Hinkypunk Clothing

vispreeve: Gareth Pugh Fall 2010

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 02:30:00 -0400

vispreeve:

Gareth Pugh Fall 2010

konyandrainbows: FASHION so much fashin

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:05:48 -0400

konyandrainbows:

FASHION

so much fashin

snapshotof: How sewing machines work

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 06:21:25 -0500

snapshotof:

How sewing machines work

dyuslovethebeauties: Vietnamese Costumes Through The Ages

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 05:29:54 -0500

dyuslovethebeauties:

Vietnamese Costumes Through The Ages

gabi-hime: What Suits: Some General Ruminations on Suits and...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:40:52 -0500

gabi-hime:

What Suits: Some General Ruminations on Suits and Suiting from a Girl with Empty Pockets and a Suit-Wearing Paramour

I have noticed some common truths by hanging around with my internet pals all these years. One of these truths is this: basically all women love men in suits. They also often like women in suits. But usually, the men they know very rarely wear suits by choice, unless compelled to due to the social or business situation. On the flip side, women rarely wear suits either, unless they’re forced to.

Why is this? We all love to look at suits, so why is it that people hate to wear them? In America particularly suits are largely unpopular in the modern consciousness at the same time they remain perennially popular as the sign of a well-dressed man.

How many times have you heard someone say “it’s the suits,” referring to stuffy guys from management that they don’t like, or “I’m not wearing a monkey suit” when someone asks them to dress up for a family occasion. Ultimately, particularly in the US, where we still like to pretend that we have a classless society, suits are generally equated with wealth and privilege and therefore often worn by villains in film and television.

I could ramble for a while about all the reasons why young American boys and men are all taught from the day they can toddle that they ought to always rebel against wearing a nice suit, but I really don’t have to. Everybody out there has heard all the reasons: “It’s uncomfortable.” ”I don’t look good in a suit.” “They make me look bad.”

I am luckily and happily a suit-loving lady who spends most all of her time with a suit-wearing man, someone who seems to have been born out of time, as he wears fine fedoras, sock garters, and isn’t willing to wear any shoes more casual than this, unless he’s hiking or playing tennis. Seriously, the man hasn’t owned a pair of blue jeans in all the time I have known him, and I have known him since he was sixteen years old.

Personally, there isn’t a sexuality based stereotype I hate more than the one that pretends that only gay guys have taste and fashion sense and care about how they look. Sure, some gay guys look awesome, but some gay guys have about as much fashion sense as a one-eyed turkey. The same is true of straight guys and bisexual guys. I really don’t think “fashion sense” is on the same gene as “whether you like penises or not.”

The funny thing about my awesome gentleman and his great attire is that we aren’t rolling in dough or anything. Every piece of clothing he buys he selects very carefully, thinking about when and where he’ll wear it, and how often. Rather than buying willy-nilly, he always tries to make sure that the choices he makes are good ones.

Anyway, I digress. I think a lot of people like suits without understanding some basic facts about them.

Fact One: You really need to have your suit tailored to fit you. I understand that most people aren’t going to have the money in their pockets for a bespoke suit, but even if you don’t you need to take your suit to someone who does alterations and have it altered to fit you specifically. If you have your suit altered to fit you, it will make you look marvelous That is what suits are meant to do, whether your are a man or a woman: make you look fantastic. This leads me to

Fact Two: which is really just second verse, same as the first — it is really hard to look good in a suit that just comes off-the-rack. Even you are svelte and active the way my gentleman is, chances are, you are not the one-ring-to-bind-them-all size that ready-to-wear formal wear is made in. For instance, @Duriel is not hugely tall at 5’9”. This means it can be aggravating to find the right sizes and cuts for him, and we often have to check many stores and many different styles to find the pieces that suit him best. If you’re renting a suit like a tuxedo for a formal event, chances are it will not fit you particularly spectacularly. However, very few middle-class Americans will have a reason to own a tuxedo if they’re not concert musicians. You really only wear them when you’re getting married, unless you’re James Bond, when you wear them whenever you’re not getting married. By the way, it is ~~really hard~~ basically impossible to say ‘no’ to a man in a morning suit. Rather than renting a tux (or forcing your boyfriend to rent a tux) that’s going to make you look like a seal, I think it’s much better to just wear a suit you already own, or buy a nice suit. My gentleman got married in a suit he already owned, and he couldn’t have looked more splendid. (Oops, I forgot the very important)

Fact Two.Five: a suit that doesn’t fit you well will be uncomfortable. This is why you should always take care to get the closet thing to your size that you can find or can afford, and then have it altered to fit you. The reasons guys always complain about suits being uncomfortable is that they wear them once in a blue moon and even if the suit was altered to fit them once, they might have gained or lost some weight in the meantime. An ill-fitting suit makes you look and feel uncomfortable — it looks pretty bad too. This can all be avoided if you just take care to make sure that your suit fits you comfortably and is cut to give you the right look. Take time choosing a suit that is perfect for you (or as close as you can get it) and is in your price range. You will own it for a long time. That leads me to

Fact Three: Suits are expensive. You won’t have that many in your wardrobe. My clothes-horse gentleman would naturally like to have a bigger wardrobe, but he owns only ~~three~~ four jackets currently: a classic black one, a navy blazer, and a very nice light tweed summer jacket. (We checked the closet and he actually owns four. He owns two classic black jackets, but one of them doesn’t fit him very well, so he never wears it. The trousers it came with are very nice though, so he just wears those with his very nice black jacket that he really likes.) He also has a light brown leather outer jacket for informal occasions like going to have drinks with friends at the bar. You will never own a million suits, and you shouldn’t feel intimidated thinking that you have to. Suits are not tshirts. You start with one nice jacket and one nice pair of slacks that you can wear together, and you build from there. You spend a little money on these things, because if well-cared for and of generally classic cut, they will last for years and years. My gentleman has a suit jacket that he has owned since high school and it still looks wonderful.

Fact Four: Basically anyone can look amazing in a suit. You probably think this is a load of bunk, but it’s really true. There are many different suit cuts that flatter many different body types. A suit is meant to naturally enhance your appearance. If you buy the right cut of suit and have it altered to fit you, then you will look great. It will build your confidence. Random people will compliment you in public. I am not making this up. It is simply true.

Fact Five: Everything I have outlined here for gentlemen also generally applies to ladies. Ladies, you start with one nice suit that you can wear at any number of occasions. Then you add a second. Buy nice, simple shoes like loafers or oxfords, depending on what you like. These shoes are classic styles that have been in fashion for at least a century. You need two pairs of shoes no matter what color suits you own: a black pair and a brown pair. That is it. Really. It’s always nice to have lots of interesting shoes, but you should always have practical wearable shoes first and foremost. And please, please, please, please, please, buy shoes that look nice, but are comfortable. Some girls dun me for my ‘orthopedic shoes,’ but I think they look great and I could walk all over town in them. Sure, cute shoes are great for some occasions but I won’t wear shoes that are uncomfortable. I am a rebel. I don’t care how spectacular they look. If they are uncomfortable, I will just take them off and go barefoot.

Fact Six: Accessories matter. Although it may seem intimidating when you’re first starting out, eventually as you build your little wardrobe, you will buy yourself the little accessories that every gentleman or lady needs. My gentleman has driving gloves for the winter, and a nice cashmere scarf for chilly days. He has a winter fedora of felt and a summer panama from Stetson. He switches between the two, depending on the season, and sometimes it’s like I have to beat ladies (and guys) off of him with sticks. Everyone loves his hats. He gets tons of compliments on them. I regularly get compliments on mine as well. (I never go outside hatless due to extreme photosensitivity). Gentlemen: you need a pair of black shoes and a pair of brown shoes. You also need either a belt or suspenders, depending on what style of suit you like best and which you feel more comfortable wearing. I love suspenders on a man (and on a lady) but my gentleman prefers belts. Ladies need at least once nice pair of stockings, not pantyhose, stockings, and a garter belt. Take special care of your stockings, girls, and they will take care of you. Both ladies and gentlemen will also need regional and seasonal things depending on where you live and what the weather is usually like. Whether you’re a man or a woman, you’ll need a nice, classy dress coat. Don’t be alarmed. Just because it’s a dress coat doesn’t mean it can’t be comfortable and warm. And don’t worry if you don’t get a dress coat immediately. It might be a few years before you add it to your wardrobe, but when you do, it will be a prize possession, and you won’t be able to wait until it starts to get chilly so you can get your coat out of the back of the closet.

Fact Seven: Anyone can learn to wear a suit well. Anyone can learn to tie a tie well. Everyone learns these skills sometime, whether they’re a kid or an adult. It doesn’t matter which side of the tracks you grew up on, or if you’ve been wearing suits since you were in short pants. Don’t be intimidated. If you are well-mannered, and good manners are something everyone ought to learn, and self-confident, you will be a smashing success. The amazing cheat of a good-looking suit is that it boosts your confidence. You feel like you can do anything. You feel like you look amazing. You do look amazing, so it is very easy to glow.

Just try wearing a suit that has been altered to fit you, that is a color that suits you, and see just what I mean.

One final note: ladies (and gents), if you gush and gush and gush all the time about wanting your boyfriend or husband to look like a fashion plate in a magazine and yet do not put forth a similar effort to be pleasing to your opposite number whether it be suit wearing or otherwise, you are likely to make the man very cranky.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if you wish to see it built, you ought to help him carry the bricks.

Really, it’s not about ‘equal exchange’ or anything, it’s about both of you putting forth effort. It really is the thought that counts.

(Please keep in mind that I am no kinds of fashionista. I have a hard time deciding whether to buy clothes or to just spend all that money on video games. Usually buying new clothes for myself gets shunted back to the back of my priorities, behind buying doll clothes, figures, a gravy boat, a new frying pan, a cat bed, and all manner of other things. I have never regretted plunking down cash for a piece of clothing that I really love, however. This post was written in the hopes of offering tips for beginners and taking the edge off for people who really want to leap into the spectacular world of looking amazing basically all of the time.)

Disclosure: When I am not kicking it hardcore in my stepping-out clothes, I am usually just wearing my pajamas. It’s perfectly okay to wear pajamas. I endorse pajamas.

vulgarshokubeni: sex

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 15:00:49 -0400

vulgarshokubeni:

sex

nicoleohdeon: Sleeves, Necklines, Collars, and Dress Types

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 03:44:37 -0400

nicoleohdeon:

Sleeves, Necklines, Collars, and Dress Types

Finaslly finished the dress this morning. Hooray! Available to...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:15:04 -0400

Finaslly finished the dress this morning. Hooray!

Available to buy!!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95938448/black-and-white-harlequin-rag-dress

LOL!

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:11:31 -0400

I went to the fabric shop today for a few buttons and some bias binding, came back with a massive sack of satin fabric, some gorgeous vintage looking brushed cotton, a massive bag of random zips and what seems like a million spools of thread. No buttons or bias tape though.. DOH!

Finally!

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:49:54 -0500

Working on a few new dresses today. I have a black and white harlequin type dress coming and probably a pirate(ish) looking one. Also a few pairs of shirts, maybe a some new hoods! Feeling really inspired to make things today!

Woo! Pirate Dress!

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:08:11 -0500

Woo! Pirate Dress!

Black and red rag dress. I LOVE making stuff like this..

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:04:53 -0500

Black and red rag dress. I LOVE making stuff like this..

Hippy Dress.

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:43:28 -0500

Hippy Dress.

I love making armwarmers. These are fiddly though and take...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:41:46 -0500

I love making armwarmers. These are fiddly though and take longer than they should.

Harlequin Dress. This went REALLY quick.

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:39:31 -0500

Harlequin Dress. This went REALLY quick.

Girly patchy skirt.. I adored this.

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:38:28 -0500

Girly patchy skirt.. I adored this.

No sewing involved! This was fun and easy to make..

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:09:13 -0500

No sewing involved! This was fun and easy to make..

This was one of the first dresses I made. I was so proud of...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:29:57 -0500

This was one of the first dresses I made. I was so proud of myself!

I made comfy trousers to hoop in. They have the weirdest happy...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:27:32 -0500

I made comfy trousers to hoop in. They have the weirdest happy print all over them, it’s lovely. And so comfy!

Slinky little faux leather hotpants! The zip goes all the way...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:25:25 -0500

Slinky little faux leather hotpants! The zip goes all the way round.. I love these. I would totally wear them if I had a nice bum.