Depressing lack of dress sense.

Aongus Von Bismarck

I’m back in Ireland at the moment on important company business. After a mediocre meal in a restaurant in Grand Canal Dock yesterday evening, I decided to take a stroll around the city centre. Apart from the extensive roadworks to facilitate the building of the Luas, what immediately struck me was the appalling dress sense of the average Irish male. I’ve passed remarks on it before, but I couldn’t help but notice it in all its dreadfulness yesterday evening.

Observations:

An obsession with ill-fitting jeans from American brands. Lots of light blue denim, bootcuts, jeans with too much detailing. There’s a debate to be had whether men past their 30’s should wear jeans anyway, but if you must, then invest in a sensible pair of dark denim that suit your build and frame. Having the ends of your jeans tattered because they get caught between your shoes and the road just isn’t on.

Shoes. Are there only two types of shoe available to the average Irishman: runners or pointy toe slip-ons? There are few things that scream, “I don’t give a curse about my appearance” than seeing a man in his 30’s or 40’s wearing converse runners or those disgusting skateboard style shoes. The 90’s are over. The pointed toe brown slip-on isn’t quite as bad, but you always feel that the wearer just picked up a pair of catch all shoes in some bargain shelf during a sale in Dunnes.

TK Maxx must be doing a good trade in Ireland as the number of tatty looking shirts with horizontal stripes being worn in public can testify. A load bearing belt supporting a beer belly was all too common last night, especially when I was passing pubs where red-faced bores were standing outside guffawing and pulling on cigarettes. Not tucking in your shirt doesn’t disguise the stomach lads.

Haircuts: short back and sides from the cheapest place you can find seems to be the thinking. You end up looking like something from Deliverance as a result, but that doesn’t seem to bother most of them.

I’m an extremely well-travelled man and I can safely say that the average Irishman is the least fashionable breed of human on this planet. What is the reason for this? Is it something to do with poverty or Mammy doing everything for them? It’s depressing. Dressing well and spending a bit of money on a good haircut can make a huge difference to someone who wouldn’t exactly be blessed with ‘classic good looks’. Don’t get me started on teeth.

Winterlong

Have you ever been to Papa New Guinea AVB?
No doubt that the menfolk there are much less fashionable than your average irish man.

BetsyEllen

I agree with you.

Similar thread recently posted:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057655827

valoren

It's a peer pressure thing.

Imagine a group of 25 year olds with tracksuit bottoms, t-shirts and trainers and one of their friends shows up for a meet up in a neat pants, shirt, jumper and shoes.

He would have the piss ripped out of him for looking different.

Shenshen

I always assumed it was the local way of being polite - males dress shabby so attention is drawn to the effort their ladies made with the fake tan, fake lashes, fake nails, hair extensions, and finding the smallest possible outfit with the most amount of pink/sparkle/animal print?

kfallon

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I’ve passed remarks on it before

Yeah, yeah you have, so any chance you'd just stfu about it and live and let live!

This AvB parody thing got old very quick tbh

Your Face

I like my suits tailored but don't have the compulsion to wear them everywhere.
I'm in good shape so I don't really need a certain class of clothing to look alright.

The Backwards Man

There's an old saying here in Donegal, goes back to when Mickey Jimmy Francie got caught up in the Franco Prussian war and lost the run of himself when he came home;

Only paddykrauts judge a man by his lederhosen.

Pac1Man

Here we go again.

Why can't fashion just be regarded as an interest some people have while others do not?

Nobody seems that bothered about the car a person drives or how they keep their garden.

SEPT 23 1989

the constant attack on the boot cut continues

we have big feet,we have actual muscle on our legs

leave us alone

Tow

If you think Dublin is bad try Belfast city center. It's like travelling back to Dublin in the 80's.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I agree. Those awful blue suits, with the trousers looking like slim fit 3/4 lengths and brown shoes. Hideous.

Wanderer78

Who cares what people dress like, it's their business

Ragnar Lothbrok

Black bomber jacket, Doc Martens, stubble for hair, narrow jeans (not skin tight though) and a Cork City, Celtic or Barcelona jersey.

Now THAT'S style for ya :cool:

fizzypish

kfallon wrote: »

Yeah, yeah you have, so any chance you'd just stfu about it and live and let live!

This AvB parody thing got old very quick tbh

How dare you address AvB in this manner. I am outraged for 1 of 2 reasons.

1. AvB could be one of the most dedicated trolls I've come across. The commitment to the character is 100%. He(she?) may have created a blog just to validate the character! Credit where credit is due.
or
2. This person manages to exists and successfully operate in society with his head inserted into his anus. Its a marvel of science.

Back on topic though, nothing is incorrect in the OP's post. I don't dress particularly well. I also don't care that much if people disprove of my dress sense.

gossamer

I don't care so much about people's dress sense, but I will say this - it is downright shameful the amount of Irish lads who let their mother pick out and buy their clothes for them.

Don't blame the fashion sense, blame the abysmal selection of men's clothes in Ireland. The majority of the time, all we get is a teeny tiny corner in a huge clothing store, with even the women's clothes coming into the men's section.

Annasopra

Thinly veiled travel boasting

osarusan

Right now I am wearing Regatta hiking shoes, grey jeans that are from Dunnes (I think, can't remember), a 'McMillan Publishing' t-shirt that I got for free at a conference about 2 years ago, and a hoodie that says 'Elf Lubricants' on it.

Widdershins

It's the ones who are trying too hard that I notice the most, and in a negative light.Not because of how much or little was spent but because it's glaringly obvious when someone's following the latest silly fashion. I don't judge people by the money they don't spend on their clothes. I judge them on all kinds of other things but not that..

Mr. CooL ICE

No mention of neckbeards? Aongus, you're losing your touch

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

gossamer wrote: »

I don't care so much about people's dress sense, but I will say this - it is downright shameful the amount of Irish lads who let their mother pick out and buy their clothes for them.

I used to pick and buy my fathers clothes for him. When he died, a man I knew to see asked me if I was Xs daughter, I said I was. And he said "he was always the best dressed man in that pub on a Saturday night". Otherwise, he'd have probably worn God knows what.

Nonbias

Irish men are the most Sought-after men on the planet ''fact''

From Serbia to Argentina ,even across the water in the UK

The OP has experienced this, now he's brewing with confidence and thinks he's the big fella

stop dishing your fellow Irish men ''Idiot''

The single most depressing thing in the fashion stakes is the fondness for beards, light blue summery suits, waistcoats and tan shoes with that elongated flatnned toe box area.

Everyone was hit over the head with the Conor McGregor look about 2 years back and it stuck. Every wedding and function your average male in his 20s and 30s goes for this look. I see some even going for it in the office. It just screams "skanger or clueless person, trying hard, thing Conor McGregor is fashionable".

Nonbias

Sought-after by women

Riddle101

I'm detecting a certain arrogance from the OP. Why exactly is it up for debate about people wearing jeans over the age of 30? Are jeans supposed to be exclusive for people under that age. I'm 27 but i'll still be wearing jeans when i'm older.

Anyway, I believe you wear what you feel most comfortable in. Obviously you would dress up for special occasions like business meetings of social gatherings, but when it comes to casual wear, you wear what you want. I wear tracksuit bottoms, runners, and t-shirts and hoodies a lot, and I wear them because they're comfortable and easy to wear. I also wear jeans and combat trousers. There is a variety of clothes that I will wear really. But to criticize others because they don't dress to your standard is just arrogant.

Tsipras

Jesus who gives a toss, fashion is all a load of sh*te anyway, people should wear whatever they want

Olishi4

I don't really notice what people wear too much. I wouldn't get annoyed about it or anything. It might not be my taste but it's really not my business either.

There's a man that I know, I think he's late 40s. He wears colourful shorts or just jeans with short sleeve shirts and a t-shirt. Sometimes runners or sandles with socks.

He owns his own business and he's one of the most laid back people I know. He gets stick all the time but in a fun way and it genuinely doesn't phase him.

He used to have long hair tied in a pony and thinning on the top, still it suited him but his wife persuaded him to cut it off. He's grand with it now but for a while he hated it shorter, acted like he'd lost all his powers.

HalloweenJack

I'm 28 with a receeding hairline and a very patchy area on the top of my head: keeping what's left of my hair short is about the only thing I can do that doesn't look ridiculous. I've no interest in a hair transplant or any other kind of treatment. My hair is what it is.

I can't imagine wearing pants for comfort, I just don't like the fit of them. I don't think there's anything wrong with jeans, regardless of age, though personally I'm not a fan of skinny jeans and can't see why people would choose them. I don't have any problem whatsoever with tracksuit bottoms, they're comfortable as ****.

I'm a big fan of slip-ons too, can't be arsed tying laces and they look less formal then proper dress shoes. No problem either with runners, again comfort is a big personal consideration.

Fashion in every country has it's odd things. In the south of Spain, a lot lof lads have an obsession with polo shirts with massive logos and tan-coloured pants, personally I think this look is horrendous but it's caught on here in a big way.

And the end of the day, I'm only worried about the way I dress. If people think it's unfashionable, so be it, but there's no need to ridicule or run people down over the clothes they like to wear.

ElChe32

Any time I go shopping for jeans its a fecking struggle to get a decent fitting pair (32 waist and leg) Skinny and super skinny are the majority on the racks, when I do find some bootcut they are usually cut to shít.

How do lads even get into skinny jeans? Do they come with some kind of lubricant?

jonon9

Deleted User wrote: »

The single most depressing thing in the fashion stakes is the fondness for beards, light blue summery suits, waistcoats and tan shoes with that elongated flatnned toe box area.

Everyone was hit over the head with the Conor McGregor look about 2 years back and it stuck. Every wedding and function your average male in his 20s and 30s goes for this look. I see some even going for it in the office. It just screams "skanger or clueless person, trying hard, thing Conor McGregor is fashionable".

Nothing wrong with a beard, Iv been sporting a beard long before we even know who Conor McGregor was.

It is a bit peculiar to see men in their thirties and forties dressed in hoodies and the like, I also think it is rude not to go to a wedding or a funeral appropriately dressed. I will probably be shot down for this but I think the Marks and Spencer
Collezione range gets the balance between smart and wearable right for men.

http://www.marksandspencer.com/l/men/collezione.

FunLover18

Jesus OP, what were you wearing yourself on this jaunt around Dublin. I've checked all the fashion rags and sites haven't seen any stories about the mysterious man walking around town like he just stepped out of a [insert Brand OP admires] catalogue.

How long are you back from your travels, I hope you gave the Luas workers enough time to make sure the new line can get around your sense of superiority.

CPSW

"Fashion comes and goes, but style stays around forever"
The OP must live by this code! :P

Austria!

I try not to get too down about what other people wear, though it's hard sometimes. I'll see a man in a suit and he's obviously going to a funeral, or was not smart enough to get a job where his intelligence is so valued that he can wear what he likes. Either way, very sad.

IamMetaldave

I'm 35. I am a well traveled man. I do "important" business. I wear blue suits. I wear grey suits.
I wear bootcut jeans. I wear skate shoes. I wear hoodies. I wear Metallica tshirts.
I look awesome. Always.
Worry about yourself OP, the rest of us will look after ourselves.

Maximus Alexander

I'm wearing a banana hammock, where does this leave me?

fizzypish

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

I'm wearing a banana hammock, where does this leave me?

Cold

Maximus Alexander

fizzypish wrote: »

Cold

Indoors, obviously!

When I'm heading out I'll throw on a full length sheepskin coat over it.

HensVassal

The Dutch are the worst dressed people in Europe if not the world. Dirty jeans, filthy trainers, scraggly unkempt hair, ill-fitting manky jackets. And that's the girls.

mzungu

It is a credit to Irish men that they generally avoid following the fickle world of fashion.

jimgoose

At the moment I'm wearing brown Engineer's boots with plenty of steel in them, cream slacks, a white brown-pinstriped Polo shirt and a brown leather waistcoat. It's a surprisingly pleasing mix of Office Dork and Hell's Angels. When women attempt to dress me I end up looking like some sad ape who's trying to look like a skinny 22-year-old craft beer fan. I am freshly clean-shaven and sporting a tidy Jarhead.

Elliott S

OP, you have little to be worrying you! I envy that, in a way.

Ush1

Bootcut jeans? It's more the skinny variety you see commonly around Dublin.

Mac-Chops

ElChe32 wrote: »

Any time I go shopping for jeans its a fecking struggle to get a decent fitting pair (32 waist and leg) Skinny and super skinny are the majority on the racks, when I do find some bootcut they are usually cut to shít.

How do lads even get into skinny jeans? Do they come with some kind of lubricant?

I wondered the same myself recently.

After coming back here after living in London for a few years, it is like stepping back in time to some degree. This can be applied to most things in this country though so it makes sense.

Each to their own of course!

elefant

Completely agree. Taking a look around you in an Irish late-bar or nightclub is an absolute eye-opener. The amount of terrible shirts and jeans on show is horrendous.

And it's not that they're not making an effort; if you want to dress comfortably and don't gaf that's fair enough. It's that they are making an effort, and they actually went to town and decided those J-Star jeans and Jack Jones shirt were the best choices they could make to look well on a night out with friends.

Strangely, then, Irish men will actually get a ribbing for wearing something adventurous, dressing to suit their bodies or putting effort into their hair. There's just such a proclivity towards the safe and awful.

kfallon

elefant wrote: »

Completely agree. Taking a look around you in an Irish late-bar or nightclub is an absolute eye-opener. The amount of terrible shirts and jeans on show is horrendous.

And it's not that they're not making an effort; if you want to dress comfortably and don't gaf that's fair enough. It's that they are making an effort, and they actually went to town and decided those J-Star jeans and Jack Jones shirt were the best choices they could make to look well on a night out with friends.

Strangely, then, Irish men will actually get a ribbing for wearing something adventurous, dressing to suit their bodies or putting effort into their hair. There's just such a proclivity towards the safe and awful.

Post up a picture there of what you wear when out for the night there trout til we have a look and see where we are going wrong!

You can block out your face or whatever, cheers!

osarusan

kfallon wrote: »

Post up a picture there of what you wear when out for the night there trout til we have a look and see where we are going wrong!

You can block out your face or whatever, cheers!

Here's me anyway. I blocked my face out.

IamMetaldave

IamMetaldave wrote: »

I'm 35. I am a well traveled man. I do "important" business. I wear blue suits. I wear grey suits.

Grey and blue are fine for work or business...just dark grey...and very very dark blue.

Light grey or light blue? No. Someone confusing a summer wedding with business. It would be like wearing a linen suit to work. It's just the wrong setting.

GLaDOS

The only decision I make in the morning when deciding what to wear is what obscure band t-shirt to pick.

Am I feeling doom metal or post-rock today?

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.