> Premium labels really go the extra mile. Fast, cheap fashion cuts lots of corners.

I don't disagree that there's good fashion and shoddy fashion but I disagree "premium labels" is how to find good fashion. For me, And I know I'm in the minority here, I find any fashion that shows the branding to be horrible. A plain t-shirt that says nothing vs plain t-shirt with a tiny "Boss", "LV", "Gucci", "Prada" branding on it for 5x to 10x the cost really says "I hoping you'll like my because I'm wearing expensive clothing". It does not say "I have good fashion sense".

Taken to an extreme you get people covered in labels. This is not "good fashion"

https://img.5milesapp.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_i800/v150598...

But it is "premium labels"

I certainly agree that dressing well (different definitions of well) generally has positive outcomes. Much of my family is fine wearing dirty old soiled t-shirts with holes in them and it bugs me. Especially when I want to take them somewhere and they're clearly out of place in those clothes relative to the rest of the people around. At the same time they're all doing fine and no care.

> Next topic: why does no one wants to date me?

> Sex appeal and all that

That's just nonsense. My wardrobe value has never exceeded ~GBP250. I buy new clothing probably once every 2-3 years and even then the average spend is around GBP40-60, usually when stuff has completely worn out. I've only owned one or two items of clothing that had a "label" and they were from TKMax.

As a bloke, despite cheaping out on my sartorial choices I've never had a problem with dates/sex/relationships. It's all about personality, not being a dick and maintaining some semblance of basic personal hygiene.

It's mainly about being in a social group that facilitates romantic relationships and marriage, and/or putting personal effort into dating. People with no hygiene mate a lot.

I dapple in the clothes industry and sometimes it feels like people get really turned off if their clothes are not made by literal slaves. Not all expensive brands are ethical but the few dollar t-shirts etc are never. Drift it or pay for the real costs involved. If we don’t fix the idea about what basic necessities like clothes should cost the planet and people living on it are toast.

The problem with this is that there's not necessarily a relationship between price paid and lack of slave labor. At least, you can't guarantee non slave labor by paying more.

Fast fashion is also very harsh on the environment. There is a lot of waste in fast fashion. Much better to buy a smaller number of well-made articles of clothing and take care of them. If you have clothing tailored to fit you well, you will look and feel like a million bucks. It doesn't hurt that you may also become more attractive to the opposite sex. It's the same with personal hygiene and good grooming: it is first and foremost an aid to better health, both physical and mental, and second, a simple way of conveying to the outside world that you are a dependable, social and happy person. However, based on my observations of men, particularly younger men, in software, I have to say they are very poor at taking good care of themselves, physically or mentally, despite a lot of talk about mental health.

Most of the folks in tech, and commenting on this article are likely men in their twenties, and men in that age group do not care very much about their outfits. They also do not have good grooming habits, probably because no one thought to drill it into them at a young age. I have also noticed that if a person in engineering dresses well, he begins to stand out and attract negative attention and comments from his peers, which can discourage even tentative attempts at improving himself in this department (most men in the engineering side of this profession are somewhat shy and reserved to begin with).

> Looking good does wonders for your mood.

For your mood perhaps. I find “good looking” clothing uncomfortable, which makes me feel like shit.

That's interesting; care to elaborate, out of genuine curiosity?

I don't care about fashion, even a little bit. I don't agree with grand-parent post that you need fancy clothes to attract a mate. I'm happy to buy 5 copies of exact same thing that fits me. But in terms of sheer physical comfort, I'm endlessly perplexed by casual fridays and even more so by e.g. people who change out of business casual clothes and into jeans the millisecond they're home (which is basically everyone I know, so I admit I'm clearly the exception:)

A tall lanky male, I find basic business-casual pants the most light weight, practical, not-in-my-way comfortable, well breathing, perfect temperature pants. Jeans are way too constraining and hard and inflexible! In 90% of the weather they put too much heat and pressure on my nether regions. In both cut and material, they were designed to be hard-wearing, not comfortable, so I assume it's psychology that has people prefer them. And most sweat pants don't breathe as well as my lightweight casual business dress pants either, and don't fit me around hips/waist - they either fall off, or are too tight.

The business-casual pants are "inappropriate" to wear at home, so I don't, but I put them on anytime we really go anywhere. People make fun that I'm "way over dressed", and fair enough, but for the life of me I don't understand what is "uncomfortable" about lightweight business casual pants and loose, not-tucked-in polo shirt.

(not to mention that "looking good" is not necessarily a button down shirt and dress pants to begin with, but that's another relevant conversation:)

I used scare quotes around good looking to refer to stereotypically good looking clothes: business suit. I have the impression from media that “real men” wear suits, which is a comfort hell. Dress shoes have heels which stresses my knees and lower back. I cannot raise my arms freely without my tucked-in shirt getting out. Not to mention wearing a jacket (or long-sleeve shirts) in hot weather is absurdity.

I agree with your points. Business-casual pants are really comfortable. And you mentioned not-tucked-in polo shirt. Although I prefer basic t-shirts, the difference doesn’t matter in practice.

To be sure, I didn´t mean one needs a suit or dress pants. I don´t like them even, but I can imagine you like the weight if that is important for you. The downside is that they are more prone to wear then denim.

Personally I prefer some good premium jeans. Nudie and g-star are excellent choices. If you are in your twenties, definitely combine it with a button down shirt or a good hoodie. I didn´t mean people should show up in a suit, on the contrary. But, as a general comment to the other commentators, if you buy your jeans for 20 euro and your t-shirt for 5 euro at your convenience store, I bet you are not going to look well like you could. At least in The Netherlands, in my experience, it is hard to get a sweater for 50 euro with a premium look, at least outside of the sale cycle. Shopping during sale might help to get the better stuff.

What exactly do you find uncomfortable about them? Genuinely asking. Good looking clothes isn’t necessarily a button up and slacks. You can look great in sweatpants and a t shirt. It’s more about fit, color and general aesthetic.

I agree. That’s why I put scare quotes around good looking. Sweatpants and a t-shirt are not stereotypically considered good looking. Button up and slacks do.

To whom? Fashion icons wear joggers and t-shirts all the time. What source is claiming that people need to wear button ups and slacks to look stylish? Sure, there are some workplaces where a degree of formality is required, but formality is *not* fashionability. That's a classic point of confusion around fashion.

Valid point. I think society applies a double-standard to fashion icons. Somehow they are able to wear the most absurd and inappropriate things and still get praised, whereas mere mortals have to wear whatever the fashion industry pumps up.

I hope I’m confused by fashion vs formality. I’m referring to “real men” wear business suits idea that is prominent in media. One example [0]:

> Once you're past 30 or so, there's really no room for T-shirts outside of exercise and physical labor. It's time to show some maturity. The majority of your casual shirts should have collars. Your stepping-outside outfits should almost always be something that would look good if you threw a sports jacket on over them.

[0] https://www.realmenrealstyle.com/dressing-your-age/

It is really more about fit and quality of materials (to a certain price point).

In my experience, highest quality and best fitting button down shirt is a comfort nightmare compared to a good fitting t-shirt. Same for dress shoes vs casual wear shoes.

I recently bought two linen shirts for the first time and they’re heaven in both looks and feel.

Looking good can make an impression that you don't want.

> aesthetics is positively correlated with price. I wish it wasn´t true.

I guess it depends on the taste. I would say the opposite is true (perhaps excluding the most cheap things you can find, but not necessarily).

Of course more expensive stuff will likely last longer and in many cases will be more practical.

> Premium labels really go the extra mile.

Depends on the label, you generally have to go really premium to genuinely get something either well made or particularly interesting.

I dress like shit and I have gf. I will go out on a limb and say that it even helped my dating (by weeding out undesirable partners).

Tired of this lifestyle and self-improvement nonsense on a forum called Hacker News. Real hackers sit with a big Unix beard in a dark basement filled with old pizza boxes and empty Jolt Cola cans. The only time you should even meet another person is on a demo party.

> This is peak HN; I am enjoying it. People boasting about how ones garderobe is more shitty and cheaper than the others. Next topic: why does no one wants to date me?

> Clothing is not only functional, it can also help your appearance. Looking good does wonders for your mood. Sex appeal and all that.

I would bet good money this was written by a straight man, but have you ever considered there's also butch lesbians working in blue collar jobs that have wardrobes which are primarily composed of functional, rugged clothing, often in dark colors that don't meet your requirement of getting dates and having sex appeal?

not just one segment of society (straight cis male HN reading six figure job guys who don't put effort into dressing themselves) wears something other than what your societal expecations think they should to not be "shitty" and "cheap".

your comment itself is peak HN...

I don't associate functional, rugged workwear with "shitty and cheap" myself. Having gone through a workwear phase, I know exactly how expensive quality functional clothing can be.

Diminishing returns after a certain price threshold but true still.