10 Brands?

This is something I’ve alluded to before but never expounded on.  This seems like the right time.

Menswear bloggers live in abject fear of being branded as blogging about “fashion” instead of “style.”  Blogging about “Style” has tremendous currency in the menswear blogosphere while blogging about “fashion” is one step above being beaten with a sack of doorknobs (though if they were doorknobs that had hand painted details and classic wrought iron work, the beating might be more acceptable than Fashion blogging).

The argument goes that fashion is based in consumerism, style is based in lasting construction and traditional aesthetics.  Fashion comes and goes, style is permanent.  Fashion is built in cheap factories in the Third World, style is handcrafted in the good ol’ US of A (or the UK or Italy, etc…).

But all these arguments are misleading and this proves it.  If 10 brands can define your style, how is that not consumerism?  Those brands release new collections every season or two, how is that not temporal?  My LEC shirts are made in Malaysia, my PRL madras shirt in India, my Levi’s in Mexico.  What makes my PRL shirt (this one made in China) a conveyor of “style”, while my H&M jacket made in China a heinous amalgamation of “fashion” that never should have existed?

I’m being hyperbolic, but you see my point.

The line between these things is real (sort of), but closer than most bloggers would like to admit.  And every time you talk about how “steez-y” your new Isaia jacket is, or how the new Alden line is a “must cop”, you’re buying into the new consumerism.  Were you thinking about extreme cutaway collars 2 years ago? Camo? Floral Ties? Turtlenecks? DB Jackets?  Don’t tell me these are permanent fixtures in style because it’s just not true.  They ebb and flow just like anything else in the world of clothing aesthetics.  ”Fashion” by a different name.

I’ll admit the new consumerism is better than the old consumerism (Dockers for one has mostly stopped being a triple-pleated-middle-management-mall-brand in favor of a #menswear-approved-alpha-fit-winner), but it’s still consumerism.  It still bears all the hallmarks of “fashion” (except the blind apoplectic rage that bloggers throw at anyone who accuses them of doing anything with Fash-un).  They’re 2 sides of the same coin.

Then again, I might just be bitter that most #menswear bloggers wouldn’t have the slightest clue what most the brands I’m wearing are (seriously, Benoits? Jordan Marsh? Dexter?  LL Bean regular line?? Who the fuck am I?)  Not to mention I think defining your style by brands is limiting, though an interesting thought experiment.

Now everybody flies into a blind rage and tells me I’m wrong in 5…4…3…2…1

OH! And my 10 brands (by how much I own) would probably be LL Bean, Liberty of London, Levi’s (new & vintage), Old Navy, Polo, Banana Republic, Jordan Marsh, Target, Rooster (defunct vintage tie makers), and… dunno… AJ Morgan? (makes cheap sunglasses).

Make of that what you will.

youbroketheinternet:

What 10 brands do you think could define your style?

86 Notes/ Hide

  1. blacklisterblog answered: This is how Rome fell.
  2. steelwoolgoldenfleece answered: i lol’d at liberty of london because its spot on. im actually surprised you didnt have tons of floral fits this summer (tie excluded)
  3. m0ym0y answered: you had at jordan marsh…h…a thougtful insight to what i agree as the new consumption much like the old consuption only blogger approved
  4. badscene answered: Vans, Fred Perry, JCrew, Brooks Bros, Incotex, Epaulet, National Bohemian, Anti-Hero Skateboards, Dewars, Marvel Comics
  5. plywould answered: Ardbeg, Two Brothers, Benchmark no 8, Smithwick’s, Domino sugar, King Arthur flour, Adobe, DPS, Netflix, Google—that’s 10, right?
  6. girouxmcisaak answered: I don’t write about fashion, I write about style. And I don’t play with dolls, I play with action figures.
  7. afistfulofstyle reblogged this from youbroketheinternet and added:
    This is something I’ve alluded to before but never expounded on. This seems like the right time. Menswear bloggers live...
  8. ymmttkc answered: Supreme,Folk,Clarks,Zanerobe,Vans,Unused,RRL,Shanana Mil,Acne,Rayban
  9. onecollectorsdisorder answered: Hanes, Levis, Sinn, New Era, Smith Street Tattoo, Arcteryx, Anna Sheffield,Vans, Cabelas, Supreme
  10. wikipetera reblogged this from youbroketheinternet and added:
    Hmm… 1. Miller High Life 2. Levis 3. J. Crew 4. Dewars White Label 5. Vans 6. Brooks Brothers 7. Rugby 8. Urban...
  11. bftincae answered: Land’s End Canvas, Gitman Brothers, Sid Mashburn, Chevy, Polo, Brooks Brothers, Allen Edmonds, Martin & Osa, J Crew, Converse
  12. cebrady answered: Alden. J.Crew. Oliver Peoples. Apple. Bauer. Rogues Gallery. Hill-Side. Dogfish Head. Levi’s. Audi.
  13. double0 answered: Levis, Longines, J.Crew, Ray Ban, Nissan, Allen Edmonds, HTC, Sperry, GANT, Marlite.
  14. fromageetalpinisme answered: LL Bean, Rogue Territory, The Hill-Side, FieldNotes, JCrew, Sid Mashburn, Gant Rugger, ROTM, Uniqlo, Warby Parker
  15. meditationinanemergency answered: Band of Outsiders, APC, Nudie Jeans, Ray Ban, Gant Rugger, Converse, J.Crew, Sperry, Rugby, Rag & Bone
  16. jagerbombnarcissism answered: Uniqlo, H&M, Fred Perry, Levis, Vans, Converse, Clarks, Sprite, Playstation, Vespa
  17. wienersofknowledge answered: Guy Rover, Kent Wang, Epaulet, Shipton & Heneage, Boglioli, Drake’s, Persol, Alden, Smithwick’s, Laphroaig
  18. creativeprofessional answered: Isaia, Alfred Sargent, Epaulet, Run Of The Mill, Alden, Coca Cola, Apple. That’s it, pretty much.
  19. nosecretsbetweensailors answered: Steven Alan, Sugar Cane, Engineered Garments, WWM, Alden, Gitman Vintage, Epaulet, Converse, Grown & sewn
  20. realengine answered: ralph lauren
  21. sorefromsleep answered: ray ban, sperry, volvo, international, brunello cucinelli, levi’s, apple, land’s end canvas, allen edmonds, isaia. I’m all over the map.
  22. mrryanwalker answered: jeep, red wing, levi’s, ray ban, apple, patagonia, ebbets field, sierra nevada, chipotle, vans
  23. pardonmyreach answered: Brooks Brothers, Levi’s, Converse, Alden, Corter Leather, Apple, Epaulet, The Hill-Side, Rugby, and Tanner Goods.
  24. fabricatedsociety answered: Visvim, Engineered Garments, Wings + Horns, Stussy, Outlier, Common Projects, NSW, Stone Island Shadow Project, Clarks, Nonnative
  25. thehuntingden answered: Vans, J.Crew, Baldwin, Barbour, Polo, Brooks Bros., Ray Ban, Gant, North Face, Gitman
  26. bloodworthandco answered: Edward Green, Alden , Vans, The Stronghold, Brooks Brothers, Engineered Garments, Seize Sur Vingt, VIntage, Hats (Stetson), Dries
  27. thecountryfucker answered: Pendelton, Filson, LL Bean, Hickorees, Patagonia, Goodwill, Red Wing, Marmot, Metolious, J. Crew