Bingo!
And for the record, no, this isn't embracing your inner fogey, it's just becoming an adult. You've basically nailed it, and the OP would do well to take these words to heart.
Avoiding Becoming an old fogey...
- Thread starter Russianrat
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Bingo!
And for the record, no, this isn't embracing your inner fogey, it's just becoming an adult. You've basically nailed it, and the OP would do well to take these words to heart.
45 - sounds like you are ready for VA hospital PJs and a terry cloth bathrobe with egg yolk on the lapels. Seriously, try going TRAD - an eternal and really versatile American look- chinos and polos, oxford button downs and tweeds, blazers, sweaters, leather loafers and oxfords - just check out LL Bean, Orvis, Brooks Bros or even recent stuff at J Crew and Banana Republic. Stuff for casual, sport, dress etc. with a lot of overlap so it can be done economically and travels well.
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Thanks for the feedback gentlemen. I lived in Europe for a few years, and got used to dressing a certain way, then came back to the USA, settled in so cal, got used to things there, and now have relocated, hopefully for the last time for a while, to the DC area. So crazy migration has brought me to this point. I appreciate the pointers, and am going to enjoy developing the style for going forward.
Bingo +1. You know you are an adult when you realize t-shirts with clever slogans are actually too clever by half (not to mention sloppy and inappropriate in many situations).
My motto: Never wear jeans near a church or a tablecloth.
Check Ben Silver if you want some up scale duds. Myself, I wear a kilt everyday and I can dress them down with a black tee shirt or up with a white shirt and bow tie.
While I have a few years on you, I dress in a carefully crafted blend of "obnoxious uncle", Indiana Jones, Tarzan, and 50's retro-hipster jazz snob.
I'll be 57 this year and do not feeled compelled to change my casual attire for anyone. Why do you? I like tie-dye and always will. People sometimes mention how it makes me look like I am out of date. But, what I have learned in talking to them is that they are truely envious that I have the courage to wear what I like. You can't be sad when wearing a good tie-dye! Now my real friends and family actually look to see if I am wearing a good tie-dye and think something might be wrong if I am not.
Nows for work, that requires proffessional dress, always.
Nows for work, that requires proffessional dress, always.
I turned 50 a few months ago, and this has more or less been my approach. I have rarely worn T shirts as an adult, so that's not a loss to me. But I have upgraded my clothing a bit. I'm comfortable with pleated woolen pants, which I know are not the current style with the younger crowd, but I'm OK with that. I do wear the more stylish and colorful shirts the younger guys wear; Bugattchi Uomo, Robert Graham, Tommy Bahama/Indigo Palms, Hilfiger, etc. I like the move away from the traditional Brooks Brothers white or blue broadcloth button down shirts. I've also upgraded my shoes and accessories, not top-of-the-line stuff as I can't afford that, but mid-grade stuff like Cole Haan & Johnston & Murphy, etc. I was fortunate to find two nice Coach belts in a consignment store. I also pretty much stopped wearing ball caps except for fishing.
Lots of good advice. My story is I hadn't worn a T-shirt since turning 18 in 1986, stopped wearing running shoes around 1991 and from 5 years ago I had decided to phase out anything which wasn't classic attire. So at home I've got a storage facility full of tweeds, proper hats, chinos/cords, collared shirts and good shoes. I looked like a stylish older guy to myself and my more Bohemian friends and perplexingly old-fashioned/ pretentious to most others. My friend commented that I'd made the transition to such traditional style that I was approaching radical from the other side! But to be honest, it was the hats which divided most opinion.
Cut to a year later and I'd lost a significant amount of weight and in the summer now wear t-shirts and long shorts, with running shoes. Last summer I even sported basketball shorts. I've lost the hat and the beard also.And do you know what? I feel great in this attire, as I'm slimmer and fitter with better skin-tone than in maybe 15 years. I don't look like an old guy trying to be hip, I just look like someone who's keeping cool in the heat. In the winter months I'm wearing nice jeans with a ski jacket, woolen sweater and hiking shoes. Nothing of a statement, just sensible, reasonable quality.
Cut to a year later and I'd lost a significant amount of weight and in the summer now wear t-shirts and long shorts, with running shoes. Last summer I even sported basketball shorts. I've lost the hat and the beard also.And do you know what? I feel great in this attire, as I'm slimmer and fitter with better skin-tone than in maybe 15 years. I don't look like an old guy trying to be hip, I just look like someone who's keeping cool in the heat. In the winter months I'm wearing nice jeans with a ski jacket, woolen sweater and hiking shoes. Nothing of a statement, just sensible, reasonable quality.
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In my household wearing those jeans would be punishable by three smacks in the head with a tennis racket. No joke.
Since you're in MoCo I assume there is a Men's Wearhouse nearby. Their prices are very reasonable if you're trying to dress nice, and their sales staff is very helpful and knowledgeable. They can help to outfit you with more relaxed, semi-casual blazers, and they have an excellent range of fashion from fashion tees (ech!) all the way up to three-piece suits. And you mentioned LL Bean, but have you looked at Land's End? Some of their stuff is quite nice, and for the price you'd be hard-pressed to beat it. I am a huge, huge fan of their polo shirts.
As several people have said, a dark jean with black dress shoes instantly adds a touch of casualness to what would otherwise be a dress shirt. Levi's had very dark boot-cut jeans that I really like, I just can't remember the number. A word of advice if you go that route, though: there is a fashion rising in our misguided youth for low-rise jeans, and this is an abomination. Like a poorly thought-out high-end hotel, there is no ballroom.
Buyer beware!
Work is jeans and an orange uniform shirt.
That's pretty much what I'm wearing from bed to bed during the week unless we're going out to some place nicer than Denny's
Weekends or other days off?
Jeans, deck shoes, and t-shirts. I tend to prefer non-print shirts... I got used to wearing yellow and orange when my company didn't provide shirts.. but I'll also toss in black every now and then.
Wife keeps buying me print shirts... I tend to gravitate to the more subdued designs though.
That's pretty much what I'm wearing from bed to bed during the week unless we're going out to some place nicer than Denny's
Weekends or other days off?
Jeans, deck shoes, and t-shirts. I tend to prefer non-print shirts... I got used to wearing yellow and orange when my company didn't provide shirts.. but I'll also toss in black every now and then.
Wife keeps buying me print shirts... I tend to gravitate to the more subdued designs though.
I've been trying to look "old fogey" since I was 35. And part of being an old fogey is being CHEAP. Cheap, as in, wear those thirty year old t-shirts with the hammer and sickle on them not to be defiant or trendy, but because you just can't fathom throwing away a shirt that you can wear, and having to buy something to replace it. It will look just as good as anything else with those suspenders anyway.
LOL!
(digging through my drawers and pulling out the old faded Dokken, Queensryche, and Motley Crue concert shirts....)
I finally tossed my last "Desert Storm" and "C-17 First Flight" shirts a couple of months ago.... they were just too far gone with stains, but wow... those old Haynes shirts really do hold up!
The old ones with the pocket do. The new ones (don't come with pockets) are as thick as the "cheese" on a Quizno's sub. They seem to fall apart on their own after a year or two. I've still got some old pocketed ones that are as good as new except they are stained.
Just this morning my wife was laughing at some guy on TV wearing a flannel shirt he claims he bought in the early 90s. I had to point out that I was wearing one that I probably did buy in the early 90s.
61 now jeans and t-shirts worked then and they work now
Don't worry. At 45 you're still a young fogey.
And I'm way ahead of you. I passed fogey a long time ago. Working on Geezer now.
And I'm way ahead of you. I passed fogey a long time ago. Working on Geezer now.
My thoughts on style have been expressed across several posts in this thread. To sum up, one's own style comes about by how you view yourself in the moment. And style constantly evolves for the individual. And then there's my buddy Ed. Ed is still stuck in the late 60s rockin' that long beard hippy biker look. For Ed, it works beautifully and suits him to a T(shirt).
"Adulthood can be distinguished from maturity by it's tendency to cling to the chrysalis." - Garth Risk Hallberg, A Field Guide to the North American Family.
Maturity is good. It doesn't come automatically. I like my state of mind and being as I, like you, ease into middle age. It's still good in this culture to be a mature man, showing some gray, acting with honor, knowing stuff. I'm an advocate of embracing maturity.
For me, high quality, well fitted, slightly more traditional clothing; office stuff with a bit of the currently fashionable cut, casual wear trending toward sportier Filson/Orvis style. Most always a collar, pressed, always good shoes or boots, well maintained. Sport coats getting more use for shows and dinners because as as a slightly older guy I can, or maybe it's that authority in yourself thing that comes with knowing yourself, with a bit of not giving a damn about some things any more.
Taking steps to stay fit and nimble and rested are in my mind primary.
Maturity is good. It doesn't come automatically. I like my state of mind and being as I, like you, ease into middle age. It's still good in this culture to be a mature man, showing some gray, acting with honor, knowing stuff. I'm an advocate of embracing maturity.
For me, high quality, well fitted, slightly more traditional clothing; office stuff with a bit of the currently fashionable cut, casual wear trending toward sportier Filson/Orvis style. Most always a collar, pressed, always good shoes or boots, well maintained. Sport coats getting more use for shows and dinners because as as a slightly older guy I can, or maybe it's that authority in yourself thing that comes with knowing yourself, with a bit of not giving a damn about some things any more.
Taking steps to stay fit and nimble and rested are in my mind primary.
