Timeless as we think we are?

On occasion, I like to rant about the going ons of this blogosphere. This post is probably going to end up being a compilation, so if you don't wanna' hear it, stop reading now. Shall we start?

Americana-wear is digressing from buying fewer clothes, with greater quality, to just straight up buying more clothes. There are a number of reasons for this, but before I get into this, read this article. It's a philosophy that I think we all need reminded of every now and then.

First, I think it's fair to say the Americana-wear has encroached on the streetwear portion of the market. Some guys who used to buy tongue-in-cheek t-shirts and the latest Nike SBs are now buying Alden's and Brooks Brothers. Now, guys like SartInc and SWT try to showcase all the options for all sorts of budgets and for all sorts of styles. They do not promote fads or what they believe is cool 'right now', though others say differently. They intend their sites to be a sampler, so you, the reader, can sort through the stuff you don't want, and pick out the styles and looks you like. Now, I get the feeling that people are misinterpreting what the site's intention is. With the streetwear guys getting into the trend, people view new classic style collections like streetwear collections. Newest patterns, cleanest kicks, and the slimmest fit are a priority, and people want to 'cop' these things in multitudes with the intention of being able to wear them for the rest of their lives, because they assume they'll be wearing the same styles and fits for the next half-century.

Alright, to the next point. On Unabashedly Prep, someone left a comment where he says, "I understand that old-school preps didn’t care much for fit, but we know better today." Okay, first of all, how the hell would we know that we know better? We don't. We know the current style is fitted and slim. I have no clue what I'll be wearing when I'm 50 years old and neither do you (unless you're already there, or close to being there). Hopefully, I'll be stuntin' selvedge and a BB button-down, but I'm not going to hold my breath. We shouldn't assume that we'll be wearing this stuff years down the road, so there's no reason to spend mad dough on lots of clothes.

Now here comes the advice, shop with the mind to only buy a few things at a time, and only shop a few times a year. This will reduce the amount of money you spend, and will ensure that the clothes you buy are things you really want and know you will wear often. With fewer clothes in your drawer, you will wear those clothes more often, getting more wears out of them; and if you decide that Americana slim fit isn't your cup of tea 5 years down the road, no big deal, because you already have put a lot of wear in your wardrobe. You've been a more economically sustainable person (sorry American retailers, if anyone actually reads this, you can lynch me).

Also, the line, "There's nothing wrong with being the best dressed person in a room" is a little off. If everyone is chilling at the bar in t-shirts and jeans and you're there with a khaki suit, spread collar, and an ascot you don't look like the best dressed person in the room: you look like the biggest douche peacocking about your friends. Most women will steer away from you like you steer away from the girl who poops her pants when she's drunk, especially if you're wearing an ascot. Unless you're in Greenwich, ascots are for imaginary people. Classy is about understanding what the situation calls for, not being the best dressed all the time.

This all being said, I think I can conclude by saying that learning about your style is on going. We don't know everything about ourselves all at once so we shouldn't buy our clothes all at once. Buy deliberately and try to not shop like an 8th grade girl. Build a wardrobe as you grow older and you'll discover what works for you slowly and make less sartorial mistakes a long the way. I mean, if we're building a wardrobe to wear the rest of our lives, don't we have the rest of our lives to build it?

Sidenote: I really hate the low-rise jeans and skinny tie look. The tie is ridiculously long and makes your torso look longer than it should. A couple solutions, get a higher rise, or get a sweater that breaks up the tie's length. I was going to post a picture, but I could only find pictures of bloggers who aren't assholes. No reason to point fingers so you'll have to go media-less this post.