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Why did clothing become boring?

resobscura.substack.com

131–140 of 142 posts

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#131
> That’s because you, reader, are probably dressed much the same. Zara. Uniqlo. Nike. H&M. A cotton t-shirt from Amazon, a jacket drop-shipped from China that you found thanks to a targeted ad on Instagram.

I sure don't dress like this and nor do any of my friends or family. I've only ever met one person I can recall with confidence who does. maybe I'm not the target audience, but I'm not really sure who is. Is this "style" really that common? Amongst whom? This article feels extremely reductive in its view of modern everyday fashion. Lots of people under the age of 25 are doing plenty of thoughtful, eclectic things with their wardrobes, that much I do know.

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should just admit some people genuinely don't follow trends. Bro it took me like 6 years to even notice everyone but me had ONLY black socks. White is Faux Pas. bwahahahahaha.

Are you sure you replied to the right post? Your reply doesn't seem to address the post to which it replied.

Yep 'utility' vs 'fashion'. Words 5yr olds can understand.

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still even carry my phone in a belt pouch. A major Fashion Faux Pas, because I should be cramming it down a pocket, instead, like a civilized member of society. lol.

Oh, now you made me remember the dedicated phone holder! That is another accessory that just went the way of the dodo. I guess the size of today's phones is to blame.

Right. I'm the only one on the planet still using a belt-loop phone holder. :) I'm just old enough not to have `phone addiction` so I just wear it around and have no urge to take it out every 3 seconds.

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That's because you haven't clarified what the "time-frame was that someone in Hollywood declared Fanny Packs to be out of style right when tight jeans came into being". https://archive.org/details/clarion_yb_1945/page/n27/mode/2u... shows that "tight jeans" were a thing in the 1940s (that links to a 1945 yearbook entry listing a pet peeve of "girls who wear tight jeans and sweaters"). I assume the "someone in Hollywo…

You accused me of putting the time-frame for Fanny Packs back into the 1980s, but when you went back and read my post again you realized I didn't. lol. So now you're having to falsely claim my writing was unclear, because there's no other way to save face.

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#135
> The nineteenth century was the century of interchangeable parts. And so it makes sense that clothing, too, became more interchangeable at this time.

I don't think that follows. The weaving machines were advanced enough to print portraits: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/222531

It would have been considerably more expensive to get something custom made, but it was still possible. They were certainly willing to pay considerable amounts for clothes prior to industrialism.

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#136

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Your argument could be read as beauty not mattering. For a different POV, countless animals will risk their life to look fabulous/make themselves stand from the pack to leave a legacy. Arguably fashion could be one of the most important thing to people. PS: on a side note, even in technical circles where we could expect more detachment from appearances in general, a lot of comment will revolve around "X looks dumb".…

i like this argument- fashion is left over animal spirits. the less rational (and more animalistic) we are, the more that fashion matters to us. that would explain the drop in extreme fashion's popularity also as people become educated.

> the less rational (and more animalistic) we are, the more that fashion matters to us

Rational and animalistic are usually synonymous. Humans, on the other hand, tend to be far less rational.

Thus, the more rational we are, the more fashion matters to us. Or vice versa.

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how, instead of with clothing, do subcultures express themselves now? By choice of memes? Which fanfic they read? Do people wear boring clothes but pick subculture-signifying avatars? EDIT: Looks like goths are still a thing? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zjg1P_2IPOQ

What happened is all of the counterculture/subcultures/whatever got so popular and kind of mellowed out and melted together into a bunch of samey stuff. Like how music went through this phase where "not mainstream" music started getting really cool but now all of those sounds are just what everything sounds like now, you can't rebel against mainstream music right now.

This had always happened. Metallica is a great example of music that was once underground becoming huge and popular.

What changed is there is no new "underground" culture to take the place of what had become popular and mainstream.

Witch house in 2009 or so I think was the last gasp of the underground before shortly running out of air.

Now young people just doomscroll tiktok instead.

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happened is all of the counterculture/subcultures/whatever got so popular and kind of mellowed out and melted together into a bunch of samey stuff. Like how music went through this phase where "not mainstream" music started getting really cool but now all of those sounds are just what everything sounds like now, you can't rebel against mainstream music right now.

This had always happened. Metallica is a great example of music that was once underground becoming huge and popular. What changed is there is no new "underground" culture to take the place of what had become popular and mainstream. Witch house in 2009 or so I think was the last gasp of the underground before shortly running out of air. Now young people just doomscroll tiktok instead.

That may be true, but I'd be willing to bet that in 2038 we'll be able to go on whatever the successor to YouTube might be, and find someone commenting, somewhere, that a particular clip "was the last of the real ${ADJ} ${NOUN} genre" and that the young people don't realise that what they call music can't hold a candle to 2031.

Lagniappe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQxq_-dWYsc (in the fine tradition of pastiches combining video with unrelated audio)

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Those layers were still designed to serve a purpose - largely keeping warm Yes and no. Something that people often take for granted is doing laundry. The invention of the automatic clothes washer and dryer changed things dramatically . Before automation, laundry day for a household of 4 was a huge, laborious, and often multi-day task. Not only did garments need to be washed by hand, but there was a lot of attention…

is there any reason we still line suits today? debating removing the lining of one of my suits to see what happens

There are summer suits and sports coats that are unlined or half -lined (e.g the sleeves are usually lined for ease of wearing and removing).

Re: Why did clothing become boring?

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linings are often a slippery fabric in order to make a jacket easier to put on. The lining also reduces wear on the main body of the fabric since you are rubbing against the lining instead. Linings are also a useful way to hide the seams and other construction details of the garment. However, any of these could probably be worked around.

The visible lining is one thing, but when people talk about lining in suits it can also mean an inner structure made of stiffer material like canvas to help give the suit form and structure. So in a more traditional suit there is the outer wool, an inner canvas structural lining, and then the slippery inner lining to hide all the seams and make it look finished. I suspect the Edwardian suit had a slippery inner linin…

Interesting site/company, though it takes really long to load and render. Maybe 'HNified' ?

I'm tempted to ask them, with all their customizing, if they'd be up to something more 'cosplay'/sci-fi-uniform style, but only slightly, not 'overdoing' it. While keeping their high quality standards regarding the textile materials and their craft.

Hmm. Former Saigon...never been there, sure there is much more to experience and see.

Tempting, Tempting, Tempting...

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