Creatively Unhinged: Fit Battle Final Thoughts
How I've become a better dresser through Fit Battle, and final acknowledgements.
Hello - your friendly democratically elected king zeometer here. If you’ve started reading this article in the hopes of either becoming better at dressing or to win at Fit Battle, I will caution that this wasn’t a simple straightforward journey for me to live through or to distill into a nice list.
To that end, I encourage you to read through the entries below, as they give a fuller picture of the journey taken for each fit:
For reference, here is a gallery of my fit battle submissions here (plus the ‘bonus’ fit pictured below). Seeing everything in one place really puts into perspective what all was accomplished.
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Final Thoughts
Before joining and participating earnestly in MFA (the Discord specifically), I would describe my style as good but half-baked. I had some good instincts (especially with color and with some of my vintage finds) but not enough ability or confidence to really explore them or connect them into a meaningful aesthetic. Through participating in and writing about Fit Battle, I think I've become a better dresser, having gained:
A willingness to put myself out there by putting on fits. Through the duration of fit battle I was also putting on a different fit and submitting it to WAYWT, which was a separate battle some days. This may not be helpful to all people or all situations, but for me, it made it easier to submit the fit battle submissions for judgment, rather than avoid doing so for fear of rejection.
More appreciation for the clothes I already owned. I didn't buy much specifically for fit battle; most items were ones I repurposed. Given the different styles featured (prep, "grunge", high concept, trad, heritage, sprezz) it proved the utility of my clothes and how to experiment with clothes in more affordable ways.
A better handle on what inspires me. The inspiration I gained from seeing WAYWT fit pics, the inspiration albums and other sources helped solidify the concepts I would execute and how (serious vs ironic). I didn't self-limit this, which allowed more freedom in this process.
An interest in creating/altering clothes. This one came as a surprise, as originally I perceived direct modification of clothes (cutting, dyeing, sewing beyond simple repairs) to be more effort than what I wanted to put in, only to find out that I enjoy the process of fabrication. I now have a sewing machine and the basic accoutrements to attempt to master this new domain (if I can thread the bobbin).
Better ways of judging and critiquing a fit (both for my own fits and others). In having to think about why [x] works or why [y] doesn’t, it makes it easier to see and then convey what is or is not working, and how it can be resolved.
A call to embrace intentional dressing, using each entry to answer the question "Who is this person and what are they doing?" even if that person doesn’t exist. I filter it through the lens of 'how would I represent that?' and pushed to do so, which led to things like
1. minor details being added (lapel pin in vote in 2, mineral necklace in R16, Baby Ruth in R8, hand in R4/R2)
2. the use of less “obvious” item choices (denim blazer vs denim jacket in R32, PRL Andrews vs hiking pants in R4)
3. the styling/staging of every submission after vote in to give added context for the fit
4. the transforming of clothes for a specific use (be it how the item is worn, as with the overlayers in R16 or the pajamas in R8, or physically altering them, as in R2)
5. asking for second opinions when needed and acting on them (or not)
That train of thinking has scaled into my normal mode of thinking when dressing: 'What do I want to convey and how can I do so?', whether that's 'I want to dress for work' or 'I want to dress like a Pitti Uomo attendee'. Many have said clothing is a form of communication, and this method of thinking is like writing an essay:
starting with a thesis (the intention to convey),
finding evidence to support this, such as reference material (inspiration), supporting details (components of the fit) and edits (feedback and critique), and
writing this in your syntax (personal style) to convey it effectively (the final fit).
It took time and effort to realize this, but it was worth it, not just because of winning, but for the ways in which I’ve grown as a result.
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I did make a few campaign promises/threats to show hog and indeed I did - The first portrait in my submission of round of 2 was a copy of Charlotte's Web with Wilbur on the back cover.
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Beyond the obvious joke, I identified with Wilbur both growing up and again in this particular setting, being someone relatively new engaging in a against people whom I consider exceedingly well-dressed and creative, trying to avoid ‘dying’ by showing something exceptional.
I might not have lived (metaphorically) in the fit battle process without the help of people who were kind enough to lend their time or eyes or ears or talents or, in case, a clothing item, so I am hugely grateful to discord solipsist z, kyn, LeisurelyLoafing, Bigelow, kstocks, stmn, elbarto🐒, rej, Crows and, bishopcorrigan. In addition, I appreiate The Teenage Gentleman lol, art, Charlie and anyone else whose pictures I used in this article (either to serve as inspiration or confirmation bias) as well as anyone who offered a kind word on Discord or elsewhere (especially Pesty Al Gaib in this context); it means a lot truly.
Thank you as well to:
the MFAD moderators for assembling and running a springtime version of Fit Battle smoothly while also dealing with the day to day minutae of Discord,
every other participant regardless of placement; it was so cool to see everyone's submissions each round and I was often spinning my wheels each week to think of something to submit,
every viewer/lurker who voted; Shrimp My Ride likened it to a gladiator fight and it felt like it, but ultimately, I'm grateful to have been embraced by this wonderful community in such a positive way, regardless of outcome.
Lastly, thank you for reading this if you’ve made it this far. It took a lot of thought and energy putting together each fit in addition to dealing with a full time job and a partner with a broken leg during this process, much less writing about it. Despite the added effort, I think there’s value in describing these thoughts about clothes (even if instinctive or seemingly trivial) concretely and fully.
If you’re someone questioning participating in a fit battle (or posting a fit online or even just wearing a fit outside for whatever reason), I say go for it. I’m someone with a “regular” job not in the fashion industry and someone who has spent a relatively short amount of time thinking about clothes on this level, but because I had an interest in it, I was able to make the most of it. You never know how you’ll feel or how others will respond or what you’ll gain until you actually Put Stuff On.
I’m not sure when “next time” will be, but until then, you can find me on MFA Discord or Instagram to see more of my fits, to ask any other questions about any of the submissions for Fit Battle, or to connect about menswear or life in general.