Comments | steuard: Style, and how to get some

steuard

Style, and how to get some

Sep 01, 2015 22:03

I hate shopping for clothes. I'm terrible at it, and it takes forever, and it is miserable. I have stories.[1] This is no doubt part of the reason that I'm getting close to the point where my entire wardrobe needs replacing ( Read more... )

questions, requests

Comments 12

ukelele September 2 2015, 04:10:53 UTC

Yes! There are ( ... )

I'd love your female oriented links beth_leonard September 2 2015, 06:19:21 UTC

I have Stu's exact same question without the compelling need to overhaul my wardrobe (currently). I've finally matured to the point of the average 5th grader, where I notice some clothing people wear, and I notice that I'm not wearing the same type of clothing ( ... )

Re: I'd love your female oriented links ukelele September 2 2015, 12:52:01 UTC

Well, in THAT case :)

http://www.amyherzogdesigns.com/f2f/ was really helped to me, but unfortunately is no longer available as it's been turned into saleable books and classes and so forth. Although most of the material is probably in Knit to Flatter (and you can ignore the knitting part if it isn't relevant to you :)

Useful books: Nina Garcia's The One Hundred (judgy, but a good basis for a shopping list, and a straightforward enough way to discover what items of clothing people might think you ought to own); Tim Gunn's Guide to Style (the least judgy book I read; his general principles can accommodate a wide variety of styles/garments); stuff by Stacey London or Trinny & Susannah (hosts of, respectively, the American and British versions of What Not To Wear ( ... )

Re: I'd love your female oriented links ukelele September 2 2015, 12:52:21 UTC

Hey my draft had too many characters sooooo, part 2 ( ... )

Thread 5

ukelele September 2 2015, 04:12:10 UTC

Oh, and there is also "go shopping with an articulate friend or relative who has good taste and will be delighted at the chance to use you as a personal dress-up doll". If you happen to have such a person in your life, you emerge with not only clothes, but a very clear sense of why they were good choices.

wrenb September 2 2015, 13:23:40 UTC

Here's the other key, especially now that you are not in a major metropolitan area. You don't have to go shopping. Mail order works really well and let's you try stuff on at home.

Drew essentially has a uniform, one I think could easily be tweaked for your personality. He works in a Hawaiian shirt and khakis or khaki shorts every day. For you I'd switch that to a casual button down (hello Lands End catalog!) and khakis. In Wisconsin winters Drew used to wear a button down shirt and a wool sweater.

akiko September 2 2015, 13:41:56 UTC

But then you have to send it all back and re-order it in sizes that actually fit :/ (I have learned that I can't buy jeans at all from Old Navy because they are not designed for people who have a butt. I learned this by ordering two pairs of jeans and having to return them, trading one pair for another in a similar size, which I then also had to return. I gave up and went to the physical Levis outlet and tried on half a dozen pairs of jeans until I found one that fit and didn't fall off. It was early, so the clerk was able to get me clothes to try.)

akiko September 2 2015, 13:53:10 UTC

ukelele has covered a lot of this, and quite well. You can do google image searches for men's fashion, modified as you like (classic? vintage?). Or look at what your colleagues are wearing and see what looks like something you'd like ( ... )

pmb September 8 2015, 23:17:56 UTC

When faced with this problem, I used $60/month to solve it and went with FiveFour Club (that's a referral link). I have been happy with the results.

steuard September 9 2015, 02:35:13 UTC

What all do they tend to send each month? A shirt and a pair of socks? Two full suits and a collection of stylish underwear? It's not entirely clear from the site what you'd be getting. Oh, and why don't they seem to want to know my inseam?

(I'm asking because I'm intrigued, by the way.)

pmb September 9 2015, 12:35:28 UTC

It seems to be usually two shirts and one pair of pants (or shorts). The shirts are usually fashionable enough that fashion-conscious friends notice and say good things. In the fall they also put in scarves and windbreakers and sweaters. I asked friends who buy their fashionable clothes in stores whether I was getting a good deal, and they said yes.

I recommend just trying it out - $60 is not nothing, but it's also not that much on the scale of how much clothes cost.