Fashion

Objective

I am pretty much hopeless fashion wise. At least at the time of starting this note. I know very little about fashion to begin with. And the little that I know, I struggle to implement, because I prefer comfort over something that looks nice, and I prefer not shopping to shopping.
That being said, the aim here is to understand a little more about men's fashion with the primary aim of dressing and looking better. Additionally, there will likely be a bunch of things that I learn along the way which will be interesting, even if I don't use it in my own closet.

Starting Point

While this wasn't a video that I specifically searched for in order to learn about fashion, I got started with this casually explained video on men's fashion . The key takeaways that I have from this video are:

• There are some principles of fashion that I ought to learn and follow. For example, the fit of clothes matters immensely. Presumably, I could learn a little about matching colours, and picking outfits for specific occasions, if I search for some of these underlying pricniples.

• There are a few genres of men's fashion. There seem to be different ways of organising them. But for my purpose, organising them according to occasion or situation is the best route.

Occasions of Interest

As a starting point, without having to consult too many experts on the internet, I ought to be able to list out the major occasions or types of clothing that are relevant to me. And as I learn more about fashion and find gaps in my closet, I can always add new occasions. I assume that while there are some fashion principles which are applicable across the board, each of these occasions of wear will have some trends or types of clothes which work best. Within each occasion, I intend to also learn what works and what doesn't, and thus build up my closet in these smaller groups.

• [[ formal clothing ]] (business attire of any sort)

• [[ home clothing ]] (for just at home comfort)

• [[ social clothing ]] (social occasions ranging from fancy to casual to leisurely)

• [[ sports clothing ]] (specifically for sporting activities)

• [[ weather centric clothing ]] (for rain, winter etc)

Basics of Men's Fashion

Now that I have listed out my key clothing occasions, it's time for me to learn something about the principles of fashion, or of dressing better. As a starting point, I searched youtube for "men's fashion", and watched these 2 videos.

• Style Fundamentals | How to Build a Good Outfit

• Mr Tom Ford's 6 Rules of Style | Mr Porter

So, here's some of what I have learnt from these videos.

1. fitting clothes

   Clothes need to fit "well". Exactly how tight or loose which clothes can be in which areas, is still something that I need to figure out.

2. colour of clothes

   The general rule of thumb is that less colour is better. Specifically, neutral colours are easier to manage. The neutral colours are black, grey, white, navy, brown, khaki and creamish colours. Upto 3 colours can be safely worn, as long as 2 of them are neutral. More than 3 colours can be worn, and bolder colours can be worn, but that is tougher to pull off, unless you know how.

3. [[ texture of clothes ]]

   This is less obvious, but can make a difference. It is safe to wear something with no visible texture at all (like formals). Trying to pull off the same texture all across the outfit can look a little silly. Beyond this, I need to learn more about how to pair and select textures.

4. [[ clothing shape ]]

   Also called silhouette, this is different from the fit of any one piece. This is the shape that the combination of clothes takes, including items like jackets, footwear, headgear and so on. This need not necessarily fit perfectly, but can be tight in some places and loose in others. But I have a lot to learn here, since I can't een imagine what sort of shapes would work, if not for a perfect fit.

5. [[ clothing accessories ]]

   This is a space to subtly or boldly express one's self. Making accessories match each other, or the outfit can really make the outfit pop. There seems to be a lot that I can explore in this space to try and round out outfits.

6. [[ functionality of clothes ]]

   Clothing should not be uncomfortable, should match the dress code, and shouldn't in any way be a burden to wear.

7. [[ essentials ]]

   There seem to be some clothes which a closet isn't complete without. The video focuses on more formal or fancy wear, but I'm sure I ought to compile such a list for other occasions as well. For example, a few white shirts, which are crisply ironed. A smart, well fitting suit, that makes one's body dimensions look on point. A dark brown suede jacket, and in general a dark brown clothing look. A classic, velvet tuxedo, rich in colours which pop and aren't as boring. A smart and confident fragrance, which you can call your own.

Advanced Reading

With some grasp on the basics, it's important for me to also figure out what sort of clothing items exist in each category, and how to pick them. To this end, I decided to read men’s style manual in order to find some answers. It was a very comprehensive guide to how to dress at least in the space of more formal clothing. Even in the case of social occasions, I think it provides some pretty good guidance. It fel a little more on the fancy side for my taste. It was also very America/Europe centric. So, some adjustment for price range, weather and culture definitely needs to be done. But the summary of my notes there should prove to be quite useful.

Some other videos that I intend to watch and learn from are: 10 style tips I wish I knew earlier