Opening remarks
Something happened when I turned 31. Not 30, but specifically 31. It was something that, quite frankly, snuck up on me. I never thought I’d be here in a thousand years.
What was this life-altering event? I started to care about how I dress.
The fun part about writing a blog, as compared to a newsletter, is that I…
Don’t have to keep up with the dreaded news cycle. Good lord what a stressful life that must be.
But also, I get to write about whatever I want, whenever I want. I’m just here to have fun!
Using this creative freedom, I’ve decided to make today’s post about style and fashion. In doing so, hopefully I pull out some first-principles of what it means to put on a nice outfit, even if you’re just going to the grocery store (I really wanted some pasta salad).
Now, let’s check this fit, shall we?
For the record, I’m aware of how horrible the picture quality is. I’m also aware of the irony here, where I’m, fundamentally, talking about artistic things while using such terrible photography. It’s not lost on me, but alas, not the point.
I’m going to break down this outfit into two general categories: What Went Right, and What Went Wrong.
Within those categories, we’re going to focus on a few key features. For What Went Right, we’ll be looking at color and texture. For What Went Wrong, we’ll be looking at proportions.
What Went Right
Let’s start with the colors. As you can see, I went with what I consider to be a simple neutral palette. Whites, blacks, khaki for the pants; very simple, very clean.
A stickler for detail, I accompanied this with a black belt and black boots. As stated, the goal here was to keep things simple and clean. We’re not trying to peacock around town, just trying to feel nice while picking up some pasta salad.
A key detail that should be noted: if you’re going to wear a belt, tuck in your shirt. Belts and shoes should match, but if only one is visible, it may skew the visual impact. If your belt is hidden, you’re missing 50% of your details. Unless your shoes match something else, they’re going to look out of place and mess up your composition.
Now, let’s look at some texture. Some of you may be thinking, “Wow, boots and pants with a tucked in shirt? Bro, it’s almost May. It’s way too hot for that!”.
If I was wearing heavier fabrics like cotton or wool, then yes, you’d be correct. I’m in The South and it’s absolutely too hot for that.
Fortunately, the shirts I’m wearing — both top and under shirt — are made of a material known as Viscose (or Rayon, in some circles). It’s lighter and more breathable than your typical cotton or cotton-poly blend. You’ll be feeling “cooler than a polar bears toenails”, to quote the legendary poet and singer Big Boi from Outkast.
What Went Wrong
Nothing too crazy so far. The main takeaway from What Went Right is that you want matching colors and materials that fit the current seasonal climate.
However, there are features of this outfit that suck. Look at the pictures above. Does anything jump out? Is there something assaulting your aesthetic perception?
The correct answer is yes. It’s the boots.
I’ve tried this combo of chinos and boots probably a hundred times. While the color scheme performs well (khaki and black — classic), the dimensions of the boots don’t fit with the slimmer, tapered fit of the chinos.
Notice how the bottom of the pants sits on top of the boots. This ain’t what you want. Why? It makes the proportions of your legs look all funky wunky.
I’m a relatively tall guy standing at about 6’1”. At this height, my legs are assumed to be longer than my torso. However, because of the way the pants sit on the boots, this makes my legs look shorter. Visually, they’ll be perceived as being the same length as my torso, and this just looks weird. It’s unnatural for my build.
What would be better, and would offer more flattering visuals to my proportions, would be a pair of straight cut khaki pants. This way, the bottom of the pants would fit over the top of my boots, probably resting a few inches below where the chinos currently sit.
A small difference, but this change in length would offer a fuller visual perception; it would more appropriately compliment my natural proportions.
So what can we get from this post?
I’m very new to the world of looking nice. I’ve been a sweatpants and sneakers guy for all my life. Still, I feel I’ve managed to pick out a few key features of fashion that make it easier to look nice.
Colors
Textures / Fabrics
Proportions
Obviously, you want the colors of your outfit to complement each other. This goes for every scale of detail. If you’re wearing dark pants, pair it with a lighter shirt. Same goes for light pants (pair with a darker shirt). Choosing colors is about finding things that “contrast but compliment” (I just made that up). You want sysnthesized opposites (I just made that up too).
This should be applied to the details of your outfit as well. Do not — DO NOT — wear a black belt with brown shoes. Or conversely, a brown belt with black shoes. The details of your outfit don’t necessarily have to match the main features, but they absolutely have to match each other.
There’s a third scale of outfit composition — accents — but I’m not wearing any here, so I’ll save that for another post. Just know though, that like details, they should match each other and compliment the rest of the outfit.
Closing remarks
Breaking down the compositional features of visual mediums — movies, pictures, text, memes, etc. — is something I’ve been doing for a while. This was my first attempt at doing it with clothes, though. Quite frankly, it could’ve gone better. Writing this has shown me that I still have a mountain of information to digest about the world of fashion.
Having said that though, I just found a nice pair of pleated trousers at Goodwill this morning for $1.06. Yes, that’s right, $1.06 for a pair of trousers. Once I get them hemmed a bit, I think they’ll make for a nice fall outfit, or maybe early spring. Be on the lookout.
Anyway, I plan to keep analyzing composition in a variety of mediums. Clothing will continue to be one of them.
Remember: look good, feel good.