What are you wearing today?

[Mail-Moth]

As for the discussion on colors, it seems that black and darker shades are often taken to be a "safe option", in spite of the limited budget issue. Black seems to give a free pass for (what is often considered) "cool", "sharp", "serious". I think it would be interesting to examine how these properties relate with gender identity, as well as with the topic of ornamentation that was discussed not long ago in the thread of strangers' reactions.

I'm not convinced by the money argument, to be frank: I understand that a majority of members here do not have an extensible budget, but those posting pictures in this thread sometimes seem to own a variety of pieces, each of them being more than often quite expensive. Most likely, it wouldn't cost them more to invest in coloured ones that they would use in diverse combinations. So I will assume that this is mainly a matter of taste rather than a financial issue. I'm not that rich myself, by the way

As for how the question relates to gender, I really don't know, since there are women on this forum - Flux, Interest1, and also Mona while she was posting here - who tend to avoid bright shades the same way male posters do; on the other hand, men on Superfuture willingly wear them. As do people dressing in the most traditional way when they're wearing what they consider casual clothes.

I'd say it leaves us with minimalism, restraint - or rather, ornamentation sliding towards less obvious aspects of clothes, like textures, cuts, bunching, layering... which are far from being minimalistic, in my humble opinion : how would raw edges be considered as a minimalistic feature when they are emphasized by fraying, for example ?
Those ornaments simply adress a more adverted eye, constituting a series of signs familiar only to the happy few having the required knowledge and sense of observation.
On the opposite, the use of colour would easily be considered as trivial and lazy, since anyone can notice.

Just an idea.

[christianef]

awesome eternal and awesome helmut ad etc mr b.

[genevieveryoko]

genevieveryoko, thanks a lot! :) I've never managed to find that type of pants which fitted me well, but I'll keep on looking, interesting idea in any case!

two words: yohji yamamoto.

was it this collection that you were inspired by?


such an amazing collection...it would be a real treat if someone had all the images and could share them.

how's this for a bit of color...

[tomatous]

MM Don't mind the colors. In fact, they blend well with your background.

Rilu - The jacket came out great, fits you spot on - congrats :D Could you post detailed shots of the fabric?

Mr.B sssssssick.

Merz Quilted winter jacket is not the Japanese farmer's jacket? Would like to see more details.

[beardown]

But on another note, when browsing this thread, I often wonder what's so wrong with colours. And I don't mean earth tones, here. I mean colours. It is somewhat weird.

The answer to this is pretty simple if you want the truth: Most people would get virtually horsewhipped for presenting a full palette of colors in an outfit on here. Especially newer members...I have a feeling that they would be directed to styleforum if they came here wearing a colorful outfit.

And it's also true that people seem to post what they think others will validate and generally, that's the all black/gray outfit.

But it is true that it's way more efficient to maintain a wardrobe of similar dark tones where pieces are interchangeable. And I'd say that working with a wardrobe of many colors is a larger challenge that most people aren't up to.

Putting together an outfit that has a lot of textures, colors and patterns is an art that most people really shouldn't attempt unless they have a certain kind of gift for that type of thing. The average person does not. Myself included.

Blacks/grays/navy/dark green, etc...it doesn't take a master's degree in color theory to throw that stuff on and walk out the door.

I like some of the WAYWT stuff I see on styleform. Wait...nix that. I respect some of the stuff I see posted on styleforum but that kind of pedantic vest/jacket/ascot/cufflinks approach isn't practical for the average person. I think it requires more time and dedication when done right than most people have.

More personally speaking, I've always worn dark/muted colors and that's at least one of the reasons I relate to most of the designers discussed here on SZ. I guess I could blame my musical tastes for that initially. These days it's just an issue of habit and efficiency maybe.

But look at it this way: If this forum was designed in a colorful layout with a bright nameplate, it wouldn't very well represent the majority of what SZ represents in my eyes. There is a part of what's discussed on here that finds some kind of comfort in black and dark colors and I think it's natural that people embrace the overall general feeling of what gives this group its identity, at least in some part.

My name is Beardown. And I am a goth ninja.

[killah]

different one, d - black sashiko-stitched, quilted outer shell. boro indigo craziness on the inside..

that luc scarf and l/s make a really great silhouette with that boro jacket, textiles r also sik

rilu i really love that kimono jacket, would love to c a side shot and/or textile shot

been on point lately as well, mrb

[TheThief]

I have to echo what Beardown noted. My penchant for a "darker" pallete can be traced directly back to the music that most influenced me during my youth, namely industrial and goth.


Plus wearing a muted palette allows me to be lazy.

My name is TheThief. And I am a goth ninja.

[Mail-Moth]

The answer to this is pretty simple if you want the truth: Most people would get virtually horsewhipped for presenting a full palette of colors in an outfit on here. Especially newer members...I have a feeling that they would be directed to styleforum if they came here wearing a colorful outfit.

I wouldn't be so sure. I don't want to look like I naïvely ignore the mass bashing we can see here from time to time, but colours are not really in question here. I assume people on here would be able to appreciate an outfit displaying a wider palette, even on a newcomer, as long as it still relates to what this forum is about. I imagine someone posting here for the first time wearing Stephan Schneider or Haltbar in an intelligent manner : he probably would get some respect for that, wouldn't he ?

I like some of the WAYWT stuff I see on styleform. Wait...nix that. I respect some of the stuff I see posted on styleforum but that kind of pedantic vest/jacket/ascot/cufflinks approach isn't practical for the average person. I think it requires more time and dedication when done right than most people have.

I don't think so. I had my traditional period, and I certainly spend much more time and money now than it was the case back then. I had two suits, two waistcoats, six shirts, as many neckties and pairs of shoes, and that was more than enough to keep me from living under the impression I was always wearing the same stuff. And it sounds like a very small wardrobe compared with what we see here.
I knew where to go to get my things, and most of them were less expensive at full retail - even made to measure - than what you usually see on the classifieds. Colour, cut and texture-wise, they also were a lot easier to combine than what I came to experience when I shifted to designers clothes in search for a more personal aesthetics.

As for the rest of your message, yes, I agree.

[jogu]

more dh

[docus]

merz - fantastic layering going on there, as usual

[Faust]

Displaying certain textures, cuts, bunching, layering and even colors imply a grasp on the connotations associated with such elements. What does it matter if frayed edges are less discernible than unsubtle color. Such embellishments are usually displayed merely as tokens of some perceived aesthetic, like goth-ninja. The manipulations of such embellishments to function as something more than mere tokens to display should be the "series of signs familiar only to the happy few", not the embellishments themselves. Anyone can slap on clothes made of horse, made of rabbit, made of stag; designed by Carol Christian Poell, designed by Alber Elbaz, designed by Rick Owens; made in Japan, made in Italy, made in Morocco, but not just anyone can look coherent or coherently incoherent.

Please don't forget that things like deconstruction and minimalism were a matter of pushing fashion forward before they became a matter of style.

[Faust]

That's an interesting idea, Mail-Moth, and while it may explain the choice for different (maybe more subtle) types of ornamentation, I don't think it explains the tendency for this choice (and by the way, I agree that minimalism doesn't get rid of ornaments, but redefines them in a new way). Maybe the reason lies in the shift made in the '80s and '90s which somehow prevailed as the most obvious type of negating the mainstream. What I find interesting is that this aesthetic that came with various subcultures and music genres never evolved in this respect.

You surely jest?

[Faust]

Sorry, jogu, even you can't save the foulness of that shirt ;-)

[Faust]

I wouldn't be so sure. I don't want to look like I naïvely ignore the mass bashing we can see here from time to time, but colours are not really in question here. I assume people on here would be able to appreciate an outfit displaying a wider palette, even on a newcomer, as long as it still relates to what this forum is about. I imagine someone posting here for the first time wearing Stephan Schneider or Haltbar in an intelligent manner : he probably would get some respect for that, wouldn't he ?



As for the rest of your message, yes, I agree.

I'd be all for it. There is color and then there is color.

[Faust]

And now a little color to move the thread along (apologies for speedposting!). Gothninja 4evar.