What are you wearing today?

[gavagai]

Well, can't comment on the Augustas but those Guidi's look great.

you do look sketch. Are you maybe on some sort of scouting expedition here?

Why do people block out their faces? Are people still scared of internet prowlers? This confuses me...

[JD_May]

Reminds me that I forgot to do so on pic 2.

The guidis were actually a little small at first but feel good, if still snug, after a couple wears.

[beardown]

Anyone could, but not just anyone would. You have to have the desire and interest enough to do so, which already would set you apart from 99.9% of the anyones that have the means to do so.

Oh, please.

Now there's the pretense I know to surface from time to time around all things 'fashion.' My point is that you could walk anyone in NYC into Atelier and have them emerge looking very similar if not identical to that, stand them up against a wall, take a photo and voila.

Personal style should be made of sterner stuff, don't you think? That's the exact same kind of movement that spurs trends: The desire to look the 'role' and the money to afford it.

And that's all it takes to reach some apex of style? A deep wallet and an overwhelming desire to identify with a specific look?

BSR,
It wasn't your fault nor your comment that triggered the discussion... I thought the same thing initially. It's amazing how much influence Atelier has on WAWYT overall. The mandatory thumb ring and hand curl...certainly people are using that as a standard for good WAWYT stances but I'd say there are a lot of members on here who beat the typical 'passive-aggressive fashion battle' pose any day (Lowrey, Moth, Christian, Jogu, SNAF, Heirloom, amongst others) because they seem less like mannequins and more like humans. Wire has a way of presenting things I'd never wear but he still looks damn good and I can appreciate the presentation and the personal sense of style. There's probably a non-specific element that creates the look and it's one of the things that I feel separates style from run-of-the-mill fashion. And that is hard to convey in a single photo but it's not altogether rare on here when WAWYT is at its best. I know when I see it and I feel it when I don't.

I won't delve any further into this. I've stated my opinion and backed it up so let's move on. The funny part is that I never stated that it looked bad, ever. I questioned it and still question it and that's where I'll leave this.
I've written this several times but I'll write once more: I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. I'm not a critic. I'm stating my opinion, I don't do it often in WAYWT so to those who disagree, I respect your right to be wrong.

Just kidding. But yeah, let's move on.

[genevieveryoko]

Personal style should be made of sterner stuff, don't you think? That's the exact same kind of movement that spurs trends: The desire to look the 'role' and the money to afford it.

And that's all it takes to reach some apex of style? A deep wallet and an overwhelming desire to identify with a specific look?

You're preaching to the choir, my friend.

I was really getting at something else, more along the lines of my being able to acknowledge the quality of an outfit sans a persona, identity, or 'role' if you will (which would all be assumed anyway, since I don't actually know Eternal irl). Which is why I thought the outfit was great - I wouldn't think any more or less of it if I saw it on him, on a mannequin, or in a lookbook. Not the 'apex of style', but simply a great outfit. If being able to, from time to time, separate fashion from style is a crime, then I suppose I am guilty.

Ok, we can move on now. Unless you still don't understand...

[Faust]

Anyone could, but not just anyone would. You have to have the desire and interest enough to do so, which already would set you apart from 99.9% of the anyones that have the means to do so. I think the same could be said for about 95% of the outfits posted here; anyone could walk into Atelier and walk out dressed like Christian, BSR, etc. but not just anyone does. I think we have to remember we're on a fashion forum here, and if you really want to judge a person's style, you have to either know the person or at least have seen enough video footage of them. I would say fashion/what we wear is only a small percentage of what makes up our personal style, so if I see a well composed outfit on a stiff/headless/anonymous body I can still say it looks good without having to go into the whole debate of authenticity/consumerism/ or having contextualize it in order to legitimize it. Feel free to disagree/discuss.

I've seen plenty of clients in Atelier who just go there to buy cool shit. I don't know them, so to anticipate your argument - they at least did not look like their style has anything to do with their personality, which I think what beardown is driving at.

[casem]

This has been beaten to death lately, but this whole "authenticitiy" business is so bogus. Do you "authentic" people belive in a "true self"? Is it about continuity of personal expression? And how the hell can we tell from a picture if what someone is wearing reflects their inner being (if there is such a thing). Why should an eclectic ensemble (as beardown praises Mail-Moth for) be held in so much higher esteem than one with singular direction (ie. a well done Rick look) yet eclecticism in the sense of dressing in a variety of looks is somehow fake? Why does dressing have to be hard to be authentic (ie. you didn't just go to one store)? And beardown, if you're not trying to convince anyone of anything, why bother post at all? If (from the ethics thread) it's somehow more authentic to sing into a hair brush alone and not broadcast it on youtube, why bother broadcasting your thoughts on a forum?

I'm not trying to attack anyone, Beardown I generally like your posts, but this authenticity business is an easy critical bandwagon to jump on but fairly meaningless when you investigate it further.

If this highly regarded "authenticity" can only be discerned through a Potter Stewart kind of "I know it when i see it", well that doesn't get us very far and takes us right back to subjectivity...

[genevieveryoko]

The problem essentially, is that people who think they are 'authentically cool' (or whatever) feel threatened by these so-called 'posers' who are trying to fit the 'role'. It implys that there is some sort of role to begin with. If you really are so confident in your identity and individuality, you would know that nobody can fill your shoes (literally, I suppose). Yohji Yamamoto said something along these lines in regards to knock-offs in that Wim Wenders film. There's no use getting all worked up about it; to me it suggests insecurity. Some people have it, some people don't, the world turns...

I've seen plenty of clients in Atelier who just go there to buy cool shit. I don't know them, so to anticipate your argument - they at least did not look like their style has anything to do with their personality, which I think what beardown is driving at.

of course this happens, but so what? At least they are supporting good designers and giving them recognition. If somebody is wearing an outfit that perhaps doesn't match their personality, it doesn't make the clothes less repectable - just the person. Now that's fashion for you.

[Aleks]

The more people that dress like this the better.
The designers get more money to experiment and push their vision,
more clothes come second hand and can be snapped up at a better price etc etc.



the world looks better

[syed]

If you really are so confident in your identity and individuality, you would know that nobody can fill your shoes (literally, I suppose). Yohji Yamamoto said something along these lines in regards to knock-offs in that Wim Wenders film.

He said he wasn't afraid of other people copying him, because only he can use the language he uses.

In keeping with the discussion, I agree that dressing isn't about identikit fashion looks, even though lots of people seem to fall into that trap. And whilst I think the discussion is a valid one (and interesting to boot), I do find it odd that so much is stirred up from a few still photographs - something as small as a smile in a photograph can entirely change the way to consider the image as a whole, and that includes the way the person is dressed. Authenticity, if it exists, lies within the way the individual lives, walks, talks, etc. A snapshot can never give that (it's a snapshot for a reason), although the right photograph/pose/outfit can certainly capture an element of it.

[JD_May]

Hey look, clothes




NDG, Cloak, Geller, Yohji, Dior

Click for larger alt

[Shucks]

Hey look, clothes

NDG, Cloak, Geller, Yohji, Dior

that look doesn't fit your personality.





KIDDING.

[swami]

Mate, I sincerely hope you find whatever it is you have lost, for days !

[lost53]

Mate, I sincerely hope you find whatever it is you have lost, for days !

^I think he is admiring his reflection......^

[lost53]

that look doesn't fit your personality.



KIDDING.

^ 2 images = double personality = another very long debate... ^

[Aleks]

Mate, I sincerely hope you find whatever it is you have lost, for days !

so now we know who lost the m.a+ aviator