The importance of fashion and how to dress
by @tigrxs
by @tigrxs
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Why Proportions matter
- What is a silhouette?
- The importance of contrast
- Statement pieces
- What is sustainable fashion?
- Why versatility is important
- Personal style
- How to layer properly
- Why fit matters
- How to Dress appropriately
- Why you shouldn’t follow trends
- Colour theory for fashion
- Seasonal colours
- The essentials of a wardrobe
- How to accessorise
- Examples of clothes/outfits
Introduction
I have noticed a lack of good threads about fashion. Most of them recommend you to imitate instead of replicate - basically meaning copying instead of taking inspiration. I also commonly see a complete lack of it and that's just stupid. Especially for a forum that claims to have everything ‘From fashion to skincare’.
Proportions
Proportions - the relationship of one thing to another in terms of quantity, size, or number; ratio.
A common rule for proportion is the rule of 3rds, this is basically when you split your outfit into three and each garment should either be ⅓,⅔, or the whole outfit. Another variant of this rule is when you instead focus on splitting your body and not the outfit, the ⅓ rule still applies. However, this rule can be broken but for someone who isn't that deep into fashion, this is generally a good rule.
Another thing for proportion is how the garments fit together, this could be a longer blazer over a tucked shirt which creates varying lengths, and creates nice proportions, and adds contrast.
Silhouette
This is a buzzword thrown around on TikTok a lot, all this refers to is the shape of your outfit; and what your shadow would look like.
A tip for silhouettes is to have varying shapes in your pieces, like having loose-fitting pants with a tight top as this creates a nice outline for the outfit and also gives contrast bringing your attention to it.
Silhouette and proportion often go hand and hand, whereas if you have better proportions you probably have a better silhouette and the same applies for the other way around.
Contrast
Contrast - the state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition or close association
Contrast can be used to quickly grab a person's attention, whether it be with colours or shades - red and black or black and white - or even with shapes, length, or even width. This is used in places outside of fashion and applies to many different things and can even be seen in nature.
Statement pieces
Statement - a definite or clear expression of something in speech or writing
A statement piece is meant to be the focal point of an outfit that draws a person's attention to it and stands out. These often include bold patterns, bright colours, etc and these pieces are good for making your outfit stand out and be unique/memorable.
Sustainable fashion
Sustainable - able to be maintained at a certain rate or level
Sustainable fashion is when someone considers the environmental, social, and ethical impacts that a piece of clothing has. This has led to things like green fashion to make clothes that consider the environment, the health of consumers, and the working conditions of people in the fashion industry.
Versatility
Versatility - the ability to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities
Versatility is the flexibility and adaptability of a piece of clothing. This is important to consider when buying clothes, allowing you to save money that you would have spent on something you would have only worn a couple of times a year. Things that will impact versatility are colour, pattern, length, etc.
Personal style
Personal - belonging to or affecting a particular person rather than anyone else.
You should always consider your personal choices of clothing as it is a creative outlet and a way for you to express yourself. It is vital that you make your own choices as this will make making outfits way easier because you’ll actually like the pieces. Your clothes also give you a way to demonstrate a bit of your personality and can greatly affect how you are perceived.
Layering
Layering - the action of arranging something in layers.
Layering should be used to create the illusion of a certain shape/silhouette such as wider shoulders or smaller waist.
Tip 1: think about the density of a piece, generally the thicker garments go out the outside and the thinner garments go on the outside. Doing the opposite creates unnecessary volume and looks bulky. The same goes for fitted pieces, typically the more oversized/less fitted pieces go on the outside, and vice versa. However, there are exceptions like when you want to tighten a piece of baggier clothing you would put a tighter piece on top to give it more shape and structure. However, when doing this use a thicker fabric so it keeps it smooth.
Tip 2: Thermals! Thermals can make it so you don't have to add layers upon layers to be warm in colder temperatures allowing you more freedom. It also does the same for heat allowing you to keep more layers on in the summer due to the temperature regulation that the thermals offer.
Tip 3: Every layer needs to work on its own because if for some reason you need to remove a layer it should still look good without it.
Tip 4: keep it simple, too many layers will become bulky and look bad however this is not always the case so just take this how you please.
Tip 5: Variety! Different textures, lengths, thickness, etc. Diversity looks good!
Tip 6: The more visible the item the more effect it has, this means the more the item shows the greater the effect it has. This means that when you put a jacket over something it hides it making it less prominent but if you put that same thing over the jacket it would be more prominent. Hard to understand because it's hard to explain but hopefully you get it, fat boy. So use this to help when you want to stand out or blend in.
Examples of simple layering you could replicate:
Fit
How a piece of clothing fits on you and how it looks. This is determined by the material, stiffness, and cut of a garment. This is why someone wearing a sweatshirt may look better than you despite them both being the “same” kind of clothing. Different fits include cropped, straight, baggy, etc. My personal favourites are straight-fit and baggy.
Dress for your body type
Wear pieces that exemplify your good features and hide your unwanted ones. For example, If you’re fat don't wear tight-fitting pieces, it will look unflattering and may even make you look much bigger than you are. Skinny people will always have the easiest time creating outfits due to the fact they are basically a manikin. This will take experimenting and you will need to sit back and reflect on your good and not-so-good features but this is what fashion is, experimenting.
Dress appropriately
Dress for the occasion, and wear clothes that fit the theme, one outfit won’t fit every event. This is vital so that you don't look out of place and stupid for wearing a T-shirt and a pair of jeans to a wedding.
Don't follow trends
You may be tempted to buy that pair of trainers that everyone is wearing, but don’t. Fashion is a forever changing scene and things come and go faster than you could imagine. You may be asking how do you avoid this. Create a timeless wardrobe, this includes things that will always be in fashion. This includes basics like T-shirts, jeans, sweatpants, etc. These are things that will be in fashion until me and you die. Following trends is also bad because the clothes you wear affect how you are perceived and basically shows off your personality and if this doesn't match what you wear it will make you seem off.
Colours
The colours you wear should match you. This can be achieved by first understanding some basic colour theory and what goes well with what. It is also beneficial to learn your undertone (warm, neutral, and cool) as this can make what you wear improve you rather than drown you out. Some basic colour palettes can be found online and there are even websites for them.
Types of colour combinations
- Complimentary colours are colours from the opposite side of the wheel and are high contrast and will appear brighter and more prominent together.
- Monochromatic colours are three shades, tones, and tints of one colour and create a harmonious look for a subtle colour combination
- Analogous colours are that are side by side on the colour wheel, this is versatile but can be overwhelming. Choose one dominant colour and use the others as accents.
- Triadic colours are three colours that are evenly spaced on the colour wheel. This provides a high contrast colour scheme, but less so than the complementary colour. This combination creates bold, vibrant colour palettes.
- Tetradic colours are four colours that are evenly spaced on the colour wheel. This provides a bold look and works best if you let one colour be dominant, and use the others as accents. The more colours you have in your palette, the more difficult it is to balance.
Tip 2: black and white go with everything and don't count for three colours.
Seasonal colours
Seasonal - relating to or characteristic of a particular season of the year
Seasonal colours are the colours that represent every season, for example, winter with white, grey, black, dark green, etc. This is useful for you as this is a natural palate for you to follow and it will also seem like you are in tune with fashion because designers often do clothing in seasons, this will make it appear like you regularly get new clothes.
The essentials
Essential - absolutely necessary; extremely important.
I will only give you the essentials everyone needs and I will leave the rest to you as you need to develop your own style as it shows off your personality and affects how you are perceived so it needs to match.
| Clothing Item | Recommended Styles |
| T-shirts | Straight cut, form-fitting, baggy, oversized, cropped |
| Jeans | Straight fit, slim fit, relaxed fit, flared, wide-leg |
| Tank tops | Loose fitting |
| Sweatshirts | Loose fit, oversized |
| Hoodie | Oversized, Baggy, loose-fitting, relaxed fit |
| Sweatpants | Wide-legged, flared |
| Boots | Chunky, combat boots |
| Sneakers | Minimal, high-top, low-top, chunky |
| Knitted polo shirt | Form-fitting |
| Wool sweatshirt | Loose fitting, turtleneck |
| Knitted vest | Loose Fit, baggy, v-neck |
| Long overcoat | Straight cut |
| Oxford shirt | Loose fitting |
| Chinos | Straight leg, slim fit, baggy |
| Scarf | The Parisian knot, the once around, the overhand, reverse drape |
| Blazers | Loose fitting, single-breasted |
| Ties | Skinny tie, normal tie |
| Leather jacket | Loose fitting, bomber jacket, oversized |
| ¾ zipper | Regular fit |
| Mock neck | Form-fitting, long-sleeve |
| Suit | Single-breasted, double-breasted |
| Puffer jacket | Ones like North Face |
| Bomber jacket | Oversized, Baggy, loose-fit |
| Graphic t-shirts | Vintage, retro, abstract prints |
| Hats | Baseball caps, beanie |
Tip: in general loose-fitting and straight-cut clothing looks better than tighter form-fitting clothing, but take this with a grain of salt. When you are buying clothes consider the shape, thickness, texture, length, etc as these are all things that will impact how well they go with other pieces.
Accessories
Accessory - a thing which can be added to something else in order to make it more useful, versatile, or attractive.
I recommend simple/plain designs for jewellery and nothing over the top as it's meant to complement not be the main focus in male fashion. Tip 1: When jewellery I recommend you only wear one kind of metal.
Tip 2: don’t mix metals together as it can look messy and tacky
Tip 3: when wearing rings don't wear too many as it can look crowded. I recommend you wear a statement ring on your index finger and a simple ring on your pinky on your dominant hand and for the other hand I recommend you wear another simple ring on your ring finger on your non-dominant hand.
Tip 4: when wearing watches/wrist accessories don't wear too many as it can look crowded. I recommend one watch and maybe a simple bracelet on the same hand.
Tip 5: when wearing necklaces/chains/pendants make sure they are parallel (v-shaped necklace for a v-neck for example) to the neckline except if it is square, when it’s square wear multiple thin necklaces/chains/pendants
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