# Fashion (and Fashion Writing) is utter tripe **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210 "2006-09-18T19:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/1 "2006-09-18T19:03:11Z")
I didn’t put this in the pit because, well, Fashion is too mundane and pointless… I saw this article at Yahoo! just now: [What to Wear to Work This Fall](http://hotjobs.promotions.yahoo.com/52weeks/whattowear.html). Under Men’s Trends, the ever-astute author asserts: > [@](#): > > Men, contrary to popular belief, have more fashion choices than ever. And this fall’s trends are timeless in their appeal. And what does the author offer to perhaps support this statement? > [@](#): > > One thing every man should have in his wardrobe is a classic blazer. …then in the next paragraph: > [@](#): > > In a corporate environment, where ties are often required, a school striped tie is featured on runways this fall. …and this revolutionary advice: > [@](#): > > When not wearing a tie, try layering a thin sweater – crew or V-neck – over a button-down shirt. It’s very James Bond, especially when worn with a jacket. But this is best done on lean, tall frames, lest you look bulky. and if you’re still not excited by the dazzling array of new and different fashion choices for men: > [@](#): > > “You can communicate personal style through accessories – or a beautiful sweater – and stand out,” says (Dan) Peres, who says that pocket squares, watches, cufflinks, and socks (read: never white ones!) are items men can use to express who they are. OK, so I’m supposed to think socks are going to express who I am? “Hi, I’m An Arky, and I’ve got two feet!” :rolleyes: I know, it’s just some stupid Yahoo! article, but I just cannot understand how such useless non-statements constitute anything more than words on a page, and I’m wondering exactly how much these fashion Kreskins get paid to spew such drivel. Slight disclaimer: In the second paragraph the author (and quoted fashion "expert)_do_ say that > [@](#): > > It’s important to incorporate your own personal style in your clothing while remaining professional. “Don’t succumb to trends that will label you a fashion victim,” warns Lloyd. Translation: Don’t try too many trends at once. Stick to one that flatters your personality and build your look around it. …so I guess that’s why they stick to things like blazers, striped ties and socks. I guess I don’t really have a point, other than that there simply not enough :rolleyes: s to say what I think about this stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/2 "2006-09-20T08:07:04Z")
So basically, guys are supposed to wear school uniform? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/3 "2006-09-20T08:25:19Z")
Last week, we were walking about town and I noticed that most stores already got the “Fall/Winter” stuff. I remarked to Mom that “classic boots” seem to be all the way in, which is great because I happen to love them. Last Sunday, the fashion reporter from a national magazine indicated in her list of “stuff you will never, ever wear again”… classic boots. Right you are, dearie, but just don’t look at anybody’s feet this winter, ok? Oh, and everybody is terribly, terribly surprised that burgundy is in this year! Oh my! Really! Who would have thought! They were also surprised when navy blue, white and red were in for the summer. I mean, only because they’re “in” every summer, doesn’t mean it will happen again, does it? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/4 "2006-09-20T09:23:46Z")
You know, I don’t really get the concept of “in”. It’s been my observation that human beings come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, not to mention they have different tastes, so I don’t really see why anyone would expect them all to dress the same way in any given month, unless maybe you’re talking about people in the Army or people who work at Burger King. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/5 "2006-09-20T09:26:12Z")
Bikers have it made… ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/6 "2006-09-20T10:29:44Z")
[QUOTE=GusNSpot] Bikers have it made… [/QUOTE] No kidding…biker wear is always in fashion - from Sturgis to Castro St. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/7 "2006-09-20T13:10:17Z")
Yes, but should that blazer be worn buttoned or unbuttoned? These things _matter_ . ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/8 "2006-09-20T13:17:55Z")
Heh, this reminds me of an episode of the **Ali G** show, where his Eastern Eurpoean character is at some fashion show interviewing various designers. One great bit involvs him asking this one guy a long list of questions, periodically asking very controdictory questions along these lines: Ali G: “So, people are saying your work is very airy, would you agree?” “Yes, I was really trying with this show to introduce lightness. It’s supposed to lift you up into the clouds.” Ali G: “I think, if one could say anything about your work, is that it’s rooted.” “Yes, I want people to get the feeling of being stuck in one place, very earthy and heavy.” Ali G: “Do you think consistancy is important in your line of work?” “No, not really.” I think that completely illustrates the substance of the fashion industry. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/9 "2006-09-20T17:27:38Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] OK, so I’m supposed to think socks are going to express who I am? “Hi, I’m An Arky, and I’ve got two feet!” :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] If you’re an **Arky** , socks do express who you are. They’re a symbol of affluence. They say to the world, “Hey, look at me! I own socks!” I apologize for the lame joke at your expense. Nothing personel. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/10 "2006-09-20T17:34:07Z")
😃 No worries! Actually the true symol of affluence is how many cars you have on blocks in the front yard. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/11 "2006-09-20T17:50:16Z")
In Texas, the ‘in’ thing this season is to put the cars on the West side of the house. Putting them in the front yard is so last year. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/12 "2006-09-20T17:55:34Z")
[QUOTE=Tully Mars] They’re a symbol of affluence. They say to the world, “Hey, look at me! I own socks!” [/QUOTE] No, you have to wear mismatched socks, to show the world you’re just too cool to care. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/13 "2006-09-20T17:56:29Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] I didn’t put this in the pit because, well, Fashion is too mundane and pointless… I saw this article at Yahoo! just now: [What to Wear to Work This Fall](http://hotjobs.promotions.yahoo.com/52weeks/whattowear.html). [/QUOTE] Well, that particular article was sponsored by Banana Republic; notice that all the accompanying photos are from BR and there’s a huge banner ad at the bottom. And that’s what you need to realize about fashion writing 99.99% exists to push a product. They’re pushing whatever’s in the stores this year, whether it really fits the current fashion zeitgeist or not. I get a lot more reliable and interesting information reading message boards where real insiders and regular people who are actively interested in fashion post. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/14 "2006-09-20T18:13:58Z")
Of course I realize that all these people are doing is pushing product. Heck, they already decided what to push last year or something; that’s why it’s utter B.S. I can’t think of much of anything further divorced from reality than fashion. You’ve got guys who don’t go for women deciding what they should wear, people who don’t know anything about fashion financing it and breathless reporters willing to fellate industry bigwigs just to get a byline. I honestly don’t see any real value to this, other then getting a chuckle at some anorexic herion addict wearing a metallic tunic with a fruit basket on her head. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/15 "2006-09-20T18:36:00Z")
I’m not gonna argue that’s there’s not a lot of silliness in the fashion industry but, you gotta admit, the style of clothes people wear do change over time. If you see a snapshot of a woman in a suit from the forties, there will be a difference from a photo of a woman in a current suit. It’s easy to spot clothing styles from the seventies; they’re markedly different from what we wear today (although a lot of seventies styles like high waisted jeans are coming back). Clothing styles change because of new fabrics, new social mores (we no longer dress for dinner, men dont’ wear ties habitually, etc.), and often just because people are tired of wearing the same old thing and want something different. The skinny jeans trend that you see all over the runways this season basically bubbled up from the street. Teens wanted to wear something different than the faded bootcuts their moms wore and eventually the high end designers came around. Like every other facet of human existance, some people take a particular interest in trying to predict what will be popular next, what is currently losing it’s popularity, etc. Some create clothes they want to see and others write about those clothes. If it’s not a subject that interests you, there’s an easy solution: just stop reading about it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/16 "2006-09-20T19:13:59Z")
I’ve been in San Francisco- the Financial dist for a couple months, working on a project. Here is what professionals in a “corporate environment” are really wearing: Men: pale blue long sleeved shirts- _a lot_ (sometimes white or other colors). With either chinos or suits. Ties are pretty much only worn by security guards, dudes from Japan or older men. Blazers are worn by security staff and Scientology staff (this place is infested with 'em). Too bad, I have always liked the “nice blue blazer and grey or khaki slack” look, but few real professionals wear them here. This _is_ a “corporate environment” and I see almost no blazers on corporate execs/wannabes _or_ ties (unless the dude has silver hair). I get along with my classic Harris tweed sportcoat and chinos, with a dressy shirt, and it works. No tie, either. Women: dressy skirts (knee length) or those odd loose pants that come down to right above the ankle. With _very_ high heels. A wide variety of “tops”. No blazers. No “skinny leg denim”. Sometimes a “womans suit” with matching skirt and jacket. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/17 "2006-09-20T19:26:39Z")
> [@The New York Times Men's Fashions Issue](#): > > The leather bomber is back. :eek: Yikes! Hide the children!! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/18 "2006-09-20T20:24:12Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] I’m not gonna argue that’s there’s not a lot of silliness in the fashion industry but, you gotta admit, the style of clothes people wear do change over time. If you see a snapshot of a woman in a suit from the forties, there will be a difference from a photo of a woman in a current suit. It’s easy to spot clothing styles from the seventies; they’re markedly different from what we wear today (although a lot of seventies styles like high waisted jeans are coming back). Clothing styles change because of new fabrics, new social mores (we no longer dress for dinner, men dont’ wear ties habitually, etc.), and often just because people are tired of wearing the same old thing and want something different. The skinny jeans trend that you see all over the runways this season basically bubbled up from the street. Teens wanted to wear something different than the faded bootcuts their moms wore and eventually the high end designers came around. Like every other facet of human existance, some people take a particular interest in trying to predict what will be popular next, what is currently losing it’s popularity, etc. Some create clothes they want to see and others write about those clothes. If it’s not a subject that interests you, there’s an easy solution: just stop reading about it. [/QUOTE] You are of course, right. Fashion trends happen and change because we want them to. It’s just that most purveyors and followers of it are less in touch than they make themselves out to be. The middlemen are unworthy. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/19 "2006-09-20T20:47:13Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] You are of course, right. Fashion trends happen and change because we want them to. It’s just that most purveyors and followers of it are less in touch than they make themselves out to be. The middlemen are unworthy. [/QUOTE] Definitely true that fashion writers are pretty much out of touch. It’s always amusing to see what the writers and stores will push one season that utterly flops. (last summer it was slim cut bermuda shorts which don’t look good on any woman larger than Nicole Richie and gauchos never really took off either) I see a lot more exciting and interesting stuff happening on the street with the teens and the DIY ethic. (BTW, I just listened to y’all’s song on myspace and really liked 'em. If y’all ever make it down to Austin, lemme know and I’ll come check ya’ll out.) ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210/20 "2006-09-20T21:03:58Z")
[http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/](http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/) has all the fashion info you could ever want 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fashion-and-fashion-writing-is-utter-tripe/373210.md?page=2)