Author Topic: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40  (Read 8902 times)

Zoot

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WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« on: July 26, 2017, 08:32:34 AM »
https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-be-that-guy-avoiding-over-40-style-pitfalls-1500568736?mod=e2fb

Excerpt:

"Above: Officine Générale Jacket, $1,325, bygeorgeaustin.com; Polo Shirt, $125, sunspel.com; Jeans, $125, sidmashburn.com; Sneakers, $845, Brunello Cucinelli, 212-334-1010

1. THE ZIP CODE Between a mid-life-crisis biker jacket and an overly collegiate fleece, lies the distinguished suede bomber. Wear it over a polo with enough heft to its fabric that it won’t cling.

2. BEST DENIM Dark-washed, straight- legged (read: not Al-Bundy baggy) and free of distressing or intentional holes: These are the jeans every dad should aspire to. Wear them with under-the-radar, solid leather sneakers to finish off a dignified downtime look."


The outfit described above rings up at $2,420, and it's jeans, a polo, sneakers, and a jacket.  I'm female, and my husband is very Mustachian about clothes, so I have no idea if these prices are de rigeur in men's fashion, but wow--the mind just boggles.

I feel so extravagant when I buy $15 jeans at Costco--I think my brain would melt if I spent $125 on a pair of jeans, to say nothing of $1,325 on a jacket.  ;-)

lizzzi

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2017, 09:09:46 AM »
I bought my husband a leather bomber-type jacket from L.L. Bean in 1995 for around $180. I think they run around $300 now. He wore it until he died in 2014--so almost 20 years, and always looked nice. Guys don't have to spend those ridiculous prices to get  nice, classic clothing. I agree with the OP--my brain would melt at those prices. Also, being neat, clean, and in good shape goes much farther than clothing in making a guy look good--no matter what his age.

TreesBikesLove

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2017, 09:26:03 AM »
being neat, clean, and in good shape goes much farther than clothing in making a guy look good--no matter what his age.

Every fashion article should start with Lizzzi's tip as #1 priority. Being in poor health is not fashionable.

Dicey

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2017, 09:57:11 AM »
First, lizzzi, I'm so sorry for your loss!

Next, I used to sell men's clothes at Nordstrom. Articles like this are written because men need help. What they don't need to do is spend a shit load of money to achieve a timeless look. Read the articles, then recreate the look for a fraction of the cost. It's the mustachian way and it's much more fun than running up a huge tab.

P.S. My brother works at Costco. They all wear those $15 jeans, but many of them take the time to remove the label, lol!

zephyr911

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2017, 10:42:27 AM »
https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-be-that-guy-avoiding-over-40-style-pitfalls-1500568736?mod=e2fb

Excerpt:

"Above: Officine Générale Jacket, $1,325, bygeorgeaustin.com; Polo Shirt, $125, sunspel.com; Jeans, $125, sidmashburn.com; Sneakers, $845, Brunello Cucinelli, 212-334-1010

1. THE ZIP CODE Between a mid-life-crisis biker jacket and an overly collegiate fleece, lies the distinguished suede bomber. Wear it over a polo with enough heft to its fabric that it won’t cling.

2. BEST DENIM Dark-washed, straight- legged (read: not Al-Bundy baggy) and free of distressing or intentional holes: These are the jeans every dad should aspire to. Wear them with under-the-radar, solid leather sneakers to finish off a dignified downtime look."


The outfit described above rings up at $2,420, and it's jeans, a polo, sneakers, and a jacket.  I'm female, and my husband is very Mustachian about clothes, so I have no idea if these prices are de rigeur in men's fashion, but wow--the mind just boggles.

I feel so extravagant when I buy $15 jeans at Costco--I think my brain would melt if I spent $125 on a pair of jeans, to say nothing of $1,325 on a jacket.  ;-)
Advertising has so completely pervaded the publishing industry at this point that even articles not expressly commissioned by fashion designers often end up promoting shit like this. It's always from brands the average person can't afford, because the higher gross margins support bigger ad budgets. I have always laughed it off. I might go look for the affordable version if I see something I really like, or (better yet) wait for one to show up in a thrift store.
I may be an outlier here, but I'd pay that much for jeans if I thought they'd last me a decade and I really liked the fit, not that I ever have (my average is ~$30). Four figures for any article of clothing, however, is just downright stoopid.
My typical business outfit is worth either $30 or $100, and it all comes down to the shoes. I take full advantage of Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro for most of my dress shoes at $15-25, but I still end up buying new ones occasionally. The rest is pretty much all thrift stores.

Laura33

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2017, 10:53:21 AM »
$845 for tennis shoes?!?!  Fuck me.

The Guru

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #6 on: July 26, 2017, 11:22:27 AM »
I tried unsuccessfully to access this article. Then I remembered- I don't give a rat's ass. i just read a similar article a few days ago- no ballcap? No hoodies? Screw that- I'm 40 plus 50% and wear both regularly. Not because they're "trendy"- I'm way past the age of caring about trendy- but because each performs a function. Which, really, is what clothing is intended to do, is it not?

Man, I wish someone would pay me what they pay these self-proclaimed experts to pass off my own personal opinions as undisputed fact.

zephyr911

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2017, 12:22:01 PM »
I tried unsuccessfully to access this article. Then I remembered- I don't give a rat's ass. i just read a similar article a few days ago- no ballcap? No hoodies? Screw that- I'm 40 plus 50% and wear both regularly. Not because they're "trendy"- I'm way past the age of caring about trendy- but because each performs a function. Which, really, is what clothing is intended to do, is it not?

Man, I wish someone would pay me what they pay these self-proclaimed experts to pass off my own personal opinions as undisputed fact.

No shit! I'll be 40 next year and I don't plan on giving up hoodies or ballcaps. If people think less of me, all the better... I want to be underestimated. With any luck, it'll lessen my odds of being robbed.
I plan on dressing more and more like shit as I age just to emphasize the fact that I've succeeded beyond the need to GAF what anyone thinks ;)

Hunny156

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #8 on: July 26, 2017, 03:09:45 PM »
P.S. My brother works at Costco. They all wear those $15 jeans, but many of them take the time to remove the label, lol!

Hubby works in sales, and he gets a ton of logo shirts and jackets.  As in, company logo.  When he would get a new job with a competitor, he sometimes would be sad that he could no longer wear some of these items, which were often of very decent quality.  This is where I would step in with my trusty seam ripper.  It might take me an hour to do each one, but most of those items got a second life once I removed the logo and washed the item, which removed the stitch lines from the old logo.  :)

rockstache

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #9 on: July 26, 2017, 03:51:40 PM »
P.S. My brother works at Costco. They all wear those $15 jeans, but many of them take the time to remove the label, lol!

Hubby works in sales, and he gets a ton of logo shirts and jackets.  As in, company logo.
Yes! I am a lady, but have recently crossed the threshold of having a different color company shirt for each day of the week. They give me these for free. Work uniform FTW!

LalsConstant

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2017, 04:06:55 PM »
Yikes.  If you're going to drop that kind of coin on duds, at least get  advice from someone who does it right...

http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/free-products/

The Guru

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2017, 05:18:53 PM »
I tried unsuccessfully to access this article. Then I remembered- I don't give a rat's ass. i just read a similar article a few days ago- no ballcap? No hoodies? Screw that- I'm 40 plus 50% and wear both regularly. Not because they're "trendy"- I'm way past the age of caring about trendy- but because each performs a function. Which, really, is what clothing is intended to do, is it not?

Man, I wish someone would pay me what they pay these self-proclaimed experts to pass off my own personal opinions as undisputed fact.

No shit! I'll be 40 next year and I don't plan on giving up hoodies or ballcaps. If people think less of me, all the better... I want to be underestimated. With any luck, it'll lessen my odds of being robbed.
I plan on dressing more and more like shit as I age just to emphasize the fact that I've succeeded beyond the need to GAF what anyone thinks ;)

What about gas masks? ;-)

Dicey

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #12 on: July 27, 2017, 07:26:18 AM »
P.S. My brother works at Costco. They all wear those $15 jeans, but many of them take the time to remove the label, lol!

Hubby works in sales, and he gets a ton of logo shirts and jackets.  As in, company logo.  When he would get a new job with a competitor, he sometimes would be sad that he could no longer wear some of these items, which were often of very decent quality.  This is where I would step in with my trusty seam ripper.  It might take me an hour to do each one, but most of those items got a second life once I removed the logo and washed the item, which removed the stitch lines from the old logo.  :)
One of my best White Elephant Sale finds was a new Columbia fleece jacket for $5. It had a logo patch sewn over the embroidered tone-on-tone Columbia logo. So easy to remove. Even though I'd actually been to the place in New Zealand the jacket was promoting, I didn't think the logo was particularly attractive. After a few washings there is no trace of the patch outline. I plan on wearing that jacket for at least a decade or more.

Yesterday, on Senior Day at Goodwill, I saw a nice Patagonia jacket, but the logo had been embroidered directly onto the garment in two places, with tiny, tight stitching. Pass. Not worth the work and I think it would still shadow, even after the stitches were painstakingly picked out.

Stimpy

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #13 on: July 27, 2017, 08:02:39 AM »
https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-be-that-guy-avoiding-over-40-style-pitfalls-1500568736?mod=e2fb

Excerpt:

"Above: Officine Générale Jacket, $1,325, bygeorgeaustin.com; Polo Shirt, $125, sunspel.com; Jeans, $125, sidmashburn.com; Sneakers, $845, Brunello Cucinelli, 212-334-1010
...

Ok, last time I paid that much for sneakers.... It was for 16 pairs!  (And several years of NOT going shoe shopping!) 

As for the rest, just no.  Tee shirt, and Decent Jeans = Height of fashion as far as I am concerned.

zephyr911

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2017, 08:07:24 AM »
I tried unsuccessfully to access this article. Then I remembered- I don't give a rat's ass. i just read a similar article a few days ago- no ballcap? No hoodies? Screw that- I'm 40 plus 50% and wear both regularly. Not because they're "trendy"- I'm way past the age of caring about trendy- but because each performs a function. Which, really, is what clothing is intended to do, is it not?

Man, I wish someone would pay me what they pay these self-proclaimed experts to pass off my own personal opinions as undisputed fact.

No shit! I'll be 40 next year and I don't plan on giving up hoodies or ballcaps. If people think less of me, all the better... I want to be underestimated. With any luck, it'll lessen my odds of being robbed.
I plan on dressing more and more like shit as I age just to emphasize the fact that I've succeeded beyond the need to GAF what anyone thinks ;)

What about gas masks? ;-)
What about this?


LiveLean

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #15 on: July 31, 2017, 03:31:18 PM »
First, lizzzi, I'm so sorry for your loss!

Next, I used to sell men's clothes at Nordstrom. Articles like this are written because men need help. What they don't need to do is spend a shit load of money to achieve a timeless look. Read the articles, then recreate the look for a fraction of the cost. It's the mustachian way and it's much more fun than running up a huge tab.

P.S. My brother works at Costco. They all wear those $15 jeans, but many of them take the time to remove the label, lol!

You might be referring to the Costco Kirkland brand jeans for $15. But Costco also sells everything from Calvin Klein to Buffalo to Levi's in the $20-$30 range.


Fishingmn

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2017, 03:44:29 PM »
I pretty much just shop at Kohl's. Either the 70-80% off clearance rack and/or when I have a 30% off coupon.

Was pretty happy with my last trip. 8 nice t-shirts and 1 golf polo shirt for $54 (inc. 30% off and $5 off for fathers day).

Dicey

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #17 on: July 31, 2017, 07:32:13 PM »
First, lizzzi, I'm so sorry for your loss!

Next, I used to sell men's clothes at Nordstrom. Articles like this are written because men need help. What they don't need to do is spend a shit load of money to achieve a timeless look. Read the articles, then recreate the look for a fraction of the cost. It's the mustachian way and it's much more fun than running up a huge tab.

P.S. My brother works at Costco. They all wear those $15 jeans, but many of them take the time to remove the label, lol!

You might be referring to the Costco Kirkland brand jeans for $15. But Costco also sells everything from Calvin Klein to Buffalo to Levi's in the $20-$30 range.
Yeah, I was. I thought "those $15 jeans" was pretty specific, but it's always true there are plenty o' ways to spend more at Costco, but everyone knows that, right? Right?

BTW, I see Groupon has a deal on Costco memberships, so if you have a yen, this might be a good time.

stclurker

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #18 on: July 31, 2017, 09:25:05 PM »
Just to add my 2c, I recently spent $65 on a pair of work pants from Duluth Trading Co., as heavy as they seem (they are the ones made out of fire hose material), I fully expect them to last a long long time.

Just saying that more than  $15 for a pair of pants isn't always unreasonable

kenaces

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #19 on: July 31, 2017, 10:42:19 PM »
Best fashion advice for men over 40 = get/stay in shape!

JLee

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #20 on: July 31, 2017, 10:46:33 PM »
I'm wearing a $5 Target t-shirt.

I wore something else to work once, and one of my coworkers was like "...hey, you're wearing a different shirt! I like your gray t-shirts!"

ooeei

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #21 on: August 01, 2017, 06:49:13 AM »
I'll pay a good amount for clothes that fit properly and are good quality, but these fashion articles always have ridiculous beyond celebrity level items in them. The polo shirt and jeans are definitely at the higher end, but still actually believable. I could go find the equivalent of those things at a few department stores or clothing shops around that price. 

In order to find a $1300 jacket or $900 pair of sneakers, you have to seek out a specialty shop that probably has to special order it for you. Hell for $1300 you're in the realm of having a custom leather jacket tailored for you.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2017, 06:52:08 AM by ooeei »

MrsPete

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #22 on: August 06, 2017, 07:14:28 AM »
2. BEST DENIM Dark-washed, straight- legged
The one piece of good advice in this article, and it doesn't include a name brand suggestion.  Simple is best for jeans, and let's add this:  They should last at least three years, even with heavy use. 

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2017, 06:00:27 PM »
I'll pay a good amount for clothes that fit properly and are good quality, but these fashion articles always have ridiculous beyond celebrity level items in them. The polo shirt and jeans are definitely at the higher end, but still actually believable. I could go find the equivalent of those things at a few department stores or clothing shops around that price. 

In order to find a $1300 jacket or $900 pair of sneakers, you have to seek out a specialty shop that probably has to special order it for you. Hell for $1300 you're in the realm of having a custom leather jacket tailored for you.

The problem is that advertisers have realized that targeting "everyone" is profitable.

By plugging celebrity-priced items in fashion articles targeted to the general public, sellers know that people eventually start to think that "everyone" has a particular item, so what seems to us to be ridiculous sums of money starts to make sense to them. So they buy even if they can't afford it. Classic example: having to have the latest and greatest cell phone once or twice a year even though the old one works fine.

WaterproofBanjo

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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #24 on: August 13, 2017, 12:32:24 AM »
Duluth Trading Co. fire hose pants..., I fully expect them to last a long long time.
You won't be disappointed.  Mine are at least five years old, have seen plenty of use, and have lots more wear left in them.


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Re: WSJ fashion advice for men over 40
« Reply #25 on: August 31, 2017, 02:34:53 PM »
I dont think i spend that in 5 years if not more and I always look nice!...so i am told :-)