Fashion
Theory and practice of hip garments
2020-07-09 — 2026-04-16
Wherein theoretical models of trend diffusion, including Red Queen signalling and neutral mutation, are surveyed alongside vendor lists for batik, bolo ties, and antiquated menswear.
I have broken this out into various themes: trousers, low impact fashion, gym wear, footwear, and probably more by now. Particulate masks?? Hygienic masks?? The remainders are here.
1 Theory of fashion
Models of fashions (as opposed to fashion models):
- Red queen signalling
- Neutral mutation (Ormerod and Bentley 2010)
- Network diffusion
These can probably be considered as innovation diffusion models.
2 Political economy of fashion
Rachel Huber wonders about blockchainized surveillance for brand fashion and its impact on the concept of ownership.
3 Sustainable
Upcycling tips?
4 Batik
The good, affordable stuff comes from Indonesia, but the trick is that Indonesia is a relatively closed economy. See Indonesian e-commerce for some tips about re-shipping. Solving actual payment with Indonesian vendors is hard; the best trick is to have a friend there.
Jadi Batek is a Malaysian supplier with pretty sweet designs although suspect cuts.
5 Australian indigenous
I am interested in collared shirts with Australian designs where the money goes to the artist in a fair way.
6 Bolo ties
My current hero is GTiesByRebelCaller. I have many of his creations.
Even more handmade, but not quite my aesthetic, are these local Bolo ties by Betty Musgrove.
7 Fogeycore
Vendors and connoisseurs of antique and/or antiquated men’s fashion.
- Get The Look - The Countryman
- Plus Fours and Breeks | Fogey Unlimited (UK)
- newfanglednatty (UK)
- Men’s Tweed Boots by Walker Slater OMG so handsome
- Men’s Tweed Waistcoats & Linen Waistcoats by Walker Slater
- Mens British Vintage Clothing —Savvy Row
- Men’s Waistcoats—Vintage & Designer—Tweedmans
- OCUCLIPS
Also we can hit up the cosplay resources of the internet — fandoms and other sources of modernist takes on classic styles. Yes, I mean steampunk.
I have used fanplusfriend, and I like the price and excellent cut of the trousers they sent me; however, the quality of the fabric could be better — the current one pills too fast for my taste. I wear the bejeezus out of my trousers. See also Peter Christian, e.g. Moleskin Waistcoats for Men.
7.1 Flatcaps
I shop at Sterkowski. Their caps have lasted me a long time and are affordable, high quality, and warm.
Other options:
8 Bags
9 Misc items of desire
Fancy waistcoats
10 Care of fabrics
I keep my clothing smelling fresh with Zeroda High Performance Sports Wash, which seems both cheap and effective.
I use Nanoman Water proofing spray for fabrics. It is weirdly cheaper from Amazon than direct from their store.
11 Shaving
IMO the best facial shave is from a classic single-blade razor. The next one I try might be Henson Shaving, which looks like it has a nice blade angle; it seems a little overpriced for an incremental design improvement TBH.
When I am busy, I use an electric shaver. The Philips OneBlade is an adequate compromise; it is compact, travels well and can handle various parts of the body other than the face. The replacement blades are very expensive, though, and last a laughably short time.
12 2nd hand
- Ebay is pretty good, especially for the mildly esoteric items I like such as obscure golf trousers and brocade vests.
- Depop is fine I guess, although remarkably bad at their main job of finding me clothes of the style I like in the size I need.
- UK fashion market Vinted is the best I have seen so far. Not “good” in the sense of “this website is well-designed and easy to use”. No, it’s a total retrograde piece of shit. But the market built on this awful website is good despite that, because 80 million British party animals are flogging their glad rags on there.
13 Fast fashion rants
- Charity shops, Depop and the gentrification of second-hand clothes
- Depop and thrift shopping are popular on TikTok. But is buying too much unethical?
- Elizabeth Van Nostrand hyperfocuses on optimal warm garments: Things I learned from reddit fashion. If we want to know about Pareto frontier models of consumer surplus…
14 Incoming
- How It Wears · Materials Care & Composition Guide — the universal decoder ring for textile care