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Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

blog.timoni.org

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Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#181

Post by cpeterso »

Jun8 wrote: post #163
Mz wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank You! I actually want to do something with fashion. Not sure what. I have tried asking around on HN and found it frustrating. This discussion is turning into a goldmine of food for thought (or maybe buffet?).

Here's an example I like a lot from Tantek Celik: http://tantek.com/log/2008/03.html#d06t1604 , something along these lines would be great. I think just going around asking valley luminaries what they wear & pack while traveling and why would be a great place to start.

I sit about 10 feet from Tantek and I can vouch that he wears that outfit everyday, not just at SXSW. :)

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#182

Post by awj »

sneak wrote: post #154
tomwalker wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I order them 150-200 at a time Wow. That's is a HUGE pile of t shirts. You say "washed-once" is a good look but do you throw them away afterwards? I think 150 t shirts would last me 150+ years

The whole mess of them fit into one of those plastic 22-gallon (ca 80L) storage tubs. They are business-presentable for 3-4 washes, and around-the-house for another 4 or 5 after that. A big part of it is that I live somewhere with exceptionally hard water for a major city (Berlin), so they tend to develop the characteristic white edge thing that happens to black clothing more quickly than "normal" (for other locales)…

Have you checked to see what treating your water would cost? Chemical water softeners are relatively cheap. This one[1] costs roughly $0.30 per load of laundry. If it doubled the wash lifetime of your shirts you're throwing away a ton of money by not doing it.

[1] http://www.walmart.com/ip/Calgon-Water-Softener-1-qt/1342460...

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#183

Post by cpeterso »

Jun8 wrote: post #156

I've always wondered why there is so little of talk about what to wear in nerdy crowds, e.g. on HN. Looking at the way people obsess about every single detail about their lives (how to exercise in gym, what music to listen while coding, etc.), there should be way more discussion on this but it's nonexistent. I think a wearsthis site, similar to usesthis.com, would be quite popular. I'd like to know what shoes Spolsky…

Mark by Mark Zuckerberg. Fashion for Men:

http://www.markbymarkzuckerberg.com/

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#184

Post by Jun8 »

Mz wrote: post #169
Jun8 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's an example I like a lot from Tantek Celik: http://tantek.com/log/2008/03.html#d06t1604 , something along these lines would be great. I think just going around asking valley luminaries what they wear & pack while traveling and why would be a great place to start.

I came up with this "brilliant" idea for a brainy clothing site called Geek Chic, but the domain was already taken: http://www.geekchic.com/ I am still trying to decide what exactly I want to do (in addition to spouting off on several websites). I have already written a tiny bit about clothes on one of my blogs and I want to do more of that. I think there is room for a kind of brainiac's guerrilla fashion site, so to…

See, the thing is I don't want to be chic, at least not in the sense that word connotes for the majority of people. I want to create/buy/wear clothes that coders would find cool and "chic" (without looking like a total weirdo, of course). If there are so many cool looking skins for my Macbook (e.g. http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=all&i...), why can't have the same creative disruption in my clothing?

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#185

Post by sneak »

awj wrote: post #182
sneak wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole mess of them fit into one of those plastic 22-gallon (ca 80L) storage tubs. They are business-presentable for 3-4 washes, and around-the-house for another 4 or 5 after that. A big part of it is that I live somewhere with exceptionally hard water for a major city (Berlin), so they tend to develop the characteristic white edge thing that happens to black clothing more quickly than "normal" (for other locales)…

Have you checked to see what treating your water would cost? Chemical water softeners are relatively cheap. This one[1] costs roughly $0.30 per load of laundry. If it doubled the wash lifetime of your shirts you're throwing away a ton of money by not doing it. [1] http://www.walmart.com/ip/Calgon-Water-Softener-1-qt/1342460...

I've tried it. It's a combination of hard water causing greying and the fact that the hems on the t-shirts (usually the collars) end up curling after 7 or 8 washes. It's not a 100% gain, maybe 20-50% for substantial additional hassle.

T-shirts cost me ~$400/year presently. I live on a 4th floor walkup, my washer is on my second floor (yet another floor up), chemical water softeners are heavy, and shirts simply don't cost enough to jump through hoops of buying, carrying, and stocking another heavy supply fluid (already doing that for detergent and fabric softener).

I try not to add significant inconvenience to my life for things that will save me under $1000/year.

To put it in perspective, I spend more on bottled water than I do clothing.

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#186

Post by Mz »

Jun8 wrote: post #184
Mz wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came up with this "brilliant" idea for a brainy clothing site called Geek Chic, but the domain was already taken: http://www.geekchic.com/ I am still trying to decide what exactly I want to do (in addition to spouting off on several websites). I have already written a tiny bit about clothes on one of my blogs and I want to do more of that. I think there is room for a kind of brainiac's guerrilla fashion site, so to…

See, the thing is I don't want to be chic, at least not in the sense that word connotes for the majority of people. I want to create/buy/wear clothes that coders would find cool and "chic" (without looking like a total weirdo, of course). If there are so many cool looking skins for my Macbook (e.g. http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=all&i... ), why can't have the same creative disruption in my clothin…

Oh, that was my exact thought. Sorry if I failed to convey it. I am someone who does social hacking and the amount I have studied things like clothes let's me hack the system. I have a $3 haircut from another homeless person. I get asked by non-homeless types where I got my fabulous haircut. I get asked if it is permed and complimented on the highlighting. There is no perm and it wasn't highlighted.

I have two ASD sons who have a yawning disinterest in things like fashion and who live in shorts and t-shirts. We get told they are "beautiful" young men and asked about their hair, etc. too. So I think I am uniquely qualified to bring guerrilla fashion to folks who do not give a flying fuck about fashion and would take glee in being praised for their t-shirts and hoodies.

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#187

Post by Swizec »

sneak wrote: post #139
cletus wrote: post #94

I saw this post and ignored it on first glance. I just assumed it was some guy and as such it's pretty easy, particularly as an engineer. At work picking out the engineers is largely trivial (jeans, tshirt, runners). There are variations (eg SF engineers have more an affectation for, say, checked shirts at present). As a guy this seems totally fine. Women seem to have it much harder and not really because of men eith…

There is huge variance in t-shirt quality and fit. In my experience, American Apparel tees are the best I've ever found, and I order them 150-200 at a time (in black, of course). I have to lie and say they're for screenprinting, due to some weird requirements Am Appy instituted for their (now pretty restricted) wholesale customers. In bulk and in quantity (free shipping), they are $6/ea stateside. (Retail where I liv…

Have you thought about using one of those fabric softeners designes specifically for black clothing?

My t-shirts last about 3 years. Business-presentable up to a year or so ... that's hundreds of washes considering I cycle through most of my t-shirt stack every 1.5 weeks.

After 5 years they're only good enough for the gym, on account of the fabric becoming weird. The colour is still mostly fine.

Also, I think you're doing something seriously wrong when washing your t-shirts ... you are doing cold washes right? Nothing above 40C and all that ... also, is your washing machine filled with sand or something?

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#188

Post by egypturnash »

jskopek wrote: post #6
jasonkester wrote: post #3

Funny to see what a female thinks of as "wearing the same thing every day". For most dudes I know, That's a lot of clothes to own. I think I made it to age 30 without ever owning 3 pairs of pants at one time.

I recently helped a female friend move out of an old apartment, and I was absolutely astounded by how much clothing she had lying around. It surprised me because she came off as a stylish, but not terribly fashion-centered person. By my rough estimate, this list represented probably 1/5 of my friend's clothing. Granted, a sample size of 1 is not terribly informative; however, my gut feeling is that a women's wardrobe…

The plural of anecdote is not data but...

I've changed my sex. I used to be male, now I'm female.

My wardrobe used to be "a collection of t-shirts and 4-5 pairs of jeans". Now it's a whole closet full of blouses, dresses, and skirts, plus a dresser with a few more things. I recently did a purge and got the stuff down in my closet to 100 individual pieces.

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#189

Post by septerr »

I am yet to have spent $40 on any clothing. Looking for shirts under $10 and jeans/pants/dresses for $20 makes it so much more difficult to have a decent wardrobe.

Although I know some of the pricey stuff is totally worth the money, it's difficult to break the frugal ways inherited from more difficult times.

But I am going to give away my clearance sale wardrobe and start fresh. Like, Timoni, I don't like having excessive stuff around esp. stuff that doesn't get used. So, I am planning a minimalist, functional, cool+classy and fits-all-occasion collection (SMALL!) which will be periodically recycled.

This post was good for my plans. Tx.

Re: Why I Wear The Same Thing Every Day, And What I Wear

#190

Post by ahoyhere »

cletus wrote: post #94

I saw this post and ignored it on first glance. I just assumed it was some guy and as such it's pretty easy, particularly as an engineer. At work picking out the engineers is largely trivial (jeans, tshirt, runners). There are variations (eg SF engineers have more an affectation for, say, checked shirts at present). As a guy this seems totally fine. Women seem to have it much harder and not really because of men eith…

"Women seem to have it much harder…" -- as a woman who has totally opted out of this, I can tell you that women make it much harder… on themselves. Not even on each other, not unless you're hanging out with the wrong people.

I think of this as the "Boohoo, societal beauty standards are brutal, please pass the Cosmo" conundrum.

Her essay was a fun read and I loved her pixel art. But I think my wardrobe is less complicated than hers and it would never occur to me to write about it. I rather think she's romanticized a completely normal and unremarkable way of living… the CPU quote as a sign.

FWIW, nobody's commented on or criticized my clothing choices since an ex's mother, nearly 7 years ago, bought me fancy button-up shirts without asking, but I think she just thought I dressed the way I did because I was poor. Ha. :)

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