I'm a traitor...!

[icecold]

thigs got a little cold around here. All of a sudden I realised that for the last 3 days I've been wearing exclusively my Land's end Primaloft jacket. An extremely light, axtremely cheap, and extremely warm and actually quite well made - though still disposable -garment. But of course, after I realized that, i did feel like i betrayed my Old School wool and leather jackets - heavy, cumbersome, not water proof, and really not all that warm in comparison. I guess I should simply throw the lands' end jacket away and "behave" from now onlol

Why, why, why does the contemporary, admittedly very functional, clothing has to be sooooo unstylish and uninspiring

 

[SamReu]

Spokes Man

A quick answer to a query that demands take paragraph upon paragraph of thought:
We live in a graceless age where function has kidnapped style -- in some cases, mugged it. You can have style and function in attire, but you rarely see it.
And that is too bad.

 

[Paisley]

Part of the point of clothing is to protect us from the elements. Keep in mind that the fabric of winter clothes used to be thicker.

I have some Land's End clothing; in fact, I wore one of their parkas today, and probably will on most days until March or April. I never thought of their coats as disposable.

 

[Tomasso]

There are plenty of warm, stylish outerwear options available. It just seems that some people like to pretend that they're on an Arctic expedition whenever it drops below freezing.

 

[icecold]

Part of the point of clothing is to protect us from the elements. Keep in mind that the fabric of winter clothes used to be thicker.

I have some Land's End clothing; in fact, I wore one of their parkas today, and probably will on most days until March or April. I never thought of their coats as disposable.

Yep, land's end is pretty good, in fact, amazingly good for the price. but, not stylish. $3000 designer coats are still not stylish in disturbingly many cases.

The key reason for me to shun modern clothing is simply that it does not age. It transitions from new to trash instantly (after whatever its planned shelf life is expires). No graceful aging, with different type of beauty at each stage...

 

[icecold]

There are plenty of warm, stylish outerwear options available. It just seems that some people like to pretend that they're on an Arctic expedition whenever it drops below freezing.

This is obviously jot my style, but this here fella might be onto something lol

http://www.viceland.com/int/dd.php?id=1659

 

[icecold]

A quick answer to a query that demands take paragraph upon paragraph of thought:
We live in a graceless age where function has kidnapped style -- in some cases, mugged it. You can have style and function in attire, but you rarely see it.
And that is too bad.

sad but true. I understand, and appreciate the fact that cheap mass production allows us to enjoy the standard of living we have, but still, that's no reason to take things THIS FAR in function over style

The Great Depression sucked. people had nothing. yet, on pictures from that era you can see people that own nothing but one set of clothes and their dog, yet many of them still looked better than many present day schmos that buy $10 lattes

 

[scotrace]

My memory of the specifics is so vague I shouldn't even mention it, but recently, some folks did an Arctic expedition and as an experiment, they took along and wore both modern fabrics and the same stuff that would have been worn in the 1920's, and found that the old natural fibers performed as well or better.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

fauX paS de deauX

iCe man, i too have gone the deViL's route...

i find myself in coffee houses, barnes and nobles/borders, where i settle in, catch up on magazines, and start working on the next great AmericaN novel, and sometimes the more maNic employees in the book emporiums (mostly they're very nice) will clear off my stuff from chairs as i head to the rest room, or browse, or get a cup a joe...and once i had my motorola razor phone stolen (not by an employee)...

to keep my chair, i leave my stuff on it, and drape my jacket over it...like a cat spraying it's territory

the jacket i use was one i bought from blair for $85 in, well, 1985...it's made in korea, and has the mil look rather loosely replicated, showing my interest in this clothing even back then, before getting versed in it

the blair jacket is as warm as a g-1, and it (upsetting me sometimes) gets as many compliments or more than my milspec leather stuff...it's made of nylon or something...the cuffs and ribbing are nice and have not a stitch out of place after 28 years...i keep it in my trunk with the spare tire, and use it in the trashiest situations, and to mark my chairs in bookstores...

functional i guess...a pic of me in it about 7 years ago when i looked a bit younger>>>

noTe, the jacket still looks pretty much the same as in the pic...i, obviously, don't...these Koreans know how to make stuff

 

[miles_archer]

I’ve found myself in a similar quandary of late with my L.L.Bean 300 weight fleece jacket. I have to admit I love it even though it is thoroughly modern and blends in to most crowds. The compromise I have come to is wearing it when exercising, going to the gym, or in general any activity where I need something that doesn’t clash with sweat pants.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

the cLash

but everything clashes with sweatpants...doesn't it?

 

[MEDIUMMYND]

My memory of the specifics is so vague I shouldn't even mention it, but recently, some folks did an Arctic expedition and as an experiment, they took along and wore both modern fabrics and the same stuff that would have been worn in the 1920's, and found that the old natural fibers performed as well or better.

This is quite right it was after George Mallory"s body was found on Everest in the late 1990"s the body and clothing was very well preserved and indeed made many manufacturers of outdoor clothing to rethink their ideas on modern materials.The UK manufacturer Berghaus being one of them,there was a very good programme on BBC tv about this

 

[scotrace]

Thank you! That helped me find the Story.

 

[Slim Portly]

but everything clashes with sweatpants...doesn't it?

JJ, haven't you been to the mall or an airport recently? Everything goes with sweatpants!

 

[H.Johnson]

There is a thread on this - including the joint university/commercial project to re-engineer and try out the clothing in practice -elsewhere in the Lounge.

I was privileged to see the clothing and to communicate with some of the people involved, including the lady who constructed the prototypes. It is interesting to see the material from which they were made and the construction details - see the sleeve pivot, which was still being used by Belstaff for its hooting jackets in the 1970s.

Interestingly, the last time I communicated with the lady she was contemplating the manufacture of the jacket and breeks in the picture. I hope she decides to do it - I'm sure there would be a limited market. She would need a hype consultant, of course...

The recent Arctic (actually Antarctic) expedition recreation that Scotrace refers to was probably Tim Jarvis's reconstruction of the Australian Sir Douglas Mawson/Minnis/Maertz expedition of 1911-14. This was shown on UK TV in October 2007.

Thank you! That helped me find the Story.

 

[scotrace]

Thanks again!

Bumped and Merged. There's more in the Adventurer Gear thread as well.

 

[John in Covina]

Why, why, why does the contemporary, admittedly very functional, clothing has to be sooooo unstylish and uninspiring

**********
It's the Mao influence.

 

[miles_archer]

I think it is fair to say a fleece jacket goes better with sweatpants than a burberry trench. Additionally a grey fedora wouldn't be kosher with a polartec fleece. Also FYI I met my wife whilest I was festooned in a pair of sweatpant finery. She said she thought it showed a lot of confidence to hit on her in sweatpants. I suspect it was just pity.

 

[Widebrim]

sad but true. I understand, and appreciate the fact that cheap mass production allows us to enjoy the standard of living we have, but still, that's no reason to take things THIS FAR in function over style

The Great Depression sucked. people had nothing. yet, on pictures from that era you can see people that own nothing but one set of clothes and their dog, yet many of them still looked better than many present day schmos that buy $10 lattes

Well said, and true...