My response is: Eight months from now? Are you kidding? That's day two!
But really, I have it easy. As my recent foray into Old Navy demonstrated (yes, I caved and bought new clothes. Don't judge, dammit), I can find clothing items that are both acceptable for teaching and suit my slightly twisted taste at nearly any mainstream clothing outlet.
Linus, by contrast, has difficulty finding vaguely acceptable clothes to wear in general, let alone any that reflect his dark aesthetic. As he frequently complains, it's hard for a man to be fashionably Goth when he's not JtHM svelte, let alone outright broad-shouldered and barrel-chested. All-black wardrobe aside, he says he frequently feels under-dressed and boring. Custom clothing is not a financially feasible option at the moment. So, what to do?
This may seem an incredibly simple and obvious answer, but at least it's a start: I'm replacing the buttons on one of Linus's plain black shirts. It originally came with fake tortoiseshell buttons:
Say it with me: ewwwww.
I am changing these for some antique-looking silver buttons I scavenged from one of Linus's old SCA outfits. This project is slightly more time-intensive than I thought it would be, as I miscalculated button sizes and am having to enlarge the button-holes. That's pretty easy to do: I just cut the button-hole a few millimeters larger at one end and hem (badly) the unfinished edge. I'll see if I can get Linus to model for you all when I'm done.
Swapping buttons is a small change to make, but it's really turning this plain, boring black shirt around. The buttons are small enough that they're not too noticeable, but they add just a little hint of antiquity, romance, and eccentricity. And really, isn't that what we all want?
So, how do you keep in touch with your style while in the workplace? And does anyone have any tips on finding/making Gothic menswear?
My husband is not Goth, but he does wear all black and has an edgy style. He often laments that women have so many more options, and that men can't get away with much (especially if they don't want to attach a certain label to themselves). He usually sticks to black button-up shirts, black jeans or dockers, wristbands and lots of rings. Sometimes he'll add a blazer if I am "dressed up."
ReplyDeleteThe Morbid Fashion did a series of posts on "dark" menswear. Perhaps there are some suitable ideas there: http://themorbidfashion.net
That wardrobe sounds pretty familiar, except that Linus favors black cargo pants. I love Morbid Fashion, but I didn't know they had addressed menswear. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteBecky, this sounds even more great than you were telling me about last night! If it's not packed, maybe Linus could wear it tomorrow, when everyone will get a chance to see. I, for one, am very interested. And I agree 100%, with you about tortoiseshell buttons... my glasses are fashioned after tortoiseshell and I may never get past that.
ReplyDeleteThe best of luck in your final stages of packing!!