Re: Rate My Style Redux

[Guest]

Thanks for the input.  I got offered the job.    

[Gentleman Johnny]

Normal work outfit


Outfit that got a strong reaction. Not pictured, my beat up old square-toe black bike/cowboy boots.

Also, I clearly need to clean my bathroom mirror.

[Conreezy]

That's a cool jacket. Is that leather?

[Gentleman Johnny]

That's a cool jacket. Is that leather?

Yeah. A very lucky thrift store find that fits me perfectly.

[Guest]

LOL. Thanks.  With all the bald jokes I've heard, that's a new comparison.  I was going for Jason Statham, but Patrick Stewart works too.  

Huh? I dunno what you've heard man, but you look handsome.

[Conreezy]

Well, thank you very much.

[Conreezy]

How have we avoided putting our Halloween costumes up?

I'm the Phantom. My wife is a Ninja Turtle. I want that Tigger costume:

[Guest]

I did this on the last forum, but whatevs. Would be nice to get more voices on my look. Er, apologies in advance for the terrible facial hair - I bought a new trimmer a few months ago and it's a lot better now than it ever has been. I just don't have any current photos on hand.  

Rimless glasses:


Rimmed, red glasses:


Clean-shaven (not a personal preference of mine):


During a night out:


After a night out (I promise I wasn't as pissed off as I look):


I think I posted this in the original thread on the other forums but it's the best fitting tee I have:


So... Have at. Anything work? Anything not work? For the record, if I ever get comments on anything, it's usually the hair.

[BasedBuzzed]

I like the "pissed-off" pic the best, probably due to the broad shoulders the outfit seems to give you. Rimless works the best with a facial hair combo because it makes your face look less 'crowded', for lack of a better worth. On the facial hair, go for a full ringbeard and shave of the patch under your bottom lip, I'd say. Overall, you look pretty damn swell, especially with the hair.

[Stumbles]

I like the rimless glasses. Your eyes are beautiful and they seem to make them pop more.

And your hair. Oh my glob. Your hair. How many people ask to touch and play with it? You hair is awesome, is what I am saying.

[Guest]

I like the "pissed-off" pic the best, probably due to the broad shoulders the outfit seems to give you. Rimless works the best with a facial hair combo because it makes your face look less 'crowded', for lack of a better worth. On the facial hair, go for a full ringbeard and shave of the patch under your bottom lip, I'd say. Overall, you look pretty damn swell, especially with the hair.

I think the rimmed pair are about the limit I can go without look too busy. I had a long discussion about it when buying both pairs at once, actually.

Noted on the facial hair. I've been trying to experiment with different looks lately and removing the bottom lip fuzz with the rest intact hadn't actually crossed my mind. Thanks for the advice!

I like the rimless glasses. Your eyes are beautiful and they seem to make them pop more.

And your hair. Oh my glob. Your hair. How many people ask to touch and play with it? You hair is awesome, is what I am saying.

Second vote for rimless. Cool. Thanks, my eyes I don't really pay much attention to, to be honest.

On the hair, thanks again! I get asked every once and a while about it. I also have women (admittedly not strangers - I've just met them when it happens, usually) reach out a hand and touch it without asking. Once from behind which was kind of... unsettling. It's the one feature I have I really do like when I keep it groomed well.

[reboundstudent]

My vote is for rimless, and I LOVE the button-up belt picture. I'm also not usually a fan of facial hair, but I think with your hair style the slight beard looks much better. Also geez am I jealous of your hair!!

[Gentleman Johnny]

I did this on the last forum, but whatevs. Would be nice to get more voices on my look. Er, apologies in advance for the terrible facial hair - I bought a new trimmer a few months ago and it's a lot better now than it ever has been. I just don't have any current photos on hand.  

So... Have at. Anything work? Anything not work? For the record, if I ever get comments on anything, it's usually the hair.

A. Keep the facial hair.

B. Yeah, totally jealous of your hair.

C. Rimless, definitely.

D. The blue, black and white shirt is great. So is the white belt. I want both!

E. I love ELP, well that one bit of Karn Evil 9.

[Guest]

My vote is for rimless, and I LOVE the button-up belt picture. I'm also not usually a fan of facial hair, but I think with your hair style the slight beard looks much better. Also geez am I jealous of your hair!!

Third for rimless. To think I wish I had wavy rather than curly hair so I could pull of a neater look. I remember my Dad (admittedly generalising) told me that girls love curls and I should try to keep them.

I was and still am dubious.

A. Keep the facial hair.

B. Yeah, totally jealous of your hair.

C. Rimless, definitely.

D. The blue, black and white shirt is great. So is the white belt. I want both!

E. I love ELP, well that one bit of Karn Evil 9.

Fourth for rimless! Again, to think I got the rimmed pair for a change after wearing only rimless for years. The belt is actually reversable - black on one side and white on the other. Black for work, white for some contrast depending on the outfit. For the life of me, I can't remember the make of the shirt, but I think it's some Aussie company that hasn't gone global yet anyway.

I won't lie, if I could find a woman I could sing along Karn Evil 9 with in the car like a couple of dorks, I could probably die happy.

[Conreezy]

A) I like the facial hair. Without it, especially with the rimmed glasses, you have a very soft look, which is not at all a bad thing, just not what I'd do. I think you look good either way.

B) Hair is amazing. I'm jealous too

C)  For sure the rimless glasses. You look great in them with that blue shirt and facial hair.

D)  Can't get behind the white belt, dude, sorry.  Contrasting with black pants is tough, and not very advisable in my opinion.  If you're going with black, go with black shoes and belt with a brighter shirt.  

Navy blue or charcoal grey pants would go great with the grey shirt and black shoes/belt, which, in my opinion, should at least be a "close enough" type of match.  (I usually like to match mine directly, but being slightly off is all the rave on some style boards I lurk on. It has a certain suggestion of "I don't give a shit" without looking like you don't give a shit.) If you want some contrast, tan, brown, burgundy, or even certain grey shoes and belts can stick out well.  

Speaking of shoes, I'd think you'd do better with a softer looking shoe or boot: something with a rounded toe and a less blocky look.

[Guest]

A) I like the facial hair. Without it, especially with the rimmed glasses, you have a very soft look, which is not at all a bad thing, just not what I'd do. I think you look good either way.  

B) Hair is amazing. I'm jealous too

C)  For sure the rimless glasses.  You look great in them with that blue shirt and facial hair.

D)  Can't get behind the white belt, dude, sorry.  Contrasting with black pants is tough, and not very advisable in my opinion.  If you're going with black, go with black shoes and belt with a brighter shirt.  

Navy blue or charcoal grey pants would go great with the grey shirt and black shoes/belt, which, in my opinion, should at least be a "close enough" type of match.  (I usually like to match mine directly, but being slightly off is all the rave on some style boards I lurk on. It has a certain suggestion of "I don't give a shit" without looking like you don't give a shit.) If you want some contrast, tan, brown, burgundy, or even certain grey shoes and belts can stick out well.  

Speaking of shoes, I'd think you'd do better with a softer looking shoe or boot: something with a rounded toe and a less blocky look.

You hit the nail on the head with the facial hair. It's pretty much why I keep it now - it takes a little bit of softness away I'd rather not have. But looking good either way is a relief.

Fifth for rimless! I've been wearing them for the past few days because of this.

Fair call on the belt - I like the contrast, but I would like an almost silver one to match in a little more subdued way. It at least takes away the appearance of garishness if the contrast doesn't work too well. I know what you mean about the "close enough" match. I have a few outfits (or things I've played with anyway) that follow that line of logic.

As for shoes, I have a nice pair of softer looking, cherry red Doc Martens. Makes colour matching a bit of a pain, but they are pretty good shoes. I wouldn't mind a pair of brouges, which are typically a variation of brown. They'd be used mainly with a kilt, but they work as really smart dress shoes too.

Cheers for the feedback!

[Conreezy]

As for shoes, I have a nice pair of softer looking, cherry red Doc Martens.

I'd like to see those!

I wouldn't mind a pair of brouges, which are typically a variation of brown.

I thought brouging just referred to the presence of the decorative holes, not a type of show, as oxfords, derbies, or boots can be various degrees of brouged.

[Guest]

As for shoes, I have a nice pair of softer looking, cherry red Doc Martens.

I'd like to see those!

Ask and ye shall receive...

I wouldn't mind a pair of brouges, which are typically a variation of brown.

I thought brouging just referred to the presence of the decorative holes, not a type of show, as oxfords, derbies, or boots can be various degrees of brouged.

I've had this discussion before, actually. Brogues seems to be an acceptable term for Oxfords / wingtips / Balmorals / co-respondents, even when that usually just means the pattern on the shoe. Then there's Ghillie Brogues, which are like dancing ghillies but more for coupling with highland attire in social settings and based on Balmorals.

The term is interchangeable as a result - a brogue just means a shoe with broguing, but usually the Oxfords / Wingtips / Balmorals style.

Regardless, I wouldn't mind a set of ghillie brogues to match my kilt. And a set of Balmorals style brogues, which is what I was referring to initially.

[Conreezy]

Yeah, I hear "wingtip" and I think of a specific type of broguing pattern.

I'm not sure if there is polish of the particular color of your boots, but I think some darkening would make those a really cool shade that would go well with night time apparel.

[Gentleman Johnny]

Normal work outfit


Outfit that got a strong reaction. Not pictured, my beat up old square-toe black bike/cowboy boots.

Also, I clearly need to clean my bathroom mirror.

This came up on the blog, so I wanted to touch on it here. I've noticed a pretty severe difference between my day to day presentation and my. . .call it "on stage" presentation. Now obviously, the clothes make a difference but I think there's something about what an outfit does for your perceptions in it, too. So the above are the wild Johnny in his natural habitat (indoors) and plumage. Not terribly shabby for 40, I admit but not the guy who, when he walks into the room, all the geek women go "whoa! That guy!"

Now here's a couple of posed photos with not much costume work. Pretty snazzy, all things considered but still (to me at least) missing a certain something.




But here's the candid shots





That guy there just has a certain presence that the others don't. It stands out to me all the more because they're th photos where I'm not making an effort, its just there. So the question is how do I get more of that in my day to day?

Also, after a quick eview of those, I think I'm going back to shorter hair parted sideways instead of longer and straight back.

[Guest]

A little real-life LARPing, perhaps?

At least, one of the ways I thought helped me develop confidence was imagining myself as some of my roleplaying characters (whichever one was appropriate for the situation I was facing). The brash, daredevil, charismatic warrior for big party situations and interactions with lots of new people, or the cool, supremely collected, uh, warrior (... I like fighty women, okay) for situations that required a more subtle confidence, like interviews, or the flighty-but-genuinely-sweet and interested in /everybody/ girl in other social situations (given as social tactics differ depending on the crowd, even casually). Wear them like clothes - even imagine putting on the your ringmaster's outfit, visualizing how you'd put them on, how you'd look in the mirror, the way it feels around you. If that's what makes you stride and exude confidence, wear it with you all the time.

As far as the posed versus candid photos go, some of it is probably the difference between, well, posed versus candid. There's not a lot of people who are good at making held poses look as natural and fluid as a great candid photo, and most of them are probably making a living as models and actors.

[Guest]

So, GJ, in the prime thread you mentioned not knowing how much of it was you, and how much was really there. I actually like the second set of pics better than the third -- they have a ton of personality and charm. The candids are nice, too, but there's a lot of presence and energy in the posed photos, as well. It's a close thing.

I do agree that your hair looks better short and parted than long and back, but to me, the biggest difference is that in the first set, your expressions look less... well, expressive. Your smile doesn't really reach your eyes. In the posed photos in the middle, your smile is fantastic.

[Gentleman Johnny]

I guess its more that I always assume candid photos are going to be a step down, and for most of my life they usually were. So its a surprise when it comes off that well without trying. For all I know, maybe I do come across like that when I'm not "on". It may be an error in sample size (no candid pictures of day to day stuff). I will say whenever I talk about how raw good looks aren't the key, this is kind of where I'm going with it. The pictures show some of it but the full effect really doesn't convey unless I'm in motion.

Just reviewing the pictures to find ones to post gives me an idea of what it is I'm going for and that's quite helpful. A little flashy but not crazy over the top. Play to my build. I think a tighter than average fit on my pants would be good, too. Not crazy skinny jeans tight but taken in a bit from what my waist/inseam imply. I still might sink a few bucks on a fashion consultation but I've got the non-fashion part of what I'm going for pinned down.

[Gentleman Johnny]

Had someone refer to my (non-Ringmaster) style last night as "urban wizard". I think I'm going to run with that idea for a bit and see where it ends up. Too bad the technomancer hooide is sold out.

[Crimson]

Here's me!

https://i.imgur.com/SW3z6eq.jpg

Sorry for the shitty quality. I'm mostly just looking for the general am I ugly/is my hair okay/how does my outfit look?

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