Determining my Style
Hi all,
Kinda of an open ended question, but how did you all determine your style?
I believe I wear more standard or “timeless” clothes, but I’ve always been attracted to the heritage wear type of stuff (flint and tinder, gustin, Taylor stitch). My wife insists that that stuff isn’t my style. I am attracted to the concept of heritage wear because it seems to be synonymous with long lasting and rugged clothing.
16 Replies
A few things to unpack.
Finding your style is an ongoing process for most folks. It involves consuming fashion in various ways like browsing lookbooks, runway shows, fits, books, as well as other things (many folks get inspo from nature, cars, architecture, etc.). Most folks end up with a blend of things that they enjoy from those sources and different styles (see memes like the samuri, pirate, cowboy alignment charts).
Many people will drastically change their style as they get more into fashion and explore but it's totally valid to lock in on what you like and stick with it.
Heritage/workwear clothes definitely invoke the vibes of ruggedness along with others but I would caution against looking at it like a value proposition. Workwear and Heritage clothing is fun in it's own right and clothes don't have to win the $/wear metrics to be good, fun, or meaningful to you.
that being said I love a lot of heritage styles!
I'd start by collecting inspiration and fits you like. Then try to recreate directly or interpret them as your own fit. If stuff feels weird you can always post the inspo and your attempts to a new thread here and folks can help you out
This is already a very strong response!
Why does your wife insist it’s not your style? Style is entirely personal. If you enjoy the clothing and wish to center your style around heritage clothing then you should start going in that direction.
i would go the other direction and say just buying things you like that fit and are good quality is gonna serve the vast majority of people better than trying to emulate an outfit they saw
not if you're trying to find your style, which is what OP is asking in the first place.
It’s good to copy outfits you like
It’s like following a recipe
how do you know what you like if you don't collect inspo of stuff you like?
"emulate and outfit they saw" is a pretty uncharitable interpretation of what I said
All really good responses! Thanks guys
So I’m guessing I shouldn’t be browsing retailers at all and something else?
retailers can be fine, some will create lookbooks or do product shoots that are fun but in general I find it's better to browse places that aren't trying to sell me the clothes for inspo
This is a great analogy that I think goes so far. No chef is abov a recipe but the more recipes you use the more likely it is you can look at recipes less and less.
When it comes to specific inspiration I think that can kind of come from anything you think is cool. I have a lot of Miles Davis photos saved because I like his style, but I’ve even saved photos of muppets that I thought were dressed well haha
For example:
But for real I may start with a photo like that and think about pattern and texture what’s so interesting or what intrigued me about it. What tickles
Parroting what @awburkey said, brand lookbooks can be a good source of inspiration, but they can sometimes be more rigid to a particular aesthetic/style if they're a smaller niche brand. Social media, blogs, sources on broader fashion trends are all great places to get broader inspirations.
Two other general tips I'd recommend:
- Learn the fundamentals when it comes to outfit shape/fit, color/pattern choices, incorporating texture.
- Start by finding a sort of statement piece: maybe a jacket or overshirt, that really speaks to you and fits you well, and then focus on slowly getting pieces that complement/work off of that piece and that you enjoy.
Eventually, if you can build out a solid capsule wardrobe that you feel represents your "style", then you'll have a good sense of what you like, and where you can potentially start to branch out from your style and experiment further.
As far as your wife's comment, does she explain why she doesn't think it's your style? In terms of your attraction to heritage wear, is it the practical aspects that attract you (durability, simpler selection compared to other styles) or more the aesthetic itself (classic fabrics/silhouettes/articles maybe)?
I'd prefer if we didn't try and do r/relationship_advice
I don't think anyone's trying to give relationship advice here; it was mentioned in the post and seems to be something that OP is thinking about. If there's added context that could help inform a discussion about personal styles or fashion styles then great. Otherwise, I'm not trying to tell anyone to sort out their relationship or personal style in therapy.
She says that hipsters wear that stuff and you’re not a hipster hahaha
If that's all it is, then just keeping doing your thing! Nothing wrong with trying out new styles and putting more thought into fashion.