What was the road to your fit nirvana? :)

That's very true. And the thing is, once something becomes mainstream, information becomes deluded and frankly, nobody but a handful of people like us really cares. When TFL was made, it was about 50's fashion but this is a style that has seen a couple of revivals in the past 10 years and had since became very mainstream, to the point of becoming a general street style, now mixed with whatever else that was popular and has survived and... Well, people in general don't really care about the history of what they wear.

Good info on this clothes is scarce and limited only to TFL, VLJ and StyleForum, on occasion. While Reddit is usually a great source of information on anything, I can't say I have read much there about vintage jackets that was actually very useful, if at all.

Tik Tok, Instagram, Youtube even... While majority of people seek their fit/style, nobody on any on these platforms really cares for the same thing we here do and that's okay. Frankly, to this day I'm still trying to understand what is it that's so alluring about old-ass clothes, especially the kind I've actually no connection with but...

That said, I often see guys walking around in cuffed jeans and sherpa truckers nowadays and they got the look right. 50's kind of right, not the 80's/90's denim look which, while not without its charms could not have possibly be any more divorced from the 50's style.

 

I think the decline of interest is also due to the rise of 'fast fashion' (cheap clothing produced in vast quantities which is designed to be worn less than 10 times. eg Primark). Kids from the 00s are not familiar with quality clothing that is built to last. They buy something and wear it for one season only. Next season Zara and H&M dictate a different trend and last season's fashion is discarded.

Why would they invest in a 1k biker jacket when they can buy a biker jacket from Zara for €50, which looks just as good on Instagram. They don't care about quality, because they never learned to appreciate quality.

As opposed to fast fashion, old-ass clothes will also be desirable next season.

 

I don't like my fit being called an "Instagram fit." I've been wearing my jackets like this since well before I was on Instagram. I also wear much wider fitting trousers than most people on Instagram wear.

 

Yep, all true... But I'm just sayin', people for the most part just want to fit in and if people who are in charge of making people look the way they're supposed to, tell them that this is how they should look, majority will listen and obey.

Well, that's debatable. The way you (and I don't mean just you but rather, heritage scene) wear trousers is exactly how girls wear them now - Wide, cuffed. It was called mom jeans but now it's evolved into a thing of its own and actually, a higher quality, non-stretch denim is making a comeback in women's style too so there isn't much difference anymore.

This might hit men's fashion next year and then it'll be a full-on instagram fit.

Perfectos were seldom seen when I joined this forum and now it seems to be the only leather item you can find in Zara.

 

Another thing... the clothes discussed here and on styleforum aren’t accessible to the wide majority of people in their 20s simply because they are way too expensive. I’m not surprised about forums’ ageing population (only a factor the others being those i mentioned in my previous post). Honestly, who had $1k to indulge on a high end jacket or $300 to spend on a pair of jeans while studying?! You need a pretty decent job I think. I bet mostly here are professionals earning well above the average wage. I blame nobody for shopping at H&M etc, that’s all I could afford a few years ago. In my experience, the longevity of heritage clothing is vastly overstated and used to give a resemblance of justifiability to otherwise prices that are so beyond reach for the average customer. Fast fashion clothes (aside maybe jackets and shoes, although a mid market brand works too) last as much as any high end. That said artisanal bespoke clothing has always been very expensive and beyond everyone’s reach. But it also never was and never will be a substitute for mall clothing.

 

between forum and IG/ tiktok generation we see difference in focus, forum was about shared interests and discussion the same topic can be visited multiple times , while social media sharing platforms are about sharing me me me getting the likes viral today stale tomorrow, probably is relatable to fast fashion, hype, and instant lifestyle.

 

It was a kind of short hand to describe people posting photos of heritage gear worn 'correctly'. No doubt is is not entirely accurate in all cases and maybe a lazy comparison.

 

I am thinking at the time the collect view of THL members was the HWM was a proper fit. Nothing inherent with a proper fit of leather jackets has changed in the last 8 years. What has changed is the collective conceived view of vocal TFL members of what constitutes a correct fit. The perfect fit changes over time as the eye for fashion changes. Also for leather jackets, the activity I am doing requires a different fit to be functional. I do not wear the same jacket or want the same fit when I am riding a motorcycle aggressively, as I would on a multi-day camping road trip in my truck, bird hunting where I need to swing a shotgun, fly fishing, or sailing or as I would attending a dinner party.

 

In the 80s subcultures, we aimed for a fairly fitted look - or as best you could manage buying OTR from a department store.



I recall it was about 2005ish that guys with a passing interest in clothes started focusing more on fit. All of a sudden there was an explosion of ‘slim fit’ jeans and shirts. CT shirts expanded their OTR line to four or five fits with modern, slim, extra slim and skinny. While some of it was a extreme and silly, the idea of finding a fit that flatters your physique touched the mainstream.

On top of that, the Internet led to a boom in custom clothing. Plug your measurements into a website, and someone in China will produce a custom shirt or suit for you.

I think a lot of guys brought this new awareness of fit to leather jackets a decade later.

 

I think fit is important but only goes so far. Style has to do the rest. Once you’ve discovered your personal “style” fit isn’t so hard to figure out and there’s room for forgiveness if it’s not “perfect”. Some of the obsessive fit minutiae around here can be a bit too much for me. I get it but it takes away some of the fun imho.
For me it’s pretty simple. Sleeve/ body length, shoulder, chest and waist all within reason of my preferred measurements. Design that suits my style. Done!

 

I agree you got me there particularly my 50s Ross-made horsehide Cascade. And I would wear it to a diner party. I do not think it would line up with what Marc and some others consider a tailored fit. But Ross was not making a jacket and thinking about how it would look on the wearer publishing pictures of themselves or looking at their backsides in a mirror.

 

Sisters of Mercy?

 

Yep. I was trying to find a good pic of the Jesus and Mary Chain or Echo and the Bunnyman in crosszips but took a short cut.

 

Yep

 

Who here has reached Nirvana?

 

I know I haven’t. Been enjoying my time in Purgatory though...

 

Only @A-1

 

The smartest person on TFL.