What are you wearing today?

[Defender]

SZ celebrates a certain aesthetic, and has for many years, but that aesthetic is now long-established, and has been popularized, and diluted.

The WAYWT used to be mind-blowing, years ago, but the looks have not changed, and they are now stagnated. Can anyone honestly say they couldn't type out a "SZ uniform" right now?

Again, I don't know what specifically I'd expect to see in a forum dedicated to the bleeding edge of fashion, but probably not black leather, white shirt, black jeans, black leather boots.

Edit: Started typing before Faust posted so I didn't see the response. I agree that the styling of most outfits here hasn't changed, but there is more sloppy execution lately. I wonder, when will the styling change?

A recent post from a few days ago, for example, made fun of the brown pieces in recent Rick collections, and the consensus seemed to be the only people who would buy them were people who couldn't afford the black versions and bought them to dye black. I was flabbergasted.

I'm tempted to say, partly for the sake of debate, that less than a handful of the designers discussed in the forum and virtually none of the ones who make the rounds in this thread can be considered avant-garde anymore.

[daou0782]

The WAYWT used to be mind-blowing, years ago, but the looks have not changed, and they are now stagnated. Can anyone honestly say they couldn't type out a "SZ uniform" right now?

see: Golden Age Fallacy

also see this fit (CD, RO, CD, CCP)

[PurpleJesuss]

I feel like the term avant-garde is thrown around a bit loosely here...
doesn't the term need a medium to be compared to? what is it in this case? Avant-garde to people that have no interest in fashion whatsoever? Avant-garde to "fashion people"? Avant-garde to the aesthetic sz has cemented? or does it trump all categories?

paging Fuuma since he could surely answer this well.

[guardimp]

daou0782 Although the designers discussed here might not be cutting edge, yet there is much more to these designers then just long shirts and pod shorts or leather jackets. As Faust mentions and defender seconds there is a whole other portion to these designers that seemingly fails to be referenced in WAYWT. The architectural side of rick falls short. Save for warg, shucks, and mr bueys, most rick posted falls flat compared to the past (heirloom and others). It is not like things were always this way, sure you can cherry pick bad examples from the past but now you have to cherrypick the good examples. The same can be said for almost any of the designers, ccp (christian/chant and bsr), mailmoth in general . . .

Yes, I admit this is semi hypocritical seeing as my latest picture was more golf then goth yet I hold back on posting in WAYWT for that very reason. Maybe when it goes above 0F (and I no longer have to teach) I will be able to actually post outfits here with some regularity.

[daou0782]

daou0782 It is not like things were always this way, sure you can cherry pick bad examples from the past but now you have to cherrypick the good examples. The same can be said for almost any of the designers, ccp (christian/chant and bsr), mailmoth in general . . .

cherry picked for you

[gregor]

doesn't the term need a medium to be compared to?

this is the crux of it all. if every fit was spectacular, it'd be boring, because the normality we realize would be different, and above what it is now. it's good to have contrast and perspective.

[upsilonkng]

i would agree most of the stuff here is a reminder that most of the hof guys are long gone and in it's place is a bunch of kids posting the items they will be selling in a month for the sake of getting to the sales thread. the one good fit a week is provided by shuit of course, every week thank god.

as far as dressing avant garde... was that the intent here? how would that get done nowadays? u could get naked wrap a unicorn tail between ur legs and set ur eyelids on fire and someone would be like Matthew Barney already did that... I think the idea was to find urself, that was but in most cases isnt anymore. there isn't really a solution, u can't make a message board important to people that are over it and u can't make people that aren't important get over it. we're stuck but i'm sure it'll turn around. In the meanwhile I'm wait for the anti-christ i'm sure his username will be rick&boris&carol&paul&julius in that great font that was real popular like 4 years ago..

[NOHSAD]

Not easy to provide a definition, since these things are somewhat (but only somewhat) ineffable, but these two, for example, would not only get no praise but would be flamed out of existence even a year ago, and rightfully so. Ill-proportioned, ill-fitting, bad color combinations - these are things that are pretty obvious to me.

I mean no offense personally to these gents, but even though the so-called SZ aesthetic may no longer be avant-garde (if you want avant-garde, wear J.W.Anderson's pussy-bows), SZ is still, and will always be a place that adheres to high standards. That's what it was made for, one place devoid of mediocrity. I don't see why people are not satisfied with those. And if punks like rickandjulius cannot tell the difference between 4chan/reddit and SZ, I will gladly steer them in the right direction.*

Defender - while it is somewhat true that the "SZ aesthetic" has been co-opted and diluted - this is the natural cycle of all culture. BUT, and it's a big BUT, the high standards are still there - the fitting, the proportions, the textures, the colors (such as they are), the shades, the quality of materials make all the difference between a good fit and just another kid in a long black tee and drop-crotch shorts or artisanal normcore.

*I am addressing the punks like rickandjulius here. SZ is first and foremost a place to discuss a certain kind of fashion and culture. It's not for horsing around, or satisfying your narcissism. Read the fucking manifesto. You, rickandjulius, and a few others, have said jack shit about fashion so far. You have been warned.

I have't been around during the "Golden Days" of the WAYWT thread. However, I've seen enough fits over the past 2-3 months (that are still fresh In my mind for the most part) to honestly say that not every outfit that consist of X brand/designer that's discussed on SZ should be posted here. Partly because of what Faust said about being disproportionate, ill-fitting or because as a whole it's just very lackluster and/or basic.

I agree with the aesthetic and ethos of StyleZeitgeist. It's not something that you can bring over to say, Hypebeast and SuFu and expect to get a meaningful response from said community (besides the usual weird comments and the "came out of the Matrix or whatever cyberpunk/Naruto manga/anime" etc) and it's truly distinctive and different from other styles (even the goth-ninja garbage of today ). With that said, I also agree with SZ being "first and foremost a place to discuss a certain kind of fashion and culture. It's not for horsing around", That should apply to everything, including the WAYWT thread as well.

No one's expecting HoF type outfits every.single.time you contribute to the thread, but i'm sure there's a good amount of people who don't want to go and see the same onslaught of typical nomcore or rick outfits a dozen times over back to back as well as bathroom pics, don't matter if you're dressed from head to toe in CCP and Deepti, it's still corny if the bathroom's your background of choice . Lastly, the petty e-drama, keep it outside of whatever secondary forum-site you brought it from, it's not needed and more than likely irrelevant.

[Lohikaarme]

don't matter if you're dressed from head to toe in CCP and Deepti, it's still corny if the bathroom's your background of choice

Deleted some text so I could draw attention to this, so sorry.

I'm not quite sure why you're against bathroom/bedroom pics? Faust mentioned before that you generally can't get good details out non-outdoor photos, yet he does, and other uses like Shucks can too. Hell, in outdoor photos sometimes the lighting just isn't great. Are you afraid of people throwing on "edgy" clothes or whatever, snapping a WAYWT photo, and then putting on jeans and tee and calling it a day?

I've heard people make that argument before, but it seemed strange. It's overly pessimistic to believe someone would go through the time to do that, or even that perhaps being outdoors for 5 minutes where they might just be going to grab a coffee at 7/11 or something suddenly gives the outfit more merit. Sure, if being outside gives you more details then you should post outside, but some people don't want to put in the effort to

a) find a place without too much cross-traffic

b) possibly take multiple photos in order to get a good representation of what you're wearing

when you can get a photo that tells the details in a bathroom/bedroom.

At any rate, I wouldn't really mind if Faust deleted this page and the last page just because this is meant to be WAYWT and not some meta-WAYWT discussion.

[Shucks]

as far as dressing avant garde... was that the intent here? how would that get done nowadays? u could get naked wrap a unicorn tail between ur legs and set ur eyelids on fire and someone would be like Matthew Barney already did that...

this is fucking hilarious.

I think the idea was to find urself, that was but in most cases isnt anymore.

yeah. again gotta give u props for nailing it.

[Arkady]

I'm not quite sure why you're against bathroom/bedroom pics?

Especially considering a good third of the hall of fame shots that are still up are taken in people's bedrooms.

This place occasionally gets into peculiar group-think patterns between 5 page blowouts concerning reselling and meta discussions about How Are You What Are You Wearing Today.

It's one thing to discuss a culture critically but the only thing less avant garde than raging over what's avant garde is concerning yourself so deeply with the minor affairs of others -- or worse yet feigning the concern to pass the time. Reminds me of dudes who only relate to the world in terms of baseball statistics, their entire sphere of interest defined by the amount of useless data they have on other men.

Really, no one here is a cultural revolutionary for putting on an extra cardigan -- comes off as pure comedy on occasion.

Is there ever a point where some of you pause while demanding someone explain what sacrifices they've made to wear rubber trainers that cost more than a Volvo, or are you just that avant garde? I think that was rhetorical.

[Arkady]

Back it up a few pages.

[mumma]

VERONIQUE BRANQUINHO wool turtleneck
MARNI double-face felt wool blazer
DRIES VAN NOTEN stripped wool trousers
MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA replica sneakers

[Faust]

Especially considering a good third of the hall of fame shots that are still up are taken in people's bedrooms.

This place occasionally gets into peculiar group-think patterns between 5 page blowouts concerning reselling and meta discussions about How Are You What Are You Wearing Today.

It's one thing to discuss a culture critically but the only thing less avant garde than raging over what's avant garde is concerning yourself so deeply with the minor affairs of others -- or worse yet feigning the concern to pass the time. Reminds me of dudes who only relate to the world in terms of baseball statistics, their entire sphere of interest defined by the amount of useless data they have on other men.

Really, no one here is a cultural revolutionary for putting on an extra cardigan -- comes off as pure comedy on occasion.

Is there ever a point where some of you pause while demanding someone explain what sacrifices they've made to wear rubber trainers that cost more than a Volvo, or are you just that avant garde? I think that was rhetorical.

How did you get to this from the discussion we've been having?

[Arkady]

Eh let's say it's an overall zeitgeist between this thread and 3-4 others going in the personal style forum such as WTF.

None of us would be here if we weren't deeply invested in the idea of fashion as modular, evocative sculpture or as transcendence of cultural/political uniformity or as a play on the very idea of what a human body should represent to others, but some of the things that get tossed around here are an instant parody of themselves.

As to what gets posted in this thread. I don't know much about reaching the avant garde via conspicuous consumption (what) but it seems the membership here has taken up an overall tendency towards the unadventurous. To the point that it seems funny to call something like TRK's latest fit hackneyed -- it's jeans, a t shirt and a leather but frankly the separation between that and most of the compositions people shower praise on here is thin as fuck.

Perhaps the problem is that this forum really is an overall synthesis of the time and we are in an age of vicious conformity among the self-styled "non-conformists." And to that end participation from adventurous posters like Heirloom has plummeted because those who are most capable of causing a powerful reaction are least interested in pursuing it artificially.

Consider this a transmission from the peanut gallery as I'm not particularly adventurous in my own day-to-day styling.