How I Got Dressed: One Pair of Jeans, Two Ways
I really liked how my last fits in #waywt turned out, especially since they were both wearing a pair of new-to-me Lemaire Twisted Belted Pants and similar components otherwise. Inspired by @TheVirt and @Elvander making similar posts I figured it was worth going through the process, if only for my own reference.
It's worth noting I had a broad idea of what to wear as a way to help decide whether or not to buy the jeans in the first place. Through time and effort and gathering #inspiration, I have a fairly strong idea of what styles I like - 90s inspired traditional menswear with exaggerated shapes and/or bold color, ex. https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1349774006516977747/1349788414739877898 https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1375865932345245818/1376321319812993234 https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1409568005263724544/1409874200990187520 or stuff from Popeye and Fudge Magazines. Looking within that, I saw several examples of wide legged, dark pants that fit the bill (such as this, this, and this ). I feel thinking about what inspires you and what you already own, especially before buying, makes the outfit building process easier and often faster. It's not always needed, but in this case it helped me. (cont)
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DAY 1
My general thinking goes through a series of questions to an overall idea:
1. Am I going in-office or in [government agency building] today?
Not this day, so I didn't have to address expectations of formality or professionalism.
(in-office days one, two )
2. What (else) am I doing today?
On this day, nothing special. Sometimes I have a lot of walking in store and wear sneakers, or I'll be out for a lengthy time and need a giant pocket/bag to carry food/water/power bank, or will need to dress for some other event (green for St. Patrick's Day, Nats hat for home games, etc.)
3. What's the weather like?
Typical: DC summer, warm, humid and sunny. It wasn't 100+ degrees, but still hot enough to not wear a jacket, especially since I wasn't going in-office.
4. Is there anything else I want to do/show/convey with clothes?
My only intent was to wear the jeans; no deeper intent beyond that.
Working through all of this, the overall idea for me was "I want to wear these jeans without overheating, but don't need to worry about HR/anything else."
Initially I was going to wear a t-shirt like so but in seeing more of how people wore the jeans (particularly Rohbertoh and boneboy) I saw similar themes: loose button ups, rolled-up sleeves, tucked shirt, low profile pointed shoes, and not much more. The lack of patterns/accessories give a sense of ease, while the shapes formed by the shirt and pant drape give some visual interest without being too in your face, common for Lemaire and their product pics.
I couldn't find a reason to go against that - physically or mentally - and so used that as a base. I only added a few accessories (cap because of the heat, watch, a thin necklace, rings) and undid a few buttons, but I think the fit is effective because there's not much else present.
DAY 2
1. Am I going in-office or in [government agency building] today?
This was a Saturday, so no.
2. What (else) am I doing today?
My favorite activity, wandering around farmers markets, flea markets, and a local consignment shop to try on stuff, but no other function.
3. What's the weather like?
It started off cool and windy, and then turned relatively warm and sunny, though not as warm as the previous day.
4. Is there anything else I want to do/show/convey with clothes?
Like the previous fit, I wanted to wear the jeans but I also wanted to avoid ripping off Lemaire styling; I didn't want to feel locked into one set way of wearing these jeans so quickly.
That all led to a formula "button down + twisted jeans + slip on shoes that can get dirty + outer layer easy to remove, without copying Lemaire", but that describes many of my clothes, so I needed another way to narrow the options down.
Some things could be ruled out easily: wool coats were too warm, blazers were difficult to carry when warm, wool sweaters were hard to clean. Before going through inspo pics , I went through my #waywt posts first, seeing what good fits I had in winter to serve as inspiration, like @The Teenage Gentleman lol. The effect is similar to using others as inspo but with the added bonuses of knowing how I felt wearing it/what to improve.
This fit, which was inspired by this fit from Fudge magazine, stuck out because of the the tiers that formed from the sweater fold, shirt tails and cuff. Because the sweater was too warm, I switched it for a Manresa loopwheel hoody, which worked well: the kangaroo pouch was visually similar to the sweater fold and was a pocket for a power bank, and I tied it around my waist or over my shoulders when it got warm.
Things flowed pretty easily from the inspo pics:
- an untucked shirt that I could shove into suit pants if needed,
- socks for trying on shoes,
- Sebago Dan lug sole loafers (look good but beater loafers)
- bright red beanie; the monochrome fit as it stood felt really harsh, and I figured something bright and colorful would counter that
- rolled the jeans a little to simulate the cuff on my old fit, but then kept increasing the size; the extra crop felt more intentional and felt socks being pulled over the sweats in the original inspo pic.
- bought a tote bag that day lol
Whereas the previous fit was easy going, this one is stark and graphic, despite both starting off as the same outfit, a white button down, twisted jeans and black loafers. I don't always go into that much depth into a fit, especially for a Saturday, but doing so helps in my ability to dress with intention.
Thank you for sharing this! It was a neat read, and I'd love to see more like it from you (and others too, if they can be strongarmed into doing it). But uh fyi the Day 2 [This fit] and [this fit from Fudge] links didn't work for me; I get a "This content is no longer available" error message. That's on desktop, haven't tried on the app.
thank you! 👍 and thanks for the heads up on the links!
for reference, the first fit was from fudge mag, the second was from march 2025, and the third was from last weekend. there's no direct copying from 1-2 or 2-3 but i find that's often the case - the key is in picking what you like about the inspiration image and seeing if/how you can achieve it with your own clothes.
