What are you wearing today?

[negroygris]

Faust Would love to see a fit of you in the Undercover perfecto. Fuma Love that leather, i have seen it in person, if i am not mistaken it is horsehide?

[aussy]

It's getting harder and harder for me to wear a perfecto. It's become such a staple of the basic bitch uniform. Disheartening, really.

Agreed, the idea of dressing emotionally and infrequently as a 'bad ass' drives me crazy, the cliche hard/soft mix of a perfecto over a fem dress even more so

[Nickefuge]

Every classic garment will be picked up by people you don’t like sooner or later.
You lose the second you let the perception you think other people might have of you change the perception you have of yourself.

[aussy]

True! Fortunately perfectos and leather jackets were never my thing to begin with, so it doesn't affect my sense of self regardless.

edit: Still, I think the context of clothes is important to some dressers. Because leather jackets have become more commonplace and public perception of them has thereby shifted, have the past cultural and social associations been diluted and will they ever be forgotten? Does the perfecto jacket still 'mean' anything?

[DudleyGray]

True! Fortunately perfectos and leather jackets were never my thing to begin with, so it doesn't affect my sense of self regardless.

edit: Still, I think the context of clothes is important to some dressers. Because leather jackets have become more commonplace and public perception of them has thereby shifted, have the past cultural and social associations been diluted and will they ever be forgotten? Does the perfecto jacket still 'mean' anything?

I don't believe that it represented anything worth preserving. When I think of perfectos, I think first of Marlon Brando, an antisemitic mainstream Hollywood pop culture icon. Um, OK. Then I think of motorcycle gangs, a bunch of violent meth heads who assaulted and degraded women. Of course, there's Sid Vicious et al, because self-destructive nihilism is just so cool; reverence for the past and having punk idols is for posers. And all the other associations that I have with the piece, the environmental toll from raising the cows and tanning the leathers, the brainless culture of machismo, the status symbol aspect of it, as it's basically the bespoke suit of "alternative" culture.

Nope, I definitely prefer seeing a perfecto in some off-duty model #ootd. All that said, I love my Stooges, it's just so squishy.

[aussy]

the bespoke suit of "alternative" culture

I do think this and punk are the associations considered most and of course the reasons why those in alternative cultures will adopt the look. I have no attachment to the perfecto, so I have no issue with it being democratized in terms of 'wearability'. But the jacket can still hold personal meaning to others, regardless of how you, I or others have come to view it. Garments become statements and eventually just clothes. I guess at these times, those who do feel some intrinsic, social connection to a piece will reconsider the authenticity of their motivations and whether they still stand considering the piece's revised context. I don't dress this way, but I get that it can be an issue for those that do.

Anyway, just thinking by asking and writing, not necessarily a direct response.

[beyondthemeans]

I mean, it's the same with bomber jackets. I don't know about the US, but at least in Europe every girl (and most guys) owns a bomber jacket nowadays. Still, wearing a rick bomber, being with the right fit, looks totally different from the guy who wears his Zara bomber with blue jeans.

[Faust]

I am with Aussy. Without a doubt meaning changes through context and use.

[Nickefuge]

Of course it does. But the only thing that’s important to me is the meaning I see in the garment. To stay with the example of the perfecto: when I wear my Schott, all I think of is how soft, carefree and comfortable it is. I enjoy wearing it and that’s the most important thing to me. And of course there are basic bitches wearing a similar or the same jacket, but that’s not my jacket. Because me wearing it puts it in a different context and therefore gives it a different meaning.

[matglenn]

I don't believe that just because something becomes commonplace, that it should be dissociated with its history. Talking about the perfecto of course.

[Faust]

Of course it does. But the only thing that’s important to me is the meaning I see in the garment. To stay with the example of the perfecto: when I wear my Schott, all I think of is how soft, carefree and comfortable it is. I enjoy wearing it and that’s the most important thing to me. And of course there are basic bitches wearing a similar or the same jacket, but that’s not my jacket. Because me wearing it puts it in a different context and therefore gives it a different meaning.

What I am afraid most of is one of those basic bitches trying to find communion in the fact that both of us are technically wearing perfectos.

[Fuuma]

By now riders are just a fashion wardrobe basic. This one has some visual impact because the (calf) leather is heavy so it looks rather stiff and imposing but I'm not sure it spells Brandon or Ramones for many people. Sure I wear them because of the Ramones and whatnot but that's different than thinking it matters to other people nowadays.

[Nickefuge]

What I am afraid most of is one of those basic bitches trying to find communion in the fact that both of us are technically wearing perfectos.

Luckily, I live in the south of Germany where people are afraid of talking to to strangers.

[Faust]

Luckily, I live in the south of Germany where people are afraid of talking to to strangers.

Fair enough! Here it's douchebags with perfectos and sweatpants and black nikes. I want to vomit on them...

[Indes]

Harnden, Forme, Rick, Rombaut.

Black socks this time around for my boy negroygris