The men's dress style thread..

[Gunk]

I’m uncertain what qualifies you to be our resident sartorial expert.

He just likes clothes, personally I enjoy his posts.

 

[winjim]

He just likes clothes, personally I enjoy his posts.

Yeah but the answer to the question as phrased in the OP, namely 'I'm a middle aged man in cargo shorts, how can I dress a bit better?' is not and never will be 'buy a deerstalker for your dog'.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Yeah but the answer to the question as phrased in the OP, namely 'I'm a middle aged man in cargo shorts, how can I dress a bit better?' is not and never will be 'buy a deerstalker for your dog'.

Nor does talking about Doctor Marten boots and the quality, or lack of it in new DMs help much either.

 

[winjim]

Nor does talking about Doctor Marten boots and the quality, or lack of it in new DMs help much either.

The DM conversation was introduced as a direct counterpoint to the direction the thread had taken. But in any case, I would say that in general, DMs go with any outfit and will always look cool, so the warning not to buy the newer ones is relevant.

I get that you enjoy buying clothes, and that you have a certain style, but surely you realise that it is idiosyncratic and is not going to be what the average middle aged bloke is going to wear these days. Good luck to you but there's a thread twice as long as this one dedicated purely to your myriad charity shop tweed and hideous blazers. It would be nice to have this thread cover more of what other people like to wear.

 

[Randomnerd]

@Accy cyclist - pop on your deerstalker; have a suck on your meerschaum; take a tiny opiate toot while you fiddle out a tune or two; channel your inner Sherlock; it really is elementary.

Why not just let other snappy dressing cyclists have their time in the limelight, to help old Wafty with his wardrobe? We some of us sit on the sidelines of these threads and watch them go rather off-beam. Not the Gunkmeister. (At a guess, he‘s a penny loafer and slacks dude, no?) He’s with you all the way. But. I mean, I can’t quite see what use tweed hats or Val Doonican shawl jumpers are going to be to help a spirited fellow reconnect with his MoJo. Can you?

And… and try not to pour scorn on other dressers for their thread choices. Your “Chap” periodical surely has a column about etiquette? Very bad form to decry the combat pant (yes, they are an execrable garment, but one must not sneer) or the beanie ( you’ve obvs not been an adherent of the black and white submarine film genre, where they started a whole beanie revival in the late forties). But being beanyist or anti-beanie is so last season. The beanie -whether you care to admit it or not - is with us. Sneering is not what a chap does. If your brethren wear ripped jeans, you are quite simply quaffing at the wrong watering hole.

Enjoy your thornproofs, old fruit. And your Loakes (not a last after which I lust - papa was a Sanders and Sanders man, and where the ancestral instep trod so must mine) for you’‘re a bloke who loves a Loake. More power to your well heeled ankle. Just resist the delicious temptation to give every one of us a Harris Tweed enema by constantly ramming your preferences up our collective fundament, while jabbing the doughty cloth with your gamp. Simply put, your worsted has wadded us till will bursted.

Now, where did I put my snapback? I need to go get my washing off the line. Ah, here it is; rolled up in the biggest of the eight pouch pockets in my khaki tactical shorts. Those hoodies aren’t going to iron themselves. Tally ho!

 

[Accy cyclist]

@Accy cyclist - pop on your deerstalker; have a suck on your meerschaum; take a tiny opiate toot while you fiddle out a tune or two; channel your inner Sherlock; it really is elementary.

Why not just let other snappy dressing cyclists have their time in the limelight, to help old Wafty with his wardrobe? We some of us sit on the sidelines of these threads and watch them go rather off-beam. Not the Gunkmeister. (At a guess, he‘s a penny loafer and slacks dude, no?) He’s with you all the way. But. I mean, I can’t quite see what use tweed hats or Val Doonican shawl jumpers are going to be to help a spirited fellow reconnect with his MoJo. Can you?

And… and try not to pour scorn on other dressers for their thread choices. Your “Chap” periodical surely has a column about etiquette? Very bad form to decry the combat pant (yes, they are an execrable garment, but one must not sneer) or the beanie ( you’ve obvs not been an adherent of the black and white submarine film genre, where they started a whole beanie revival in the late forties). But being beanyist or anti-beanie is so last season. The beanie -whether you care to admit it or not - is with us. Sneering is not what a chap does. If your brethren wear ripped jeans, you are quite simply quaffing at the wrong watering hole.

Enjoy your thornproofs, old fruit. And your Loakes (not a last after which I lust - papa was a Sanders and Sanders man, and where the ancestral instep trod so must mine) for you’‘re a bloke who loves a Loake. More power to your well heeled ankle. Just resist the delicious temptation to give every one of us a Harris Tweed enema by constantly ramming your preferences up our collective fundament, while jabbing the doughty cloth with your gamp. Simply put, your worsted has wadded us till will bursted.

Now, where did I put my snapback? I need to go get my washing off the line. Ah, here it is; rolled up in the biggest of the eight pouch pockets in my khaki tactical shorts. Those hoodies aren’t going to iron themselves. Tally ho!

I'm still laughing at those 'distressed look' boots.

 

[stephec]

@Accy cyclist - pop on your deerstalker; have a suck on your meerschaum; take a tiny opiate toot while you fiddle out a tune or two; channel your inner Sherlock; it really is elementary.

Why not just let other snappy dressing cyclists have their time in the limelight, to help old Wafty with his wardrobe? We some of us sit on the sidelines of these threads and watch them go rather off-beam. Not the Gunkmeister. (At a guess, he‘s a penny loafer and slacks dude, no?) He’s with you all the way. But. I mean, I can’t quite see what use tweed hats or Val Doonican shawl jumpers are going to be to help a spirited fellow reconnect with his MoJo. Can you?

And… and try not to pour scorn on other dressers for their thread choices. Your “Chap” periodical surely has a column about etiquette? Very bad form to decry the combat pant (yes, they are an execrable garment, but one must not sneer) or the beanie ( you’ve obvs not been an adherent of the black and white submarine film genre, where they started a whole beanie revival in the late forties). But being beanyist or anti-beanie is so last season. The beanie -whether you care to admit it or not - is with us. Sneering is not what a chap does. If your brethren wear ripped jeans, you are quite simply quaffing at the wrong watering hole.

Enjoy your thornproofs, old fruit. And your Loakes (not a last after which I lust - papa was a Sanders and Sanders man, and where the ancestral instep trod so must mine) for you’‘re a bloke who loves a Loake. More power to your well heeled ankle. Just resist the delicious temptation to give every one of us a Harris Tweed enema by constantly ramming your preferences up our collective fundament, while jabbing the doughty cloth with your gamp. Simply put, your worsted has wadded us till will bursted.

Now, where did I put my snapback? I need to go get my washing off the line. Ah, here it is; rolled up in the biggest of the eight pouch pockets in my khaki tactical shorts. Those hoodies aren’t going to iron themselves. Tally ho!

This post gets a like solely on the strength of combining the words Harris, tweed, and enema, into one easy to use phrase. 😂

 

[winjim]

This post gets a like solely on the strength of combining the words Harris, tweed, and enema, into one easy to use phrase. 😂

Sounds itchy. I think a Shetland tweed enema might be a little less uncomfortable

 

[Profpointy]

View attachment 631756
What any self respecting, practical boot ought to look like.
William Lennon 78C. They make mine with extra screws in the soles, and a few handfuls of rivets to supplement the stitching.
These were brand new in August.

William Lennon also made my best boots - kip leather, so almost suede, with full hobnail sole and quarter plate steel heels. Trotting around a cobbled town after a few ales i am a thing of beauty to behold - the illegitimate son of a sad tryst between Jane Torville and Max Wall.

Disparaging remarks about baseball cap and beanie wearers is cappist and beanyist and as a mature person and habitual wearer of such headgear, I reserve my right to call you out OP. Wind your neck in about the sartorial choices of other. A deer stalker does not set you apart; it merely serves to make you look like you want to be seen differently.

Clothes are political, social and cultural devices. They are mundane and at once seriously important. My tribe - wallers and outdoor workers - survive by what we wear. But also get kudos once are boots are through or out coat done.

My tribe has also become sick of hipsters appropriating our stuff. In the street in workwear, cracking on they're a french labourer or a peasant.

If you're interested, I wear new work gear as best first, and then it gets to hang with the real workwear once it has worn out for dinner parties, the ballet, soirees in Monaco etc.

Among the best and hardest wearing gear is Cactus Industrial clothing from New Zealand. I save for a parcel for say 5 years. There's no UK made stuff that hasn't seen prices skyrocket because of the Monty Don effect.

Darcy Clothing make clothes for the theatre, but do a good line in peasant shirts and high waist corduroys.

Ullfrotte Woolpower make the best warm gear for undergarments. And excellent beanies, each with the makers name embroidered on the label a la Carradice.

Community Clothing - the outfit started by Saville Row's very own Patrick Grant - make exclusively UK gear, at a good price, paying a fair wage.

I get a Gloverall submariners jumper every few years once the old one is worn or shrunk. They used to make the proper duffel, but have sold out to designer influences.

When I'm flush, I'll get the ladies at Flamborough to knit me a gansey.

...seems I'm more interested in clobber than I first thought. Anyone needing info on the waterproofedness of Ridgeline or the abrasion resistance of Guy Cotten, just dm

Internal toe caps are very poor for work (or caving) boots as illustrated by your picture. A pal wore out a pair in a week whereupon the steel toe cap popped out the front and the boot fell to bits. External toecaps on the other hand last years of extremely hard use

 

[stephec]

Sounds itchy. I think a Shetland tweed enema might be a little less uncomfortable

Normally the rules of, 'don't knock it until you've tried it,' would apply, but on this occasion I'm more than happy to go with independent witness statements.

 

[simongt]

I'm still laughing at those 'distressed look' boots.

Indeed. I can achieve the 'distressed look' at work with new boots in a few weeks for free - !

 

[wafter]

Thanks all - quite enjoying this thread as it meanders all over the place; as it happens shoes were next on my hit list!

I feel like I'm making progress in terms of learning and clothing acquisition, even if it's slow.. purchases since my last post include:

- A cheap wool mix brown/green tweed suit jacket (Banana Republic, £6, charity shop) - good fit but not sure it suits me particularly (makes me look a bit like a geography teacher / faux academic). Worth the cost just to see though IMO.

- A very dark blue merino wool polo neck (Sand, £15, charity shop) - absolutely love this; it's a very conforming fit but I think the dark colour does a good enough of a job of disguising my middle-age tits and belly that I can get away with it. Looks like a proper score as the list price is well north of £100 and it's mint

- A pair of really nice mid-blue pure Italian wool trousers (Luigi something, £7, charity shop) - not the sort of thing I'd usually go for but they look really nice, are super comfy and seem like really good quality. Again I suspect these would have been a fair wedge when new.

- A great, well-fitting dark brown and black pure wool 3/4 covert style coat (Reiss, £22, ebay) which I also absolutley love; a shade small but I can get away with a T-shirt and thin jumper underneath and it has a really nice flattering cut. Could probably do with a dry-clean though..

I went out last week in the poloneck, smart mid-grey combats, the new coat and a nice black / grey striped scarf which IMO looked great and gave an enormous confidence boost. I certainly felt a lot more at home than during my last "estate agent" experiment so maybe I'm learing! Had things been a bit more formal / less potentially beer-spilly I'd have loved to have given the wool trousers a test-drive too..

I've been trying to learn about colour theory and think I'm slowly getting a better idea of what works well together and looks good on me (irritatingly I don't think the light blue shirt I bought a while ago really does me any favours). I'm also getting a better idea about clothing styles / fit / fabric and as such am building a list of gear I'd like.

I'm unfortunately a bit stuck for shoes after my otherwise really nice Brogues once again chewed my feet to bloody little stumps and have pretty much convinced me that they have to go Ideally I'd like another, better-fitting pair of similar shoes as well as something less formal (always welcome ideas; not sure I could pull off much that's already been listed i this thread!).


So far it's been a largely fun, rewarding, confidence-and-self-esteem-building exercise and I'm pleased to have got this far on such a small budget.

I had a nice day out in Oxford recently as I waited for some work to be done on the car; bussing it out to Summertown whose charity shops were as you'd expect - much nicer gear; more expensive but still peanuts compared to what it would have been new (this is where I got the poloneck and trousers).

I'm thinking I might turn this into a regular excursion - drive to the city, buy a day pass for the bus and hit every possible charity shop I can. Last time was certainly a productive, very welcome escape from the oppressive monotony of this grottly little village and I really appreciate the opporunity to get out amongst people, even if I don't really interact with them much. Hopefully of course I might end up with some decent gear at the end of it all too.

Anyway, I guess that's everyones' excitement quota used up for today; thanks for indulging my tedious rambling...

 

[Randomnerd]

Hmm. Call me forensic, but did you mention “smart cargo pants”? An oxymoron, if ever there was one. Extraneous pocketry is very Last Season.

Low Carbon West Oxford hold Bring and Take events. Take all your cargo shorts - on the bike obvs - and look to weigh in for some decent slacks. You might bump into one of the Wafterettes, dazzled by your suede chukka boots (always a powerful choice for the discerning, striding buck - pick the crepe sole, if you want to ooze testosterone), and come away with some digits.

They‘re planting trees this weekend!

 

[swee'pea99]

Striped waistcoat and bowler hat. Sorted.

 

[Gunk]

@wafter try Abingdon and Chipping Norton for Charity shops, the Oxfam superstore at Crowley is also worth a visit