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Jack comments on A Rational Approach to Fashion - Less Wrong
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The internet is full of perfectly good fashion advice -- a search for fashion tips + your body type or + the relevant social scene will work. There is very little bad fashion advice out there. For whatever reason it is not a topic that people enjoy writing about when they don't know what they're talking about. At worst you'll be told to never do something only to later realize you can get away with it. "They're more like guidelines anyway."
I'm not sure what to do about lack of individualized feedback-- it is important. I find that receive feedback on what I'm wearing routinely, though I that is probably something that happens on social, not professional occasions. I suppose one requirement must be friends who notice what I'm wearing. Gender of your social circle is relevant-- women are more likely to comment and more likely to comment positively; men are likely to make fun of me if I wear something really stupid looking. I believe there are online forums where people post photos of themselves to receive feedback on their fashion (there are a few subreddits, r/malefashionadvice for instance). That's probably easier than finding new friends. If you have money fashion and wardrobe consultants can work wonders.
I've subscribed to GQ and Details, and looked at other fashion magazines, and they are useless. They just show outfits, or particular items, and pile superlatives on them ('snazzy', 'retro', 'bold', 'understated', etc.). But they give no clue as to why one thing is better than another.
One theory to explain this is that women have some kind of holistic thinking that lets them make use of this kind of information - that by just looking at a bunch of examples they can pick out what the rules are - and that fashion magazine writing culture teaches how to write for women.
Useful writing on fashion for men is mostly about suits, which I avoid as much as possible because I hate wearing a tie.
I suspect if you read them more you would pick up on the patterns. People are generally good at learning rules from labeled examples. You'd have to be interested enough to read a lot, though.
Provided the patterns are well defined...
I think there is, unfortunately, a fair amount of bad fashion advice out there...
Link me some.
http://thestylesample.com/2011/10/03/how-to-wear-socks-and-heels-grownup/
Compare this and this. One of those must almost certainly be bad advice.
One has to pay attention to demographic differences- and I probably should have considered that my advice would be read by people outside my own demographic before I posted it. Is it non-obvious that "Ask Andy About Clothes" isn't the place for an urban 20-something to go find fashion advice?
I am 28, I live in downtown Oakland, I have found it a useful resource over the past few years, and I am regularly complemented on my appearance. So yes, it is non-obvious.
This is not to say that I disagree with the notion that it is important to consider context. If you are going clubbing you should probably dress differently then when you are going to work.
For non-professional, non-formal occasions? I mean look, there are additional degrees of possibly relevant demographics here and it is a bit hard to figure them out given that I don't know you and don't know what you're optimizing for fashion wise. The point is, someone who says "Fedoras, yay!" and someone who says "Fedora's boo!" can both be right depending on what you look like and what the context is. But "Ask Andy" doesn't look like the place to go to figure out what to, say, wear to a rock concert.
Yes, for non-professional, non-formal occasions. But yes, not every subculture will be represented by every point of view offered. And I guess that's partly my point - unless you know what you are looking for, there will be fashion advice online that you should not take. And if you don't know where to start, then "just look for advice online" doesn't help. Heck, the "doesn't Justin Timberlake look ridiculous here" links posted elsewhere were giving tips on how to dress like him!
Regarding rock concerts, there are some that I'd totally show up to in my usual range of wear, to which Ask Andy is reasonably relevant. There are some that this wouldn't make any sense, yes.
Fair points. Upvoted.
I suppose I was thinking of lists of "basic fashion tips"- for which most sites I've seen agree. Things like: match belt and shoes, avoid pleats, how to tell if your seat is too low or too high etc.
You won't go too wrong following those - particularly the ones pertaining to fit. They are oftentimes needlessly restrictive, though. "Avoid pleats" is perhaps better than no guidance at all - but there are pleated pants that look just fine, and flat front can have issues too; fit is far more important.
Regarding pleats in particular, some general guidelines: 1) They are more likely to work if they're cut to hang from the waist than from the hips (unfortunately far more common on store shelves). 2) Shallow pleats are probably going to look better than deep pleats. 3) They are not currently "in", I believe. OTOH, that's been cyclical over the last few decades with a relatively short period, and most people won't look down on you for wearing pleats if they don't look bad on you (there will be a few that are invested in their opinions on both sides). 4) If you are very slim, flat fronts are more likely to suit you. If you are very large, pleats are more likely to do better.
In either case, if they're not being cut for you (which shouldn't be the case, if you're just getting your feet wet in dressing nicer), try them on first. Walk around a bit. Sit down. Move like you'll be moving in the pants. If the pleats look really "puffy", don't get that pair of pants. If flat front pants aren't hanging well on you, pleats might be worth trying on.