The resident swag lords of the best menswear website on the Internet school you on the basics of the alphet-bet.
Summer’s coming. How can I stunt in the heat without sweating like a baller who never sits the bench? Help me out famotron.
This is one of the unanswerable questions of fashion. Fall/Winter is empirically better than Spring/Summer solely because you’re able to wrap yourself in the most luxurious fabrics, turning yourself into a walking stick of cotton candy-esque cashmere. In spring and summer, what are your options? Close to none, unfortunately. Summer stunting requires spending copious amounts of money on clothing that feels like it will probably fall apart if a single bead of sweat touches it. That’s how you know it’s luxe.
On the whole, summer is fucking awful. Especially as an adult. Those summer breaks during school? Those don’t fucking exist in the real world. My suggestions: Spend your tax refund on overpriced basics from high-end brands with tiny details that set them off—Margiela T-shirts with the signature stitches on the back, Thom Browne shorts or cotton trousers with the grosgrain tab, Common Projects Achilles with the serial number on the side, etc. Wear silk no-show socks once and throw them out for a new pair every time. All of those are simple flexes that show you have the disposable income to flex superfluously while simultaneously ruining your clothes with sweat. — Skylar Bergl
What’s better: body oils or cologne?
I’m thinking you mean fragrance oils. I feel like “body oil” is something else entirely. But I commend you on your preoccupation with smelling good. Everyone remembers someone who smells good. The only difference between traditional cologne and oils is that most cologne is alcohol-based, which is why you spray it. The base can slightly influence the overall scent, but other than that, it’s really all about personal preference. There’s no real wrong answer when it comes to choosing between the two as long as the scent suits you. When in doubt, just buy Drakkar Noir. You can’t go wrong with Drakkar Noir. — Jon Moy
Who would win in a 1-on-1 tournament featuring everyone in the Pins office? Hand-to-hand combat, no Supreme keychain knives or any of that shit.
Lawrence is from New Jersey and I think he was in a frat in college, which means he will black out to those days and wake up having murdered everyone in the office. — J.M.
Throughout the year, when I go out at night to a dinner or a party, my move is pants and boots. But in the summer, my body gets too hot. What’s some good low-cut footwear that I can wear with shorts that looks sophisticated but won’t get wrecked if I have too many Coronas?
Here’s the thing: Getting wrecked is awesome from both a personal lituation and clothing perspective. Meaning, don’t spend so much time worrying about fucking up your gear. As long as you’re not, like, permanently destroying your jawnz, you should revel in the wear and tear. Much like you wanna go out and create some borderline regrettable memories with the squad, adding a little character to your wardrobe is a good thing.
So back to you, you selfish bastard. Your boots are obviously not the move as steaming your dogs is probably not the most comfortable option. My advice? Cop a pair of sneakers that you’re going to live in this summer. Depending on how healthy your trust fund is, they can be anything from some Vans to Common Projects. Whatever you get, wear them every single weekend. Spill beer on them. Ash blunts on them. Do an sex in them. Doesn’t matter. Just put them on, forget about them and try and have the best time of your life. — Lawrence Schlossman
What’s a good way to stunt on the business casual “I’m actually just wearing my work clothes” bros at summer weddings? I’m not going to go out and buy a new suit or some dumb shit like that, but what are some subtle style ideas that’ll help me bring a bridesmaid back to the bone yard, without breaking the bank?
OK, straight up, I know Four Pins is like, the number-one place you would expect to hear the battle cry of “DON’T BUY A SUIT! FOLLOW ME TO THE DESIGNER SECTION OF BARNEYS!” but you should own at least one year-round suit or two seasonal suits: one for winter (heavy wool, tweed, etc.) and one for summer (cotton, linen, etc.). Sometimes adults gotta adult, feel me? Since you’re not trying to handle the truth right now, let’s move on. I just felt it was my civic duty as overlord to throw that out there for our more open-minded readers.
Back to wedding stunts: Speaking from personal experience, every single time I’ve shut down a wedding, which, not coincidentally, is every single time I attend a wedding, it was because of two things: 1. I am an amazing dancer and 2. My shoes. My wedding kit is pretty much set in stone at this point, but what NEVER changes are the Michael Bastian x Stubbs & Wootton navy velvet tassel loafers gracing my feet. They are always the flyest kicks at any ceremonial union of two people I RSVP to, and every guest tends to agree with me. So, my question to you: What are your velvet loafers? What shoes do you own that will make a bridesmaid break her neck? Wear those. — L.A.S.
Do you think Kanye West can make a difference? He has a lot of power in his hands, but is that enough to leave a mark? The fashion industry is not a fan of change, but ’Ye is certainly giving it his all.
Fashion people are an inscrutable bunch. Change doesn’t come easy. When change does come, it’s typically in the unglamorous areas of the industry like manufacturing ethics. I think that Kanye loves fashion and a whole lot of fashion people love him. His ideas surrounding exclusivity and access are noble, but ones that the industry at large aren’t going to budge on.
He wants everyone to have his clothes? That’s nice. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s also naive. For decades, brands have thrived on catering to the few people that can afford to pay exorbitant prices. I don’t think the industry is going to follow him on that. Bringing better clothes to the masses is not a revolutionary idea. If it were, the fast fashion giants would get a lot of accolades. Instead, their issues are about ethical treatment of workers and prices. It’s impossible to bring high-quality, designer-level pieces to the masses at an affordable cost according to the vision that Kanye expresses. Adidas is a powerful and very large company, and Kanye West is an increasingly powerful name that can move product. But will this collaboration move the needle enough to measurably affect an industry much larger than adidas and Kanye West combined? Probably not. — S.B.
This feature originally appeared in the June/July issue of Complex.
Illustration by Joonbug
Are you in need of #influence? E-mail us at questions@four-pins.com.
