Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
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Notes -
“Classics are forever with a flourish or fit change” is incompatible with “fit is king” unless you really learn what you like and flatters you, and are happy being out of sync with what is currently on trend in the mind of normies. If the average Mottizen thrifts a ‘50s Brooks navy blazer he’s going to feel weird about how square and structured the shoulders are if he’s looking to fit in, even though a navy blazer is “classic”, and even if he can’t articulate it.
You mention dark-wash jeans? That’s downstream of a niche Japanese interest in ‘50s and ‘60s Americana that the fashion world brought back over to the U.S. from abroad. I know no Mottizens were buying Momotaro selvedge in the Aughts, but Todd Snyder when he was still at J. Crew was, and then the GAP, etc. picked up on it. And now a five year old MFA guide recommends it, but the tastemakers that will determine what MFA is going to recommend in a couple years from now ditched dark wash a couple years back, and that too will filter down. It’s all going to churn, and churn, and churn, even for normies. A five year old MFA guide is already long in the tooth, and was itself born of trends — it didn’t opt out of them. And they ultimately won’t stick with them, either.
Also, dark wash jeans, in terms of “classic” rules, don’t offer enough of a contrast with a navy blazer, running a foul of not clearly differentiating pants from an odd jacket, even though that was (is?) an MFA favorite. MFA didn’t come up with some classic or objective reason dark wash jeans were preferable.
My point is, if you have the time, please dig through something like Guy’s series on developing personal taste because that has a much longer shelf life than an MFA guide and you’ll honestly be happier with the results.
Dude I was reading Die, Workwear when I was in undergrad 12 years ago; I've had Boyer and Flusser on my shelf for about as long. I'm not recommending this from a lack of knowledge, but from a surfeit of it. Ivy Style is more my bible, because that's the best that semi-athletic employed and educated white guys have ever looked, but I think Die Workwear does good work. Nonetheless:
Recommending "Find your own personal style" to someone asking a question about fashion on themotte is like telling someone asking for dating advice to "be themselves;" or telling a newbie weightlifter to lift to an RPE of 7 in every workout, they have no idea what that means, or even worse they think they know what that means and get it completely wrong. Cliche: you have to learn the rules before you break them. You need a baseline of understanding of what stuff is before you can start to think creatively. Your advice, while theoretically spotlessly solid, isn't actionable for a guy just starting out. Literally name an actual item you think the modal mottizen ought to be wearing to look good.
The contrast is in the texture, rough denim vs. smooth worsted wool.
Hence why my advice under "fit is king" wasn't "Slim fitting is best" or "loose fits are on trend;" the advice was "Go try on a whole bunch of brands until you find the thing for you." Put on a bunch of shirts and look in the mirror. Which one feels right to you? I guess that contradicts my theory that you want to tell the newbie everything, but fit is one thing that is impossible to pin down from afar, trying on a bunch of stuff is the best way to learn what you like.
Being on trend is pretty rarely an actually attractive quality in a heterosexual man. Learned that the hard way a couple time. But I didn't recommend thrifting a 50s blazer, I recommended going on 2nd hand apps and picking up stuff from a year ago at a fraction of the price. If your trend time horizon is <1year, it really shouldn't be.
PS: I'll just link it for you because I know you were itching to when you gave me the history of darkwash jeans
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