Trying to find a style for myself
From the bottom of my feet, to the top of my hair, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing with fashion and am trying to learn. Any and all feedback on me or my outfits is welcome, prefferably with why you think something if you'd be so kind! The pictures of colors attached are supposedly my color analysis.
10 Replies
Hi @John.exe! For better answers, include:
- Reference pictures
- Budget in numbers
- Specific measurements
- Openness to buying secondhand and/or online
- Location: country/continent is fine
- Timing/urgency
I'd also really welcome advice on my facial hair and hair styles that might suit me. One thing I've heard is a reccomendation to grow it longer.
off the top this isn't a server to give/get hair advice; you'll want to get that elsewhere
recurring things i notice
- pant-shoe clashes, not just the style (athletic sneakers + dress pants in 6) but the scale (slim fit pants plus chunky sneakers)
- you've got several slim fit pants (2, 3, 5, 6) wherein i'd personally wear pants that aren't as slim/tapered (1, 4)
- 4 is probably my favorite of the set minus shoes, but on the whole the fits aren't really "saying" anything other than "these are clothes i put on my body". that may be fine if that is your goal but if not you'll want to dress with more intention
imo best things you can do
- read this thread and the linked article https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1419714867191087104
- ignore or else take color analysis with a grain of salt; it's largely subjective but this gets into it more https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1221126313717268560
- possibly more important, figure out what you want to look like. go through #waywt-highlights or #inspiration or social media and see what pictures you think are good fits - ignore the person, try to focus on the clothes. you'll likely see some common themes (people in jeans, or suits, or big pants, etc) and from there can narrow down into what to wear/buy
- stick around and browse the discord. depending on what/how you want to change this may take time (it usuallh does), but mfad has a wealth of knowledge and encouragement at your disposal
This is probably a dumb question but it's also the single biggest thing I struggle with and I appreciate your thoughtfulness so..
On your most important point, how do you -know- what you want to look like? I have never been drawn to look a certain way, even after having seen a number of outfits that I think look good - but not necessarily on me.
Is that something you think other people struggle with? Did you just start off -knowing- you wanted a certain aesthetic? Or did you keep trying things and eventually realized you had preferences?
trying things is a huge part of it. looking at stuff and thinking "thats sick what if i did that" is a great way to start. it can be as introspective as u want it to be.
for lots of us who have been thinking about this shit for a long time, youre kinda never done. its just growth, iteration, and direction changes based on any number of factors and to varying degrees.
A lot of the time the whole “i like this fit but not on me” thing can just be a mental block
Dont get me wrong - theres a lot of fits and people out there who i think look sick as hell but not in a way i’d ever choose for myself - but especially starting out, its pretty easy to tell yourself that a look/fit are too “out there” for you personally, because youve only really ever been used to dressing in simple ways
to directly answer the q here its always been a pretty good mix of nature and nurture for me. i’ve always known the rough ideas and looks id like to express for myself but those got further refined over time as i wore more shit and looked at more shit. Trying stuff on and getting out of my comfort zone in little ways were the two big things that contributed to my refinement or broadening of my tastes
i still dress pretty damn basic but youd be surprised the amount of fairly staple wardrobe things i would have considered “never for me” just 2 or 3 years back
Thank you, I really appreciate your perspectives 🙂 . In particular I feel like hearing "it can be as introspective as you want it to be" is really helpful for me - it should be obvious, but I think I can get too in my head and psyche myself out quickly, and it might be easier to just start at "this looks cool". Also on nature vs nurture, I feel like it's not as intuitive for me nature wise, but hearing your journey and knowing that you did gain a better idea over time and were able to grow to like certain things gives me confidence. I think that I'm capable of gravitating towards a direction through change in perspective, and it's cool that you're able to look back and reflect on how your tastes grew with you.
my journey with clothes has been VERY long and was one of the ways i helped myself work on some insecurities around identity as a teen. I bet a lot of people who dress a lot cooler lookin than me just want to have stuff that makes em look cool. one of the most interesting and fun things about this medium is it can go as deep or surface level as you wish for it to
this isn't a dumb question, and it's something other people address when they start thinking about clothes like that.
i had a common start to fashion - dress formally but with a twist to try and impress people. this wasn't really sustainable and i bobbed around wearing clothes i thought were impressive or were good value for years until recognizing that nothing felt quite right because i didn't have a fully defined self concept
i did a lot of looking at inspiration and experimentation to figure that out (search in #waywt for my old posts and you'll see) - i'd get misgivings sometimes, because i didn't know how something looked beyond my own neuroses or was inspired by someone that didn't resemble me (a middle aged black guy). acting on those thoughts helps considerably imo, and it gets easier with time as you do
That's wonderful, I'm happy you kept trying and have gotten to a point you can take lessons from the past like that! I feel like I have a relatable origin and honestly a big part of why I think I'm starting to channel myself this way is because I want to make those mistakes and learn from them. I've been treating it a little too binary, where I figured fashion was a form of expression that I just lacked the intuition for, but how else can you develop self concept than by challenging your beliefs and reflecting on the experience? Big words for someone just starting, but thank you for inspiring me 🙂