Some people are incredulous that you can wear certain shoes without socks, such as leather loafers. Much depends on your body and climate. But I'll tell you one reason why you find this difficult to believe: you buy low quality footwear. 🧵 It's absolutely possible to wear certain shoes without socks. As mentioned in an earlier thread, men have been doing this for over a hundred years. Going sockless makes sense if the outfit is semi-casual (not business clothes).

Tim is right and wrong here. I'll tell you where he's right and where he's wrong. 🧵 It's perfectly fine to wear slip-on shoes without socks. Those who suggest otherwise are simply ignorant and unaware about the history of men's dress.

You don't have to take my word for it. We can go back to Apparel Arts.

I get this sort of comment all the time, often about bespoke suits or mechanical watches. "These things are boring," "This is only for rich people," or "Who cares?"

Let me tell you a story. 🧵 Before the age of ready-to-wear, men had clothes made for them, either in the home or, if they could afford one, by a tailor. Ready-made clothing was limited to simple workwear, such as what was worn by sailors or miners.

Tailoring shop, 1780:

I will tell you why on earth. 🧵

https://twitter.com/peddiepascal/status/1943401511377342543

As I've stated many times, suit jackets and sport coats are made from many layers of material, including haircloth, canvas, and padding. These layers give the garment its structure so it doesn't fall on you like a t-shirt or dress shirt.

I found this reply interesting ("Can those foreign companies open shop in the US?")

I don't think Japanese or South Korean menswear can be made in the US. At least, not without losing something. Let's explore why. 🧵 I should state at the outset that no thread will do Japanese or South Korean fashion justice because these countries are fashion powerhouses. Japan alone covers everything from Yohji Yamamoto to And Wander to WTAPS.

It's Impossible to generalize, but we can discuss aspects.

This ended up raising $5,000 for @feederofcats, so here's a thread on whether President Zelenskyy wore a suit. 🧵

https://twitter.com/dieworkwear/status/1938326895692812532

Ahead of the NATO summit last month, President Zelenskyy arrived at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch wearing this outfit: a black jacket with matching black pants and a black shirt. Many debated whether this qualifies as a suit, as there's a $50M bet on it at Polymarket.

Any time I talk about a wealthy person's outfit, someone in the comments is quick to reply: "They're rich, you think they care?" No one has to care about my opinions or clothes, regardless of net worth.

But let's talk about the connection between wealth and aesthetics 🧵 About a year ago, Tucker Carlson told Chris Cuomo that "postmodern architecture" is intentionally designed to deaden the spirit. The clip was widely circulated online by people such as Benny Johnson, who seemingly agreed.

Trump released a $250 fragrance (one for women, one for men).

Sometimes a fragrance can be expensive because it contains certain ingredients or involve artisanal, small-batch production. But with no note breakdown or even a description of the scent, what justifies this price?

I'm reminded of this 2016 blog post by Luca Turin, one of the best writers on fragrances. Even for niche perfumery he warns: "Niche perfumery stands a good chance of disappearing up its own rear end if it merely becomes yet another golden opportunity to rip off the customer."

People think I'm biased against Jeff Bezos, but here's F. Caraceni Sartoria, widely considered one of the best bespoke tailoring houses in the world, commenting on Bezos's wedding suit.

"The most terrible, frightening, horrible tuxedo ever seen in my life. I'm really suffering"
Nothing to do with politics, only quality tailoring. F. Caraceni made suits for Silvio Berlusconi, who was hardly beloved by progressives. Many people don't know much about tailoring, which is fine, but this doesn't mean that rich or expensive = good.

Caraceni's work:

Since my tweet about Jeff Bezos, I've been getting a lot of replies such as these. "Where do these dress rules come from?" "When do they change?"

These are very good questions, so let me answer them. 🧵 Let's first run through some experiments. Please make up your mind at each step, so you are not influenced by what I'm about to say.

Here are two men wearing tailored jackets with jeans. Which do you think looks better?

Let me make the case for why the NHL should abolish its dress code, which currently requires players to wear a suit and tie while heading to and from games. 🧵

https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1938244691817889992

The arguments I've seen for the dress code fall into one of two categories: players look better in a coat-and-tie (some use descriptions such as "classy"). Others say that requiring players to dress in this way shows respect for the game. I will address each argument in turn.

It's true that progressives valorize "ugliness." But I think this person doesn't interrogate this position enough and thus lands at the wrong conclusion.

Let me give you a new perspective on ugliness. 🧵 In popular discourse, the world was once good, people were virtuous, and all things were beautiful. Then modernity came along and destroyed everything. In this view, beauty is an objective standard that has been corrupted by liberalism.

Earlier this week, I asked which tie knot you think looks better. Of course, you can wear whichever you like. But here's the social history behind both knots and why some people consider one better than the other. 🧵

https://twitter.com/dieworkwear/status/1934676592955150422

In the mid-19th century, as ready-to-wear tailoring started to take form, people got around in horse-drawn carriages. After all, the car had not yet been invented. During this time, some formed driving clubs, where they rode drags.

Check out the text in this lithograph:

People keep asking me to do a thread breaking down why these suits don't look great. I gather that these are famous, very well accomplished F1 drivers (I don't know these people). Since I only talk about famous people, I will do a thread. 🧵 Please note nothing in this thread is meant to diminish the men in these clothes. If anything, it's the people who dressed them that failed them. I am only talking about the clothes. Hopefully, by pointing out these issues, you will learn something for when you're shopping.

The US Army celebrated its 250th year today with a massive parade in Washington, DC. It appears @ComfortablySmug believes that this is an appropriate tie for the occasion.

I disagree and I'll tell you why. 🧵

https://twitter.com/ComfortablySmug/status/1934014868979597805

It's once again worth reminding that men's dress used to be governed by time, place, and occasion (TPO). If you were of a certain social station and had to do a certain thing, you were expected to wear a certain outfit.

This tradition can be seen in men's neckwear.

I think Brad Pitt's suit is interesting. And I'll tell you why. 🧵

https://twitter.com/KevDublin/status/1933672629761946073

This is the suit in question. It's a bespoke suit by Anderson & Sheppard in London. The cloth is a 60/40 mohair-wool blend from Standeven's "Carnival" book. The stylist was George Cortina.

To understand why this suit is interesting, you have to know a bit about tailoring history

This is untrue.

I see you're a luxury watch dealer. I'm also interested in watches. Let me show you how free and easy migration has allowed you to earn a living. 🧵

https://twitter.com/CoreyWiley/status/1932512565424160847

In 1881, Hans Wilsdorf was born in Bavaria, then part of Germany, to parents who died not long after he was born. At a young age, Wilsdorf set off into the world. He landed in England in 1903, which at the time had virtually no formal immigration controls.

I can tell you who goes to cobblers. And a bit about the trade. 🧵 In the 18th century, men got shoes from two types of people. The upper classes went to cordwainers, who measured feet and made shoes from scratch. The lower working-classes went to cobblers, who cobbled together shoes using scraps from salvaged pre-owned footwear.

An offhand comment about how Prince Harry doesn't dress very well seems to have stirred up his fans. So here's a thread on how both Harry and William don't dress well when compared to the older men in their family — and how this represents a broader decline in taste. 🧵 I should say at the outset that I don't care about the drama surrounding the Royal family. I don't care if you're Team Markle or Team Middleton or Team whatever. I am simply talking about clothes. The following is also not meant to be personal jabs; just an honest review.

I respectfully disagree. To me, this represents a poor financial decision. Let me show you why. 🧵

https://twitter.com/BasedSatori/status/1928219853246050555

When we zoom in on the wallet, we see the label "Saint Laurent Paris," a French luxury fashion house that became popular about ten years ago when Kanye started wearing the label. This was also when Hedi Slimane was at the company's creative helm.

When I was on a menswear forum, navy trousers were of great controversy. Discussions about them lasted many years, resulting in long-lasting rivalries. Sometimes people refrained from speaking about them out of fear of dredging up old debates.

Here's a thread on navy pants 🧵

https://twitter.com/VolbeckWasRight/status/1926328988521091247

First, I should state at the outset that there's no way to have this conversation without, in some way, speaking crudely about certain classes of people. I make no judgements about their worth or dignity. I am only describing the semiotics of men's dress.