Male Fashion

Is it though? Consider this:

Once upon a time, men's and women's fashion was equal. Everyone wanted the best they could afford. IF THEY HAD THE STATUS TO WEAR IT.

Fashion was once a rich persons game. Heck in England and probably other places there where laws dictating what people of each class could wear! Never wear clothing above your station!

Having said that, back during that time division of labour wasn't so much of a thing. Wool needs spinning? EVERYONE is doing it, even the men.

As time progressed the concept of 'male' jobs and 'female' jobs became more obvious.

So did the poverty gap.

So as time went on, you would find that poor men where working jobs that were physically demanding and also really messy. You don't wear fancy clothes when you make a living up to your armpits in shit!

So this caused a clothing divide. For a poor person who had to do these jobs, different things became manly. How much you could life was manly, because you could do your job better than others. How much you could drink was manly because you could DRINK better than others.

For rich people, the fashion trends continued. You have examples of high-fashion being considered the height of manliness by those who could afford it, while those who couldn't would consider them effeminate and pathetic.

With women there is an element of competitiveness. You may be the strongest brick-layer around, but that fop down the road has a wife who is GORGEOUS. Shouldn't the manliest guy have the best wife? (Hellooooo male superiority complex).

Anyway women have become increasingly 'encouraged' to improve their appearance so as to appear better than their actual status. If you had the choice would you rather be married to a girl who looks like the daughter of a merchant, or who looks like she works as a washerwoman? Men are encouraged to get the best things they can, and women are encouraged to BE the best thing they can.

There, fashion in a can.

 

^ Very interesting.

As a geek, I'll say I come from a world where no matter what gender (yes, gender) you are, it's pretty much jeans and some geeky T-shirt. So, Big Bang Theory has at least something right. However, we tend to have more geeky T-shirts than BBT wants to let you know about.

 

Interesting thoughts posted above, generally I would agree.

I consider myself pretty fashionable. I always try to make myself look nice. I am pretty much always clean shaven, my hair cut and done nice. I wear nice clothes and my stuff matches! A lot of my male friends give me shit about it but it's all in fun and games. I've had several come to me in a panic not knowing what to wear for a date. Then I have the last laugh :lol:

 

Speaking of fashion, I get frustrated with a lot of the clothing stores in my area that carry mens clothing in sizes medium, large and XXL. I am small and sometimes even a small is too big and I know there is some rule that most men wear big clothes or clothes that do not fit snug. My default outfit is a polo shirt, pants (other than jeans--not a fan of jeans) and boat shoes. I hate clothes that feel too big.

There are other "fashion" items that apply to men as well...like when I was getting my hair colored (just my natural color), the lady doing my hair acted like I wanted her to be "discreet"...I really do not care at all if other people (men or women) see me get my hair dyed...it's not like men can't do things for their appearance!

 

It's said that men's fashion always trails women's by a few years or so. Now, skinny jeans are acceptable for men when they used to be in the domain of women. Men are also now allowed to wear more colorful clothing. Have you seen how much variety there is for men nowadays? Maybe I didn't pay attention before but men's clothing has leaped from being a purely utilitarian thing, to something that is much more than that. Just walk through a mall or department store and you'll see.

Also, for some reason, a sloppily dressed man can look very attractive to me. It's weird.

 

Haha. Well, it would require that he be clean in the grooming area (hair, body, teeth, nails) for the sloppy manner of dressing to be ok. I think I know what you mean.

I've got a problem with a canyon of sorts in my clothing. First, none of it is trendy. So, I tend to have work clothes (from jackets, slacks, and ties to suits, which I rarely wear). Then, everything else is blue jeans and a few tan colored jeans, along with mono-colored polo shirts and t-shirts.

In long sleeves, I also have a couple of those "henleys" (no collar, 3 buttons at the top) and rugby shirts, of which only the latter have stripes and some color. My wardrobe reflects how boring and conventional I can be.

I find that really keeping up with fashion takes work, as could keeping up with the NCAA tournament, for which I only become interested when it gets down to 8 or 4, and if a school I went to is in there - doubtful. That said, there is a lot I don't care for in apparel, namely skinny jeans and those hip brown dress shoes that are squarish and sort of curl upward at the front, stick out way too much, and remind me of an alligator.

 

@Tightrope

You're right, fashion is a lot of work and that is why I tend to go with the more traditional styles (i.e. polo club type) because I know I can keep my general fashion sense and clothes for as long as I want without thinking I am wasting money on something I won't want to wear next year...or a few months down the road.

 

Ughhh...

I hate having to wear ties and collared shirts and boring khakis and crap to work...

Male fashion SUCKS in my opinion.

I'm about as casual as it can be in male mode and well I'm not glitzy and glamorous in female mode but accessories and non pants and shirt clothing options are nice.

Although a nice fitting suit or all white linen shirt and shorts on the beach is quite acceptable for male garb in my opinion.

 

Here is a great link to the art of dressing properly as a man:

Dress & Grooming | The Art of Manliness

 

I am to small for an extra small in adult's sizes... I'm almost fifteen and under five feet. It's awful. I've basically given up on nice jackets.

 

There any place that has GOOD bowtie tying instructions? Watching a video in reverse mirror image is horrible. I'd rather do a bow tie instead of a regular one and just argggg:tantrum:

 

I cant say Im into fashion cause Ive never really cared about it. I dont know whats trendy or not cause if I want to wear something I'll wear it and if I dont then I wont. Simple. But I do have to admit that I spend a huge amount of time looking in the mirror everyday. So... You could say I worry about how I look.

 

Of course, haha, bad hygiene can ruin a man faster than you can blink an eye.

______


I prefer a very interchangeable wardrobe. Chinos(and chino shorts), slacks, oxfords, dress shirts, polos, and ties of all colors that can be mixed and matched in a heartbeat are an easy way I keep my wardrobe simple and able to evolve from casual (e.g. shorts and oxfords or polo) to semi-casual (e.g. chinos and oxfords), to business/informal (dress shirt and tie and suit or slacks). Color is the only arena that I'll dabble in, and that's the same way my dad is; he likes to have some color in his wardrobe to keep the suits he wears daily "fun;" apparently, you can get a bit bored after wearing them for 25 years :lol:.

 

Men should look neat, clean, and comfortable in their clothes. You should never be picking and pulling at any item. The biggest "sin" is wearing something too tight. I'm very much a traditionalist. I think fashion is interesting, and I may even add a piece or two to my wardrobe, but one should also remember one's age. What's smart on a twenty year old model may look ridiculous on a middle-aged marketing manager.

I've always liked the Duke of Windsor's look, 5 different patterns that some how never fought one another. I've never found a way to truly carry it off.

I tend to like color rather than pattern and I've a tendency to rely on one or two designers who tweak traditional clothing.

Apart from hygiene, one thing that will spoil a great look quickly is the over use of scent or the wrong scent. Scent should alway stay with you. I should never precede you or linger after you've gone.

One should always have their shoes polished and in good repair. No excuses

 

I think woman do the upkeep because they want to, not because men force them to. Men generally don't give a shit about how a girl dresses or does her hair make up...etc. Yea it can help to make them look hotter, but it isn't really going to change whether a guy would sleep with them or not.

I personally find fashion to be one of the worst and best things for mankind. It can create individuality and such, but it also can just create sheep following eachother in the masses. People look to other to define their fashion, which really is a useless mechanism and thing to do.

Fashion also can create societies were being "unfashionable" a thing that many people are because they don't give a shit is frowned upon.

It can represent vanity, and narcissism.

but it can also just represent an individual.

I think though, as long as fashion is heavily commercialized, it is going to always just be sheep following sheep. You create/wear/and do things that are considered acceptable by the majority of people.

I also unfortunately stay away from people that seem super into their look because they most likely are void of any personality. Spending that much time on yourself takes away from time building character. Not saying people can't look good, but when it's the be all end all, you really must have no personality for it to matter that much to you. Human's aren't just here to look good, we're hear to experience things, and most of the times clothes don't change experiences.

And a good looking guy is goodlooking regardless of what he wears.