How often do you wash clothes? (NOT "how often do you change clothes?")

[saskganesh]

only painters and chefs wear white pants.

and marty, I hope your detergent is phosphate free.

[DontSayBanana]

1-2 times a week for me; I've got a somewhat limited wardrobe.

[Pedrito]

Having three kids kills your attention to environment 

It seems to me that every time I go home the washing machine is humming and making a loud chopping noise, like a helicopter.

L.

[C.C.R.]

You forgot Jocelyn!

Yep.  She'll be seven in August.  And when she was a baby I still did laundry once a week because I won't do it (or precious little else) during the work week.  She had like 417 sets of ones-ies, 342 of which I could shove in the washer simultaneously.  I had A System...

Of course I also failed to mention that at the time I lived in a largish apartment building that had eight washers & eight dryers downstairs -- I would go drag every filthy stitch of clothing that I owned downstairs at 6:30am on a Sunday morning & do it all simultaneously, knocking out six or eight large loads of laundry in less than two hours.  The biggest reason that I stopped doing laundry & my wife took over was that we moved into a house with our own washer & dryer, where she could do a load or two every couple of days as it accumulated instead of having to rely on me to physcially manhandle a metric fuck-ton of dirty undies down to the laundry room...

[Sheilbh]

I didn't realize American fashion was so conservative. I'm aiming more at London's, tbh.

....I hate to tell you Marty but having worked in several bars the clothes you described is twat-garb in London.  The sorts of people - admittedly I didn't work in gay bars - who wear ties casually (often tied round the neck NOT THE COLLAR! ) and scarves and braces are generally speaking fake-tanned to within an inch of mahogany, over-preened, lower middle class salesmen and estate agents with charming chat up lines lilke - 'I'm at least a ten'.  These people exist.  Don't emulate them please, or you may turn into one

Edit: Having said that when I worked in clothes and tailoring Americans were the most conservative and slobbish.  These guys were looking for button-down to wear with a suit and tie
British businessmen the most radical (they love their colours and stripes and checks).  Australians and Europeans were about equally conservative.

Btw, to all you guys who only have black socks unless it's sport white ones - what do you wear with white trousers and white shoes? Surely neither sport socks (they are usually too thick or have some patterns) or black suit socks fit?   

I don't wear white trousers but to work I'll wear light blue socks, red socks, pink socks, green socks and black socks.  Socks are an area you can be colourful in because no-one sees them so you don't cross the line between guy going to work and spiv.

The only Oscar Wilde quote I truly think has truth in it is the one about how fashion is a form of ugliness so dreadful we have to replace it every six months.  I don't think following fashion is a wise idea if you're a guy unless you're rich.  Get some white t-shirts, some shirts, a couple of suits and some jeans.  That's all you'll need and within those categories you can accessorise as much as you want.  The goal of a good outfit isn't to stand out or to 'express yourself'; it's to blend in until someone notices you when they will notice a subtle but well-observed detail or two.  Accessories for men shouldn't complement an outfit in the way a handbag does.  The classic accessory is the tie and cufflinks and I think we can all agree that people with too loud ties or novelty cufflinks are very close to being automatically judged wankers.  They shouldn't draw your attention to someone; they should be noticed only after the person's got your attention. 

Menswear companies are trying to make male fashion more female - which means that speed is the most important element, Philip Green famously believes that no outfit should be on the shop floor for more than two weeks - I think this won't work because menswear's obscenely expensive compared to women's fashion but also I think that the fundamentals of what makes a man look good don't change very often.  The suit is designed to really highlight the male physique (jackets are slimming because they emphasise broad shoulders and narrow waists) and the suit hasn't changed since the late nineteenth century in any fundamental way.  Similarly I think it's difficult to top simplicity like a white T-shirt and jeans, though you may never look like James Dean, and that's why that's been a staple for 50 years.  Menswear has generally found a few looks it likes and stuck with them because they work.  The only changes they need are to tweak or emphasise details.  Men who follow every fad and fashion look ridiculous in retrospect because the basics are so clear: we know what works.

It's like trying to fuck with the Martini.  Why would you?

[Habsburg]

Never wear white slacks or a white suit* after labour day. 

* or searsucker of any colour

[Sheilbh]

Never wear white slacks or a white suit* after labour day. 

* or searsucker of any colour

Never wear white trousers or a suit unless you're Don Johnson.*


*Or a girl.

[Habsburg]

Never wear white slacks or a white suit* after labour day. 

* or searsucker of any colour

Never wear white trousers or a suit unless you're Don Johnson.*


*Or a girl.

You Sirah, have nevah been to the Sowath (United States)?*

* or Newport RI

[garbon]

You Sirah, have nevah been to the Sowath (United States)?*

* or Newport RI

Who would want to?

[Sheilbh]

Never wear white slacks or a white suit* after labour day. 

* or searsucker of any colour

Never wear white trousers or a suit unless you're Don Johnson.*


*Or a girl.

You Sirah, have nevah been to the Sowath (United States)?*

* or Newport RI

Ah.  You're right.  I think it would be okay then.

[Habsburg]

You Sirah, have nevah been to the Sowath (United States)?*

* or Newport RI

Who would want to?

whatevrs.

[Martinus]

Ouch, Sheilbh, I thought that was harsh. I also think you are also perhaps misjudging my comments (or maybe I have no taste, after all).

No, I don't wear ties around my neck (as opposed to collar), and I don't wear them uber-casually (i.e. like hanging several inches below my collar) but I see nothing wrong with a casual tie, i.e. one that looks slightly disheveled, with the top button of your shirt unbuttoned. Does it make me a twat?

Scarves also can be overdone (especially if you wear them with a t-shirt, when they look weird) but again having a light scarf with a jacket is nothing wrong imo, especially when going out (even when it is not very cold). For example like this:



Again, I think bracers are overdoing it, but if you have an armband (I don't wear a watch) it may be a nice touch.

[Martinus]

Or to put it differently, while I have this flamboyant persona here, I am far more conservative in real life, and usually when in doubt, prefer to err on the side of conformity. So I'm quite sure I won't go overboard in these fashion experiments.

[The Larch]

Let's stop focusing on fashion issues and more on your wasteful way of life. 

Every two days? Seriously?

[garbon]

Let's stop focusing on fashion issues and more on your wasteful way of life. 

Especially since he thinks the highpoint of fashion is H&M...