Your Style Philosophy

[Faust]

Bravo Davo. Now that's what I'm fucking talking about. Slamdunk. I'll buy you a beer when you come to New York.

[gerry]

Good post, Davo I'd also like to point out that dressing for the ladies can very much mean black, draping clothes. It's all about the woman, no?

And since you brought it up, now I'm kind of curious as to what SZers wear to the beach......

MA+ leather underwear?

[maldoror]

or

[landwolf]

don't know - i have a feeling it would look a little like this

good stuff. masterpiece, if there ever was one.

[davo10375]

CCP limited edition fw08 dyed calf leather borat mankini

and carpe diem boots.

[davo10375]

Sorry for the double post; this one actually is more thread-relevant :P

Just wondering what your opinions are on how to develop what you actually wear in terms of putting it together. Do you pick designers in similar styles/similar styled clothing/etc? Personally at the moment I really want to wear clothes as much as possible by designers whose clothing I like; regardless of how similar the styling is. To do this is a challenge and I think the ability to combine different 'genre' designers into a cohesive and unique look could be interesting. For instance, at the moment I'm really liking (not talking about current season etc)
- Rick Owens
- Raf
- Robert Geller
- Jil Sander
- Julius
- Old Dior
and Yohji/Thom Browne/Henrik Visbkov though I don't think I could pull of many of the pieces.

What are your thoughts on this stuff? On forums like sufu you sometimes hear the term "brand synergy"; i never got this, I felt it's more about your overall style then what you are wearing individually.

[Chinorlz]

I used to be practically 100% into DH, but near the end of that era I was increasingly captivated by CDiem and tried to figure out how to meld everything but couldn't.

When DH (for all intensive purposes) folded, it forced me to experiment with a lot of other lines that I had admired from a distance... I bought a good amount of Ann, Rick, DRKSHDW and just played around with the aesthetic and silhouettes until I settled into the various Continues lines and CCP.

Raf never really did it for me, neither did MMM. Geller looks cool, but I don't think it works on me/for me really.

Certain lines and pieces will just click with you one way or the other... thats the fun part about exploring whats out there!

Just be glad you don't have that insane amount of designs/designers/lines to dig through that women do. My god...

[gerry]

I think the entire idea of designer synergy is born out of laziness. That's not to say I don't think single designer looks are bad at all, but I think the idea that X Designer should only ever be worn with X Designer seems a little bit silly. Even with designers that have a very strong philosophy and aesthetic (silhouette, specifically) there is a lot of room for creating a personal style that deviates from the clothing's original intent.

Admittedly, I buy a lot of things just because I'm very in love with a little detail on the piece and not because it fits in with my overall aesthetic. Most recently I fell in love with the buttonholes on this Brioni equestrian jacket and bought it knowing that I generally stay away from anything remotely tailored... I like to think it all works well together and hopefully it does.

As for all the lines us women have to dig through, well, you can eliminate like, 90% of them if you decide to stay away from status symbols.

[AKA*NYC]

for me brand/designer synergy is often the default when feeling lazy, hung over, or both, which is to say most of the time. but in my closet there hangs a "look" - only one actually - that feels personal and unique although it's often a huge hassle to put it together in permutations that don't involve the same two or three items of clothing. this is simply because i can't find (and in some cases afford) more pieces that have the qualities and cuts i need.

[BECOMING-INTENSE]

I think the entire idea of designer synergy is born out of laziness. That's not to say I don't think single designer looks are bad at all, but I think the idea that X Designer should only ever be worn with X Designer seems a little bit silly. Even with designers that have a very strong philosophy and aesthetic (silhouette, specifically) there is a lot of room for creating a personal style that deviates from the clothing's original intent.

Admittedly, I buy a lot of things just because I'm very in love with a little detail on the piece and not because it fits in with my overall aesthetic. Most recently I fell in love with the buttonholes on this Brioni equestrian jacket and bought it knowing that I generally stay away from anything remotely tailored... I like to think it all works well together and hopefully it does.

As for all the lines us women have to dig through, well, you can eliminate like, 90% of them if you decide to stay away from status symbols.

On the other hand, the ability to create different expressive moods
or events, within the work of a couple of designers could be fare
more challenging, while the little self indulging subject, I choose
what I'm "in love with" is very easy.

I do like the thought of discovering details.

[Faust]

I think the entire idea of designer synergy is born out of laziness. That's not to say I don't think single designer looks are bad at all, but I think the idea that X Designer should only ever be worn with X Designer seems a little bit silly. Even with designers that have a very strong philosophy and aesthetic (silhouette, specifically) there is a lot of room for creating a personal style that deviates from the clothing's original intent.

Admittedly, I buy a lot of things just because I'm very in love with a little detail on the piece and not because it fits in with my overall aesthetic. Most recently I fell in love with the buttonholes on this Brioni equestrian jacket and bought it knowing that I generally stay away from anything remotely tailored... I like to think it all works well together and hopefully it does.

As for all the lines us women have to dig through, well, you can eliminate like, 90% of them if you decide to stay away from status symbols.

I have to disagree with that statement. Sometimes you fall in love with the work of one designer because it simply speaks to you, and then you begin to respect the designer her/himself so much that you naturally gravitate to her/him. I just interviewed a woman who solely buys Ann Demeulemeester, and I completely understand why. She doesn't have to spend time and effort, because she is not that much into fashion, but she found someone whom she absolutely admires and can relate to, and that's good enough.

[gerry]

becoming-intense, I do think that both approaches have value, and in terms of the what I'm "in love with" I was trying to say that I'm not a strategic purchaser and rarely buy things because I think they'll fit well with the rest of my wardrobe thus the lack of brand synergy.


Faust, I definitely understand falling in love with the work of a single designer and only wearing them – especially in the case of Ann. But that kind of relationship is on a personal level and I can only think of one or two more designers whose work is so personally charged.
What I was thinking of was more of this idea that Jil looks best with with Jil, or maybe with 50% of Dior Homme, but never with Yohji because their styles are seen as different.

[Avantster]

Davo, you might have already read these but, these two posts here (1 2) are real gems that may help to get you thinking.

I think alot of it is having a clear understanding what you're after, and more importantly, what works for you. I've found I've often been very taken by particular garments I see on here only to find out when I see them in person that they simply don't work for me. So look around, don't be afraid to experiment with different looks, and do make sure to see them in person.

I think the entire idea of designer synergy is born out of laziness. That's not to say I don't think single designer looks are bad at all, but I think the idea that X Designer should only ever be worn with X Designer seems a little bit silly. Even with designers that have a very strong philosophy and aesthetic (silhouette, specifically) there is a lot of room for creating a personal style that deviates from the clothing's original intent.

Admittedly, I buy a lot of things just because I'm very in love with a little detail on the piece and not because it fits in with my overall aesthetic. Most recently I fell in love with the buttonholes on this Brioni equestrian jacket and bought it knowing that I generally stay away from anything remotely tailored... I like to think it all works well together and hopefully it does.

As for all the lines us women have to dig through, well, you can eliminate like, 90% of them if you decide to stay away from status symbols.

I think the idea of brand/designer synergy is not so much that designer X should only ever be worn with designer Y, but rather that wearing designer X with designer Y helps to create a total look that is greater than the sum of the parts. As well as this, IMO it's also a subconscious thing that people do to subtly communicate to others that are also 'in the know'.

Regardless, I can see why you're saying it's born out of laziness. But for me the issue is that it's taking rather mechanical and restrictive approach to an inherently open and creative application that is style.

It's easy to see how garments from certain designers with similar aesthetics can easily 'fit' together. It's far more challenging, as B-I mentioned, and takes more thought (though not necessarily any better) to put together garments from designers with completely different philosophies and/or aesthetics without becoming a fashion victim.

[Fade to Black]

lately my style philosophy has been more about approaching style in terms of a mindset at a particular moment rather than the clothing choices. the clothes may reflect how i'm feeling/thinking, but probably won't communicate it so obviously as it's only loosely connected to the idea i had, except in my mind.

right now i like the idea of a lonesome cowboy, in search of redemption like "Paris, Texas" or some theme Number (N)ine has been exploring for a while.

[BECOMING-INTENSE]

becoming-intense, I do think that both approaches have value, and in terms of the what I'm "in love with" I was trying to say that I'm not a strategic purchaser and rarely buy things because I think they'll fit well with the rest of my wardrobe thus the lack of brand synergy.

Yes, I don't think it's a matter of value or one approach is better
than the other either, the importance is not of a hierarchy but of
intensities, which is definitely bound to 'love' or creativity, which
could be discovered in the multiplicity of one designers work or the multiple works of many.

I must admit, through time, I have landed on the few ...