What are you wearing today?

[snafu]

My point was Rick offers his jackets in a range of leathers ... some of very high quality and some of lesser the buyers end up selecting the lesser quality ones... in the end he only produces what they select but he is offering high quality leathers but most buyers can't really tell what a good quality leather is, they are only concerned with aesthetic and margins... the consumer in the end cares more about quality.

Some stores may select the good quality leather but in the end there is not enough quantity to meet the minims so alot of the pieces are never produced past samples... what you see in the showroom is not always what you see in the store: not really nonsensical.

On the bigger picture, your question i guess it comes down to fashion is still a business despite the creativity or integrity of a designer. You give what the public want. Rick's footwear is now all goodyear welted, prior to that it actually cost the company more to produce a lower quality glued sole. But of course if you offer the same shoe to buyers the following season at a lower price but you say its better quality they have a mind fuck: how can this be?

[Faust]

My point was Rick offers his jackets in a range of leathers ... some of very high quality and some of lesser the buyers end up selecting the lesser quality ones... in the end he only produces what they select but he is offering high quality leathers but most buyers can't really tell what a good quality leather is, they are only concerned with aesthetic and margins... the consumer in the end cares more about quality.

Some stores may select the good quality leather but in the end there is not enough quantity to meet the minims so alot of the pieces are never produced past samples... what you see in the showroom is not always what you see in the store: not really nonsensical.

On the bigger picture, your question i guess it comes down to fashion is still a business despite the creativity or integrity of a designer. You give what the public want. Rick's footwear is now all goodyear welted, prior to that it actually cost the company more to produce a lower quality glued sole. But of course if you offer the same shoe to buyers the following season at a lower price but you say its better quality they have a mind fuck: how can this be?

Is this true though? It seems to me that quality has gone down significantly in many designer offerings, but consumers keep buying more and more. I don't think your average designer consumer can discern good quality. Or maybe they can and we are on the edge of a major backlash.

Yesterday I saw Totokaelo's Ann men's buy and I cringed. It looked no better made than Zara. But I definitely remember seeing quality stuff at the showroom.

[snafu]

In my opinion...

Look at this end of the industry, very few buyers are concerned with quality... iv been in a ton of showrooms both mens and womens during fashion week and they quickly go around the showroom selecting pieces putting it on a rail and then getting a model to try it on while they gossip with the designer/staff etc, conscious that they are already late for the next appointment. They take a photo on the model ask the price occasionally, and just see how much the total buy is and wether it fits in with their budget. No inspection of finishing, construction, asking where its made, weights of fabrics, no concern where the fabric is even really from. This is not all but certainly the majority.

In my opinion the consumer checks the garment far closer than they buyer. Very rarely do they buyers know how garments are even made. This side of the industry is focused on silhouette and aesthetic. The word artisan gets thrown around here so much its a joke.

If you go over to a more workwear side of the industry, or even sartorial they are far more focused on construction and details.

I think the digital age, Rana Plaza, financial crisis, have certainly create a more informed customer. People have not been discouraged to shop for clothes, but if they are going to pay a considerable amount for a garment they want something that is going to last. Even in this aesthetic driven area of fashion people are questioning why is ann charging me xxx amount for this garment which is considerably more than say acne, apc, or even cos etc when they quality is worse...? People will pay a price for aesthetic design but that doesn't excuse quality.

[zamb]

hey man, i don't think u like me much, and i don't like u much, so why do u even care what i do on this site? it's not even a matter of being upset about anything in particular. i just keep getting reminded over and over that there are some deep differences in personal values and beliefs between people on this site and those differences are clearly visible in how people communicate and interact here. i don't particularly enjoy contributing anymore and i don't feel like it's my kind of place these days. but i am sure others are having a good time, so i'm not going to kill myself demanding change that would benefit me only.

i think it's just natural that things evolve and u have to move on sometimes. it's all good.

Hey man, I really don't care if you like me, there are a whole lot of people like you who do but i don't lose any sleep over things I cant control.
That being said, I always express my honest perspective on any matter i am dealing with and i do not dislike you. I dislike the way you behave sometimes. My view is rather different from many, as the world is a diverse place i don't think everyone will do, say or operate as to how i would expect them to and that's within their rights to decide.............and that's fine by me

I said it in my earlier post, if we have issues with a forum member, or Faust himself, I think a more responsible way is to address the issue rather than simply disappear because we disagree with something. I certainly don't want to be a part of a community where everything and everyone is suitable to my taste and personal comforts.........
One does not have to be confrontational but its always healthier and better to address issues than negatively react to them
I like diversity, even if some of it is off putting at times.

I hope to see you around still, even though you hate me

[LOVE]

It seems like the discussion here is limited to a certain area of the spectrum in terms of brands, which is fine with me personally. Faust have you looked at brands like engineered garments and the others under the nepenthes umbrella? Extremely high quality from a fabrication standpoint, made in the us, relatively fair price point etc, not discussed here because it doesn't fit the aesthetic for sale. Not trying to stir shit trying to ask what I think are questions of whats our aim here, what is quality, does the definition stay the same over time etc

[timm3h]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! gregor I would say that my preferences lean towards maximalism as justification but you're not the first to say my stuff is too busy, & I can definitely see where you're coming from. Voltbird, thanks!

I think there's enough interesting detail in his pieces that they don't need complex styling

Agreed with this 100% actually. I actually chose the vest here to purposefuly obscure some of the cowboy shirt which is quite visually busy. I've found this jacket to work with very plain shirt & trousers like this -- unfortunately these trousers are vintage and tore irreparably a while back... haven't found anything quite as perfect since!

[upsilonkng]

i think Snafu brought up some really great points, i've never been in a showroom so i can't say about what's shown there but i know some people and they send me showroom pics etc..
I know this, almost every season even the last few years there's at least one good leather( good leather being i think what most people consider thick maybe juicy but heavy basically) every season that rick offers, he may use it on 2 jackets or just one. I think last season it was cowboy calf, i bought one and just really didn't like the way it was cut at all. It was a Bauhaus. I just found the arms to be bulky the shoulders sloppy and the chest was a little uneven, putting it on it felt great or at least heavy but all those things became more obvious when i looked at it on. I'm sure there are still good , well cut leathers coming thru but if i can't try it on first i'll probably skip it.
As far as what Faust said, I'm curious too as to why designers put out crap leathers, obviously I'm a huge Rick fw09 crust fan and all of those leathers are awesome but the very next season ss10 Release every one of those leathers are awful, it's the worst season as far as actual leather from rick ever, the one that went around most was the oiled calf which was nothing like th oiled calf before fw09 and after fw10, it was this shitty plasticky leather that seemed durable looked awful and fit a full sz small.
I think one of rick's more popular leathers now is the Glass Ice lamb which he has used the past 3 or 4 seasons, and it's basically the thinnest lamb outside of blistered or just suede that he uses now. It's always at Ssense and Forward and the corner, it's shiny and i can't imagine anyone being impressed the first time they actually handle it.
of course I wish he would go back to doing the real oiled calf, hammered lamb and boxer calf leathers and cut right but he seems to be doing a huge volume now and maybe quality control needs to be addressed?

[Arkady]

I may get a lot of shit for this, but when I was a broke lad in undergraduate I rubbed the pattern off the Intarsia and had a tailor in Pakistan put it together for me for a few hundred dollars. To be honest the quality is close if not identical to the real thing when I've compared the two.

Part of the reason I've never invested in hunting one of his leathers down.

[zamb]

I may get a lot of shit for this, but when I was a broke lad in undergraduate I rubbed the pattern off the Intarsia and had a tailor in Pakistan put it together for me for a few hundred dollars. To be honest the quality is close if not identical to the real thing when I've compared the two.

Part of the reason I've never invested in hunting one of his leathers down.

i should shoot you for that

[Arkady]

i should shoot you for that

I'm reformed maestro, I swear it. Please don't revoke my Jamaican citizenship.

I donated said piece to a men's shelter when I got into real fashions so there's probably a homeless man out there killing it right now.

[curiouscharles]

In my opinion...

Look at this end of the industry, very few buyers are conceded with quality... iv been in a ton of showrooms both mens and womens during fashion week and they quickly go around the showroom selecting pieces putting it on a rail and then getting a model to try it on while they gossip with the designer/staff etc, conscious that they are already late for the next appointment. They take a photo on the model ask the price occasionally, and just see how much the total buy is and wether it fits in with their budget. No inspection of finishing, construction, asking where its made, weights of fabrics, no concern where the fabric is even really from. This is not all but certainly the majority.

In my opinion the consumer checks the garment far closer than they buyer. Very rarely do they buyers know how garments are even made. This side of the industry is focused on silhouette and aesthetic. The word artisan gets thrown around here so much its a joke.

If you go over to a more workwear side of the industry, or even sartorial they are far more focused on construction and details.

I think the digital age, Rana Plaza, financial crisis, have certainly create a more informed customer. People have not been discouraged to shop for clothes, but if they are going to pay a considerable amount for a garment they want something that is going to last. Even in this aesthetic driven area of fashion people are questioning why is ann charging me xxx amount for this garment which is considerably more than say acne, apc, or even cos etc when they quality is worse...? People will pay a price for aesthetic design but that doesn't excuse quality.

this is actually spot on.

part of the frustration in bigger showrooms is shooing away the supplied fit models, in order to try things on myself.

but the story you've supplied is true for nearly every buyer, or team of buyers, for the big stores which carry more than ~7/8 brands.

it's a nearly inescapable reality when these people are trying to fit so many appointments into so few days.

i don't buy leather jackets, but i did try on the level jacket in cowboy leather [cow] this past season and it nearly made me change my position on leather jackets [only nearly].

[voltbird]

Finally warmed up to geobaskets. I'm still playing around with how best to style them.

[snafu]

the seconds works, the first doesn't: a short/medium boot with a narrow shaft would.

[zamb]

the seconds works, the first doesn't: a short/medium boot with a narrow shaft would.

agreed!

[mrbeuys]

Would also try without the laces. Or black ones.