Sam’s Hot Takes
By Sam Schwartz
Skinny jeans are still hot!
Hedi Slimane-style has always been hot and will always be hot. Rocker/ Heroin chic is not a thing of the past; it is and will always be a sex symbol. Skinny jeans are a staple in the Hedi arsenal and a key part of his look. But like any look, it will always look good if pulled off properly. However, let's clarify that not everyone can pull off this look, just as not everyone can wear specific colors. Some styles and colors look better on different people, and we must be content and introspective with this idea.
“Be yourself” is terrible advice and is impossible to follow.
Often, when people are street interviewed, they advise, “Just be yourself.” This is impossible these days; between the constant algorithm fit-vomit and everyone using the same references, all outfits look the same. It's ironic because the ones giving this advice often wear the most copy-pasted Instagram outfits.
We need more versatile reference points.
Everyone references the same seven movies, six anime, and five designer campaigns. You only need to see certain references once, but unfortunately, you see them everywhere. With the diverse portfolio of images and videos available at our fingertips, it blows my mind that these people can't find more varied references. You are only a single Getty image search away from finding a whole world of more unique references. I suggest you all take a deep dive into the Vogue archives and explore a collection of singularly fascinating ideas.
There are no excuses for not making something exciting and informed.
With unlimited internet access and information at our fingertips, it is inexcusable not to be educated on a topic you're passionate about. The amount of mind-numbing “Raf Simons Autumn Winter 01 Riot Riot Riot was the most transgressive fashion show” videos I have seen with not only misinformation but a lack of understanding of context is inexcusable. There are years of designers' works exploring a multitude of topics. One needs to investigate the history of something before speaking about it from an objective point of view.
The old guard of fashion designers has retired.
Raf Simons and Rick Owens have retired. I don’t care that Raf is at Prada, yada, yada, yada... None of the Prada collections have looked like Raf since the first two if that. And Rick hasn’t designed anything new in five years.
Vintage needs to be at least 30 years old (the 80s, the last decade.)
The age-old “what is vintage” debate has gone on for years, but I have a big problem with people using it for secondhand clothing. Vintage, in my mind, is clothing made around or before the 1980s. This qualifies as such because this was the last time manufacturing was different from most modern manufacturing. By the 1990s, most manufacturing had been exported, and the designs since the beginning of the 2000s have all been retrospective.
Stylists don’t deserve more credit.
A few years ago, there was much discussion about stylists not being given enough credit for their work. People would say, “This celebrity dresses well,” but not acknowledge that a stylist put them in their clothes. I don't believe in this rhetoric. Mostly, stylists do not even do a good enough job to deserve credit. An excellent example is the NBA tunnel fits, which must be the best record of the worst-styled people in fashion history. These stylists are so stuck in their self-indulgence of praise for these outfits, which usually comprise the flavor of the week cargo pants and sweater combo and a hype sneaker or designer shoe of some sort. Another example is the Ilaria Urbinati effect, my idea of dressing men in well-fitting but mid-AF clothes. She has gotten numerous GQ articles written up on her by the brain-dead Jake Woolf. That man is a walking, talking advertisement. He wakes up and must say, what's the most mid-ass product I can push on men today?
New York isn’t more stylish; they’re just more fashionable.
When it comes to style vs fashion, I am speaking in technical terms, where fashionable means trendy, and style is more about how a person has a distinct way of dressing. Also, to be clear, I am not saying that people in New York start these trends, but instead, they are the quickest to adopt and find these ideas from tastemakers and co-op them. People in New York do not have a unique style; they copy trends quickly and are most likely to try new trends. This is because there is a personal yearning to be “the first” or “unique” when copying what they see.
To an extent, money is no excuse to dress poorly.
A popular excuse for dressing poorly or buying cheaply made clothes from businesses that have questionable practices is money. To be clear, I am not speaking about people who cannot buy clothes due to financial limitations. Instead, I am speaking of the idea that going for a cheap, trendy-looking item or even a fake item is the way to dress well. Although one could argue that this will get you socially accepted, this will not, in my opinion, make you dress well. The abundance of online and brick-and-mortar second-hand designer stores offers no excuse.
You're never going to be cooler than Salem, you're never going to be cooler than Oasis, and you’re never going to be cooler than the Hellp
These are three bands that truly exude effortless and authentic coolness. Everything they make and do is unbearably cool. Wearing cool clothing is just a part of the equation; the main factor is authenticity. If not making music, these groups would be wearing and doing the same thing they are doing sans music. If Oasis weren't making music, they would still be friends in the pub having a good time. The essential point is acknowledging that no matter what you do, you will never be as cool as them.
We all need to be more Introspective and less hypocritical in our rhetoric.
This is the most important one. We all need to look in the mirror way more. Hypocritical rhetoric is a side effect of a lack of self-awareness and introspection. We must look at ourselves and improve before judging. One should not say people have bad or trendy styles when one has bad or trendy styles. This is a friendly reminder that one is not above introspection and self-improvement.