The absolute state of things (my wardrobe) and where to go from here
Alright y’all.
I’ve been looking at recent fits of mine and I think that fall/winter this year I had something really good going for me.
I’ve figured out a lot about the things I’m comfortable in and the stuff I like wearing a lot.
Now it’s time to consider where to go from here.
First some thoughts of mine and some fits of myself that I enjoyed.
FWIW my weekly inspo post is an important part of where I want to move all of this as well.
- I’ve enjoyed my ivy adjacent fits a lot more that my westerny ones. I think I’d like to branch out further in that direction.
- I’ve learned to appreciate leather shoes a lot more over the past few months and will likely be wearing them more
- I’ve found that my sweet spot for pants right now is just a regular fit - I don’t need to go super wide.
- I enjoy a good big shirt, love to tuck those. It works well for me, since I’m a serial tucker.
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- I’d like to learn how to incorporate some black into my wardrobe - as it stands I own two black t-shirts and nothing else.
- I want to explore layering for spring/summer with denim jackets and cotton knits as well as sweatshirts for mid-layers.
- I want to explore some DIY alterations - making my own cut off shorts (I liked Art’s cut-off double knees last summer), cutting the sleeves off of sweatshirts etc.
- I’d prefer it if I didn’t spend the whole summer in athletic shorts and t-shirts. I’ll have to look for a few options for shorts and lighter pants that make my fits work. It’s been a challenge so far finding something that works for me.
- I want to explore warm weather leather shoe options.
Other than that I think I’ve been doing pretty well overall, figuring out good outfits. Though I’ll likely never be one of the servers most exciting or adventurous dressers, I feel like I can take pride in being solid at what I do.
I’d like to hear your thoughts, recommendations and general feedback on my outfits as you’ve been seeing them.
Hope this is fine like this for yall 🙂
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I really like your fits! It's cool to see your style evolving
If you're going more ivy I feel like black will be hard to do. Small accessories like hats and knit ties could work? Or something like this argyle where it's just in the background
For your summer question, I'm curious if you have any specifics for what's not working? I have some ideas but I wanna know more first.
A black knit tie is definitely something to try out.
I thought about then getting a pair of black shoes and belt to get a bit of a foundation going. Further maybe a cardigan could be the move. These seem like easy enough items to test the waters I suppose.
The main problem is that I cannot do fucking elastic waists and that’s all you seem to get for most of the shorts (short and wide is where it’s at for me) and pants that I seem to find. I’d like to do some tucking in the summer, but I don’t like doing that with elastics tbh. That’s why I’ve considered doing DIY.
I like my tops block to look a bit shortened, it’s pretty long as it is, which is why I usually tuck. When I don’t everything just feels so disproportionate. I think this is something where I could also experiment with more cropped tops, but I haven’t dared do it yet lol.
The drape of linen is also something I haven’t been able to figure out and make look good tbh. Lighter fabrics in general seem to be sth I struggle with in terms of drape.
cutoff fatigues
Definitely. I’ve seen a lot of what you’ve been doing, giving rise to the thought that a DIY approach is something that’ll work well for me.
yeah I kinda got to a point where I didn't really like any of the natural shorts I was finding so I just started finding pants I liked and turning them into shorts
“Natural shorts” is wonderful phrasing, thanks for that lmao
I think some old faded carhartt double knee pants would be a great way to start incorporating black
I've been looking for a pair to start doing the same
yeah all my non gym shorts are cut-off pants, they look much better and i like the raw hem
soup has a really cool pair I think
Another thought that I had, that I forgot:
- Jewelry. I keep forgetting to wear my rings and they’re all pretty chunky too. I’m thinking of moving towards sth a little sleeker as well as doing gold tones for maybe a ring and a bracelet or sth.
These slap. They’d also probably do pretty well in more casual fits of mine, like with sneakers and a sweatshirt. Good shout!
Gotcha. vintage boy scout shorts might be something to look at
labour union carries a gurkha short that I've been pondering as well https://labourunion-1986.com/products/british-army-double-buckle-gurkha-shorts?variant=35974946586775
Labour Union Clothing-Since 1986 | Vintage Inspired Heritage Menswear
British Army Double Buckle Gurkha Shorts
Labour union 40s-60s British army double buckle Gurkha short pants itself is a high-waisted, barrel-legged short with multiple pleats and an adjustable belted waistband. Using 100% high quality, this Gurkha shorts is wide-fit and pleated construction allow for improved airflow. and If you are exactly a big fan of mobil
Damn maximum waist of 35 is tough
ope
khaki/beige chino shorts read very ivy if you don’t have a pair already. I like the bigger pleated varieties.
Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. Black is lazy and easy - but mysterious. But above all black says this: "I don’t bother you - don’t bother me
Yeah, I’ll need to find some that actually do what I want them to do though. It’s been surprisingly hard lol
Zeo has some good shorts in that style
I feel like the classic PRL inspo would be buying the largest pair you can find and cinching with a belt
I could see black moleskin working well for you. Either a chore coat or a pair of trousers.
Sold out rn - but Granqvist stocks my fav black / charcoal knit ties. Visually interesting & still a pointed tip (tho they do have standard straight-knit too)
https://granqviststore.se/en/slipsar/virkade/zigzag-solid-knitted-silk-tie-black
https://granqviststore.se/en/slipsar/virkade/diamond-solid-knitted-silk-tie-dark-grey
Granqvist
Zigzag Solid Knitted Silk Tie - Black - Granqvist - huge selection ...
Luxurious knitted silk tie in Zigzag weave. This tie is a great semi formal piece. Use it with a denim shirt to make it more formal or with a suit to make the l
Granqvist
Diamond Solid Knitted Silk Tie - Dark Grey - Granqvist - huge selec...
Luxurious knitted silk tie in diamond weave. This tie is a great semi formal piece. Use it with a denim shirt to make it more formal or with a suit to make the
Maybe corduroy, but both of those are not summery.
stolen by my partner :nooooo:
Holf you could try looking for French army shorts, like 60s era I think
lemme see if I can find what I was thinking of
I think either French M47 or M52 shorts might be worth looking at for a summer short
if not they might give an idea, otherwise possibly a Gurkha short like Art mentioned
(Brycelands do Gurkha shorts up to W40 :goodbyemoney:)
(They also do black gurkhas if you wanted to kill two birds with one stone lol)
Talking about Brycelands made me remember that their CD Ethan has a few cool summer fits with guyaberas - I don't think its neccessary to get one from brycelands, but one of those might be cool for summer.
Another possible option I've seen just now are these - https://www.olderbest.com/collections/shorts/products/french-army-dispatch-motorcycle-shorts
Olderbest
French Army Dispatch Motorcycle Shorts
Based on the French Army Dispatch Motorcycle Pants of the 1940s-1950s. It used its signature adjustable waist belt design and two square patch pockets on the front. Made from 13 oz. cotton twill, it has a soft feel and is a suitable match for various T-shirts and shirts.
they top out at a W38 but the size chart shows it as a 39.4" waist just in case that would work for you
Thanks to yall for all the great shorts recommendations. I’ll consider my options starting April, going either DIY or maybe going for sth longer an hemming it do a desired length to make it work…
The black moleskin shout is pretty good - though it’s not a piece I’d start with, it’d feel a little disjointed.
Great recommendations overall here.
If anyone wants to give me some overall outfit feedback for what you’ve noticed with my fits it’d be appreciated as well, if not that’d be fine too 🙂
Sure, didn't get that you also were asking for that.
I probably didn’t make it explicit enough lol
But happy to provide
I agree that you are very consistent in the way you style stuff. I think you got a great colour game going on. You tend to always add a dash of a more vibrant colour into the mix or alternatively a fun patterned tie or a lil snoopy logo. I guess the intention is to low key subvert the genre a bit. I would call it whimsy ivy or something.
I think for summer a good move would be to integrate that somehow into your mode of dressing and maybe try some slightly busier/louder tops/shirts. I think the hard thing in summer is to find a way to provide visual interest with less items, and colour/pattern might be a strategy.
Correcting the record: cabanas. Specifically I was thinking of this pic by "our" Ethan:
Anyway, back to the overall outfit feedback:
The other think I notice is, that you seem to prever very slouchy and unstructured jackets/coats. Which feels very characteristic for you in a good way. I think there is one pic from some kind of christmas celebration where you were wearing a sport coat with a bit more structure (can't find it rn bc im on my phone) and I think the silhouette looked pretty nice. If you want to play with silhouette and don't want to do too much about pant cuts that might be a good way to play with different shapes if you want to do that.
Anyway, I think those are my two cents about things.
Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to write out all of that.
I’ll be considering getting a bit more aggressive with colors/patterns for the summer, see how I like it.
I enjoy your take on a “light hearted” form of ivy. That’s what it always felt like to me - I don’t think I’m very good at playing the “straight man” character in any part of life lol
I think the lightheartedness you got going in your fits really is what sets your style apart and makes it characteristically holfram. Def planning to take a page out of that book for my own style journey.
while the "easiest" answer for summer dressing is shorts (the long shorts in this fit are vintage womens BSA uniform shorts) https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1283112688464953364
it may be worth looking for madras or seersucker (either shirt or pants) as well; traditionally ivy and with more visual interest than the typical ocbd
imo your fits have steadily improved especially as you take on more texture and visually interesting things. i'd say keep exploring the way you pair items; there's a lot of light top-dark bottom or vice versa, while some of your inspo pics have less color contrast in the top and bottom blocks and more textural contrasts)
i'm surprised by your wanting to add more black, as i figured that avoiding it was an intentional choice on your part. a black knit tie is classic, but a pair of washed black jeans may also be worthwhile (@LeisurelyLoafing and art had a few fits with these, probably others).
i think you have most of the staples of modern ivy down; it might be worth getting a textured sportcoat (cord, tweed, etc) and/or patterned sweater (fair isle, norwegian, even a knit with a wide gauge) down the line. might be worth looking a fits from rej, steedtothemax and beans to see other particular things to add if you choose
Thank you for taking the time to write this out! You make some very good points.
I will keep those things in mind. Textured Sport Coats and Patterned Sweaters have been on my mind - I’m sure they’ll be added at some point in the future when I’ve found some that are just right.
Changing the way I pair stuff is sth I’ll also try and put on the agenda - maybe I’ll listen to twiggy more, she’s always pushing me to do a little less contrast and do similar colors in a fit. Could prove worthwhile.
Lastly black had been a color that I’ve purposely avoided for the last decade or so, going as far as not owning a single piece of black clothing for years. It’s just not something that I’ve ever found to be very “me”. My black in the sense of versatility has always been beige tbh. But I keep thinking that just maybe I’m missing out by excluding it out of principle. It’s something I should a least put some thought into. Beaten, washed and faded black can be a good look. I’ll need to figure out if it’s for me. If not, it’s just as well, I’ve done fine without black for a good while now.