daily decision

Observation:
Every once and a while in the morning when I'm getting dressed I'm struck with immediate and complete inspiration as to what I want to wear that day. From head to toe, I have a vision. That's rare. And that most certainly wasn't this morning. Normally I have one article of clothing in mind that I want to wear, and then I try to fashion the rest of the look around it. Today I knew that I wanted to wear my red Chuck's, and built the look from there. Some days there's a particular pair of jeans that I wish to sport, or perhaps a tie. The base piece, around which my daily ensemble is built, varies from one day to the next.
 Question:
What do you do? Do you build it around a particular piece that you want to wear, or do you have an entirely different way of doing things?

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clothing inspiration from dad

My dad and I aren't very similar when it comes to clothing preferences.  But there have been a few things over the years that have both impressed me and rubbed off on me.

Corduroy: When I was little, I remember my dad wearing corduroy pants to work a lot.  In his job he was over a chain of restaurants and in that position he did everything from hiring managers to replacing water heaters.  Consequently he had to wear something that could be both rugged for working on the roof as well as clean and classy for meeting with people.  I don't know how others see corduroy; frankly, I don't care how others see them, because that's how they'll always be in my mind.   I've almost always had one pair of them in my wardrobe; probably because they remind me of him.  My last pair died a year ago, and I've been keeping my eyes open for the next pair to come along.

Ties:  My dad has worn his fair share of ties in his life; and they've all been maroon.  As far back as I can remember, he has always preferred them to ties of any other color.  He'll get new ones for Fathers' Day or at other occasions where gifts are appropriate, so they're generally up with current trends in neckwear, but they're always the same color.  Now, I must say that I've never really wanted to go with one color only, but I do respect sticking to something that works for you.  If it ain't broke...


Loafers:  My dad doesn't really wear loafers much, but a few years back he gave me a pair of his shoes that I absolutely loved (as seen in this post).  Normally I would never take a pair of used shoes (yuck!), but for some reason, I was ok with getting some from my dad.  They've been a little under the weather lately, but I'm trying to come up with ways to fix them.  They're a treasure to my closet.


Accessories:  I don't think that he'd like to hear them called accessories, but there are a few things that he is never to be found without: a Victorinox mini pocketknife and a Casio watch.  

(Images from casio.com and swissarmy.com)

He's been through a lot of watches and has probably lost a dozen of those little knives to airport security, but I think that he'll sport them for many years to come.  They're just so blasted practical!  I've tried to carry one of those pocketknives before, but after loosing my third one after 3 days of carrying it, I'm done.

I'll stop there and spare you from any more sentiment, but I think that it's important to grab inspiration from others even if they don't match your personal style.  I don't think that I'll dump out all of my non-maroon ties anytime soon, but I'll definitely hold on to those loafers that he gave me for as long as possible.
Wear it well,
Adam

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a case for clothing

I think that we can agree that clothing is generally better than none. It protects us from the elements, other people, blah, blah, etc. Some of us love clothing; some of us don't care; some of us love it, but wonder if we really should care at all. My answer is yes. Yes we should care; and here's why:

I used to worry that if I were to start dressing with more care then others would see me as the kind of person who cares about what other people think. "Guess what:" said the voice inside my head whom I've named Steve, "choosing to not dress in a certain way for fear that other people will think that you fear what they think of you is exactly that: caring about what other people think about you. Get over it, and put on those wing-tips."

People will think something of me regardless, and, to an extent, I can help shape in their mind what they think of me. Manipulative? Nope. It's just taking PR into your own hands. Not only can it help shape how others see you, but how you see yourself.

It doesn't mean that you have to buy expensive clothing or read Vogue. It means that you make the conscious decision of what message you're going to send to others and to yourself.

I don't have to wear a dress shirt and blazer to work, but it makes me feel a little more distinguished, a little more confident, and a little more capable. Oh, no! What if other people notice? Good. What if someone someone compliments you? Grand. What if someone asks why you're dressed up? Tell them that you knew that you'd see them and that you wanted to dress for the occasion. Instead of putting on nicer clothes just for that date where you want to impress, dress to impress everyday, because you never know whose attention you'll want to grab when you go out.

I'll shut up now, but, seriously: since we have to wear clothes, and since others will form opinions of us anyway, we might as well put our best foot forward and help them see the intelligent, confident, and capable person hidden somewhere in there.

Note the difference.


As Joey Ramone said: "Hey! Ho! Let's go!"
Wear it well,
Adam

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I walk the line

I have a problem: my interests are all over the map and each one of them has its own style and look that appeals to me. For example, in a previous post I mentioned that I love music and that it influences my personal style. Sinatra is a good example: I love his voice, his music, and his style. I'd be a happy camper if I could wear a sweet three-piece or tuxedo for the rest of my days:

Minus the beard though.
Fun fact: I've been told by two different people that If I were to grow a beard I would look like Jafar from Disney's Aladdin or Satan. Conclusion: I'll continue to shave.

On the flipside of my coin of interests, we find newer sounds and looks from bands like The Strokes:

Whenever I go shopping I normally don't buy anything because I can't decide if I want to get some patent leather lace-ups or new hi-tops that already look 5 years used. What to do?
My current wardrobe has some pieces from each camp, but is a little heavier on the shirt and tie side. This week I'm going to go for both looks, with some days focusing on the classy business side and other days on the bold cover of Rolling Stone Magazine side. I'll post photos each day as I sport them to school and work where I'll confuse my coworkers with the bipolarity of my choices from one day to the next.
Until then, wear it well.
Adam

(photos from H&M and NME.com respectively)

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Like a rock star.

Sometimes I'm classy. Sometimes I'm academic. Sometimes I'm a rock star.
All three of these aspects of my personality effect how I dress. But since we'll have lots of time to talk about #1, and since #2 is boring for most, let's look at #3, shall we? For it is this part of me that makes me hum The Ramones while I brush my teeth. It's that part that makes me wish that I could rock it like Freddie. It's that part of me that keeps join a band my Plan D in life. Sometimes, we all need something like that.
I'm thinking that it is a safe to say that most of us, at one point or another, have looked at some musician and said to ourselves, "Man, that guy looks epic." The goal of this post is to help you figure out how to look in the mirror and say, "Man, I look just as epic."
Over the last few years, there have been a few groups whose music I have really gotten into and whose style has really altered my own. Here are just a few:

Brandon Flowers
The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers has a style that I have come to love and appreciate. Sometimes it's a little extravagant (but, hey, he's a rock star), but at other times it's spot-on rocker classy.

The above picture was a look of his that I loved and wanted to recreate. To do so, I grabbed my once black jeans, a slim fitting white dress shirt with an interesting collar, and a black vest that I once bought on an impulse. I wasn't sure as to how it would look, but in the end, I was rather pleased with it. Here's how it turned out:


Matt Bellamy
Matt has had an interesting transition from a goth-punk look (wholly unfortunate) to a cleaner, hipper look. In the last few years he's worn a v-neck t with a red suit, he's worn some sweet jackets, and other classy, yet eccentric looks. Here's a favorite (he's in the middle):

The alternating black and white is clean, classy, and a little flashy. I love wearing black and white, so this inspired a few looks for me. Here's one:

It's not always about copying what you see; but about taking certain elements that you like and incorporating them into your style. I don't expect you to go for the same looks that I go for, but you shouldn't be afraid of looking for inspiration from new places (i.e. the bands that you listen to). If some of the looks are a little bold for you, that's not necessarily a bad thing; sometimes a little boldness is what you need. White pants!

Looks from other favorite bands
Here are just a few other people from bands that I like. Just to inspire...or not. Take what you will.

Nick Valensi from The Strokes

OK GO

Rooney

Go find something that you like, use what you have to make it work for you, then stage dive off of your cubical at work. Why? Because you're wearing the pants for it.
Cheers!
Adam

(photos from www.muse.mu, www.okgo.net, www.last.fm/music/Nick+Valensi, www.brandonflowersmusic.com, www.rooney-band.com)

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