Something I dislike about all these "how to improve your wardrobe" articles is that they give you a generic cookie-cutter shopping list. This is a terrible way to build a wardrobe because it just swaps out one generic thing for another. It's much better to: 🧵
A lot of people confuse "fit" with "silhouette." Just because something is baggy doesn't mean it doesn't fit. "Fit" is much more useful when it's narrowly defined, such as collar gaps, pulling at the waist, hip pockets that flare, etc.
2. Think About Silhouettes
Think of clothing as shapes, and figure out what kind of shapes you want to wear on your body. There are lots of possible shapes: carrot-cut trousers, straight trousers, rounded tops, elongating coats, wide shoulders, etc.
Don't just combine random things. Think of what your outfit conveys in terms of cultural language. Do you like traditional tailoring, workwear, minimalism, maximalism, or avant-garde? What cultural histories do these draw from?
When you think of clothing as a cultural language, it's much easier to figure out what to wear. For example, my friend @Barima_ON wears wild colors. But it's not just a mish-mash of random stuff. It draws from eras like the London peacock revolution. Outfit has cultural meaning
In the original article, they have you swap one generic outfit for another generic outfit. In five years, they'll tell you to switch it again. You may not end up liking the clothes because: 1) they may not fit or flatter; 2) they may not feel like "you."
Guys never look stylish when they do this because it just looks like they bought their wardrobe through a clothing subscription service. Here's Colbert in a sleek bomber, luxurious joggers, and minimalist sneakers. The outfit doesn't fit his "vibe."
Finding your aesthetic requires some experimentation, but it's not just buying into a cookie-cutter shopping list. Here are four great outfits with very different vibes/ aesthetics, but they all look great because they fit the person.
Years ago, I interviewed Keri Langerman, a costume designer who worked on Moonrise Kingdom. IMO, it helps to think like a costume designer, as they understand the communicative power of clothing. She gave some tips on how to do this here:
This can all sound very daunting, as it's like learning a new language. But it's better than going on this endless cycle of updating your wardrobe with clothes you don't love. Some other useful articles:
People are misunderstanding my point. It's not that brown shoes are wrong with dark suits. It's that tan shoes, in particular, are wrong with dark suits. It's also not about naval history but rather regional traditions. I will explain in this thread. 🧵
The suit was a British invention that spread around the world through the rise of Empire. So it's natural that England, and London in particular, set the standards for how to wear a coat and tie. During this period, certain traditions, cuts, and styles emerged.
As I've mentioned before, one such tradition is that men had wardrobes divided between city and country. City was for business, where men wore dark worsted suits with white shirts and black oxfords. Country was for sport, where they'd wear tweeds, tattersalls, and brown derbies,
Color works in a very specific way when it comes to fashion. But before I go on, I don't want my following thread to color your views. So let's start by asking: Which of these two outfits looks better to you? Choose before going on. 🧵
IMO, color should not be treated as a kind of abstract pseudo-science (e.g., blue looks good with brown). While those principles may be true, they are secondary to a more important consideration: the social language of clothing. What's the aesthetic you're operating in?
Let's take traditional tailoring. As I've mentioned before, many of our traditions for men's tailoring come from Britain, where men of a certain social class had wardrobes divided between city and country. Men wore stuff like navy suits in the city and brown tweeds in the country
i dont understand how this is the alpha male look nowadays. if these clothes were any tighter, they'd be inside him
Again, I disagree that wearing tight clothes necessarily makes for a more masculine silhouette. People should pay more attention to how clothes create shapes on your body. And even if you have a very masculine, athletic figure, tight clothes make for a more feminine silhouette
To clarify, these shapes do not necessarily mean anything for the people beneath the clothes. But in classic Western aesthetics, the masculine form is shoulders wider than the hips. The feminine silhouette is the opposite.
The producer of Ben Shapiro's show reached out to me to see if I'd like to discuss Ben's attire on his show. Like with Piers Morgan, since Ben invited feedback, I will do a thread comparing him to a menswear icon—this time, Ralph Lauren's Polo Bear. 🧵
Unlike his colleagues, Ben's tailoring is not bad. Jackets have shape and fit him well. Compare his jacket to Peterson's, which looks like it was dunked in water (the small collar gap on Ben would be filled if he wore a dress shirt). Tonal seersucker in the second pic is cool
Unfortunately, a tailor can only do so much. They only make your clothes, not put them on you. For men of a certain social class, this task would have been historically performed by a valet. Such a relationship was hilariously depicted in the British TV show Jeeves and Wooster
For a brief moment in 2018, J. Crew offered these "canoeist smocks" inspired by something elite British naval officers wore during WWII. The design was so cool—the kind of thing you'd typically only see from specialty Japanese brands.
The brand is in a much better position now than it was in 2020 (when it filed for bankruptcy). For a moment, it almost became like Old Navy. But the company's outerwear designs now are less risky, less exciting, and less complex. They use simple patterns and seams.
When people talk about quality, they often talk about the garment's fabric or durability. I often think of quality in terms of the garment's complexity. This smock was available in ripstop cotton ($298) or Ventile ($450). Not cheap, but well-made and tons of details for money.
Who dresses better? Alpha males or aristocratic babies? Let's explore. 🧵
Tristan Tate's trousers are too slim to achieve proper drape. His jacket is also too short.
Andrea Casiraghi—who's fourth in line to the Monegasque throne—wears fuller-cut white trousers. His blazer ends halfway from his collar to the floor when he's in heeled shoes.
Justin Waller's sleeve is too tight, which causes the sleeve to ride up his arm. This reveals a gauche cuff monogram.
Young Charles, the future King of England, wears a sleeve fit for his arm. He does not monogram his shirt cuffs, as this is bad taste.