Top Image Credits: Okko Pyykko and Alan Wu
Here’s a hypothesis: The dramatic increase in popularity of websites dedicated to men’s style and the ability to discuss all thing’s men’s style on the internet has caused many of us to become hyper-critical nincompoops who are too ready to pick apart still images for “style errors” that otherwise would go unnoticed in the real world.
On one hand, none of us would be dressing (and thus feeling) better if it wasn’t for someone at some point saying something like “hey man, why don’t you try this suit over here that’s a size smaller.” But sometimes this critiquing of every pic to hit the web is borderline OCD. For example, head this way for Esquire’s recent take on Daniel Craig’s tie knot. They got a lot of pushback on their Facebook page where they included this:
And to think. They didn’t even notice that minor collar gap. The horror.
And then there’s fit. Someone isn’t sure about how a suit fits and they submit a photo to a forum. A slight wrinkle in the sleeve leads a couple guys to go off on shoulder pitch, construction, and all of a sudden the submitter is thinking that the suit is a no go, when in reality it almost certainly looks fantastic. The ideal look of how a shirt fits, or pants break, or a suit drapes is starting to become so unattainable, you’ve got to wonder if these guys who are so quick to point out errors on someone else can even get out of the house in the morning.
We move in our clothes. Nothing is moving in a still image. Every minuscule negative detail jumps off the screen ripe for being scrutinized, literally framed for attentive viewing. Of course pictures are useful for determining fit and checking out the details of someone’s getup. But has the critiquing of those two elements gone too far? Is there a risk of becoming a style version of a grammar nazi? At what point does it become less about getting it “right” and more about someone making themselves feel superior?
Perfect is the enemy of good. Is it starting to feel like “great” isn’t good enough to some? Leave your take below.
Daniel Craig can tie his tie however he wants to
Daniel Craig doesn’t tie his own tie knot. Chuck Norris does it for him.
Critiquing may have gone too far, but Bond is a style icon and that knot is hideous. (especially considering Ian Fleming’s sartorial emphasis in his novels and with ties in particular).
It’s not Craig’s fault anyway. This was a press event where a stylist went over every minute detail before sending him out to the cameras.
I have no problem with that knot anyway.
Esquire is a garbage rag anyway.
The internet is a great enabler for those with a superiority complex. Taking into account Daniel Craig’s overall look – its hard to find fault with how he presents himself.
Hypercriticism is rampant in all human enterprise. I believe the common parlance for this is “haters gonna hate”. A sensible man’s job is to recognize and filter it out.
agreed but remember not to bite the hand that feeds!
There are whole websites that are seemingly devoted to feeding one’s ego in matters such as these. Take, for example, Style Forum. Plenty of snoots up in there.
Yes there is a risk.
If you actually look down on someone (that is pity them, feel sorry for them, etc.), then you have crossed the line about feeling superior. Recently I commented to my wife about seeing a fellow wearing a blazer with the vent still stitched closed. I did it not to feel superior, but to recognize the lesson and double check a new blazer that I planned on wearing to cut off all the price labels, vent stitches, etc.
Also, If I find someone who can give criticism but can’t take it, they have a superiority complex — otherwise why do they think they are immune to criticism? Learning is a 2-way street.
I think that knot looks great. Its hard to get a dimple in a skinny tie and his looks great. Maybe it would have been a better choice to wear a shirt with a different collar but if you stand Daniel Craig in that outfit next to ANY of the staffers at Esquire in their Sunday best and I think Daniel Craig is going to stand out more. Nitpicking is petty and unbecoming.
It’s not Daniel Craig’s fault your wife helped him get dressed this morning.
/r/malefashionadvice in a nutshell.
Groggy Monday-brain made me read “Hypercriticism is rampant in all human centipede.”
Nice.
I’ve often wondered why we don’t see any videos where the wearer does a 360 turn, lifts arms, etc, it the “how does this fit me?” threads. I guess most people probably don’t want to deal with uploading a video…. Maybe “how does this fit?” videos will start popping up more now that smarthphone recording capabilities are becoming HD and data speeds are increasing.
I guess hypercriticism could be rampant in that too…
styleforum is the worst. everyone on there is a self-professed expert and critic.
I’ll admit, I like going on sites like Styleforum and Superfuture, but you have to put a lot of effort into filtering out the know-it-alls and douchebags. I think the problem is that people who are just getting interested and enthusiastic about menswear and such can fall into the herd mentality bred by the outsized machismo of some of the more vocal posters. Just because people are being forceful about what they’re saying doesn’t mean they have any idea what they’re talking about.
It was bound to happen. There are trolls lurking all over the internet, and now that men’s fashion has come into its own, the trolls are showing up in fashion.
The lion’s share of men’s fashion sites talk a lot about the gentlemanly look, and more and more trolls give men a great opportunity to practice gentlemanly restraint.
Personally, I like to see sartorial guys leave something a little bit off. Put a little edge in your dress with a crooked tie or jacket that only 85% works.
I got hung up on that run-on sentence in the second paragraph and forgot what Joe was even writing about.
Speak of the devil…DC based shirtmaker Hughe & Crye posted a candid photo of a family on the street criticizing the fit of the man’s shirt. Some facebook fans had a problem with this, others piled on.
It depends on what we’re discussing. For all the harping of SF’s ‘snootiness’, they have people that know exactly what they’re talking about. If you post a picture of your new Indochino suit and ask for a fit check, you want the straight goods: shoulders too wide? sleeves too long? etc.
Where it gets dicey is when people ask questions about ‘taste’ (e.g., knit tie with denim? of course/never!) or seriously nitpicky design considerations… mitered cuffs? with THAT suit?! Surely you jest!
While some people are more reputable than others, nobody is the arbiter of style, and certainly nobody should act as though they ARE the arbiter of style. Esquire goes wrong not by offering critique, but by being sanctimonious. The piece was probably intended to generate this kind of response anyway.
Nice, Logan! However, wouldn’t you rather be with someone who is hot enough to seduce a “Bond” or be with the below average looking cheaters who can only seduce the mail man?
Some take it too far. You see it daily on all sites, even this one. One should dress for themselves. I will never critique or even offer advice usless asked to do so. After all, what if he wanted his tie to look that way?
Absolutely you see it here on Dappered. Post was never intended to exclude Dappered. Guilty of it myself sometimes, although I try and keep my nitpicking to myself y’know?
Well played.
I couldn’t agree more. It seems that most people don’t realize the difference between rules of style, convention, and then good old fashioned opinion. For many newbs, the distinctions are not very clear. So when someone tells us their opinion, it is easy for us to misconstrue.
Interesting. Just recently I contemplated posting a photo or two on styleforum, to see how I’m doing so far and maybe get some advice. I decided against it for the very reason you describe – I worried that I would get feedback that was so nitpicky that it might actually set me back. The goal for me is to dress better so I feel better about the way I look, and I just knew that going under the microscope for the men’s style police wouldn’t help!
Unrelated to the substance of this post, but that dude’s veiny eyeball is really bothering me.
^ Totally guilty of this. A lot more over the past few months especially, so that’s why I’m trying to just sit back until I can remember that lesson about what to do if you don’t have anything nice to say…
Correction, “007” can knot his tie however he wants to.
Well put, the peanut gallery has indeed become a mass of style nazis ready to comment negatively on the smallest, most pedantic things. The internet and the forums have become an increasingly poor source of information as there are far too many self proclaimed “experts” offering inaccurate advice. The superiority complex people online seem to have has made discourse degenerate into snark and passive aggressive posturing.
Worse yet, it gets away from what is most important at the end of the day: looking and feeling good! Complaining about shoulder pitch is not a shortcut to elegance, it is being a nerd in the worst sense of the word.
It has gone beyond people commenting on taste. There is a lot of technical advice going around that is just plain wrong.
please, for god’s sake, stop with this “well played” nonsense. i cringe every time i read it. can’t you find something new to go with? what the hell’s wrong with you?
how’s that for criticism?
Well played.
AH. I get it. Well played… myself.
I do think that style magazines and forums kinda take things too far… Ya there are ideals but most of the time that only works with certain bodies. Also in these style tips with photos, the clothes look so tailored that it looks like the person wouldn’t be able to move in it… GQ is notorious for this…
“Someone isn’t sure about how a suit fits and they submit a photo to a forum. A slight wrinkle in the sleeve leads a couple guys to go off on shoulder pitch, construction, and all of a sudden the submitter is thinking that the suit is a no go, when in reality it almost certainly looks fantastic.”
This is SO TRUE. I’ve seen some fantastic looking suits submitted for approval only to watch in horror as the “experts” rip it apart.
How about a “hot enough” Bond seducer who cheats? Then again, why do you put cheat and average looking in the same sentence? Interesting.
Goldushapple, because many times cheating are not about the look, it’s about the attaining/chasing what you “can’t have.” Look at how many movie stars cheated with their nanny when we all think the wife is much hotter (Hugh Grant, Jude Law, etc). Great, I just insinuate our women are average looking (if she cheats)..