, at least online, when someone wants to look timeless they usually mean "don't want to feel weird because their clothing choices differ from the expected norm"
and/or "i do not want to spend the extra effort to see if a style suits me contextually"
this is not inherently negative but i find it a less interesting and more limiting way to live
could i buy a bunch of white t-shirts, 501s and chuck taylors and be 'timeless", sure, but that's just one dimension of dressing
More avant garde clothes might problematize the discussion interestingly. To me, most yohi clothes arenât evocative of any particular era or time, but Iâm sure most enthusiasts could date them to the season. So the degree of their timelessness seems especially reliant on audience.
that is a good point - unless you're a yohji fan most of the time it's going to read timeless (no time) vs timeless (all times)
I think timelessness has a different meaning to different subcultures too
for some it is irrelevant
in some the idea of timelessness plays a certain role
whenever someone mentions smth like "timeless chinos" i know they either read a guide on the internet or took the ad copy of some brand too seriously
Gladiator sandals
Romans
Modern Italians
Seems pretty timeless to me
(relative) timelessness definitely exists in some subcultures, I know groups of guys who built their wardrobes 10-15 years ago and are still having a great time rocking the same clothes with no sign of stopping
I wonder if "timeless" as an identifier is a useful counterpoint to "fashionable" or "current", in the sense that its resistance to novelty and surprise establishes a sort of mutually reinforcing inverse image.
which i suppose it also to say that timelessness is similarly in flux
I don't think when people say "timeless" they mean that it will be fashionable for the next 10,000 years
I think it's fair to say that things exist on a spectrum, with a flash-in-the-pan trend on one end, and "timeless" on the other
but most things have been trendy at some point in time
jeans as a whole
denim
I don't think it's ever been out of style since it became more than work clothes
.
I probably shouldve read the title fully
đ
probably shoulda read the thread period
a simple black belt maybe?
caps?
but well depending on the period the style is different
particular garments may be more or less timeless but their construction, material use and context is what frames it in a particular time
some subcultures are more resistant than others in the sort of "decay" from timely to not
being able to mix and match aeathetics or embracing trends in a healthy way or just not giving a shit about others' opinions are ways to stretch the timeliness of an item
but "timeless" is not an aesthetic
I don't think straight button up dress shirts in light colors have ever been commonly agreed to be "uncool" at any time period, right? correct me if I'm wrong
Theyve always been styled one way or another in popular fashion, whether it be tucked in or not, as an overshirt, with a suit etc etc
like granted the collar preferences changed for example but I think a straight fit shirt without any excessive features was never really out of style
literally less than 10 years ago a classic cut shirt was out of style
lmao
once again I get to be glib here, just wear raws that fit vaguely regular and you'll maintain a pair of pants that have been normalized for almost a hundred years
and continue to be worn in even broader contexts
Since I can't predict the future, I wondered if I could think about this a different way, by looking backwards. Basically, how long have the things we wear today been around?
solid point
I took a look at pictures of presidents, https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/
The White House
Presidents | The White House
Learn more about the Presidents of the United States from WhiteHouse.gov.
damnit you're right
And it seems, to my eye anyway, that round about 1870, their attire starts looking recognizably modern.
I struggle with this a lot just because of financial viability
If you redefine timelessness to mean "exists and wouldn't be a social faux pau to wear" then yes everything is timeless
don't think anyone uses that definition
but yes you are correct
my watch is timeless but only when it doesn't run
So "suit and tie" seems to have been a thing for 150 years.
Like I can spend enough of my disposable income on clothes to have fun, but thereâs a lot of stuff I LOVE that I just know I wonât be wearing at like, 35, so I donât get it
barely anything is timeless then
tricky question
I do kinda agree with jf here
but also suits are a weird level of formality to mark and measure by
I mean didnt people hate ties for a little while
i mean an 1880s suit is gonna look extremely out of place
Formality has changed over time
So itâs kinda min-max for me
Yes in the 2010s
now they're everywhere even in streetwear LOL
yeah, agreed. it was just because it was easiest to do.
it's funny to me that suits seem to have largely increased in formality
whereas a lot of clothes have decreased in formality/been normalized
but you could maybe do something similar for jeans, for example.
Suit cuts also meant different things
Huge lapels were popular and formal in the 70s and 80s and now theyâre not formal
You can still wear them
I guess you could argue that fetishwear to streetwear is an increase in formality
But the intent is not timeless
The occasion to use one has decreased significantly i figure that has an effect on it becoming more formal
but I would come down on the side of niche wear being more formal, even though it shows more skin in that case
Do you guys ever do the calculus of like okay this is sick and I love but I know I wouldnât revisit it in 3-5-10 years
Have suits though? In DC maybe but when people say black tie in 80% of the US they just mean a blazer thatâs black
I do not, frankly
3 piece or 2 piece, tailcoat or vented, tie length, tophat, lapel width, jacket length, pocket detailing, 3 or 2 button
I guess this is more about engaging in trends actually
no
i worry about right now
attempting to predict trends is mostly useless
suits still seem formal in DC
most offices have killed their dress codes and deprioritized suits
etc
even lawyers at white shoe firms see basic business suits as more formal now
friends wear sneakers, online ceramics, etc to their whiteshoe jobs if they're not meeting with clients, and still not a tie or suit to see clients unless it's c-suite or some shit
I see more and more young people (I'm 19) in the streets incorporating "formal" elements to their fits though
people wear belts again, button ups and even ties are everywhere and same with (wide) pleated dress pants, in college but even in high school
just not all together
yeah I think suiting elements are becoming more casual, but a complete suit has become more formal
I think in the US at least the cost per wear factor on suits makes it seem like a bad purchase for most people which has dropped dress code requirements significantly
And itâs less about trends and more about like. I feel that I might be a bald dad in 5-7 years and I wonder if itâll fit my lifestyle so maybe I shouldnât spend too much on it
i don't live my life this way
But thatâs probably my own neuroses ya
in part presumably because there's a parallel breakdown of rules/structure when you break apart the outfit
Seems like a great way to convince yourself to not doing anythign interesting tbh
also why cant bald dads wear cool shit
Tattoos? Why imma be a dad. Piercings? Why imma be a dad Cool clothes? why imma be a dad
"I don't make the rules"
Yeah I do an okay job fighting it
I'm sure we can agree that the idea of timelessness is very appealing, it's a very comforting idea that you can like something without feeling like the clock is ticking until you have to stop liking it
U know what it is
Itâs more femme stuff
That I feel like I canât do for that reason
This is why i wont have children
suits are seen as cool at least
there's that young guy reuben larkin who's everywhere on tiktok and instagram wearing suits
So i can be cool forever
Which is v complex
half the time i'm not sure i'm gonna like something in three months
idk abt that
that's suit tok
hmm ya circ i understand
but like I will look less out of place at the office in full rick than in a suit
i'm embracing the willingness the change and the ability to buy stuff in such a way that i'm not destitute in the process
and that's not just because people know me
ditto for the theater or dinner
unless I'm at a steakhouse or something
i am not a dad and i do not speak for dads but i have a dad. i think what dad normalizes can have a huge effect on ur child
The only thing that is timeless is swag
idk
I'm talking for gen z tbh
everytime there's someone with a nice suit they get a ton of compliments
so maybe by being most authentically you, you're setting the best example
gen z doesnt want to be like their dads, and gen z's dads didn't like suits
therefore gen z likes suits
i think femme stuff is designed for a person whom retailers assume will buy clothes often enough that they don't have to go through that calculus
đ
If i catch you complimenting a young republican's suit im beating you up
đ
Hey gang how's the thread goin
and the young republican
valid
that is...reductive for sure but i think might be part of it
https://www.ssense.com/en-us/women/product/cfcl/black-oriel-paper-shorts/9078911
Take these shorts for example. So cute. Love them. Decent price. I canât see myself wearing them at 35 years old and so I struggle a lot with getting them
Wait stop I could cry
I think this is one of those things where suits appear more rarely so your more likely to receive a compliment because it stands out
idk if I'm even gonna make it to tomorrow I'm buying and wearing the shorts u should too
Actually these are on deeper sale maybe I cop :xd:
they do be nice shorts
4â inseam 0.0
they're cute
Sl00ty
biiiish
cirque it's time to get the babygirl shorts
Show some asscheek for the fans
only issue is lack of pockets but bring a cute lil bag and go to town
When I look back at my fashion journey over the past year, and what I've bought, I think a significant factor has been "is this likely to be something I'll enjoy wearing years from now, not just today". But maybe this did lead to a sort of boring middle-of-the-roadness.
largely normal
i've tried to refrain from buying any of the super textured stuff that was so popular this year because I just know in a few years they'll be seen as too much again
Even before you were into fashion your style probably evolved over time you are just way more aware of it now
And also, I was predicting the future by looking at the past.
absolutely
Super textured stuff?
I just don't see the point of not buying something you like now because you might not like it in 2 years
Oh I'm so sorry to hear
also i've bought things i thought i was going to wear for years and ended up not loving them after 4 months so its not even this universally true thing
it's subjective. but avoiding waste could be one reason.
Ppl who buy new clothing every day be like yeah I want a shirt that looks like I didn't just buy it yesterday
I think thats a big thing with the timelessness conversation. People who claim to buy timeless clothes and exist outside the context are still following the trends they just arenât acutely aware of it because they arenât brain rotted like us
"Timeless" just means "trend I like" imo
or if it's expensive, you could be concerned about value and cost-per-wear.
Wow it really is all about P E R S O N A L S T Y L E
Calculating cost per wear is an easy way to go insane
no my slim chinos are actually objectively perfect
2023 and 2024 there's been a lot of textured tops no?
not really stuff people here are wearing but I'm sure you've seen them around,
english isn't my main language so not sure what the right terms would be but fancy types of knit and crochet, "wrinkled" clothing etc
On polos, shirts, tank tops etc
can we not make this a rehash of clothing as a financial return on investment
oh yeah...I don't recommend it. But I've definitely done it, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.
Oh sure sure sure I know what you mean now. Not a language issue at all so sweat đ
Genuine take I think timelessness is now achievable since every past era and style gets rehashed at lightning speed. You could find parachute pants in a thrift shop and they could be from the 80s or like anytime 2010 onward.
question for discourse sake, are vintage clothes reworn at a later time timeless by definition or are they subject to the same trends as contemporary clothing
Post trend universeâŚgood?
No â¤ď¸
wow that question would've made me look like a genius had it posted before sal lol
I think vintage 1000% has its own trend cycle that overlaps with new clothing
I'd say they are subject to trends. The supply of PRL Andrews pants isn't infinite. đ
Blending styles is so much more prevalent now too you could take something thats kinda passĂŠ and make it cool again just by styling it different
i kind of agree like trends don't move in decades anymore they can move in months
Look at the cost of carhartt Detroit jackets in like 2022 đ¤Ą
social media blah blah blah
Yeah way easier to fight past social stigmas with clothes these days
Fast fashion good?
no thats also why we have shein now
its all the same machine
I saw a guy wearing old 2000âs Abercrombie cargo shorts in kind of a cool way the other day
someone linked a video a while ago and im gonna link it again cuz it was fantastic
Again the only timeless through line is having swag
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Your clothes are timeless as long as you are swaggy
I like how pretty much everything is accepted now
feels like there's much more style variety in popular culture than a decade ago
I wonder if there are things that people wear today that didn't exist 50 years ago, that will still be common 50 years from now.
Fleece jackets (and fleece in general) was one possibility that came to mind for me.
Hmm thatâs interesting. Fleece has to be from the 60âs or so tho ya?
Not to devolve into history nerd arguments
Polar fleece
Polar fleece is a soft fabric made from polyester that is napped and insulating.
PolarFleece as a trademark registered by Malden Mills (now Polartec LLC) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on October 6, 1981. Malden Mills developed polar fleece in 1979.
The most timeless outfit is actually the punk rock/metalhead outfit
But maybe we'll run out of petroleum and not run out of sheep, and go back to wool.
Black or blue skinny jeans converse leather jacket long hair
change my mind
are the metalheads who dress like that "Into Fashion" tho genuine question
because i feel that's just natural to them and their lifestyle, which, ya i guess is timeless in a way
Oh huh. The more u know. Fleece definitely not going anywhere ya. I bet white leather sneakers will always be around for better or worse
I'd guess that some are, and some are just dressing to be part of the group. Same as any group, perhaps.
Canvas sneakers have been mass-produced since 1917 (https://www.factmonster.com/culture-entertainment/fashion/history-sneakers), Levis 501s date to the 1890s (https://fashionista.com/2023/05/levis-501-jeans-history-popularity), leather jackets about 1925 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather_jacket).
do you need to be into fashion to be fashionable, or an object of fashion study
Actually, long hair (on men) might be the most recent development, although I guess it's cyclical.
absolutely not
mutters something about cultural bias
The most timeless outfits are clergy robes
you mean about long hair? yeah, absolutely
long hair on men is awesome đđđ (im totally not biasedđ )
I can see it both ways, I guess.
you know what isn't timeless? white common projects achilles lows
almost as if we can't really deem something timeless in the moment
oop didnt have time to read the ping haha
im so glad i didnt get tricked into buying those they are so boring
(neither are redwings i'm ready to fight)
woulda been ok with being tricked into buying gats tho
what troll decided to come up with this topic again though lol
most things with historical significance end up staying fashionable the most (or endlessly coming back):
classic suits, early century workwear, anything military
that only takes into account stuff from after the mid 1800s but yeah
maybe that has to do with practicality too
comfortable stuff with pockets
đ
Think Crocs are here to stay
They rule and are made of forever chems
Adidas Stan Smith
Adidas Stan Smith is a tennis shoe made by Adidas, and first launched in 1965. Originally named "Adidas Robert Haillet" after the brand endorsed French prominent player Robert Haillet, in 1978 the sneakers were renamed after Stan Smith, an American tennis player who was active between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s.
The shoe...
no we're getting into "what is fashion" cuz I'd argue those metalheads are actively engaging with fashion in a meaningful and intentional way
like are they doing it because that's what metal is? Sure maybe but also it's a culture, with its own norms and expectations and subversions
Looking at subcultures very much complicates the discourse. However, I tried to characterize these somewhat âunchangingâ subculture styles not as timeless but more like âfrozen in timeâ in the best possible way.
That however assumes the subcultures style is âfinishedâ, which is obviously never the case.
So I think the point stands as a theoretical ideal.
This is the correct take
That and Midwest emo boys
Band tee, red and black flannel, straight black jeans and vans
hippie outfit equally timeless then
fashion is solved
thank you for reminding me of something else my style intersects with
Didn't read anything but honestly isn't timelessness just relative to what you want
Actually idk if that's much of a contribution. It's just interesting bc timelessness has no real objectivity but there's a shared understanding of what kind of items are "assumed" to be timeless
Timelessness is being an uncategorizable cryptid
You cracked the code
Mothman is the only timeless thing out there
alright chat i'm here
if this thread is really timeless then you'll all reply to me RIGHT NOW
checkmate
The only suit that's truly timeless is the birthday suit, everyone owns one and it never goes out of style
re: punk/metalheads, once you get into subculture stuff though, none of them are as homogenous as you might think. It just gets more nuanced. Is someone more 70's brit punk? NYC punk? LA punk? hardcore? skater? goth influence? grunge influence? etc, etc...
yeah. which is why i tend to leave what i call myself pretty ambiguous because trying to pin down the absolute specifics of my style is really difficult
I think the actual prompt is a really good one.
whatâs something in your wardrobe with no expiration date?I think my most interesting item with no expiration date is my black cowboy boots. I wear them in a way thatâs v ânowâ and I bought them bc they were popular. But theyâre black cowboy boots today and theyâll be black cowboy boots in 20 years
I gotta stop clickbaiting these
it gets the people going
Yeah that q is way more interesting than memeing about cps
my most timeless attire đ
No this is not me
Yeah, I think cowboy boots esp black ones are relatively timeless as things go. Sure, there are some details that fall in and out of fashion, but I would wager that there are plenty of cowboy boots that would have been deemed perfectly acceptable throughout the last like 50 years.
I think requiring an item to be very fashionable all the time is too strong a requirement and also not what ppl mean when they talk about timelessness. Items can also be not "in" and at the same time also being not "out".
Black cowboy boots will always be cool, even if theyâre not always on trend
Similarly, a black leather moto jacket will always be cool even if itâs not always the on trend jacket