The mundane attire of Vancouverites

[Drake Wingfire]

Vancouver would benefit from a Japanese-originated chain of clothing stores called "Uniqlo" - sucks that it's expanded out to HK, London, and the states, but not up into Canada. -.-

They sell colourful "casual attire", as quoted.

http://www.uniqlo.com/us/

Forget fashion, we could use the Japaneese version of cars! im tired of "Americanized" Japanese cars, IE fat gutless versions. But I am a car guy, not a fashion guy lol

[Drake Wingfire]

I must be honest with you, their current lines are just as bland and dull as everything else right now.  ??? Unless I'm missing something, most of what I see is here is more gray, black and navy.

edit: Also they make flannel plaid shirts! Ew!  :o

If color is what you want just shop outside your normal preferred chain stores. Contrary to popular belief, its still possible to find colorful stuff out there.  :monocle:

Flannel? Meh, not my thing but W/E... I am gonna piss myself laughing when that "makes a comeback" and all the fashion conscience are wearing it as more hipster attire lol. Might not be soon, but I am pretty sure some day...

[Teko]

I like the way I dress ;3

[Tef]

Forget fashion, we could use the Japaneese version of cars! im tired of "Americanized" Japanese cars, IE fat gutless versions. But I am a car guy, not a fashion guy lol

I am a car guy talking about fashion.  ;D

[drewdle]

I like to have a certain amount of funk in my clothing, so I just sort of go on how and what I'm feeling. I have a lot of loud colours (orange button-up shirts, some paisley patterns I've found in thrift shops, a yellow patterned button up that looks like a 70s era table cloth, etc), which I usually pair with jeans or khakis. I like the dark brown or green khakis though, not the plain beige old man pants. Also, not that I own any at the moment, but I absolutely love corduroy pants. I used to have a burnt orange corduroy pant that was fantastic. I lost it when I moved.

I have a native charm necklace that I wear (given to me by my partner) most days, and then I either wear a brown leather duster or one of my myriad of sport/dinner coats as a jacket (right now I have a camel coloured one on). My plaid scarf (McDonald clan, part of my heritage), and one of a bunch of hats (I have a top hat, a brown fedora, or a checker pattern newspaper boy's hat, the last of which has little pin with Pinkie Pie's cutie mark on it).

I should mention my hair is presently bleach tipped a few inches too. What started as a head of short orange hair has faded and grown out, and I like it so I've kept it.

How's that for a disaster? :) I love my style.

[Renwaldo]

Disaster? I'm sure you are gorgeous sir.  :-*

I'm something of a whore for paisley myself.

[Icey Dominus]

I really find this thred a bit of a joke, I wear what I feel most comfortable in. I dont care about fashion and I dont have allot of money to spend on it, I think I have ONE American Eagle shirt, and one pair of pants, most of my pants are a couple years old and the new ones are from value village. I like black and dark browns I suppose cuz they are a little more flattering and but really cuz I CANNOT wear white lol every single white shirt I have is stained sooooo I just stopped buying them. All in all anyone that tells me that my clothes are boring or "mundane" can stuff it cuz I dont care.

[Neox]

Pulled this quote from another thread, and felt like it fit better here:

Nothing is considered "in style" and so as a result people lower their standards

See, I don't understand this whole concept of "in style." So if I buy "stylish" clothes in 2009, does that mean I can't wear them in 2012 if it's not "in style?"  Do I just throw out perfectly good clothes?  And "standards."  Hahaha wow, how that word pisses me off in this context.  So... if I set my standards to be: "White people are cool and black people are not," does that mean I have high standards?  And don't try to argue, "oh that's totally different, you're comparing human beings instead of fashion," you ARE comparing human beings in the context of fashion.  It's the exact same argument:

"This guy is darker skinned than me.  I'm not going to talk to him because he's obviously from some savage tribe straight out of Africa."

as compared to:

"This guy is wearing unfashionable clothing.  Let's not talk to him because he's obviously an imbecile to be wearing this trash."

Standards work well when applied to things with functionality.  See, I buy Columbia brand outdoor clothing instead of Firefly because I know they are tried, tested and true in extreme outdoor conditions and my Columbia snowboard jacket has never let me down on the slopes.  I stay dry and warm and I couldn't give less of a fuck what it looks like.  I buy New Balance cross-trainers because they make the only shoe that I've been able to comfortably wear until they literally fall off my feet, as opposed to that Nike garbage, which is hugely overpriced and the soles de-laminate after 6 months of casual use.

As humans, we are cursed to judge each other without even realizing we're doing it.  The least we can do is TRY to avoid doing it by not giving a shit about petty trivialities like what other people wear.

[Renwaldo]

*rubs temples* -_-;

Alright boys.

First of all what the fuck are you doing here if you don't care for fashion?  :-\ Coming in here and bitching about the topic is the equivalent of going into the vatican and proclaiming quite loudly that you are homosexual. The outcome is similar. I don't come into your car threads and carry on about how all cars are the same and obsessing over automobiles is a completely pointless hobby. We don't need a variety in cars! The world would hardly go to hell if everyone drove the same thing!

Secondly passing judgements on race is wrong because your genetics are not something you try on for size and buy at your local clothing store. Therein the difference lies. You don't pop out of your mother's vagina with all your tastes in clothing preset either.

You seem quite disturbed about this whole aspect of judgment. Really it's such a small part of this topic it's nothing to get "pissed off" about.
Good clothing doesn't go out of style in 3 years, as a general rule it's 5 years. If you're a smart consumer you'll have bought pieces that won't wear out in 10 years. Even then things always come back. Who says you have to throw out perfectly good clothing in 3 years? Half of the jeans I own are from 2005 after my last big growth spurt! They're still very much in style!  :roll:

[Drake Wingfire]

Secondly passing judgements on race is wrong because your genetics are not something you try on for size and buy at your local clothing store. Therein the difference lies. You don't pop out of your mother's vagina with all your tastes in clothing preset either.

You seem quite disturbed about this whole aspect of judgment. Really it's such a small part of this topic it's nothing to get "pissed off" about.
Good clothing doesn't go out of style in 3 years, as a general rule it's 5 years. If you're a smart consumer you'll have bought pieces that won't wear out in 10 years. Even then things always come back. Who says you have to throw out perfectly good clothing in 3 years? Half of the jeans I own are from 2005 after my last big growth spurt! They're still very much in style!  :roll:

Well this being a forum and all one should expect difference of opinions good or bad..

But still I think you missed their point that good looking clothes are not everything. Most people usually buy something they like that works and wear it till it starts to fall apart, they don't buy something they like, wear it for a few years then throw it into the closet till it "makes a comeback". The racism comparison was all about the similarities of judging someone by what they look like (skin color or clothing tastes) instead of who they are both are shallow no matter how ya slice it. Its really just the fashion above all mentality that people have that many of us don't like.

[Neox]

First of all what the fuck are you doing here if you don't care for fashion?  :-\ Coming in here and bitching about the topic is the equivalent of going into the vatican and proclaiming quite loudly that you are homosexual. The outcome is similar. I don't come into your car threads and carry on about how all cars are the same and obsessing over automobiles is a completely pointless hobby. We don't need a variety in cars! The world would hardly go to hell if everyone drove the same thing!

Well, I tried to keep my opinions objective, but someone had to go and take it personally...

You posted an article.  Then you sparked a discussion.  Most discussions involve some form of debate, and all debates carry two sides: those for, and those against.  You chose your side, I chose mine.  I chose to not lash out at anyone and simply state my views.  I am not "bitching" about anything; I actually like to think I offered-up at least SOME level of intellect in my debate.  I have my reasons for disagreeing with the topic and I have no trouble in sharing them.

Secondly passing judgements on race is wrong because your genetics are not something you try on for size and buy at your local clothing store. Therein the difference lies. You don't pop out of your mother's vagina with all your tastes in clothing preset either. You seem quite disturbed about this whole aspect of judgment. Really it's such a small part of this topic it's nothing to get "pissed off" about.

Fashion is all about judgment!  Holy crap!  If it wasn't, it wouldn't be FASHION.  We all judge the clothes we buy based on our own sets of criteria.  Price.  Quality.  Colour.  The only difference with fashion is that you're now buying it based on a predetermined set of criteria set by some... fuck... I don't even KNOW who determines this shit.  Some fruity French designer living in Beverly Hills with a mojito in one hand and a cigarette in the other.  Is there, like, a committee for it?  Does the government have a Bureau of National Fashion?

Passing judgments on any physical trait of a person is wrong no matter what way you look at it.  I treat any judgment of a person's physical appearance as belittling and pathetic.  Racism, fashion standards and judging someone based on the number of teeth they have are all equally needless and condemned in my mind.

And you're right: we are not born with fashion tastes built into our genes.  Those are developed as we age and as we are exposed to different aspects of society, the same way racism is.  Social conditioning makes us into what we are.  The same social conditioning that convinces some people to hate other races also convinces some people that the clothes we wear define who we are.  I'm not saying that society makes us racist; it is our individual upbringing and exposure that determines a person's perception of ethnicity, just the same as another person's microcosm might expose them to what we call "fashion sense."

But seriously man.  If you don't want to have people stating their views and beliefs to bring a healthy debate into a discussion, you might as well stop having discussions posted so publicly, in a board that is titled "General Board."  Either that, or everyone will need to start adding, "NEOX CAN'T REPLY," tagged on the ends of their posts so I know that if I do reply, someone is gonna get butthurt over what I might say.

[Renwaldo]

I quite welcome your difference in perspectives, but I feel like you're missing the whole point of what I wanted to discuss.  ??? This thread is turning into, "Fashion is pointless, and people who wear nice things are judgemental twats."

Neo what you're thinking of is purely the marketing aspect of the industry. Fashion is a business like any other, but it is also an art-form. While much of it is so cheaply as you put it (unfortunately) the business side of things is not all encompassing.
I for one try to maintain fashionable appearances, I would never wear something purely because "Some fruity French designer living in Beverly Hills with a mojito in one hand and a cigarette in the other" says I should.
Which brings us back to the original topic in fact. The fruity mojito guzzling francophone designers in Beverly Hills have slapped together a hodge-podge of washed out woollen plaids in their winter collection this past year and I am not impressed with it.
When I made this thread I was hoping to hear your thoughts on that. Not mock the entire industry and all those in it!

Fashion is entertainment. It has no other purpose if that's what you're trying to say. Some of us like to get dressed up simply because we enjoy the attention. Dare I say it, it's a big old circle jerk-off session and I am proud to take part in it. I have fashion sense. Yes I judge people based on their appearances, haters gonna hate!  :birdy:
Really it isn't so much negative judgements so much as catering to curiosity. I see a person with a unique outfit, and I try to guess their hobbies, their taste in other art forms like music, I wonder where it is their heading to, I wonder what they're like before I have the chance to speak to them. When I get dressed up I take into account these questions, and what I want people to think about me. For example, perhaps I want people to assume I'm some badass delinquent who drinks like a fish and smokes like a chimney, on his way to slap some nasty hoes at some alternative rock concert. I'll don an outfit I judge someone like that might wear.  8) The context of who I really am and what I'm really dressing up for isn't the point. It's all about how we want to be judged, not what negative conclusions people will draw from our clothes if we're wearing the wrong thing.

Of course I do not have the entirety of one's character figured out on the first glance! That would be a little prejudiced - as you've said. Taking into account their clothing is just the first step, it certainly isn't the most telling one either.

Lastly, on a semi-related note, It's true that a large part of fashion is aesthetic, but it isn't the only part. Clothing must be practical as well. There's a very good reason you don't see everyone wearing haute couture out on the streets. A proper outfit suits the situation and serves a purpose. Look at uniforms and sportswear, somebody still had to design those. The uniform I wear to work isn't what I would call attractive, but those clothes are still an important part of the industry. My company tries to make us appear 'conservative, professional and approachable' They deck us out in black dress slack, white collared shirts, black ties, and emerald aprons.

The fashion industry isn't a monster that turns people into snot-nosed brats.
You're thinking of the entertainment industry.  :monocle:

[Drake Wingfire]

People who wear nice things are NOT judgmental twats, people who make assumptions about people based on what they wear are the judgmental twats. The whole debate thus far has pretty much been that. People are not hatin because some people like to go out and shop "trendy" its the fact that when people go "trendy" they tend to grow this huge complex over the clothes they wear. They simply can't dress nice and feel good about themselves, they gotta make it a point to flaunt it about like a teenage girl who's breasts just developed. They gotta start dissing on what everyone else wears so they can feel even more pseudo important. Surprisingly (sarcasm) this comes off to most people as just being a twat and having a bad superiority complex.

The fact "fashionable" people are not satisfied unless they are trying to sound trendy and important over the choice of stitched cloth they drape on their ass says a lot about them indeed.

[Renwaldo]

Call me a liar, but I have never met anyone like that. Ever, not even in highschool.  :-\
The most well dressed people don't follow trends, they set their own. People follow them because they admire the person behind the outfit. Nobody wants to dress like that snooty bitch everyone knows and hates.

Of course the same can't be said for the influential rich and famous. Take people like Nikki Manaj for example, she's a total cunt. She has her own little flock and fan base of wannabe bitches who try to copy her every look. She's the cookie cutter diva, one of several hundred. They're an expendable plague on the art, and exist solely to leech the money out of rebellious young people.

However I'd like to think of myself partially responsible to change that view.  :gay: There's another whole side of the industry of regular people of various ages, cultural backgrounds, and income levels who maintain their very own trends. Fashion isn't about wearing what you're expected to and looking down upon everyone who doesn't conform. :monocle: It's about expressing artistic inspiration in wearing clothes.

[Neox]

Nobody is calling anybody a liar here.  Let's try to keep this civil.

From the O.P.:

Now what are your thoughts ladies and gentlemen? Do you agree with her? Are we really no more fashionable than a bunch of midwest townies in this cosmopolitan city?

I still feel like this discussion is on-topic with this question, unless you were simply looking for a "yes" or "no" answer to your original question.  I'm sorry if you feel we've digressed, but I'm going to continue.

I can appreciate that you're trying to find the lighter points in your side of the topic, but I plain and simple cannot see them, or they make no sense to me.  I simply cannot wrap my head around how it can be okay to take a glance at what someone is wearing and attempt to have even the faintest idea of who they are as a person.  Like... I went to Sin City a few nights ago.  Everyone was dressed up in fetish gear and really kinky stuff.  Now, how many of those people do you think wear the same stuff (or anything even remotely similar in tastes) during their day jobs?  If you met any one of those people on the street as they headed to the office, briefcase in hand, snappy suit and tie, could you even guess that this person would be the type to go to a party like that?

I agree with you that fashion is an art form.  The only problem with it is that people actually USE it to make opinions of others.  Look at the featured submission in my FA gallery.  It's pretty dark, twisted and evil.  If you judged me based on my image, you'd never know that I'm far from actually living the life of the person you "see" in that image.  I like to think I'm chivalrous, kind and fun to be around 364 days out of the year, but you'd never know that unless you got to know me.  I can look at a person and appreciate the combination of clothing they're wearing as artistic expression, but I NEVER make assumptions of that individual's personality based on that.

For example, perhaps I want people to assume I'm some badass delinquent who drinks like a fish and smokes like a chimney, on his way to slap some nasty hoes at some alternative rock concert. I'll don an outfit I judge someone like that might wear.

Some could say that I dress almost EXACTLY like what you'd expect that kind of person to wear all the time.  Again, here's that social conditioning I was talking about, how we're all brought up learning "this is what a person like THAT should be wearing/look like."  I wear "wife beater" shirts almost every day, tattered jeans that are, like, as old as my waist-size and height have permitted me to be wearing them, steel-toe work boots and I've got piercings up the wazoo (not... literally x.=.x).  I'm fully aware that if someone with a "fashionable" mind takes a look at me, they gauge that I'm probably a redneck piece of shit who is trying to pass off as a rocker, have the IQ of a garden hose, the vocabulary of a gangster-rap "artist," and the temper of a really thirsty alcoholic.  The truth is, yes, I am a little more rough around the edges than most, but I'm NOT an inbred hillbilly, I actually AM somewhat smart (in terms of academics and the like), and I'm as friendly as that gay purple dinosaur they had on TV when I was a kid.  If everyone went around judging me based on my looks, I wouldn't have any of the awesome friends I have today because everyone would have been scared off by me.  Plain and simple.

I'm sorry that you interpreted my debate as hostility.  I get just as passionate for expressing my opinion on a discussion like this as you probably do; I just tend to word my phrases quite strongly.