I need new clothes but every time I go out 95% of what I see on offer is so bog-standard male. Solid earth tones, baggy one-size-fits-all, muted colors, work-wear adjacent, etc.
It’s so hard to find stuff that’s more, I dunno, “playful?” I’d like to have some clothes are that more of an expression of my personality but almost never do I see more unusual, expressive, colorful stuff in the brick-and-mortar stores.
To compound this, I’d also like it to:
- not cost me an arm and a leg
- be interesting but not clownish/overly ironic/jokey
This has mostly led me to buying floral shirts but a man cannot live on floral shirts alone! Does anyone know of retailers that might fit the bill?
Shop the women’s section. They don’t check if you have a vagina.
Women get some really cool ski and backpack designs, too. One time they had skis with cactuses and coyotes on them but said they were for women. The men’s version was like…flat black or some bullshit like that.
At this point, I’m starting to just say fuck it, I’m buying the cooler design unless there’s some actual reason why there’s a gendered difference (such as boob space or muscle layout differences).
Yea, but women typically have breasts which mean shirts are basically never gonna fit a man properly.
Having never heard the term “bog-standard” myself, I imagine it has to look something like this:
It’s mostly British.
https://www.grammar-monster.com/sayings_proverbs/bog_standard.htm
Might very well look like that.
I wish there were more fun clothes for guys too. Every so often some sub-culture tries to adopt something, but it never works. Like, you could wear a fancy hat, suspenders, a kilt, or a bow tie, but sadly most people are just going to parse that as “here comes that exhausting dude”.
A couple years ago I bought one of these: https://www.overland.com/products/nomad-wool-felt-outback-hat-72619?cl=olmx
It’s not like a cowboy hat that lots of people wear, but something different. It’s really sharp looking, and unique, but somehow not “eccentric”. It treads a nice balance. I get frequent compliments, not in a sarcastic way either. I have a collection of enamel pins I swap out, which let’s in a bit more personality, but muted enough
I know this doesn’t answer your question, sorry, but where are you trying to shop (or what country is this in)?
I’m having the opposite problem (in the UK).
For example, for the last couple of years, I’ve been looking for a dull nondescript standard jacket, in olive, black, grey, brown - but nowhere is selling them. I can only buy brightly coloured or shiny “inflatable” type coats, looking like a woodlouse made from a binbag, or things with words written all over them.
Over the past several years I’ve just popped into Ross or TJ Maxx every now and then and selected colorful or interestingly fitted shirts and sweaters. My wardrobe is now a rainbow with splashes of paisley.
I’m here to also suggest that. I have a teen who’s very fashion conscious and he’s good at finding interesting clothes online.
However he also regularly pops into TJ Maxx to see if there’s anything interesting. If you’re not familiar with them, you can’t expect regular inventory. They have discounted clothes for whatever overstock or out of season wear comes in, so it’s always different and sometimes interesting
Another place he likes are comic book or record stores. Sure it’s usually a tshirt and may be expensive but you can get different bands or characters