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Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

nytimes.com

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Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#161

Post by wolco »

VectorLock wrote: post #140
stevenicr wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After buying mostly levi's jeans for 30 years I started noticing huge differences in quality / durability.. upon inspecting the waist seams I noticed the 'made in pakistan / mexico' and other labels of origin. The same style/numbers from different years had different fabric thicknesses and were made in various places, and they did not last as long. So I started to question this "American brand". Then they started goi…

I had a very similar experience with Adidas shoes. For a long time (~15 years maybe) I was pretty much exclusively buying Adidas shell-toes for my daily footwear. They were the most comfortable well fitting shoes and fit my wide feet well. It was nice not having to spend much time looking or trying on shoes - every 2 or even 3 years when they wore out I'd buy a new pair and they fit just like the last one. The last p…

I always found adidas really bad for wide feet / same as nike. Reebok or Vans are wider.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#162

Post by wolco »

Nasrudith wrote: post #102
seltzered_ wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would add environmental friendliness - more creativity in supply chains so more local materials used. Fashion will always exist and by itself shouldnt be considered wasteful - think deeply about other cultures relationship to it. Google around for Adam Minters book secondhand on how the rag industry is one of the largest.

I see an obsession with local but would they actually be more environmentally friendly? Specialized higher yield locales are more efficenct for land usage. Efficencies of scale and more optimal environments and container ships of scale as well. Aside from that more stringent local environmental regulations are the only advantage I can see mattering.

Transportation costs.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#163

Post by dan-robertson »

craigsmansion wrote: post #160
kazen44 wrote: post #5

The collapse of the fashion industry does not mean the clothing industry will collapse. People still need clothing obviously (cheap and of good quality preferably). Also, what do we consider the fashion industry exactly? Most long term clothing trends seem to be dictated by a couple of factors. Consisting of: - practicality. Jeans are good example of this. It's cheap and practical clothing that lasts a long time. - c…

> Buying new clothing because of yearly trends is way to damaging to the environment for what it's worth. I read this as I rock along on my Thinkpad x200 and read it on a forum where people regularly defend the use of electron apps and gush over the latest sumptuous macbooks with gobs of memory. "But, but, I need those for my work" And so might these people who buy clothes because of yearly trends. "But that's differ…

Maybe there are lots of different people on the site who have different opinions and what you’re seeing is not a majority agreeing on an inconsistent opinion but rather many people with different internally consistent (or even internally inconsistent) ideas.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#164

Post by apozem »

The way this article frames it, all these fashion companies are going direct-to-consumer (DTC) as their business model salvation, but that is only good for Facebook.

> Here is the problem for DTC companies: Facebook really is better at finding them customers than anyone else. That means that the best return-on-investment for acquiring customers is on Facebook, where DTC companies are competing against all of the other DTC companies and mobile game developers and incumbent CPG companies and everyone else for user attention. That means the real winner is Facebook, while DTC companies are slowly choked by ever-increasing customer acquisition costs. Facebook is the company that makes the space work, and so it is only natural that Facebook is harvesting most of the profitability from the DTC value chain.

https://stratechery.com/2020/brandless-closes-the-dtc-facebo...

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#165

Post by wolco »

ceejayoz wrote: post #155
tomp wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even a broken clock is right twice every day. People have also been warning about the next market crash for many years. Finally, one happened because of pandemic, and it's over in a blink of an eye. I'm still expecting an even bigger crash, but I've learned my lesson against timing the future.

That's unfair. "We don't know when the next pandemic will come, but it will come, and we should be prepared for it" is a perfectly reasonable statement. Any pandemic is likely going to require PPE, PCR testing reagents, BSL labs, etc. Same thing for recessions; predicting the specific timing of one is difficult. Advocating preparations for one - economic, fiscal, social policies etc. to mitigate, for example - is not…

Think of all of the things we are not preparing for.

Isn't California due for the big one. Should we be spending now to get everyone out before it hits.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#166

Post by kbenson »

coldtea wrote: post #158
taurath wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(All comments on culture US centric) - This thinking is why the men’s section is 1/4 as large as the women’s in most stores. Culturally for men clothing is supposed to be above all practical. There are 5 genres of men’s clothes - business (pressed shirts, suits), casual, workout, skater, and comfort (hoodie). Contrast this with the women’s section. Women have an expectation to express themselves and their personality…

> Women have an expectation to express themselves and their personality. Personality is expressed through choice of cut, material, and color of cloth?

People definitely attempt to do so, and sometimes do so subconsciously. Some people dress for how they want to be seen or aspire to be, others dress as a reflection of their environment, including those they associate with, and that sometimes reflects the prevailing attitude and beliefs of that group (and sometimes not).

A simple example of this might be a haircut. Whether accurate or not, a mohawk often signals something to other people (and sometimes signals something the person that wears it, like "I may be ties down with more responsibilities, but I won't let that define me").

I like to think most my clothing choices are made because of practical matters such as comfort and fit, but even within my normal range of jeans to shorts and t-shirts to polo shirts (and maybe the less formal button-up shirt), there's definitely things that fit that criteria that don't feel like they fit how I think of myself. And that's as a man, where I think expectations to do with style and clothing are much simpler.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#167

Post by magic_beans »

coldtea wrote: post #158
taurath wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(All comments on culture US centric) - This thinking is why the men’s section is 1/4 as large as the women’s in most stores. Culturally for men clothing is supposed to be above all practical. There are 5 genres of men’s clothes - business (pressed shirts, suits), casual, workout, skater, and comfort (hoodie). Contrast this with the women’s section. Women have an expectation to express themselves and their personality…

> Women have an expectation to express themselves and their personality. Personality is expressed through choice of cut, material, and color of cloth?

Don't be dense. Whether you admit it or not, most people judge others based on appearance.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#168

Post by ceejayoz »

wolco wrote: post #165
ceejayoz wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's unfair. "We don't know when the next pandemic will come, but it will come, and we should be prepared for it" is a perfectly reasonable statement. Any pandemic is likely going to require PPE, PCR testing reagents, BSL labs, etc. Same thing for recessions; predicting the specific timing of one is difficult. Advocating preparations for one - economic, fiscal, social policies etc. to mitigate, for example - is not…

Think of all of the things we are not preparing for. Isn't California due for the big one. Should we be spending now to get everyone out before it hits.

Get everyone out? No.

Prepare? Absolutely. I can't speak to the state of California's earthquake preparedness, but there should absolutely be supplies and equipment stationed throughout the state in preparation for it. It is my understanding that San Francisco, for example, has water cisterns throughout the city for fighting fires in such a scenario.

It is dumb not to prepare for disasters we know will happen.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#169

Post by wyclif »

wirthjason wrote: post #90
Larrikin wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This kind of thinking is why I tend to buy as close to a full years worth of clothing whenever I make a trip out to Tokyo. Even in Chicago relatively fashionable men's clothing shops are few and far between

What do you find so interesting and where do you shop? I like Uniqlo and Muji but now that Uniqlo is available (in-store) in Chicago theres no need to buy it in Japan. I’m not particularly into fashion but I like mainstream but trendy clothes. I think Japanese fashion is less about the clothes themselves than the acceptance to let people wear what they want and and not judging. I think it’s more acceptable to match d…

One strap shoulder Man-bags are all the rage. They are pretty practical, especially when you can’t fit your checkbook-sized wallet in tiny pockets. But in the US it looks like you’re wearing a fanny pack.

Especially true in SE Asia. I resisted the trend because it looks effeminate, like you're wearing a purse. Asian guys love them because they're super practical if you ride a motorbike or scooter tandem style. I think it works better for more masculine types to go for a bigger bag. I have a black Crumpler bicycle messenger bag (not super big, just a normal-sized bike messenger bag) and it works great for me down here.

Re: Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed

#170

Post by ChickeNES »

spaetzleesser wrote: post #34

I am getting pretty tired of sweatpants but regular pants feel uncomfortable while working from home. Does anybody know some pants that are reasonably comfortable but still a little stylish?

Honestly? Levi's makes cheap jeans under the "Denizen" brand for Target (and maybe others too, I haven't looked). They're made of a stretchier fabric than real denim, cost less, feel more comfortable, and I've yet to blow out the inseam in a piar :)
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