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Post by fayeris on Mar 16, 2022 5:13:02 GMT 1
i realized the other day that i’m having a full-on identity crisis at the ripe age of 27. like i’m having all these urges to get new piercings and redo my haircut and wear different makeup and overhaul my wardrobe. it’s all very overwhelming (and not financially sustainable) but it IS still kind of fun to explore, and it’s also made me more interested in other people’s fashion choices lately!
how do you feel about clothing and fashion? do you feel like you have a consistent “aesthetic” or do you enjoy switching things up? what are some of your favorite looks?
my problem is that i used to like having a really diverse wardrobe, *and* i have trouble letting things go, so i’ve accumulated LOTS of random clothes over several years. since returning to work in-person and socializing more, i’ve been self-conscious about how i’m being Perceived, because it’s not the same as i wanted back in 2020! these days i want to wear kind of, like… sleek, muted-color, minimalist outfits with just a tiiiny bit of an edge to them... but as a person, i’ve always had a hard time being neat and tidy, so it’ll be a long journey o<-< any advice is appreciated if you’ve been through anything similar!
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Post by lentlsoup on Mar 23, 2022 23:33:44 GMT 1
I have zero sense of fashion or aesthetics, in part because i rarely leave the house these days most of the time i just wear some gym shorts and an oversized t shirt and call it a day. when i go out its usually the same i just wear shirt and pant (usually yoga pants or something else that i can easily slip into) i do really want an actual Style but i don't really go shopping for clothes often (or ever) and im just kind of too lazy to and also too hesitant to spend money on new clothes in particular for some reason.
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Post by astraldreams on Mar 28, 2022 16:31:33 GMT 1
My style is pretty much "just some guy", and while that is a deliberate choice I don't think I can give much specific advice... I wear very simple clothes with generally one article being a color that pops and everything else being jean/black/dark. Used to make fun of my dad for his almost exclusively dark wardrobe, but even though I still don't dress the same, I really get it now xD
As far as advice goes... I really can't say more rather than trying out different things and see what sticks- going shopping just to try on different things can help you fins what you do and don't like even if you don't end up buying anything. 2nd hand stores are always helpful as well if you have any in your vicinity. Or even just borrowing clothes from people you know! I advise against looking at specifically fashion sites/magazines/etc because those often are geared in a very specific way and aren't all that helpful to normal people... looking at people you work with or pass on the street can also help you decide on what you do and don't like in an outfit.
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Post by Nachtkern on Mar 29, 2022 22:27:55 GMT 1
I have a pretty distinct visual aesthetic in real life - I'm not really sure what style I'd say it is, but it definitely is very "me". It also changes over time - I'll suddenly find I enjoy one thing more, and that another thing I liked on myself before, suddenly doesn't suit me as well as I wanted it to. I think that's both to do with taste changing over time, and my visual appearance and identity changing as I am further in my transition than I was before. I'm not especially well-off, so the majority of my wardrobe consists out of thrifted clothes, hand-me-downs, dumpster finds... This means that a lot of the clothes I obtain don't really fit into one coherent, matching style, either (and a lot of them don't really fit, in general). It does allow me to try a lot of different things and feel out if they are for me or not, though, and what goes together and what doesn't. I guess some tips I have for finding your "aesthetic" in fashion would be... - Get rid of old clothes:
If something fits poorly, doesn't feel like it suits you, or every time you put it on you take it off again because you'd rather wear something else - give it away, donate it, or throw it out if it totally sucks. I know it's hard to do (I... too, am a hoarder), but getting rid of things makes room in your closet for different things that will fit you better and you'll enjoy wearing more. Even if you didn't end up wearing or enjoying them, or even if you used to love them but you have grown over it, your old clothes have served their purpose by helping you figure yourself out, and now they can do that for someone else, who's going to love them or not.
- Go thrift shopping:
There's a much wider variety of different clothes in thrift stores, because they don't carry just the things that are in style now! Make it a day trip, and try on a bunch of stuff in the store just to see how it looks and feels on you. You might end up finding some stuff that you really love or that really elevates your overall wardrobe - but even if you don't, you'll have learned new things about your preferences. Many clothes in thrift stores are also frankly better and more durable than new clothes, because they were made back when they still made things that weren't meant to break within three months of wear - so there's that too.
- Find a couple of "basic" clothing items:
Maybe this is more of a me thing, but the more aesthetically varied your wardrobe is, the harder it becomes to match pieces with each other. You might have a bright colorful jacket that you LOVE, but doesn't go with anything else you own, so you never end up wearing it! Having a couple of plain, well-fitting clothes that are easy to pair will help you get a lot more use out of all of your other pieces. A plain black skirt you can wear under anything, a plain white tee, a pair of jeans that suit you well, a simple long-sleeve that you can wear under dresses and tops or as is... stuff like that.
- Teach yourself basic sewing:
Won't do as much as the options above, but is generally a really useful skill to have. Not only will you be able to repair your clothes should it come to that, it'll also allow you to give your clothes your own touch. You'll be able to replace shirt buttons with nicer ones, turn weirdly shaped girl-fit tees into tank tops, crop those gorgeous pants you found in the dumpster to your length, etc - it's a skill that will make the clothes you already have fit you better than before.
This also might not necessarily apply to you, but it can be really difficult for some people to find clothes in their size, because clothing retailers tend to lean towards just smaller sizes, in complete disregard to the proportions of most people on the planet. There are many ways to upsize clothes, or turn those weirdly shaped bags they sell for fat people into clothes that are more comfortable and flattering, so a little bit of handsewing skill is also a lifesaver there, especially. I'm personally a kid's size in all but length, so I end up doing modifications on my clothes pretty often.
That's about everything I can think of right now... I'll show you some of my favorite clothes later if you'd like, but you might have to remind me - I have been a bit absent, recently. |
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Post by kanonv03 on Mar 30, 2022 15:43:41 GMT 1
I feel like my relationship with fashion is very fun in that i completely revolutionize my wardrobe like every 3 years or so! a few years back I was wearing a ton of rugby shirts(i probably owned 9) and wearing nothing but swim shorts, then i started to wear a lot of button downs and jeans. recently most of my clothes have hoods! i think it's very important to just allow yourself to wear what you feel comfortable in and enjoy life to the fullest 😁. As far as shopping, i buy 95% of my clothes at what i think are called secondhand stores, like tj maxx or burkes or burlington, where name brand stuff that didnt sell well and other random stuff that some big company was trying to get rid of are sold at like 1/4 of the original price! I've always had difficulty finding clothes that i liked at thrift stores, but i have trouble leaving second hand stores without what feels like an entire new wardrobe!!! i hope this helps! revolutionize yourself faye!!!
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Post by Nachtkern on Mar 30, 2022 17:15:55 GMT 1
As far as shopping, i buy 95% of my clothes at what i think are called secondhand stores, like tj maxx or burkes or burlington, where name brand stuff that didnt sell well and other random stuff that some big company was trying to get rid of are sold at like 1/4 of the original price! I have been calling those outlet stores, since they sell stuff that's technically still new, but I have no idea if that's actually right. |
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Post by striehart on Mar 31, 2022 2:10:39 GMT 1
Fashion's been pretty hard to get into for me the past couple years.
However, I've always been a fan of dark mori and pastel goth. I like a million thin layers that are all... *flow-ey*. Conceptually, anyway - actually arranging an outfit, I think, would be a real pain. And pastel goth just has really nice colors! It's pleasant on the eyes I think.
When it comes to how I actually dress, though, it's simple (sometimes graphic) tees and loose baggy pants. Function over form, and I'm still quarantining so I'm not really trying to impress anyone.
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lupin
Bud
boy enjoyer
Posts: 16
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Post by lupin on Apr 1, 2022 23:04:53 GMT 1
my problem is that i used to like having a really diverse wardrobe, *and* i have trouble letting things go, so i’ve accumulated LOTS of random clothes over several years. since returning to work in-person and socializing more, i’ve been self-conscious about how i’m being Perceived, because it’s not the same as i wanted back in 2020! these days i want to wear kind of, like… sleek, muted-color, minimalist outfits with just a tiiiny bit of an edge to them... but as a person, i’ve always had a hard time being neat and tidy, so it’ll be a long journey o<-< any advice is appreciated if you’ve been through anything similar! oh man, im a huge j-fashion fan (though my main niche is lolita (no relation)) and this is a pretty common talking point! its pretty common to feel this way, and the transition from one wardrobe to another is always hard ^^; in lolita theres like, a million different styles and substyles within those--so the advice we give to people is to break down exactly what they want. it seems like you have an idea of what you're interested in, but the closer you can hammer this down the easier of a time you'll have finding clothes you like! some loose steps you can follow that we use to wardrobe build:
- create a pinterest board for the look you want
despite my hatred for it, pinterest is just the easiest way to find stuff, unless you're willing to trudge through some vauge instagram tags. you're gonna want to go through a kind of process of elimination for this, since your first bout is probably going to be things you like, but maybe dont want to wear or are only tangentially related to your ideal aesthetic as an example, here's my current lolita wardrobe insp board (im actually in the middle of trying to overhaul my wardrobe haha). youll notice i have some outliers, but in general everything is pretty similar ii. write down the basic components of outfits you like if you made a pinterest board, this is where you would sit down and break down what the outfits are made of. if not, just think about what elements you would like! things like, if you notice theres a lot of dull green, and turtlenecks, and slacks, you would note those down. the more concise you can get this the better, but depending on how many elements are often in outfits you like, 'concise' can mean 5 or 20 using my insp board from before as an example, my list would look something like this: {Spoiler}- brown
- cream/beige
- big neckties
- collars
- jackets
- basic repeating patterns (stripes, plaid)
- no patterns
- regular waist
- a line skirt
- low frill
- beret
- boots/mary janes
- long sleeves then i could take this list, and go look for pieces that fit these criteria! it'll keep everything consistent, while still being pieces i enjoy iii. make a list of basic pieces to make/keep an eye out forquoting Nachtkern here, because this is the absolute best advice you can get regarding fashion! you'll hear it over and over in any structured fashion circle--its so so important to being able to build outfits at all. this is where your list would come in handy--chances are you have a couple of clothing items on there! if theyre common across the outfits you like, they'll make good basics. black & white are good neutral colors that can be used w/ literally anything, but depending on what you like you may want to opt for like, a cream color instead keeping an actual firm list of items you are looking to purchase is good, it helps keep you on track! in lolita specifically the fashion is basically divided into 'the pretty dresses' and 'boring required stuff' so we use this to buy the basic white blouse we need, not the 5th pink dress that looks nice. things like 'black shirt, black pants, white socks' etc.! on this note, the typical recommendation is to get basics first, then any fun stuff. its hard to build a wardrobe around distinct fun pieces, but its easy to build one around flexible basics
iv. buy... stuff
gonna be real with you. this is not my forte, and the advice im going to give you is very j-fashion-y. j-fashion people just keep a consistent list of shops you can buy from, and for the most part its extreeemely rare to find workable j-fashion stuff in thrift stores. depending on what style youre going for, you may have amazing luck in thrift stores, or you may have none at all. personally i like vintage stores a lot more, though i... do dress with an extremely distinct historical inspiration. ive found some of my favorite pieces in vintage stores (suede daygloves, embroidered underdresses, small mutton sleeve bloues, etc)! from what you've described, it seems like common online retailers would work, but i want to nudge you to look at chinese retailers hosted on sites like taobao. depending on where you live, this will likely be the same quality as what you can find at tjmaxx/forever21/what have you, but waaayyy cheaper. most american stores make their money by outsourcing to cn factories and marking the cost up a Ton. in lolita this is fairly common because its the difference between a dress costing $100 and $30, but if its more like, the difference between $30 and $20 the international shipping may not be worth it. iirc korean fashion tends to have that minimalist, muted color look youre describing--and if thats the kind of thing youre into you may also have an easier time finding pieces on places like taobao. i have like a billion links on this subject if it interests you, but this section is already long as hell orz re: having trouble letting things go, me too</3 if you can sew, upcycling into something you'd use is a great option--if not i like to look for places i can donate clothes that arent disgustingly corporate like goodwill. i live pretty close to a newcomers school, and they have a year round drive for lightly used clothes, its my go-to for clothes that are donate-able. for actually picking stuff out to get rid of, i usually go by the 'sparks joy' system--what its actually called escapes me. basically you look at something, and see if it makes you happy. if it does, keep it, if it doesnt, get rid of it. the important part of this is including things you dont feel strongly about in the 'get rid of it' pile--i think the biggest reason why its hard to get rid of clothes for me is because i dont hate it, id wear it if i had nothing else, but that isnt the same as something making me happy
obviously this is all rather intensive, and you dont have to do Every step, but this is common advice i hear + has been helpful to me! trying to get a solid aesthetic down is always difficult :3c best of luck to you! |
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