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Amen, you should dress in a way that makes you and the people you meet feel comfortable. One of the worst fashion sins are cheap ill-fitting 99$ suits. Man...

Amen, you should dress in a way that makes you and the people you meet feel comfortable. One of the worst fashion sins are cheap ill-fitting 99$ suits. Man... My recommendation guys, buy some nice shoes and a coat.

kstenerud 15y ago
Would be nice, if I knew how to tell the difference between "nice" and "ugly". It all looks the same to me. I'm still mystified as to how people decide that one piece of clothing "goes" with another, or looks bad with such-and-such.
- mushtar 15y ago
  Correct me if I'm misinterpreting this, but it sounds like what you are saying is that you would wear better fitting / more appropriate clothes, if only you would know how to do so. This is definitely a valid point, but I think it just shows that there is room for learning! Embracing new things can be intimidating and downright scary. I remember the first time I heard about the benefits of lifting weights, I was apprehensive. I thought I could just call others 'meatheads' and use my advanced degrees in computer science as a shield. But life does not work like that; we must continuously improve ourselves, in all aspects of our lives: social, personal, physical, intellectual. Learning to buy clothes and put together outfits is just another part of growing up, just like learning how to work out, or how to apply design patterns to a programming project. On a more practical note, there are tons of resources on the Internet that can help you with figuring out what 'nice' clothes are, or how to put together outfits. Maybe start with this: http://www.kinowear.com/blog/science-of-style-introducing-the-highly-awaited-series http://www.kinowear.com/blog/science-of-style-introducing-th... . Or check out reddit's r/malefashionadvice guides, or maybe go on styleforum.net, or try putthison.com . Good luck!
  - kitsune_ 15y ago
    Sorry if I'm late here. Yes, you should wear clothes that fit. For instance, if your suit is too large, it will make you look clumsy. Rather than buy a suit for 99 bucks, I'd rather buy a good quality shirt. Invest in quality, I guess. Secondly, I think you should wear clothes that make yourself feel comfortable not just because they fit from a physical point of view. They should be appropriate to your persona, don't wear something that you are not.
- omgsean 15y ago
  As a developer, one of the things that got me into fashion is that it's something that CAN be learned and understood. For a long time I thought it was one of those things that you're either born with or not, but it's almost like a programming language. Also, men's fashion has deep roots in tradition and function. For example, did you know that the little holes on wingtip shoes were originally added to allow the water drain out when you were walking in the country? That history is part of the reason that wingtips are considered "less formal" than plain-toe shoes - they were meant for wearing in the country. I find that kind of thing interesting, it's not all about superficiality. If you're really interested in learning these things you're in a golden age, there are a ton of people sharing information and ideas about men's fashion online. http://reddit.com/malefashionadvice http://reddit.com/malefashionadvice is a good starting point.
  - kstenerud 15y ago
    Awesome! Thanks! I've made countless attempts at fashion over the past 20 years, but it's always ended in failure. The fact that people say my father dresses poorly (and I can't tell why) has been incredibly discouraging. Another poster mentioned that striped shirt with striped pants is a no-no. Why is that? Also, why are certain colors considered to "match" and others not? It seems completely arbitrary.
    - omgsean 15y ago
      With patterns (stripes, plaid, checks, whatever), essentially you don't want to have more than one item with a similar-size pattern. So if you're wearing a shirt with small checks you can wear a tie with a big pattern (wide stripes, big plaid, etc.) but shouldn't wear a tie with a small pattern. Same goes for pants. The reason people advise against it is that it's visually distracting. Some people are bold and mix patterns but the safest bet is to just not wear more than one patterned item at a time. In terms of colour matching, that's more of a personal thing. The biggest thing you need to remember is don't put a brown item next to a black item (ie brown shoes with black pants). This post on reddit covers the basics: http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/ginj6/in_which_epicviking_teaches_you_how_to_match/ http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/ginj6/in_... As with all aesthetic disciplines the rules are made to be broken, but it's good to know them first.
- kitsune_ 15y ago
  A lot of it is functional. If your face is ashen gray and pale because you are a programmer who hates the sun with an icy passion, wearing a black shirt will only accentuate your paleness. If you wore a white shirt, people would notice it much less.

kstenerud 15y ago

Would be nice, if I knew how to tell the difference between "nice" and "ugly". It all looks the same to me. I'm still mystified as to how people decide that one piece of clothing "goes" with another, or looks bad with such-and-such.

mushtar 15y ago
Correct me if I'm misinterpreting this, but it sounds like what you are saying is that you would wear better fitting / more appropriate clothes, if only you would know how to do so. This is definitely a valid point, but I think it just shows that there is room for learning! Embracing new things can be intimidating and downright scary. I remember the first time I heard about the benefits of lifting weights, I was apprehensive. I thought I could just call others 'meatheads' and use my advanced degrees in computer science as a shield. But life does not work like that; we must continuously improve ourselves, in all aspects of our lives: social, personal, physical, intellectual. Learning to buy clothes and put together outfits is just another part of growing up, just like learning how to work out, or how to apply design patterns to a programming project. On a more practical note, there are tons of resources on the Internet that can help you with figuring out what 'nice' clothes are, or how to put together outfits. Maybe start with this: http://www.kinowear.com/blog/science-of-style-introducing-the-highly-awaited-series http://www.kinowear.com/blog/science-of-style-introducing-th... . Or check out reddit's r/malefashionadvice guides, or maybe go on styleforum.net, or try putthison.com . Good luck!
- kitsune_ 15y ago
  Sorry if I'm late here. Yes, you should wear clothes that fit. For instance, if your suit is too large, it will make you look clumsy. Rather than buy a suit for 99 bucks, I'd rather buy a good quality shirt. Invest in quality, I guess. Secondly, I think you should wear clothes that make yourself feel comfortable not just because they fit from a physical point of view. They should be appropriate to your persona, don't wear something that you are not.
omgsean 15y ago
As a developer, one of the things that got me into fashion is that it's something that CAN be learned and understood. For a long time I thought it was one of those things that you're either born with or not, but it's almost like a programming language. Also, men's fashion has deep roots in tradition and function. For example, did you know that the little holes on wingtip shoes were originally added to allow the water drain out when you were walking in the country? That history is part of the reason that wingtips are considered "less formal" than plain-toe shoes - they were meant for wearing in the country. I find that kind of thing interesting, it's not all about superficiality. If you're really interested in learning these things you're in a golden age, there are a ton of people sharing information and ideas about men's fashion online. http://reddit.com/malefashionadvice http://reddit.com/malefashionadvice is a good starting point.
- kstenerud 15y ago
  Awesome! Thanks! I've made countless attempts at fashion over the past 20 years, but it's always ended in failure. The fact that people say my father dresses poorly (and I can't tell why) has been incredibly discouraging. Another poster mentioned that striped shirt with striped pants is a no-no. Why is that? Also, why are certain colors considered to "match" and others not? It seems completely arbitrary.
  - omgsean 15y ago
    With patterns (stripes, plaid, checks, whatever), essentially you don't want to have more than one item with a similar-size pattern. So if you're wearing a shirt with small checks you can wear a tie with a big pattern (wide stripes, big plaid, etc.) but shouldn't wear a tie with a small pattern. Same goes for pants. The reason people advise against it is that it's visually distracting. Some people are bold and mix patterns but the safest bet is to just not wear more than one patterned item at a time. In terms of colour matching, that's more of a personal thing. The biggest thing you need to remember is don't put a brown item next to a black item (ie brown shoes with black pants). This post on reddit covers the basics: http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/ginj6/in_which_epicviking_teaches_you_how_to_match/ http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/ginj6/in_... As with all aesthetic disciplines the rules are made to be broken, but it's good to know them first.
kitsune_ 15y ago
A lot of it is functional. If your face is ashen gray and pale because you are a programmer who hates the sun with an icy passion, wearing a black shirt will only accentuate your paleness. If you wore a white shirt, people would notice it much less.