It’s That Time Again – The Outrageous Wall Street Journal Guide to Men’s Fashion

It’s been a recurring theme of this blog – how different my perception of men’s fashion is compared to the Wall Street Journal’s perception.

Here are the previous posts I’ve written about this:

• The Wall Street Journal’s Annual Comedy Issue
• I Don’t Know Any Teachers Who Dress Like This
• My Lack of Fashion Sense, but Do Guys Really Dress Like This?

The first post noted above featured this crazy outfit on the runway:

I don’t even know what to say about that picture.

Anyway, today’s WSJ story focused on how some men are getting their sense of fashion from social media.

In the past three years, the number of shoppers who say social media impacts their purchases has risen from 4% to 21 percent, said Marshall Cohen, an analyst at the market research firm NPD Group.

In order to attract attention, clothing posted on social media is getting shamelessly distracting. The result? Men’s fashion is getting louder.

The story also notes that there’s the hope that the “more clickily over-the-top your clothing is, the more successful your selfies will be on social media. Some fashion-obsessed guys are painstakingly curating their outfits based on the loud pieces they scout on Instagram, hoping that when they purchase these pieces they’ll get as many likes as the brand did.”

So it’s a vicious cycle, the brands post outrageous clothing as a way to attract buyers who want to wear such clothing in their selfies so that they can attract viewers.

When I read these stories, I’m not sure what’s more outrageous, the clothing, or the prices. Here are some examples:

While this set of clothing is not as outrageous as what I’ve seen in the past from the WSJ, the prices are outrageous.

$1,480 for a cardigan? That’s the equivalent of my 10-year budget for clothing.

And $120 for a t-shirt? I think the last 10 t-shirts I’ve acquired have all been free as a result of being a volunteer or making a contribution towards some cause.

And the shirt with the poem is pretty cool, but one of the commenters noted that you can get a shirt with poetry on it from J Crew or Banana Republic for about $25.

And speaking of comments, they are once again the best part of the story. I don’t always agree with many of the comments posted to the WSJ, but with these clothing articles, we are usually on the same page.

Here are some of my favorites:

• A $600 shirt and a $120 Tee, get real!  What idiot would buy these things?
• “Some fashion-obsessed guys are painstakingly curating their outfits based on the loud pieces they scout on Instagram, hoping that when they purchase these pieces they’ll get as many likes as the brand did,” SAID NO REAL MAN, EVER!
• No self-respecting man would ever wear that stuff.   In most cases, attracting attention to yourself is a sign of weakness and doubt, not ability and confidence.
• WSJ:I enjoy your humor columns.  Will a comics section be next?
• $1,480!!! I’m coming to join you Elizabeth!!!
• No, subdued style is not doomed.  Who just mindlessly buys clothes based on instagram?

So thank you once again to the fashion editors at the WSJ for providing me with material for my blog. I’m still waiting for when they feature clothing from Kohl’s and Boscov’s…

*all pictures from the WSJ