#Menswear?

I don't get #menswear. And I'm not mocking, dissing, or taking shots. I just think there's some huge cultural differences at play here.

It's weird in the UK right now. Men are wearing Rick Owens-esque gear with tucked in, pre-washed boots. And absolutely no fear of repercussions. Not just any guys, but the guys who'd usually take the piss out of anyone not wearing a polo and stonewash jeans. I don't really care to work out why this is so. The easy guess is that their girlfriends wanted them to look like a trendy boyband and now here we are; a world where elasticated cuffs on denim are acceptable. It's here and it's not going away any time soon. It's a bit like LA in the '80s style wise.

Contrast this with the US, where the scene is in its infancy. Attitudes are different; a little more defensive, a little more uptight. I feel like it's still finding its feet, which would explain why they treat menswear like it has nothing to do with fashion. But it's these fundamental differences that leave me bemused. 

From the outside it looks like a giant circle jerk. A circle jerk with people who feed off finding people writing about them and then getting defensive about what's being written*. Now, a few years ago, back in the early SL days, I did the same. Nothing to do with narcissism (how dare you even bring that up?!) I just wanted to know what people thought. The result? Some good, some bad, some OTT. The first few OTT comments, remarks or emails worried me a little. Then I realised they were just people making their own day more interesting by saying I should kill myself. No harm done. 

I do remember one person (pictured in this post) saying I should never write about shoes again because I called double monkstrap shoes 'overly spiffy'. This stuck because I'd heard he was someone who worked at Isaia. And because I thought it was a particularly ridiculous comment. Think my writing's shit? Fine. Think I don't know what I'm talking about? Fine. But think I shouldn't write about shoes again because I don't like a particular model of shoe? Don't be silly**. But that comment was helpful, because it exposed me to a fundamental difference between UK and US menswear. The #menswear world seems to think that everyone should be doing things in the 'correct' way, leaving very little room for re-interpretation. And those who do re-interpret are either special unicorns who's style you could never 'pull off' or weirdos. 

So what I'm saying is that I'm probably better off staying put in good ol' England, where dressing like you've been dragged through a Rick Owens show doesn't turn heads.

*I realise I'm not helping with this post.

**Before anyone gets in here defending his character, I'm sure he's a lovely person who knows everything there is to know about menswear, gives money to the homeless, calls his mum everyday and rescues stray kittens.

Comments

[John Lugg]

Word up. On GTBT I like to take subtle shots at #menswear culture but the sufu thread is brilliantly brash. A certainly level of maturity is lacking in American #menswear and they're all years older than me. Not sure how that happened. Maybe it was everyone's moms telling them they were special and brilliant. Yep, that was probably it.

[Kendrick]

So I started off on the forum sites. Fedora lounge, Ask Andy and Style Forum. What #menswear appears to me is two things:

1. The first element of men subscribing to an aesthetic set by these guys from SF who in all honesty have very little style. They know the rules, they know the cut and they know the brands. That is where it ends with those guys. What I can say about these gentlemen on SF is that they not only know what they are talking about, they actually own the brands that they are talking about. They own the Drakes, Cleverly's, Isias's ect. They have made the commitment because they have researched and found that their investment was worth it. Most of them have jobs that afford them the ability to acquire this wardrobe. At the end of the day these guys are nerds who know about some of the best menswear brands in the world and can afford to purchase them. However they have very little if any "style". Their loyalty to the "rules" denies them the ability to have any.

Now comes tumblr. A group of young 17-24 males who are also very enthusiastic on menswear. These guys proceed to scour the internet and forums to learn about the best. They cannot afford these clothes and have often never even been in close contact with these brands. But they know how to post and write and give their opinion on someone else's pics. Tumblr, desperate for traffic will give the #menswear tag to anyone they feel brings traffic to their platform.. Example:Puma sends a bunch of bloggers to a boat race in Dubai, one week later their is a #sailing tag.

You have a lot of kids prescribing to an aesthetic designed by a nerdy inclusive online forum. Steal a few hiphop references, voila #menswear. Designed to help very few and make even fewer feel special. These guys create nothing and add very little to the community as a whole. What makes it worse is that 90% of these guys are socially awkward when you meet them in person. #menswear is just someone at tumblrs great idea to drive traffic and make money off of some young guys who like to blog about stuff they can't afford. But I still smile when I get it every now and then. :)