midlandsgrimpeur
Well-Known Member
Interesting link (non-paywalled one here for anyone without a subscription) and something I feel highly ambiguous about..
On the one hand I absolutely agree with the core conclusion of the article, which seems to be "sod fast fashion, wear what you want"; on the other I lament the level of universal, obligatory conformity to these pointless consumption-driving standards implied in the article as a norm.
As far as I'm aware there's no government-mandated need to bin your entire wardrobe every six months to look like the latest crop of vacuous self-gratification artists on telly, no withdrawal of access to healthcare provision if you're not seen in the brands pushed by the knobhead Tiktok's chosen to ram down your throught today; nobody holding a gun to your head to ensure that you look like every other unthinking sheep who's been dragged through the high street backwards..
As I've probably said in this thread previously dressing well seems as simple as acknowledging the distinction between style and fashion. The former is timeless, sustainable and about wearing what actually looks objectively good - correct fit, flattering lines, complimentary colouring - the latter is about allowing yourself to be brainwashed into squandering money on disposible rubbish at ever-increasing frequency in the name of conformity to an arbitrary, commercially-driven ideal.
As someone who's arguably exactly who that article is written about (and one who's only in the past few years taken an interest in what I wear / how I present myself) conceptually I don't really find it difficult at all - ignore fashion and buy what looks objectively good in quality natural fibres. Of course there are additional difficulties such as understanding how to choose what looks good and subsequently obtaining such items... but it should never be about "oh noes I can't keep up with what the shallow and brand-shilling dictate I should wear"..
This was touched on in my recent visit to a menswear supplier in the city this week; which I was starting to write about before I read the link above:
Panic has been gradually mounting over what to wear to a wedding next month.
While it's resolved nothing I have been into a couple of shops in the city over the past few days and with full disclosure about my unlikliness to buy have had some great chats with / guidance from staff - especially at Walters of Oxford a couple of days ago
Once I'd made my way upstairs from the deceptively small store front I found myself in an expansive, gloriously old-world space that contained lots of nice old things. The shop was quiet on a student-free school-day afternoon and the tailor / salesman I got chatting to was very amenible, knowledgeable and engaging.
We discussed a lot of things including possible options for suits - off-the-shelf; custom and fully bespoke - and I tried a good few things on. Since I've lost weight the good news is that I can do a pretty convicing job of fitting into an off-the-shelf suit; with the exception of the bloody trousers which are still stupidly fashion-forward-skinny / tapered (although it seems according to the guardian article above that things have now unsurprisingly swung the other way and more spacious stuff is no in vogue).
If I'm lucky I can drag them past my fat calves, leaving the bottoms clinging to my leg with an awkward baggy bit above behind the knee; making me look like a potato with cocktail stick legs and the previously well-fitting jacket looking disproportionately large.. So it seems that off-the-shelf stuff is out (at least without additional tailoring).
The custom stuff looked like a much better bet - with a wide range of control over fabrics, buttons, pocket format etc but based off standard sizes tweaked by a tailor rather than something that's fully made to measure. These didn't seem bad value at about £700 for a 2pc suit in a nice fabric; and not a whole lot more than something off-the-peg.
Finally was the fully made-to-measure option which unsurprisingly gave the widest choice of fits and fabrics, but also started at about a grand.
Really all of this was moot relative to the reason I'd gone in since current fashion resolutely refuses to align with my preferences for both fit and fabrics, while anything more bespoke has a lead time longer than is accceptable in this case.
That said I certainly don't consider it a wasted journey as it was a really pleasant and informative experience; the chap I spoke to confirming a lot of my conclusions about fashion, fit, materials, "luxury" brands etc and at least making me feel more resolute and legitimate in this regard.
On top of that the environment was very calm, quiet and sophisticated and it was novel to have a proper nose through what was available.
Currently I've reached the conclusion that I'd like a brown herringbone Harris tweed single-breasted suit; however while they had a lovely jacket in this style (at the fat end of £400 plus a bit for tweaking the waist in as it was a fairly "traditional" cut) a full suit would apparenly be a bespoke order at a ballpark £1400. I did also try on a splendid mid-blue linen jacket with beige pinstipes (again, near £400) and would love a full suit in this style - probably at a similar price to the tweed offering.
Conventional wisdom dictates that the first suit you buy should be as generic and universally applicable as possible (which makes sense) - so navy or charcoal, wool, nothing too extrovert or showy.. However, since I don't have to wear one for work I wonder if I could go the other way and just do a nice tweed as above for autumn / winter wear and perhaps a biscuit linen for summer.
All that said it's somewhat aribtrary as I only really ever have need for a suit for weddings and funerals. The latter are now thin on the ground since most people I know are in their mid-40s so have either already committed or written the idea off; the latter pehaps not an ideal context to flaunt one's tailoring tastes..
I do like the idea of just occasionally wearing a suit anyway however; although at the cost of entry this hardly makes sense economically.
As it stands for the wedding I have a choice of my old stalwart M&S grey sharkshin offering which has served me well over the 20-odd years I've owned it, is relatively timeless but also now too big... the slightly-better-fitting Charles Tyrwhitt grey Prince-of-Wales check sample I bought for £35 in a charity shop some years ago, or finally the cobbling together of some separate bits I've collected over the years into a blue ensemble; which while not quite a full suit is probably looking like the best bet currently as it gives the best-fitting, most cohesive outfit IMO.
Perhaps I'll try it all on and chuck some pictures up at some point; although it's always difficult to take any decent self-shot stuff in this house...
If I do decide to go big on something new I think Walters will definitely be getting my business
If it is only for occasional wear, I would tend towards something a touch more showy in style that you will wear and enjoy. I had a suit made for my sister's wedding about two years ago, a DB number in a dark brown wool and silk mix with a subtle blue fleck in the weave. I like it so much I wore it for my own wedding this year and even stick it on when we go out for dinner if the restaurant is a bit fancier than usual. It was definitely an investment, but a worthwhile one.
