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[0bsessions]

FFXIII.

Yeah, that might be relevant when it comes out in like 2015. Considering that FF XIII really is about the next big release for PS3 after MGS IV and that it's not coming out until at least well into 2009, I find it hard to really give a shit about it.

Anyway, I managed to avoid decadence yesterday. I struggled with buying a TV tuner card for my PC before deciding to wait on it. Go me.

Dude, what? MGS4 is coming out June 12th. I assume you were just using a hyperbole, but it doesn't work, because a firm release date has been set for over a month now.

Do you have trouble remembering the first half of a sentence after reading the second half? I was quite clearly talking about Final Fantasy XIII being the next big release after MGS. Final Fantasy XIII is subsequently not even dated and will be, at the earliest, well into 2009.

[pilsner]

This thread is not about console fanboyism.  It is about the $450 Marc Jacob pants that Kieffer bought on sale.  I hear he shops at Filene's Basement with his mother.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Liz]

Let me break down my current outfit.

Sweater- $8
Tank tops (two)- $8
Jeans- $15
Shoes- $4
Undergarments- $12
Belt- Free!

Total- $47

I do not belong in this thread.

[tania]

the coffee i'm drinking right now is pretty expensive, i guess.




i do not think i belong in this thread either.

[karl gambolputty...]

I bought a $120 pair of jeans a few weeks ago.  They forgot to take the giant anti-theft thingy off, and I didn't notice it until I got home.  The smart thing would have been to take it back and get them to take it off.  I decided to just yank it off.  Now I have a $120 pair of jeans with a hole in them that makes it look stolen. 

[ruyi]

Tommy, is this you?

Scarlett Johansson's eBay auction ended on Wednesday and some guy from the United Kingdom paid $40,100 for an evening with the actress.

[0bsessions]

No. Scarlett Johansson doesn't have a boyfriend.

[Eli]

I'm not much of a spender. The last thing I brought was my math book at $80 and that's not decadent at all. Any money I get basically go towards college. Anything I own is a gift or brought when I still lived with my parents.

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I hate spending money. I always wonder what if something comes up and I need that money or if what I'm buying is really necessary. I came from a family of 5 with an okay income and we had a vacation every year and stuff, but we also watched how much was spent. My boyfriend's family has a way higher income and I worry about how my boyfriend will deal with the loss of extras when we live on our own. He's brilliant with economics and stuff, so I doubt he'll spend unnecessarily, but I still worry.

[Patrick]

No. Scarlett Johansson doesn't have a boyfriend.

So you think

[Jimmy the Squid]

I know it was well over a page ago but this comment was annoying me .......... there is NO WAY you could get a suit from k-mart that would be the same quality as an armani suit (or any other pricey brand) what your paying for is an amazingly cut and tailored piece of clothing, in general the more you pay for a suit the better it is. Instead of having some badly fit poleyester blend suit that would look crumpled after a half day of wear, not be flattering at all, and likelyhood is will fall apart within a couple of dry-cleans you could instead choose to pay more money and have a merino wool blend suit made out of a fabric sourced from europe that is fully lined, cut to fit your body and will last years and years and still look amazing.

I know my more exspensive suits are my favourites because of the workmanship on them; the darts and pleats that make them look amazing... visual example

SUIT

that (altho blurry) is a hot suit

You didn't read my post well enough. Try again (bolded for emphasis).

I don't think that's true. If other people's posts are to go by then things like glasses frames are almost exactly the same except for a brand logo. I think for suits then it is the the quality of workmanship that counts. If you get a suit that looks great but isn't Armani it doesn't matter much. Hell if I found a suit from K-Mart that looked like an Armani suit and had a similarly high quality (assuming that Armani stuff is well-made, I wouldn't know) I would rather pay the $150 odd for it rather than whatever the price for the designer thing would be. The price tag isn't indicative of quality.

I was using K-Mart as an example of a place where you get cheap clothes. I used Armani as an example of expensive (and in my mind, overpriced) designer clothes. The two examples are largely irrelevant, my point was that if I found a cheap, no-name brand but well made and flattering suit I would buy that over an expensive designer suit (be it well made or not).
I did not say that it was possible for me to pop into my local K-Mart and pick up an amazing suit (do they even sell them?) that is just as nice as a designer one at a fraction of the cost.

My other point was that people will pay exhorbitant amounts of money simply because there is a label that says "Armani" or... I can't think of any other designers but do you see what I am getting at? Just because you are paying more does not necessarily mean that you are getting more.

[Lunchbox]

A better example would be perhaps Calvin Klein vs Bonds underwear. Both are good, solid products, well made and long-lasting, but the Bonds ones are ten bucks where the CK ones are sixty.

[Jimmy the Squid]

I should have done that. Shit I even wear bonds!

Let's face it people, I am bad at fashion.

[SeanBateman]

I was just about to say you were bad at fashion, actually. Not even in a negative sense, you just clearly do not understand why people who care about fashion care about fashion.

I don't really feel like explaining it, either. Suffice to say you are paying for a lot more than the name "Armani"

[Jimmy the Squid]

That's ok! I'm not actually interested in finding out. I am happy to wear very entry-level suits and look reasonable. I don't need $200 shirts simply because I just don't care that much about fashion, I have better things to spend my money on at the moment.

It is entirely possible that once I actually get a real job making proper money I will wear fancy clothes but until then I get my shirts from Lowes (discount mens retailer), my pants from Army Surplus stores and...well I do like expensive boots so I guess that's something.

[Patrick]

Not being decadent = why are you in a thread about decadence

[Jimmy the Squid]

Shit I just realised something! The reason I am bad at fashion is because we're talking about the wrong fashion! I have bought and will buy again expensive pairs of boots - My two pairs of Demonia's cost about $270 each pair and my New Rocks were $500. I have a Tripp shirt that cost $100 and a Cyberdog shirt that I got for $115 and that was at 70% off! I once bought a handmade Cyber/Space Pirate jacket from Gallery Serpentine for $220 (down from $300) and I have about 3 leather jackets ranging in price from $300 (down from $1000) to about $700 (down from over $1100). I totally get fashion, just not when it comes to articles of clothing that I don't give a shit about!

Sorry dudes! It is too early for me to be talking about what I am still basically a novice in (I still wouldn't pay more than $60 for a pair of jeans though).

[Skibas_clavicle]

See, I like looking like I paid a lot for something and not actually doing it. I feel like I cheat the system that way. It's showing you have good taste but not dropping mad money that you can use other places.

I can't decided how I would dress if I had a lot of disposable cash.  I would either wear dresses/pencil skirts all the time with $700 peep-toe shoes that were sexy as hell (the lady) OR I would opt out, and wear madly expensive denim with really interesting sneakers (the gent). That's the problem with being a college kid with no potential of ever becoming rich, but also having an eye for expensive things....DREAMS!

[Verergoca]

In terms of ridiculously impulsive buys, i present you the result of 3 hours of shopping:

[Patrick]

That Garlan stuff is so fucking tasty on a cracker or something, holy crap!

[tania]

i'll be the first to admit that i am terrible at fashion. i don't really want to be good at it, though, so that's okay for now.

i probably can't consider myself decadent at all seeing as i live off a piddly student budget but a huge chunk of my funds still tends to go mainly towards expensive food and food-related products that i can't really realistically afford. i am a sucker for things that are delicious. a couple of months ago i bought a $80 coffee grinder because i decided i am too good for pre-ground coffee. i know that doesn't really sound like anything at all but considering i am perpetually broke it was probably a pretty ridiculous thing to do.

[ronin]

I bought this last week instead of having my old watch fixed.

[KharBevNor]

Things like shirts, plain t-shirts, jeans, socks, underwear and maybe nice jackets etc. I get from Marks and Spencers. The clothes are well made, mostly fairtrade or organic cotton, inexpensive and look very nice. The most expensive thing I have ever purchased from them (and thus the most expensive 'normal' fashion thing I have ever bought) was this linen jacket for some smart casual wear:



Though I don't wear it in such a cock-suckerish way.

I do have lots of coats and boots though. I have two pairs of combat boots (one British Patrol, one Bundeswehr Paratrooper) a pair of armoured Gripfast work boots and some classic Doc Martens. I also have two leather jackets (one biker style, one more like a single-breasted suit jacket, I suppose, with lapels), two leather trenchcoats (one of which cost £300, one of which cost £2. Tragically the £2 is much better styled and made.), two woodland DPM jackets (one British, unadorned, one German, covered in badges and patches) a grey wool trenchcoat (with purple ribbons down the front, part of an Alexander Anderson cosplay outfit), as well as a nice heavy green insulated raincoat, an old-school Barbour, complete with wire-supported hood, and a black sailing jacket. My over-riding concern with clothing is durability. I've got clothes I've been wearing for six or seven years, and I plan to wear them just as long again.

Fashion as a way of expressing yourself through dress is an awesome thing. Fashion that comes in magazines is an insane rip-off fest.

[Sir Tacopuss]

In terms of ridiculously impulsive buys, i present you the result of 3 hours of shopping:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d79/Verergoca/S5002580.jpg

harhar, thumbs up for the Space Marine Command Squad + Citadel Paint

the last "decadent" thing i spent money on were these:



Bose In Ear Headphones. They were about 72€, but damn it, they're the best headphones i've owned in a while.

The next big spending i'm gonna make will be for an MSI Notebook with Core 2 Duo and 3 gig of ram, but my current pc is almost 8 years old. so that doesn't really count as "decadent".

[SeanBateman]

Fashion as a way of expressing yourself through dress is an awesome thing. Fashion that comes in magazines is an insane rip-off fest.

Explain this, because it makes no sense.

[calenlass]

I do not think what I am wearing now cost me anything.


LOL NAKED JOKES



No but seriously my shirt was free and my knickers were gifts and my mom bought me my climbing pants. I like to think I am pretty good at exploiting the people who care about me.

[öde]

I don't like most of my clothes anymore.

Unfortunately most shops in Bournemouth are shit and charity shops don't have mens clothes.

[Patrick]

just for the record, tonight i am living the rock and roll lifestyle.

except minus the hookers and blow, becaese im' still a virgin and my nasal passages are intact, but holy fuckbats am i drunk. free booze 'cause i'm in the band? fuck yeahhhhhhhhhsjiergmm okay somebody punch me i've already posted in the drunk thread

[dennis]

I want to go into the Armani and Boss stores and look at suits, but I feel like I need to be wearing an expensive suit to just go in.

[öde]

I buy clothes that I never wear, like a German tracksuit top with 'SV Obertraubling' on the back, a green velvet blazer, etc.

[KharBevNor]

Explain this, because it makes no sense.

Fashion as in 'the Fashion', you know, the one that changes arbitrarily every six weeks or so at the whim of some coke-snorting cocksuckers in New York and Paris. Yay, taste that's disposable! Yay, looking the same!

[öde]

There's a shop in Bournemouth called 'Clone Zone.'

[SeanBateman]

Explain this, because it makes no sense.

Fashion as in 'the Fashion', you know, the one that changes arbitrarily every six weeks or so at the whim of some coke-snorting cocksuckers in New York and Paris. Yay, taste that's disposable! Yay, looking the same!

But how is that different? You "look the same" as most other metal fans to the average person who isn't in touch with that culture, I am sure. And while the style might not change as often, I am willing to bet that you to some degree follow the sea change in that culture. What is the difference between following a taste that makes you happy and is originated by people in New York vs people in Norway or whatever? I love "The Fashion," although I tend to work more on predicting it than following it, just because I'd much rather be ahead of a trend than in it.

Note, I realize there are a lot of generalizations in that papargraph, but please don't take it as an attack. Purely me wondering where you see the difference between your $200 boots and my $200 sneakers.

[KharBevNor]

My boots cost like, £40.

It's ridiculous because fashion is essentially controlled by a tiny elite who are both the creators and arbitors of taste and have everyone else running around behind them at their whim as they indulge in novelty for novelties sake. It's like fine art, but less durable.

[littlelove]

my impulse buy was my big red bong.
$70, and I barely use it because I can't smoke indoors and it is too awkward to carry around.

[Ozymandias]

Fashion to me is a man standing next to a river and every so often he declares that the water flowing by him at that exact second is the best water you will ever taste and everyone pays $500 to taste the water before it goes past him because once it's past him it doesn't taste as good.

[Darkbluerabbit]

That's a pretty good analogy for the fashion industry.  I have a friend who looks at Vogue and raves about certain things and I just think that if I saw a person walking down the street wrapped in purple metallic gauze fastened with a belt made of real yeti hair or whatever the hell they decide is fashionable this season, I'd probably be really confused. 

I actually made a (sort of) decadent purchase yesterday.  I've decided that one clothing item worth spending a little more money on is bras.  I went to a real lingerie shop instead of a department store, got an actual fitting, and walked away with the two most comfortable undergarments I've ever worn.  I might be down 90 bucks, but it was totally worth it.  I get most of my clothes from Goodwill or other secondhand stores, so for total clothing budget my average spending is pretty low.  I refuse to buy undergarments from Goodwill.  That just seems creepy.

[SeanBateman]

I think you guys might just not "get" fashion. The people who do it well aren't the ones who follow the looks in Vogue or Elle or whatever. Firstly, those sell watered down two seasons old looks anyway, you'd be better off with Harpers. Second, well I can't explain it, so everyone go to this website.

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

It's just a guy who takes pictures of people he sees in the street who are dressed really well. I check it pretty regularly, because it is just fucking awesome. And people wearing stuff like this




Is basically art, in my mind. But it's art that every day, they get up and create. They wake up and put together something that works completely perfectly and they can feel good about it, and other people see it and say "oh shit look at that guys outfit" and that is just badass, I guess? I don't know how to explain it, really, but still.

[Lines]

Yeah, the fashion design majors wear stuff like that every day. I'm kind of used to seeing those kind of clothes, but in a way that still makes me stop and think, "Huh, that's an interesting combination." But I wouldn't be able to wear a lot of that stuff without feeling really silly, because that's just not me, except for the last one (dress + funky colored flats) if I was going out.

[Hat]

Holy shit, that blog is so good. I dress like a complete knob, myself, but still, that is neat.

[öde]

Even though the guys typing words are complete cockbags I like looking at the vice magazine 'dos and don'ts' because they find some really funkily dressed people.

[tommydski]

To be contrary, for two years or so I had a girlfriend who worked for Karl Lagerfeld. The people in fashion I met during this time were the most incredibly headstrong, talented, unpretentious and unbelievably hardworking people I have ever met. I think something that I didn't appreciate before was that working in fashion requires you to be proficient in a wide range of skills. You have to be able to conceive, design, render and then actually make outfits on your own. This means every person has to be able to draw to an artistic and then technical standard, have an incredibly wide knowledge of materials and how they fit together as well as being able to literally make their designs with their own hands. It's only through many, many years of hard work do people earn proxies and functionaries to carry out these tasks. To these regular rank and file designers who work for the larger fashion houses, they put in an awful lot of work for comparatively little return. They don't do it out of some sense of 'cool', they do it because they genuinely love their craft and are every bit as committed to their art as anyone else.

However, the media coverage of fashion is often pretty misleading and every bit as distasteful as you might imagine.

Personally, when I wear specific outfits deliberately it is because they are functional. I utilise certain outfits in the same way you might use any tool you might have at your disposal. I have a couple of suits I use when I am running presentations for the company I work for because certain looks do subconciously alter people's perception. I am a professional and I feel like it is my duty to use every trick at my disposal for the good of my employers. On occasions, I may need to have the appearance of someone who is dynamic, authoritative and affluent. If people with money are more inclined to invest if they see a young man in an Armani suit, I'll wear an Armani suit. I'm being paid to get results and I would be disappointed in myself if I didn't perform to the best of my ability. This is what you might call goal-orientated fashion. No more different than if you had a job dressing up as Mickey Mouse at Disneyland.

On topic - I just spent $16,000 on a new kitchen.

[SeanBateman]

My fashion is goal oriented too!

The goal is to get people who appreciate fashion to touch my penis.

[tommydski]

Exactly.

[Liz]

I kinda think that what you see in a magazine is more along the lines of the style that they want you to emulate. Therefore if you follow magazines you are stylish, not fashionable. The difference to me is that fashion is doing your own thing and being original, style is being a copycat.

I know that was worded really oddly but it makes sense in my head.

[Lines]

I don't think style is necessarily being a copycat. I always thought of it as a way to categorize just what kind of fashion you're into, like genres or music, etc. Like it's a subset of fashion as a whole.

[Darkbluerabbit]

I use the words style and fashion the exact opposite way.  "Fashion" to me is more of the 'this is what is in right now and you should wear it regardless of how expensive or ridiculous it is.' while the word "style" seems more like a general sense of what looks good, which can be adapted to the individual.  Some people have style without necessarily following what is fashionable, but a person who wears something that is in fashion doesn't always demonstrate style. 

[Liz]

Maybe that's what I was thinking. I think that's why it didn't sound quite right to me.

[Barmymoo]

That's exactly how I see it too. Style is how you wear your clothes, how they're put together and what you wear with what. Fashion is the actual clothes you buy, not how you wear them. Tomorrow I'll be wearing blue jeans bought several years ago (nicely cut but faded), tatty old trainers coloured with highlighters to make them more interesting, an old orange hoody that used to belong to my mum and is really a bit too small, and a gorgeous maroon tweed jacket with gold buttons. It works, as far as I'm concerned anyway, but none of the clothes are remotely fashionable.

Then again, style is very individual whereas fashion works the same for everyone. When someone goes into New Look, or whatever the equivalent is in other countries, and buys a new jacket or a dress, what they're buying is the comfort of being dressed how most people their (my) age are dressing. Style only works for the person it's on. I could never wear a suit, I'm too short and squidgy. Same with miniskirts. And yet some people can do just that and look great.

I know a girl who spends a fortune on clothes, and is always wearing designer stuff. She goes mad if anyone gets it mucky or even touches it. And yet she's barely remarkable. The only reason she's noticable is because she has a good bone structure and is strikingly pretty, but her personal style is fairly non-descript. She's an example of where fashion is supressing style. It's possible to have both, and some people do, but I think style is more important and it's definitely longer lasting.

[RedLion]

While I make every attempt to make myself look presentable, my problem with fashion is that I would be most comfortable just lounging about in boxers all day.

I like wearing suits, though, particularly at places where they're not called for.

[Patrick]

Fashion to me is a man standing next to a river and every so often he declares that the water flowing by him at that exact second is the best water you will ever taste and everyone pays $500 to taste the water before it goes past him because once it's past him it doesn't taste as good.

I drink water from a distiller. I can't taste the difference between that, Perrier, and a goddamn garden hose (something I would not like to test, though, as I would not like to contract hepatitis).

I do not care about fashion and I do not care about what style is popular. I just wear what I think looks good. It gets me mixed reviews, sure, but I really don't give a fuck about half of them, because that's the half that is bitching at me "Oh that outfit is unflattering". The other half is like "Oh you look great in that!" and I still don't care.

I will just put it out there, however, that my ridiculously inexpensive clothing looked awesome last night while I was performing. I got hit on. Twice. BOOYAHHHHHH TAPERED JEANS AREN'T OUT YET MOTHERFUCKERS.