bensev
Mmalefashionadvice
•Created by bensev on 2/28/2024 in #fashion-discussion
Drake’s at Home
https://imgur.com/a/nLb5GyI
This write up became kind of long, so feel free to skim.
Background
This project started because someone shared the ball cap, brown chore coat, uni stripe ocbd, white denim look from Drake’s 2024 Perennials and I thought that I could easily put that together. After having some fun with that, I started looking back at other Drake’s images I had saved, and began to think about how many of these outfits I could replicate. I have liked Drake’s styling for a very long time, probably since someone shared the Shetlands in Ireland lookbook from 2017 on MFA, but I don’t own any pieces, primarily for budgetary reasons. I also didn’t buy anything new for this, although it did help that I had grabbed some new scarves and more fun coloured toques over the course of this winter.
Learnings from the project.
I had recently done a wardrobe reassessment and returned to taking regular fit-pics, and one of the main takeaways was to push my use of colour. I think Drake’s uses solid (often primary) colours really well, and taking these as an exemplar helped me incorporate more. Another styling reflection is how well they amp up simple outfits, and tone down more formal outfits. Taking a more basic outfit and adding a scarf, a colourful hat, a sweater around the waist or over the shoulder pulls many of their looks together (although I sometimes discarded the additional accessories in actually wearing the fits). In contrast, taking a more formal outfit and adding a ball cap, toque, or swapping out a couple of the pieces makes it feel more accessible. I own many ties that I basically never wore, but this project made it feel doable and fun. It also pushed me past the point of just looking at an inspiring image, into actually thinking more clearly about what makes it work, and how to apply it into my wardrobe. The next step of course is to keep that lesson, but make it less tied to re-creation and more to general inspiration.
15 replies
Mmalefashionadvice
•Created by bensev on 2/2/2024 in #questions-and-advice
Wardrobe Analysis
Over the last month I returned to taking pictures of my outfits, sharing them online and in that process, evaluating my wardrobe. I tried to create at least a decent outfit featuring every item I own, and wanted to use that to determine what I should get rid of, what is working, and what I still need.
A little personal context, I teach Junior High English and I need to be presentable, but never need to be formal. I’m also a parent to two young kids and don’t bring in a huge salary so these are largely thrifted or non prestige brand items. I’ve always liked prep leaning fashion and have been on MFA since Jdbee was god. I’m heavily inspired by lots of you here and on MFA, but I usually tend towards the basic side of things.
Some observations…This was a good exercise and I’m glad I did it before making any further purchases. Also, I could’ve steamed some of these items and the fit pics are a work in progress but it is what it is! There are also a number of pieces, that I’ve had for a long time, that are a different cut or fit (particularly two of the three pairs of light wash denim and the black and camel topcoats) than I would buy if I were replacing them today, but I’m mostly trying to work with it. l don’t wear those two long coats very much for this reason, and I’m not sure if I should just move on. There are also a number of items that I would like to upgrade or replace, and that’s a work in progress.
I clearly like navy blue, olive and brown, light coloured sweaters, suede shoes, white sneakers and chore coats (nothing ground breaking). I like how versatile everything is, but I think I need to add some more colour and personality. I got the burgundy beanie at Christmas and wore it a ton in this exercise. I just got a Life Acquatic red one and a green one and that’s a step!
65 replies