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Entry tags:
Fashion frugality
One of my favorite designers is Demobaza, ever since I redid my entire wardrobe back in 2015 and googled "cyberpunk clothing" not knowing what I would find. I found a lot of very expensive techwear that I wasn't interested in because who wants to go outside, some cybergoth stuff that wasn't really my thing because I didn't want to invest in a gas mask, Zolnar (from whom I bought a sweater), and Demobaza. There was a thread somewhere of people discussing it and someone saying, "Who wants to go out looking like a Metal Gear Solid villain?", I immediately answered "me" and went to their website, and it's been compliments on my fashion ever since. Just yesterday when I was shopping at Whole Foods, the woman checking me out told me that she always thought I "layered very well." I'm glad she noticed. 
That said, all of my Demobaza pieces are from earlier collections like FW13 or SS15. After that, they moved in a direction I can only describe as "Fremen couture."
"Tell me of the waters of your homeworld, Usul."
But what I'm writing about actually isn't Demobaza, it's about saving money by not buying Demobaza.
A few years ago, there were some articles about Antonio Banderas wanting to bring back capes for men as a fashion accessory. It didn't work, obviously, but I wish it had because I'm really tall and that kind of sweep of fabric works very well on me. In lieu of dressing like Dracula, I went looking for longer cardigans, the kind that are pretty common in women's fashion, and while I managed to find one on a Korean fashion site that does look pretty good on me, it's not quite as dramatic as I'd like. There's a lot of women's cardigans to choose from, but the complaints against women's sizing would apply extra hard for me, and they're mosly not my style.
Well, enter Demobaza SS19, entitled "Intao." There's a kind of poncho/cape hybrid that's exactly what I'm looking for:
The description lists it as a "bath towel blanket," which is about the least fashionable (though most comfy!) way to describe an item of clothing I've ever heard, but it has the right look. Ankle-length, sweeping, it has good drape, easy to layer, it's everything I've been looking for.
...at least, it would be what I was looking for if I hadn't already bought something similar elsewhere. A couple months ago I was searching Etsy late at night while lying in bed, because my life is very exciting, and Etsy's algorithm's suggested a store for me that I'd never heard of called MDNT45. I checked it out and there was a bunch of stuff I found there I wanted. I ended up ordering two pieces--one was a long-sleeved shirt with external seams, and the other was this:
It's basically the same as that Demobaza piece. Has the same drape, the same sweep, and doesn't have a hood, which is a bonus. It's a darker fabric, which helps because like Batman I only work in black and sometimes very dark grey, and what's more important is that it costs one fifth what the Demobaza piece does. That's what always prevented me from buying similar pieces from Demobaza before, because sure Topcoat Metatron looks neat and has a cool name, but it also costs eleven-hundred dollars.
There's a lot of clothes, or green tea, or anything, that I could buy for that much.
That's one thing I've gotten pretty good at. I'll never be able to do the thrift store street goth thing, because I'm 6'5" (195 cm) and 173 lbs (78 kg). I'm built like a CLAMP character (or Slenderman, if you prefer), and it's hard enough to find pants that fit me at all, much less pants in a style I like. Right now, I have three separate pairs of pants I bought multiple copies of because I love the way they look and I know if I wait, they'll get discontinued and sell out.
But there's plenty of stuff I can find on Etsy that's not that expensive. I have a lot of clothes from Crisiswear and Zolnar and Loose Lemur and now MDNT45 because they're cheaper while still being deliberately designed, quality items of clothing. If I like it, it looks good, and it's not made by slave labor or the next best thing, then I don't care where it's from. If it were up to me, I'd take all the labels off my clothes. I mean, I'll still happily provide free advertising for the designers if people ask.
Now, if only I had a job where I could wear this to work.
That said, all of my Demobaza pieces are from earlier collections like FW13 or SS15. After that, they moved in a direction I can only describe as "Fremen couture."
"Tell me of the waters of your homeworld, Usul."
But what I'm writing about actually isn't Demobaza, it's about saving money by not buying Demobaza.
A few years ago, there were some articles about Antonio Banderas wanting to bring back capes for men as a fashion accessory. It didn't work, obviously, but I wish it had because I'm really tall and that kind of sweep of fabric works very well on me. In lieu of dressing like Dracula, I went looking for longer cardigans, the kind that are pretty common in women's fashion, and while I managed to find one on a Korean fashion site that does look pretty good on me, it's not quite as dramatic as I'd like. There's a lot of women's cardigans to choose from, but the complaints against women's sizing would apply extra hard for me, and they're mosly not my style.
Well, enter Demobaza SS19, entitled "Intao." There's a kind of poncho/cape hybrid that's exactly what I'm looking for:
The description lists it as a "bath towel blanket," which is about the least fashionable (though most comfy!) way to describe an item of clothing I've ever heard, but it has the right look. Ankle-length, sweeping, it has good drape, easy to layer, it's everything I've been looking for.
...at least, it would be what I was looking for if I hadn't already bought something similar elsewhere. A couple months ago I was searching Etsy late at night while lying in bed, because my life is very exciting, and Etsy's algorithm's suggested a store for me that I'd never heard of called MDNT45. I checked it out and there was a bunch of stuff I found there I wanted. I ended up ordering two pieces--one was a long-sleeved shirt with external seams, and the other was this:
It's basically the same as that Demobaza piece. Has the same drape, the same sweep, and doesn't have a hood, which is a bonus. It's a darker fabric, which helps because like Batman I only work in black and sometimes very dark grey, and what's more important is that it costs one fifth what the Demobaza piece does. That's what always prevented me from buying similar pieces from Demobaza before, because sure Topcoat Metatron looks neat and has a cool name, but it also costs eleven-hundred dollars.
There's a lot of clothes, or green tea, or anything, that I could buy for that much.That's one thing I've gotten pretty good at. I'll never be able to do the thrift store street goth thing, because I'm 6'5" (195 cm) and 173 lbs (78 kg). I'm built like a CLAMP character (or Slenderman, if you prefer), and it's hard enough to find pants that fit me at all, much less pants in a style I like. Right now, I have three separate pairs of pants I bought multiple copies of because I love the way they look and I know if I wait, they'll get discontinued and sell out.
But there's plenty of stuff I can find on Etsy that's not that expensive. I have a lot of clothes from Crisiswear and Zolnar and Loose Lemur and now MDNT45 because they're cheaper while still being deliberately designed, quality items of clothing. If I like it, it looks good, and it's not made by slave labor or the next best thing, then I don't care where it's from. If it were up to me, I'd take all the labels off my clothes. I mean, I'll still happily provide free advertising for the designers if people ask.
Now, if only I had a job where I could wear this to work.