I really like that take on it. It’s why I try to frequent the same places, and buy from people I know when I can. I’ve found that cyclists can be a lot like car people, so it’s fun to explain to other racers how I chose my bike because I know the guy who designed and welded it rather than the latest ad campaign.
I got the reference but I prefer to make comments that draw attention to me, not you.
Did I mention I wear an Air King? I wear an Air King. Yeah that's a Rolex. And when I repainted my not yet vintage Bronco I sourced a replacement Eddie Bauer badge because they broke mine. I need people to know it isn't a peasant spec xlt. My 302 is superior to the 351 because reasons.
I'm busy working so I don't have time to finish the article yet, but...
"Unsurprisingly, this has caused me to think a little bit about how we, as men, dress nowadays. I’ll be brief, because it’s RACE WEEK for me and I have a whole barn to clean."
*insert narrator voice* As it turns, he was not brief
Anyways, as we return to office after COVIDLOL I am often amazed at how some of the younger people in the office dress. I'm sure the gray-haired folks went through something similar when my generation started showing up in *gasp* polo shirts and slacks, but I've seen some ridiculous garb here at headquarters. Track suits, athleisure, some kind of weird overalls-over-sweater thing (it reminded me of something from The Children's Place, but for a grown kcuffing man)...
I'm no paragon of style, ask my wife. But I try not to look like a complete dolt, or a child, or both. And I'm coachable! Again, ask my wife.
I really do worry about our men. Maybe their dress is a cry for help.
I've found that obvious branding rubs me the wrong way. I've never owned clothes with anything more than a stripe or flannel pattern (aside from the Hawaiian shirts lol) in the desire to not be seen as a billboard for that company. I even own a hoodie with my college program on it and my nickname (that I willingly paid for) that I've never worn. It may be that I am trying to create an identity by not making one.
Rambling aside, I would wear an ACF shirt to the next meet/trackday purely for the lulz
At some point I heard George Carlin talk about the branding on clothing (he said the same thing about being a billboard for whatever company) and internalized that. I'm always careful to buy shirts without logos. With pants, I can tolerate a tiny, hard-to-notice logo on a cheap pair of pants off the clearance rack. My capeshit t-shirts are relegated to workout wear. I look better now than I did when I was at the granite company and had no self-respect, but I'm a far cry from dapper.
Pants are like shoes in the sense that finding a pair without any discernable markings is tough (on jeans and sneakers at least). I wear Chelsea boots all the time so I've got that one covered, but I'm thinking I should drop the Levi's and grab some slacks, despite the fact jeans are great for working in and getting dirty.
Since I live in the UP I can get away with hiking pants at work. So I get zippers on the pockets and an elastic waistband (which is a problem because I lost a bunch of weight the last few years and now have to tie the stupid drawstrings) and a lightweight, hydrophobic material and I'm very comfortable all day long.
EDIT: I should mention I avoid cargo-style pockets on the sides of the legs, so the pants are all fairly clean looking.
Dearborn Denim are pretty low key. Just a small leather patch with a star that gets covered by your belt. No labels otherwise, plus they are made in the US vs Levi’s, who make their stuff in offshore sweatshops.
I wear Texas Jeans. They're made in the Carolinas actually, and say they use American denim. Jeans are typically $60. Customer service is outstanding. I wear a 28" inseam and those just can't be found in stores. http://www.texasjeans.com
Unfortunately, it also serves as a social club for fellows of an urban persuasion who couldn't handle the hood's realness anymore - but who brought their outdoor voices with them.
You think they'd object to me singing a few bars of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?"
No phones on the machines! You’re here to work, sweat--and in my case, make stoopid noises. Monopolizing a machine with more phone time than lifting should be a misdemeanor, at the very least.
Due to factors that our host has covered extensively my buddy got read the riot act when he showed up in a suit. Meanwhile everyone else rolled out of bed still in their pjs and ripped jeans.
The thing with labels is I don’t own any clothes with a designer/label that’s worth any prestige at all so I don’t look at it as putting on any airs or showing off in any way. For instance, right now I’m staring at my phone and in the foreground is a little colorful LL Bean label on my fleece vest (yeah yeah I know). To me, LL Bean has all the prestige of a Toyota Corolla so wearing that label doesn’t signal I’m trying to signal anything. It might as well say “durable inexpensive clothing item” on it.
To me that’s very different than say a Gucci or LV or Prada or whatever label. Basically, if no one is impressed by your label and you’re not wearing it to impress, is it still objectionable?
No, it's not objectionable, and I'm not even sure I'm right. Like I said, I heard a George Carlin bit about it and somehow it stuck with me... to a certain extent. My winter coat is an oversized Columbia jacket like they wear on the Weather Channel, so I haven't totally avoided labels myself.
I'd say Gucci et al. is worse because it's a designer name printed on a cheap shirt. I expect LL Bean to at least be made well. Best of Show painted LL Bean in a different light than you do.
I wear a North Face (or is it The North Face?) hooded, water-proof jacket. I got it at Costco and got one for each of my two sons so we can look total dork when together in the wet and cold.
It is but in the same way that Subaru is a status symbol in Aspen or Jackson Hole or wherever. It’s a low-cost status brand, you have no idea if the wearer is rich or poor. I’ve been wearing it my whole life (duck boots and LL Bean backpack and such) because it’s durable and lasts forever. My family was solidly “upper middle class at best”.
With the exception of concert and college team tee shirts, the majority of my clothing is LL Bean or Lands End. I’m not clothing conscious and hate anything with gaudy branding. They’re comfortable, wear well, and reasonably priced. I am comfortable with who I am and as long as my wife thinks I look nice, I could care less what anyone else thinks. Makes clothes shopping a lot easier.
Next time you're out and about, look at the cars around you. See how many of them have either a badge, or a decal or a license-plate surround of the dealership where the car was purchased. I'll bet you almost all of the cars you'll see have it.
When I bought my current car, I took a spool of fishing line, a Leatherman, a rag and a can of WD-40 with me. First thing I did before leaving was take the dealer decal off the back.
When the salesman asked what I was doing, I told him if they wanted me to advertise for them, they could pay me.
I have a Ralph Spoilsport Motors: Take The Freeway of Your Choice in Any Direction license plate frame. I guess it's an identifier to other Firesign Theatre fans.
my father said the same thing before taking delivery of the first new car he ever bought - a 1984 Mustang SVO. told the dealer he would refuse delivery if he saw a sticker or badge on it.
my 993 has a faded metal(!) Brumos Porsche dealership license plate frame that Jack sent me many years ago. People who know, know. Everyone else asks me when I lived in Jacksonville.
Zero of my cars have any dealer decal or badges on them. I am surprisingly lax about license plate brackets. They all go eventually, but I hate paying for them and don't really like anything any of them say. As much as I love college football, as I am researching schools for my daughter I am getting embarrassed about what tOSU has become as a school.
In HS though, it was a different story. For whatever reason my nickname was "Krieger". When I took my first visit to Columbus and saw there was a Krieger ford, I paid good money for the bracket to put on my car back in NY.
Both cars I purchased from my current dealer had no dealer decals at my request. A plastic plate thing is fine (comes off when the WeatherTech plate whatever goes on). Heck, this last time, they asked if I wanted the front plate installed (a year before Ohio’s front-plate mandate was lifted); never had any issues.
I go out of my way to wear clothes with no logo. It is hard to do and sometimes I just have to buy something with the least noticeable logo. If I do wear something with a logo purposely it’s got to be totally obscure.
My previous Miata (that I haven't sold yet) has the EUDM Eunos Roadster badges on the back an no front badge. If you didn't know any better, you'd never be able to identify the car. I might do the same with my current one, to be honest. Or replace the badges with chrome stickers because litewate baybee
My favorite shirts are plain black tees, either supima or merino wool. For years, I wore one of these and selvedge jeans every day like a cartoon character. I dressed it up/down with a few shoe, boot and jacket options.
Speaking of, will we ever get a post on that? Looking sharpish is a worthwhile goal in my opinion, and you've spent some time getting stuff made for you and paying attention to fabrics to write a bit about looking decent.
Dude ran for Congress in Chicago five years ago and all he talked about was legalizing weed. I believe he put campaign ads on pornhub. Every single time I would see him he was wearing tight black pants and shirts. Shoes, socks, glasses....everything black and not a bit faded. If I see someone wearing the same thing everyday I'm going to assume he is as weird and sketchy as this guy.
Same here. I will make an exception for corporate shirts at company events, and those are coordinated. I once bought a hat in a color which was not my #1 choice because the picture in the webstore didn't have the logo. Well the product arrived with the logo on it. It took some time to remove the embroidery.
When I used to get cheap corporate swag like shirts or hats, I would give them to the homeless guys who panhandled around my building in downtown Chicago to wear. Just helping with the corporate branding!
seems like i've mentioned this before; the first stuff like this were countess mara neckties in the early '50s. my much older and marvelously suave brother (i called him a russian david niven) asked a friend how much it cost. he answered $35. my brother said for another 20 you could've had countess mara. funny stuff to a 16-year-old in the korean war era
Of course, may people don't know the truth about the whole thing. The man never gassed his people (criminally awful neocon blood-libel), and sails to re-election every time with 90+% of the vote. The love notes he sends his wife (revealed in some wikileaks cable dump; can't remember) belie the oddly-unanimous western characterization of him as some sort of monster. Probably a more people-focused leader than *any single politician* in the West, save Orban
My sister in law went to be a nanny for her dad's college roommate in London the summer of 91. He was an American and fairly high ranking exec at BP Amaaco. She got introduced at a party to a young Syrian ophthalmology student who went out in the garden to play soccer with the kids. Never understood why he was there until years later. Bashir al-Assad.
Me, I enjoy Honda Vintage Culture stuff when in a Porsch OR as tennis warmups. Go figure.
See, we all perceive different things as important. I think anyone who buys a Rolex is a poser/idiot. When I see one on someone's wrist, unless it's my uncle who greatly enjoys buying $20 knockoff "Rolexes" and showing them to everyone, I assume the owner has come into new money/funny money in the last 6 months. Unless they are no money and it's hocked. I had a partner who was a failure in the first 15 years of his legal life. Year 16 brought a nice bonus, gold Rolex next January.
Smarter buy is a Tudor of course. The Chevy Rolex brand.
I once took a girlfriend to my watch dude to pick out a vintage one for Christmas. The case was full of nice old bulovas and such, but once she put on the Tudor Prince Oysterdate in gold she was sold. I'm still mad about that, but it was really pretty on her.
I was still blowing through the portion of my divorce settlement I had set aside as fun money so I like to think my ex wife bought that watch.
I've told every girlfriend since that an Omega triple date would be a perfect gift for me. You won't know that I'm in love, but there will be signs....
I bought my younger daughter a nice vintage ladies' Seiko 5. Does that count? She's the only child of mine who always gives me actual presents on my birthday.
That stuff bugs me. I LIKE the design of some Rolexes, but I don't want to be seen wearing one (not that I can afford one but that's beside the point lol) because of the stigma.
I think I should take a page out of your uncle's book.
I'm with you, now that I can afford a Rolex level watch I am hesitant to buy one since I am pretty sure it would sit in the box because I'd either be too afraid of it getting stolen or self conscious about the image it portrays.
I still am perfectly content with my humble collection of G-Shocks, Orient, and Citizens that get just as much attention for the right reasons as a Rolex without the stigma or worry if someone decides they want one of them more than I do.
I have my dad's Citizen America's Cup that he bought when I was a kid. Always coveted that watch. He gave it to me when I turned 21. It's more valuable to me than almost anything else that I own.
I wore the thing so much that I finally wore out the clasp and almost lost it earlier this year. I'm struggling to find some sort of replacement stainless/gold sports watch that's not going to get me stabbed at a gas station.
Your comment reminded me that I also have an Omega that was a gift from my Uncle when I graduated from college, its not my taste since it is a quartz Constellation, but it rides in my watch box regardless because of the meaning of the gift. I'm pretty sure he told me to sell it to get what I want when he gave it to me, but I've never been able to part ways with it.
As for your Citizen, find an authorized dealer local to you and bring it in, they will be able to find you a suitable replacement clasp/strap even if a factory one is NLA.
I'm extremely happy with my SKX007. Same design as a Submariner for a fraction of the price while being a real watch. One day I might replace it with a Marinemaster, perhaps a GMT. I'm pretty sold on the Seiko brand.
The Submariner has always been a watch I loved, but now that I am in a position to afford one, I don't think I could ever do it, just for what wearing a Rolex generally says about you these days. Also, I refuse on general principle to pay over market value for a watch from a company that produces a million a year. I will probably stick to Tudor, and frankly, I think what they are doing is more interesting than Rolex anyway.
I bought a new Submariner in about 1993. It spent more time at the NYC service facility than on my wrist. Sold it after a couple of years for a small profit.
I said similar in another recent thread. Once I got to the point where I could reasonably afford a Sub (albeit used), I had no desire to wear one for a number of reasons. The watch was merely something to motivate me to work harder.
I wear my Submariner often. My wife gave it to me on our tenth wedding anniversary twenty-two years ago. It reminds me of the best thing I’ve done. I think she paid about $3000 for it new. I don’t care what other people think it says about me.
I mainly wear an Apple Watch Series 4 as it’s a tool for work. I can see my next scheduled meeting at a glance plus any Outlook or Teams notifications that pop up. I will not miss Microsoft when I retire.
I know I already replied but I gave this some more thought. I do like well-crafted machines with a purpose. I guess watches fit that criteria. I wouldn’t go out and buy one beyond what I have. My wife also gave me a Cartier Roadster one year for Christmas. I never wear it even though I like the way it looks. I did give her a Rolex as well. My former company had a sales award where they gave you about $50k in RSUs and a Rolex. When I went up on stage to get mine, I asked for the women’s version of the Rolex. I told them my wife deserved it more than I did. The women on stage almost wet themselves over that. Now my wife wears a Rolex that is engraved on the back with that award.
I’m not a watch guy at all. I wear a big Apple Watch Ultra (dressed up with a $20 Amazon “titanium” band!) daily, unless I’m dressing up a bit with a Shinola. I think if I had a son to pass a nice watch down to I’d feel differently, but I’m not spending the money for a watch to go to my daughters or whatever douche they decide to marry. Kidding. Mostly.
My two sons can fight over my Rolex and Cartier. My two daughters have a bigger battle though. They have to fight over my wife’s Rolex or her Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce. I told the story of her Rolex in another post. I got her the Patek during the downturn when things were much less expensive, too many goods chasing too few dollars. She saw it in the store and I made the mistake of having her try it on. I paid less than a quarter of what it goes for now.
what if the wearer inherited his Rolex from his father, who received it from his father in 1973 upon earning his MBA but because of bad blood never wore it and tucked it away in a drawer, where his son found it (in the box, with the owner's manual and proof of purchase) 40 years later following his father's death when his grandmother said "be sure to get the Rolex" and he replied, "What Rolex? Dad didn't have a Rolex." and learned the story?
I'm really looking forward to going to Road Atlanta this weekend, but I haven't decided if I'll wear my BMW DTM Castrol shirt, my Coca-Cola Porsche RSR shirt, or even my antique Benson & Hedges Jordan shirt (holler if you hear me, Heinz-Harald!). I believe it's simply a way of signaling to my tribe that I am one of them. Of course, if you attend IMSA races frequently, as I do, the middle-aged white guy tribe is self-evident. I don't own a BMW anymore, probably never will buy a Porsche, and no longer wish to be HHF with a 700hp Honda V10 shrieking behind me. So why do I like buying and wearing these shirts? Because they look cool.
I know a guy who does various errands for truly wealthy people: get my yacht from France to Texas and oversee its service/cleaning. Guide me and 3 other aimless Purdey-owners on a few days hunt on a ranch the size of Connecticut. Then there was this:
'Ive purchased a castle in Germany. I want it disassembled and the timbers brought to my [is yachtsmith a word]? Whatever timber from the castle is *not* used in my new yacht is to be burned.'
Are there quite that many? I thought MN had by far the most, and around 80k at that. Don't know how America decide where to put the imported aftermath of our travels, over time. I will say that-- from my very limited observation-- DC hasn’t had a concentrated “post-adventure refugee infusion” since the mid-70s.
Probably start seeing some Ukrainians though. I mean, in greater proportion than, say, Somalis. Just a hunch.
I love conspicuous consumption; it takes a lot of the guesswork out of judging someone's character. The only wealth I'll flaunt is my kids. I've spent a considerable amount of time, money, and effort on them, and unlike a Rainbow Party of Porsches, I get it back in spades. And you don't need to buy a polo for people to notice.
My parents have spent untold amounts of money on me, from a Hickey-Freeman jacket to trips to Europe to private school tuition (where I was inevitably expelled; I blame a curse, having been born--literally--to John Mayer’s “my stupid mouth”). I come across pretty low rent for all of that.
I've never seen the point in branded clothing in general(aside from a brief stint in HS where I desperately needed stuff with Aeropostale plastered on it) and these days will generally pass on anything with a noticeable logo on it, with the possible exception of fine Japanese jeans. What's the point of marking yourself as part of a club with millions of other members? I would prefer to control the impressions that I give a bit more tightly - it's hard to draw any hard and fast conclusions in day to day life about someone in jeans and a plain t-shirt. I don't think people really understand what they are projecting with their choices a lot of the time. You're doing this thing, or wearing this thing because everyone else is doing it with no consideration for what it means to you and how people interact with you. It's like putting pronouns in a resume. That says something very specific about you, and whether you intend it to or not, it will affect your responses to it. I would, for example, probably wear ACF branded clothing, because it would say nothing about me to the vast majority of people. I'd know that anyone who did recognize it, would likely be someone I could at least have a good conversation with. I still wouldn't wear it to a first principles meetup though.
Wow...you mentioned Bashar Al-Assad, and it's like the scales fell from my eyes, CNN/FOX/Al Jazeera/BBC blue-pilled the crap out of me there, out of sight out of mind. He was the world's number one supervillian...until he wasn't anymore. And not because his behavior changed, but because the people who control the flow of information stopped caring, and so we stopped caring.
Probably because Donnie became the number one supervillian.
You're missing some bits there, like how his dynasty is built on the slaughter at Hama in '82 or the undeniable atrociousness of the fighting his regime engaged in to survive, barrel bombs et al.
But yeah, this is just gonna recycle in another 30 years like it always does as the next generation forgets the horrors the previous one experienced.
Exactly.
I really like that take on it. It’s why I try to frequent the same places, and buy from people I know when I can. I’ve found that cyclists can be a lot like car people, so it’s fun to explain to other racers how I chose my bike because I know the guy who designed and welded it rather than the latest ad campaign.
I give, and give and give, and what do I get? THANK YOU.
I got the reference but I prefer to make comments that draw attention to me, not you.
Did I mention I wear an Air King? I wear an Air King. Yeah that's a Rolex. And when I repainted my not yet vintage Bronco I sourced a replacement Eddie Bauer badge because they broke mine. I need people to know it isn't a peasant spec xlt. My 302 is superior to the 351 because reasons.
#Vintage #Bronco #Air King #Hilux
Some Rolexes are not gaudy show-off pieces.
I'm busy working so I don't have time to finish the article yet, but...
"Unsurprisingly, this has caused me to think a little bit about how we, as men, dress nowadays. I’ll be brief, because it’s RACE WEEK for me and I have a whole barn to clean."
*insert narrator voice* As it turns, he was not brief
Anyways, as we return to office after COVIDLOL I am often amazed at how some of the younger people in the office dress. I'm sure the gray-haired folks went through something similar when my generation started showing up in *gasp* polo shirts and slacks, but I've seen some ridiculous garb here at headquarters. Track suits, athleisure, some kind of weird overalls-over-sweater thing (it reminded me of something from The Children's Place, but for a grown kcuffing man)...
I'm no paragon of style, ask my wife. But I try not to look like a complete dolt, or a child, or both. And I'm coachable! Again, ask my wife.
I really do worry about our men. Maybe their dress is a cry for help.
2400 words is brief for me!
Brief, including mention of MeUndies.
MeUndies is a strong candidate for worst company in America IMO.
_Alright_ ! .
Let's torpedo this thread into a discussion of boxers Vs. Butt Huggers .......
-Nate
I only heard of them via podcast ads. What's so bad about em?
(::Rim shot! ::)
I've found that obvious branding rubs me the wrong way. I've never owned clothes with anything more than a stripe or flannel pattern (aside from the Hawaiian shirts lol) in the desire to not be seen as a billboard for that company. I even own a hoodie with my college program on it and my nickname (that I willingly paid for) that I've never worn. It may be that I am trying to create an identity by not making one.
Rambling aside, I would wear an ACF shirt to the next meet/trackday purely for the lulz
At some point I heard George Carlin talk about the branding on clothing (he said the same thing about being a billboard for whatever company) and internalized that. I'm always careful to buy shirts without logos. With pants, I can tolerate a tiny, hard-to-notice logo on a cheap pair of pants off the clearance rack. My capeshit t-shirts are relegated to workout wear. I look better now than I did when I was at the granite company and had no self-respect, but I'm a far cry from dapper.
Pants are like shoes in the sense that finding a pair without any discernable markings is tough (on jeans and sneakers at least). I wear Chelsea boots all the time so I've got that one covered, but I'm thinking I should drop the Levi's and grab some slacks, despite the fact jeans are great for working in and getting dirty.
Since I live in the UP I can get away with hiking pants at work. So I get zippers on the pockets and an elastic waistband (which is a problem because I lost a bunch of weight the last few years and now have to tie the stupid drawstrings) and a lightweight, hydrophobic material and I'm very comfortable all day long.
EDIT: I should mention I avoid cargo-style pockets on the sides of the legs, so the pants are all fairly clean looking.
Dearborn Denim are pretty low key. Just a small leather patch with a star that gets covered by your belt. No labels otherwise, plus they are made in the US vs Levi’s, who make their stuff in offshore sweatshops.
$75 usd is almost what I pay over here for a pair of Levi's.
Would much rather support my southern brothers.
I wear Texas Jeans. They're made in the Carolinas actually, and say they use American denim. Jeans are typically $60. Customer service is outstanding. I wear a 28" inseam and those just can't be found in stores. http://www.texasjeans.com
same goes for American Giant.
Jack is better on denim, but even cheap-chinese Uniqlo has some nice selvedge options, if you're budget conscious.
Jack, requesting a re-write of the "American and Japanese Denim" article (or need to get off my ass and hit the search bar for it)
It's not that I dislike nice stuff, especially jeans, It's that I'm going to bang them up and wear them out.
Would be a waste of a nice pair of selvedge jeans. I'll check out uniqlo and Jack's article, thanks.
There are also these ones made by guests of the State of Oregon Correctional System:
https://www.prisonblues.net/
When I go to the gym, I see guys do a set, then mill about on their phone for a minute, while wearing brand-new workout clothes.
Me, I show up in worn-out, paint-stained shirts and shorts that've been washed to threadbare.
I don't go to the gym, I work out at home with some hot blonde Scandinavian chick on youtube. She doesn't seem to care what kind of t-shirts I wear.
I use the local Y. It's well-equipped enough.
Unfortunately, it also serves as a social club for fellows of an urban persuasion who couldn't handle the hood's realness anymore - but who brought their outdoor voices with them.
You think they'd object to me singing a few bars of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?"
Fuck yeah. Show up and do work, don’t go there to preen!!
No phones on the machines! You’re here to work, sweat--and in my case, make stoopid noises. Monopolizing a machine with more phone time than lifting should be a misdemeanor, at the very least.
Those guys who show up for court dates wearing the GOOD flannel and BLACK jeans are coming to mind right now...
Black pants... I could write a book.
Hey, at least they weren't wearing the matching western shirt with the flames, like in some 90s line-dancing scenario.
Let's have it!
hey now... I've got a pair of black jeans. I wouldn't wear them to court, but still...
Due to factors that our host has covered extensively my buddy got read the riot act when he showed up in a suit. Meanwhile everyone else rolled out of bed still in their pjs and ripped jeans.
To court?
The thing with labels is I don’t own any clothes with a designer/label that’s worth any prestige at all so I don’t look at it as putting on any airs or showing off in any way. For instance, right now I’m staring at my phone and in the foreground is a little colorful LL Bean label on my fleece vest (yeah yeah I know). To me, LL Bean has all the prestige of a Toyota Corolla so wearing that label doesn’t signal I’m trying to signal anything. It might as well say “durable inexpensive clothing item” on it.
To me that’s very different than say a Gucci or LV or Prada or whatever label. Basically, if no one is impressed by your label and you’re not wearing it to impress, is it still objectionable?
No, it's not objectionable, and I'm not even sure I'm right. Like I said, I heard a George Carlin bit about it and somehow it stuck with me... to a certain extent. My winter coat is an oversized Columbia jacket like they wear on the Weather Channel, so I haven't totally avoided labels myself.
I'd say Gucci et al. is worse because it's a designer name printed on a cheap shirt. I expect LL Bean to at least be made well. Best of Show painted LL Bean in a different light than you do.
I wear a North Face (or is it The North Face?) hooded, water-proof jacket. I got it at Costco and got one for each of my two sons so we can look total dork when together in the wet and cold.
LL Bean is actually the most “old money” brand of all. Seriously.
It is but in the same way that Subaru is a status symbol in Aspen or Jackson Hole or wherever. It’s a low-cost status brand, you have no idea if the wearer is rich or poor. I’ve been wearing it my whole life (duck boots and LL Bean backpack and such) because it’s durable and lasts forever. My family was solidly “upper middle class at best”.
I figure if it's a car company logo, or a hot rod shop, or a gun company, it's okay.
Absolutely verboten for me are shirts with anime or comic characters, or stupid sayings like you find at Walmart.
I'M WITH STUPID====>
you should absolutely show up to the function with anime tiddies on your shirt
With the exception of concert and college team tee shirts, the majority of my clothing is LL Bean or Lands End. I’m not clothing conscious and hate anything with gaudy branding. They’re comfortable, wear well, and reasonably priced. I am comfortable with who I am and as long as my wife thinks I look nice, I could care less what anyone else thinks. Makes clothes shopping a lot easier.
I need to know where I can find truly brandless part-bamboo exercise MUFTI shirts
Muji Rushi? (muji.us)
Probably would work for casual wear. Great tip!
I have no idea what that even is lol
Its a material that this brand makes that has nice hand to it
https://www.tascperformance.com/
But I don't think they have a patent
Same! Jack should get some printed up!
Next time you're out and about, look at the cars around you. See how many of them have either a badge, or a decal or a license-plate surround of the dealership where the car was purchased. I'll bet you almost all of the cars you'll see have it.
When I bought my current car, I took a spool of fishing line, a Leatherman, a rag and a can of WD-40 with me. First thing I did before leaving was take the dealer decal off the back.
When the salesman asked what I was doing, I told him if they wanted me to advertise for them, they could pay me.
Nice.
You and my maternal grandfather would have understood each other well.
Pay close attention to how many cars you see that feature a sticker with the owner’s Instagram handle.
No. No, I'm afraid not.
Oh, I know.
Usually slammed imports that look like they forgot to install the springs when they put the suspension together.
"Locally hated"
my brother in Christ nobody knows who you are
I did the same.
I have a Ralph Spoilsport Motors: Take The Freeway of Your Choice in Any Direction license plate frame. I guess it's an identifier to other Firesign Theatre fans.
my father said the same thing before taking delivery of the first new car he ever bought - a 1984 Mustang SVO. told the dealer he would refuse delivery if he saw a sticker or badge on it.
my 993 has a faded metal(!) Brumos Porsche dealership license plate frame that Jack sent me many years ago. People who know, know. Everyone else asks me when I lived in Jacksonville.
Zero of my cars have any dealer decal or badges on them. I am surprisingly lax about license plate brackets. They all go eventually, but I hate paying for them and don't really like anything any of them say. As much as I love college football, as I am researching schools for my daughter I am getting embarrassed about what tOSU has become as a school.
In HS though, it was a different story. For whatever reason my nickname was "Krieger". When I took my first visit to Columbus and saw there was a Krieger ford, I paid good money for the bracket to put on my car back in NY.
I’ve not given a dime to my alma mater since they went from a two-day “pre-registration” “how-to” thing to a five day indoctrination session.
Both cars I purchased from my current dealer had no dealer decals at my request. A plastic plate thing is fine (comes off when the WeatherTech plate whatever goes on). Heck, this last time, they asked if I wanted the front plate installed (a year before Ohio’s front-plate mandate was lifted); never had any issues.
I go out of my way to wear clothes with no logo. It is hard to do and sometimes I just have to buy something with the least noticeable logo. If I do wear something with a logo purposely it’s got to be totally obscure.
My previous Miata (that I haven't sold yet) has the EUDM Eunos Roadster badges on the back an no front badge. If you didn't know any better, you'd never be able to identify the car. I might do the same with my current one, to be honest. Or replace the badges with chrome stickers because litewate baybee
MAZDA STOP PUTTING PIN HOLES IN THE BODY FOR YOUR BADGES!
I HATE THAT SO MUCH
fortunately there aren't any on the NA Miata
My favorite shirts are plain black tees, either supima or merino wool. For years, I wore one of these and selvedge jeans every day like a cartoon character. I dressed it up/down with a few shoe, boot and jacket options.
I don't even vary mine that much, I've got my dark jeans with either some tees and a Hawaiian shirt with a few shoes.
I really should upgrade my wardrobe.
Not if you like it you shouldn't .
-Nate
There's something to be said for a "uniform" although I love fabrics and craftsmanship too much for one.
Speaking of, will we ever get a post on that? Looking sharpish is a worthwhile goal in my opinion, and you've spent some time getting stuff made for you and paying attention to fabrics to write a bit about looking decent.
It was a welcome change from being forced to wear shitty "dress" clothes to work for five years.
In retrospect, I would've been better off investing in a few more dress shirts than buying $80 tees and $350 jeans.
Another guy on my route story.
Dude ran for Congress in Chicago five years ago and all he talked about was legalizing weed. I believe he put campaign ads on pornhub. Every single time I would see him he was wearing tight black pants and shirts. Shoes, socks, glasses....everything black and not a bit faded. If I see someone wearing the same thing everyday I'm going to assume he is as weird and sketchy as this guy.
Not the Fonz though. The Fonz was cool.
All I need in life is black t-shirts, jeans, and a car.
Preach.
Same here. I will make an exception for corporate shirts at company events, and those are coordinated. I once bought a hat in a color which was not my #1 choice because the picture in the webstore didn't have the logo. Well the product arrived with the logo on it. It took some time to remove the embroidery.
When I used to get cheap corporate swag like shirts or hats, I would give them to the homeless guys who panhandled around my building in downtown Chicago to wear. Just helping with the corporate branding!
something something kids in africa think the Broncos won every super bowl
I did the Fortune 500 version. Sadly, I never did see the homeless guys wearing our corporate branding.
ACF shirts when?
Like the idea of a laughing Jack Baruth face attached to a cartoon Buddha for this shirt
Open to other ideas
I'm holding out for the yellow satin jacket mentioned a little further down.
not shirts. gold lame (can't add the accent on 'stack; I mean lam-aye, the shiny gold stuff) hoodies.
I have my race team shirt, which I've given to a few people. It doesn't have my name on it, just the team name and prep shop.
seems like i've mentioned this before; the first stuff like this were countess mara neckties in the early '50s. my much older and marvelously suave brother (i called him a russian david niven) asked a friend how much it cost. he answered $35. my brother said for another 20 you could've had countess mara. funny stuff to a 16-year-old in the korean war era
Ha!
I looked up vintage Countess Mara neckties, there were some pretty slick ties to pick from.
This is in some ways a higher brow version of your TTAG Excalibur/Bren 10 piece, if I remember correctly.
Or you could pull a fast one and sell tiered ACF and TDC swag and see who bites. Then we can drag them in the comments.
Strictly speaking, valued commenters can wear the shirt on experiential grounds!
Ok then: Yellow satin quilted jacket from 'Driver' with the ACF hydra logo on the back instead of the scorpion. $1000.
I want royalties.
Edit: kraken, not hydra.
I guess I'm joining the Trackday Club because I didn't know I wanted one until you made it up just now.
"What do you do?"
"I drive."
>laps 15 seconds behind pace
I'M GIVING YOU A NIGHTCALL TO TELL YOU HOW I FEEL
“Assad must go!” Is one of my favorite memes
"Who must go?"
so good. top 10 for sure
Of course, may people don't know the truth about the whole thing. The man never gassed his people (criminally awful neocon blood-libel), and sails to re-election every time with 90+% of the vote. The love notes he sends his wife (revealed in some wikileaks cable dump; can't remember) belie the oddly-unanimous western characterization of him as some sort of monster. Probably a more people-focused leader than *any single politician* in the West, save Orban
My sister in law went to be a nanny for her dad's college roommate in London the summer of 91. He was an American and fairly high ranking exec at BP Amaaco. She got introduced at a party to a young Syrian ophthalmology student who went out in the garden to play soccer with the kids. Never understood why he was there until years later. Bashir al-Assad.
It’s as if he has a space laser giving our enemies cancer. Which would be indiscernible from God.
Me, I enjoy Honda Vintage Culture stuff when in a Porsch OR as tennis warmups. Go figure.
See, we all perceive different things as important. I think anyone who buys a Rolex is a poser/idiot. When I see one on someone's wrist, unless it's my uncle who greatly enjoys buying $20 knockoff "Rolexes" and showing them to everyone, I assume the owner has come into new money/funny money in the last 6 months. Unless they are no money and it's hocked. I had a partner who was a failure in the first 15 years of his legal life. Year 16 brought a nice bonus, gold Rolex next January.
Smarter buy is a Tudor of course. The Chevy Rolex brand.
I like my Tudor but don't wear it much right now. Should probably sell it for race tires.
A set of Hoosiers is balliner than a Tudor
I once took a girlfriend to my watch dude to pick out a vintage one for Christmas. The case was full of nice old bulovas and such, but once she put on the Tudor Prince Oysterdate in gold she was sold. I'm still mad about that, but it was really pretty on her.
Dont buy watches for women. Women should buy YOU watches!
I was still blowing through the portion of my divorce settlement I had set aside as fun money so I like to think my ex wife bought that watch.
I've told every girlfriend since that an Omega triple date would be a perfect gift for me. You won't know that I'm in love, but there will be signs....
I bought my younger daughter a nice vintage ladies' Seiko 5. Does that count? She's the only child of mine who always gives me actual presents on my birthday.
because it wouldn't cover the engine rebuild?
That stuff bugs me. I LIKE the design of some Rolexes, but I don't want to be seen wearing one (not that I can afford one but that's beside the point lol) because of the stigma.
I think I should take a page out of your uncle's book.
What's great is he could afford 100 new Rolexes and has for decades.
I'd probably make show of wrecking mine. Just to have a battered and beat to hell GMT to show off.
A beat up aluminum bezel GMT is a thing of beauty
I worked with a guy who had an absolutely beaten-to-hell Omega Seamaster
I'm with you, now that I can afford a Rolex level watch I am hesitant to buy one since I am pretty sure it would sit in the box because I'd either be too afraid of it getting stolen or self conscious about the image it portrays.
I still am perfectly content with my humble collection of G-Shocks, Orient, and Citizens that get just as much attention for the right reasons as a Rolex without the stigma or worry if someone decides they want one of them more than I do.
I have my dad's Citizen America's Cup that he bought when I was a kid. Always coveted that watch. He gave it to me when I turned 21. It's more valuable to me than almost anything else that I own.
I wore the thing so much that I finally wore out the clasp and almost lost it earlier this year. I'm struggling to find some sort of replacement stainless/gold sports watch that's not going to get me stabbed at a gas station.
Your comment reminded me that I also have an Omega that was a gift from my Uncle when I graduated from college, its not my taste since it is a quartz Constellation, but it rides in my watch box regardless because of the meaning of the gift. I'm pretty sure he told me to sell it to get what I want when he gave it to me, but I've never been able to part ways with it.
As for your Citizen, find an authorized dealer local to you and bring it in, they will be able to find you a suitable replacement clasp/strap even if a factory one is NLA.
Get a glashutte seaq, better in every way without the douchery
I'm extremely happy with my SKX007. Same design as a Submariner for a fraction of the price while being a real watch. One day I might replace it with a Marinemaster, perhaps a GMT. I'm pretty sold on the Seiko brand.
I kinda wanted a Seiko 5 because the MACVSOG units had one in Vietnam (if I remember correctly).
The Submariner has always been a watch I loved, but now that I am in a position to afford one, I don't think I could ever do it, just for what wearing a Rolex generally says about you these days. Also, I refuse on general principle to pay over market value for a watch from a company that produces a million a year. I will probably stick to Tudor, and frankly, I think what they are doing is more interesting than Rolex anyway.
Happy wearing g shock
Brass knuckles in a pinch, too.
Hey, I hear that, my white JM G-Shock gets the most wrist time by a country mile
I bought a new Submariner in about 1993. It spent more time at the NYC service facility than on my wrist. Sold it after a couple of years for a small profit.
It was a disappointing experience.
I said similar in another recent thread. Once I got to the point where I could reasonably afford a Sub (albeit used), I had no desire to wear one for a number of reasons. The watch was merely something to motivate me to work harder.
My grandpa gave me his G Shock when he retired. I've worn a watch almost every day since 4th grade. As cliché as it is, I feel naked without one.
I wear my Submariner often. My wife gave it to me on our tenth wedding anniversary twenty-two years ago. It reminds me of the best thing I’ve done. I think she paid about $3000 for it new. I don’t care what other people think it says about me.
My guess is you don't come off as a "watch guy".
I mainly wear an Apple Watch Series 4 as it’s a tool for work. I can see my next scheduled meeting at a glance plus any Outlook or Teams notifications that pop up. I will not miss Microsoft when I retire.
This has always sounded like a nightmare to me.
I know I already replied but I gave this some more thought. I do like well-crafted machines with a purpose. I guess watches fit that criteria. I wouldn’t go out and buy one beyond what I have. My wife also gave me a Cartier Roadster one year for Christmas. I never wear it even though I like the way it looks. I did give her a Rolex as well. My former company had a sales award where they gave you about $50k in RSUs and a Rolex. When I went up on stage to get mine, I asked for the women’s version of the Rolex. I told them my wife deserved it more than I did. The women on stage almost wet themselves over that. Now my wife wears a Rolex that is engraved on the back with that award.
Ckuf teams.
I’m not a watch guy at all. I wear a big Apple Watch Ultra (dressed up with a $20 Amazon “titanium” band!) daily, unless I’m dressing up a bit with a Shinola. I think if I had a son to pass a nice watch down to I’d feel differently, but I’m not spending the money for a watch to go to my daughters or whatever douche they decide to marry. Kidding. Mostly.
My two sons can fight over my Rolex and Cartier. My two daughters have a bigger battle though. They have to fight over my wife’s Rolex or her Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce. I told the story of her Rolex in another post. I got her the Patek during the downturn when things were much less expensive, too many goods chasing too few dollars. She saw it in the store and I made the mistake of having her try it on. I paid less than a quarter of what it goes for now.
what if the wearer inherited his Rolex from his father, who received it from his father in 1973 upon earning his MBA but because of bad blood never wore it and tucked it away in a drawer, where his son found it (in the box, with the owner's manual and proof of purchase) 40 years later following his father's death when his grandmother said "be sure to get the Rolex" and he replied, "What Rolex? Dad didn't have a Rolex." and learned the story?
"Men would rather live in reflected glory than none at all. That's why they wear team jackets."
"Most men want immortality, which is why they have kids. Then they see how the kids turn out, and they try something else."
"Men would rather build a statue of themselves, but they know no one would come and look at it."
- Red Green
He was our greatest Canadian philosopher.
Keep your stick on the ice.
This is only temporary. Unless it works.
My other favorite meme was relevant to last months topic.
“I consent”
“I consent”
“I don’t”
Yes!
BRB, unpacking my First Principles t-shirt.
I'm really looking forward to going to Road Atlanta this weekend, but I haven't decided if I'll wear my BMW DTM Castrol shirt, my Coca-Cola Porsche RSR shirt, or even my antique Benson & Hedges Jordan shirt (holler if you hear me, Heinz-Harald!). I believe it's simply a way of signaling to my tribe that I am one of them. Of course, if you attend IMSA races frequently, as I do, the middle-aged white guy tribe is self-evident. I don't own a BMW anymore, probably never will buy a Porsche, and no longer wish to be HHF with a 700hp Honda V10 shrieking behind me. So why do I like buying and wearing these shirts? Because they look cool.
If I were FU money rich, I’d buy that watch, smash it to bits, melt down the pieces and drop it in the ocean. I’d film it all and put it online.
And this is how Whistlindiesel has 482 billion views or whatever.
Not saying that you're wrong.
Ragebaiting is lowbrow and I hate it.
I agree, but it would be hypocritical for me to call things lowbrow. I've come to appreciate lowbrow things to some degree.
Same. I'm not a terribly cultured individual.
I just really don't like the guy and his videos.
I’ll take a PBR over many other things.
I know a guy who does various errands for truly wealthy people: get my yacht from France to Texas and oversee its service/cleaning. Guide me and 3 other aimless Purdey-owners on a few days hunt on a ranch the size of Connecticut. Then there was this:
'Ive purchased a castle in Germany. I want it disassembled and the timbers brought to my [is yachtsmith a word]? Whatever timber from the castle is *not* used in my new yacht is to be burned.'
When you use your FU money to say, y'know....
That's the hardest flex since they dropped 100,000 bloodthirsty Somalis into Central Ohio as a punishment for voting Reagan.
Are there quite that many? I thought MN had by far the most, and around 80k at that. Don't know how America decide where to put the imported aftermath of our travels, over time. I will say that-- from my very limited observation-- DC hasn’t had a concentrated “post-adventure refugee infusion” since the mid-70s.
Probably start seeing some Ukrainians though. I mean, in greater proportion than, say, Somalis. Just a hunch.
There aren't. Turns out it's only 50,000:
http://www.somaliohio.org/about-scao.html
However, they are killing people at twice the rate of their African-American fellow-travelers, which is sort of astounding.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2022/10/13/thirteen-suspected-members-of-the-bantu-life-gang-arrested-by-police/69559581007/
I love conspicuous consumption; it takes a lot of the guesswork out of judging someone's character. The only wealth I'll flaunt is my kids. I've spent a considerable amount of time, money, and effort on them, and unlike a Rainbow Party of Porsches, I get it back in spades. And you don't need to buy a polo for people to notice.
I spent a ton of money on my son but he still comes off as pretty low rent tbh
Like Father, like Son?
Nothing like banter between mates
My parents have spent untold amounts of money on me, from a Hickey-Freeman jacket to trips to Europe to private school tuition (where I was inevitably expelled; I blame a curse, having been born--literally--to John Mayer’s “my stupid mouth”). I come across pretty low rent for all of that.
I've never seen the point in branded clothing in general(aside from a brief stint in HS where I desperately needed stuff with Aeropostale plastered on it) and these days will generally pass on anything with a noticeable logo on it, with the possible exception of fine Japanese jeans. What's the point of marking yourself as part of a club with millions of other members? I would prefer to control the impressions that I give a bit more tightly - it's hard to draw any hard and fast conclusions in day to day life about someone in jeans and a plain t-shirt. I don't think people really understand what they are projecting with their choices a lot of the time. You're doing this thing, or wearing this thing because everyone else is doing it with no consideration for what it means to you and how people interact with you. It's like putting pronouns in a resume. That says something very specific about you, and whether you intend it to or not, it will affect your responses to it. I would, for example, probably wear ACF branded clothing, because it would say nothing about me to the vast majority of people. I'd know that anyone who did recognize it, would likely be someone I could at least have a good conversation with. I still wouldn't wear it to a first principles meetup though.
Relevant; predictable but rather interesting book:
https://www.amazon.com/Status-Culture-Creates-Identity-Constant/dp/0593296702
Wow...you mentioned Bashar Al-Assad, and it's like the scales fell from my eyes, CNN/FOX/Al Jazeera/BBC blue-pilled the crap out of me there, out of sight out of mind. He was the world's number one supervillian...until he wasn't anymore. And not because his behavior changed, but because the people who control the flow of information stopped caring, and so we stopped caring.
Probably because Donnie became the number one supervillian.
He also never did what they say he did.
This is material in the "is he actually evil" calculation.
Like many people who wish well for their nation, he is defamed and blood-libeled constantly
You're missing some bits there, like how his dynasty is built on the slaughter at Hama in '82 or the undeniable atrociousness of the fighting his regime engaged in to survive, barrel bombs et al.
But yeah, this is just gonna recycle in another 30 years like it always does as the next generation forgets the horrors the previous one experienced.
Begpardon. Specifically i meant to refer to the "gassing his own people" blood libel.
Ironically, it's the dad who was the true bad guy.
Bashar just wants to maintain some independence for the country, and himself.