From the (Literal) Closet of GMB #2

I shared with you recently my love of thrift stores (particularly Deseret Industries), and mentioned that they are an excellent place to buy suits.

It is a real challenge for those of us 42" and smaller who enjoy the "slim" look.  That said, the thrill of the hunt and the sweet taste of victory make it all worth it.

Some notes:

1. My favorite suit is, alas, no longer intact (charcoal with red and white pinstripes).  Find out the embarrassing story of the pants' demise here.  Cole nicknamed said pants my "ass pants."  You can probably guess why.
2. For a graduation gift, my parents insisted on buying me a non-thrift store suit.  We got a two-for-one deal and they are the only suits I did not buy used.
3. You'll notice that there are in total a dozen suits here.  The black pinstriped one and the red-tinged brown are from Men's Warehouse.   Other patterns include grey and blue checks and navy with blue and pink pinstripes.
4. All but three have a vest.  Three-piece is a must.  
5. As I always say-- the vest is the man's corset.  Hides the fat, fixes the posture.  There are another three vests when I have a particular tie in mind.
6. The newest addition to the set was a $10 green sherbet checked three-piece.  Still need to hem the pants, but it has a lot of retro potential.  I'd like something with a pronounced red-- maybe I'll play Mr. Applegate someday in Damn Yankees
7. This post reminds me of a song from one of my favorite off-Broadway shows.  The song is: "The Man in the Starched White Shirt."  Now name the show.

From the (Literal) Closet of GMB #1

This series documents a bit of my style and accompanies “MoHos and Their Clothes.”  I’ll share some actual pieces of my wardrobe bit by bit, working up to full ensembles. 

The first selection reflects my appreciation for Express and their great dress shirts, though admittedly only a couple are actually from there.  The rest are Kohl’s and JC Penney’s clearance finds:

Some observations:

1. Yes, there are four blue shirts.
2. Only two have French cuffs.  (They are lonely and characteristically snooty—rightfully so).
3. Each one has a matching pair of socks…and a tie… but the socks are what really matter.
4. Although I like to flatter myself in  the 14-14 1/2 range, my real size is 15-15 1/2. 
5. Yellow sort of makes me look sallow, so my closet bouncer keeps it out.
6. My newest purchase—Mr. Gray from the DI ($4)  
7. I’m wearing the lavender one in the back tonight on my date with Dustin Lance Black tonight… explanation tomorrow….

MoHos and Their Clothes, Part 2

Thrift Stores

To some, fashion is an elusive, mystical skill akin to divining water with copper rods.   Sitting down in the mall recently, I observed three groups of shoppers: 

The Nomads meander from store to store browsing indecisively at what they think looks would look nice, though lacking that natural evolutionary skill of planning.  They stumble into good finds, but generally nothing that sticks out to the rest of the population or each other for that matter.

The Cultivators make their way around a store looking at every piece seeing what they like and what they don’t like.  These consumers only make their way to the mall every few months and tend to have a few select stores they visit.  They tend to trust and depend upon these select stores to guide their fashion for them.  You might hear a member of this group say something along the lines of “Everything but the shoes I found at JCrew” or “I only trust H&M.”

The Hunter/Gatherers get a rush out of the chase.  Often lurking in thrift shops, their trips to the mall and other stores are often limited to window shopping as they have a select set of items they are looking for.  They cast their net wide and often, going without new purchases often for months at a time, but rejoicing when they do find that one savory article—a pair of suspenders with an eye-catching pattern, a tie that brings an entire outfit together, the last pair of pointy Steve Madden shoes at 75% off.

My bias here is apparent.  In terms of shopping, I stand in the extreme of hunter/gatherers.  The individual pieces of my wardrobe—everything from the socks to the scarves—comes from a niche I’ve discovered in some way or another, and together they make something distinctly GMB. 

I suppose it’s a habit I picked up in college.  After a bad day at the office or a round of exams, window shopping became a way to cool off.  A form of retail therapy minus the consequences.

For that reason, you’ll find me in a thrift shop after a long day looking at the various sections of the store for accents (yes, I really dropped the gay bomb with a word like that) to the wardrobe I already have.

What comes to mind in this moment is a subtle parallel to A Beautiful Mind in which the brilliant economist, John Forbes Nash, Jr. (played by Russell Crowe) slips into states of reverie as he contemplates the mathematical and economic concepts that later earn him the Nobel Prize.  In my own state of awe over clothing, I contemplate the combinations and resulting significations of these expressions as I work through the potential of each article in my head.  Following a moment in still time and a James Horner soundtrack pulsing in the background of my mind, everything makes sense and has purpose.. 

That is the moment in which ideas and reality converge—perhaps the crux of any given science or art.

My Thrift Store Pick:  Suits both retro and timeless, the three-piece variety highly encouraged for versatility.  Pull the vest away from the full ensemble for more combinations.

 

End, Part 2

MoHos and Their Clothes: An Excursion into Fashion

Recent discussions with Chedner and Romulus have in one way or another been cloting related.  Another friend has requested a series on fashion (although that was many months ago).  I’ll take a stab at that in this ongoing series.

Hopefully, I don’t make too many enemies. 

As I’ve shared before, I’m a fan of cultural analysis and feel as Derrida that “Everything is a text.”  Today, I’ll delve a bit into what your clothes say about you, taking a few stores into account along with a personal anecdote or two. 

I’ll get this out of the way, first: given the choice of free clothes at any store for life (save the truly high end stores one finds in truly high end places other than Utah), I would have to go with:

Express

Removing the hot model from the picture, what is the statement made by these clothes?  That is the implicit and unavoidable thought I have as I’m making calls on fashion.  Again, unavoidable as someone who plans to analyze culture for a living.

Before I answer that question, I think it’s important I address part of my fashion history.  Six years ago, I was considered borderline obese for my height.  I was reasonably intelligent, but I thought it was necessary to focus on my other strengths because focus on one’s outward appearance is, by definition, superficial.

This is one of the secondary conflicts of The Devil Wears Prada.  Andy (played by Anne Hathaway) arrives semi-frumpy to work at a magazine ruled by fashionista Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep).  As she grows confident in herself, her fashion changes and in the end, she fuses together a new, more confident identity through altering (not completely) her sense of fashion.

A very similar thing happened to me in, of all places, Brazil.  My first missionary companion berated me for my ties, shoes, and belts not matching.  He also made occasional jabs at my weight.  However, a month into our companionship, I was down forty pounds. 

In the second year of my mission, my favorite companion of all sat me down and told me that the very next day off we had, we were going to go to the store and buy me a new outfit.  One that fit my smaller waist size as well as the more confident personality emerging as a result of my Brazilian encounter.  Something changed in me the moment I saw the contours of my body feeling at home in a pair of jeans that actually fit.

Clothing in that moment began to communicate and accentuate the confidence within.  That was a moment in life in which I felt sharing what was on the inside was finally an option.  I had something to offer the world.  

I suppose the image I have of Express is the closest match to what I feel I offer the world.  

Co-workers often throw out words like “classy” and “vibrant” to compliment my sense of style—one inspired by the bright, defining colors and lean, angular dimensions of Express. 

My Express Pick:  dress shirts.

 

End, Part 1.