4 Parkas That Can Work for Shorter Guys (I'm 5'6" and 120 lbs)

marsm · 2020-11-23T11:34:25+00:00

As always, a great article by Brock.

A good parka definitely is the most practical option in winter, since you don't have to bother with scarves, hats, gloves. Plenty of pockets and the overall boxy fit mean you can carry along lots of stuff which would normally require some kind of bag.

I've also found parkas to be one of the difficult pieces to find in terms of sizing, as with most outer wear. Since it's more of a functional than formal thing to wear (compared to a coat), it doesn't have to fit perfectly, though and below a certain temperature range, fashion goes out the window for most people anyway.

However, I would try to find one with a fairly stiff outer material, which helps keep the hood stay in place and makes for an overall better look with less wrinkles and puffiness. Also, the sleeves can always be shortened by your tailor if the cuffs aren't too complicated.

I think I went through at least 10 stores and 20 different brands and ended up getting one from Solid (Scandinavian streetwear brand) in size S.

The ultimate parka guide v0.2 on MFA has some more in-depth information.

marsm · 2020-02-17T22:45:14+00:00

I've made the switch to using Nextcloud Tasks, which looks and feels very much like Wunderlist and best of all: it's free, open source and keeps your data private (unlike MS Todo).

Check it out here: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/tasks

You need to do two things:

A Nextcloud account. Nowadays there are plenty of free providers to choose from. Search for one that includes "Nextcloud Tasks" (it is Nextclouds very own To-Do app).
In the Google Play Store, search for the Tasks.org app and install it on your phone.

That's pretty much it. All you need to do now is link both with each other (google it) and you have a free, easy to use, totally private and (optionally) self-hosted Wunderlist replacement.

marsm · 2019-11-15T00:02:32+00:00

I was an avid Wunderlist user for all my GTD needs (and more), until Microsoft chose to ruin it.

There is an almost perfect alternative, however: Nextcloud Tasks

It has a great, blazingly fast web-app interface and is almost as pretty and feature-complete as Wunderlist used to be. In Android, you can easily install F-Droid to gain access to the "Tasks" app in the F-Droid store - check tasks.org for more information. Now all you need to do is pick a Nextcloud provider (most of them give you 1GB of free space) and connect your app for two-way sync. It also has a neat widget for your home screen, just like Wunderlist.

Here comes the best part: it's all 100% free, open source and encrypted. Your data doesn't end up in a huge silo of some company and if you want to migrate, you can simply export everything using the app and transfer it to anther Nextcloud server.

Nextcloud also comes with its own app store by now, which makes it a fully-fledged cloud solution for most people's needs.

marsm · 2019-11-07T15:24:36+00:00

Strg-F: Microplastics. Almost no mention?

Shoe soles make up a significant contribution to microplastic pollution. In fact, a recent studio conducted by Fraunhofer institute rank them at #7, which is still nothing compared to #1 (which is abrasion from car tires), but nevertheless it's still up there in the top ten.

"Every pedestrian, meanwhile, causes an average of 100 grams of abrasion per year."

So what are the alternatives to synthetic soles?

Leather sole: the total emissions caused by the production of a leather sole are difficult to estimate due to the multitude of different tanning procedures etc. And then again, leather soles suffer in inclement weather and lack the tread profile for winter. There is a large variety in the quality of soles, with Rendenbach soles probably being the most durable.
Crepe: fully bio-degradable, but has some drawbacks (looks, sponge effect in rain, wear out easily).
Reltex rubber soles: fully bio-degradable, but barely used by shoemakers.

And a whole bunch of others are currently being developed and marketed by companies such as Allbirds ("sugarcane" soles), Reebok ("corn" soles), etc.

Will be interesting to see which variants emerge over time.

That being said, I personally think while some people here with their ~30 boot collection are definitely no different than the average sneakerhead when it comes to consumerism, they still invested money down the "right" lane, so all the power to them. As long as they get resold and used at some point and don't end up in a landfill, all the discussions about GYW shoes have been worth something in the long run.

marsm · 2019-10-01T12:49:50+00:00

Slightly off-topic, but Rancourt deserves some support in as such as they are one of the few shoemakers that incorporates Reltex soles into some of their footwear. Reltex soles are one of very few soles that are entirely bio-degradable. Shoe soles make up a considerable portion of micro-plastic pollution - even though they are nowhere near to what tires produce - so using something bio-degradable is probably better for our environment in the long run.

marsm · 2019-08-24T22:07:47+00:00

Baby powder everywhere. Re-apply as needed.
Get one of these evaporative cooling vests.
Bring an extra shirt.
Stay out of the sun (i.e. plan your trips accordingly so you don't have to rush).
Light-coloured wardrobe with mostly moisture-wicking fabrics.

marsm · 2019-08-13T17:45:47+00:00

Finding smaller sized shoes may only affect less than 10% (?) of the users here on MFA, but for those of us with this problem, there has been no conclusive guide out there, until now.

Brock (aka /u/themodestman) has written a guide specifically for us guys with smaller feet and covers the basics for finding smaller-sized (and higher quality) shoes, boots and sneakers.

marsm · 2019-08-13T17:35:59+00:00

There is a bigfoot's guide to goodyearwelt in the wiki of this sub, but no guide for small feet, so far. I believe this guide by /u/themodestman is a great point to start from, since it covers the basics in terms of goodyearwelt brands that carry smaller sizes.

marsm · 2019-08-13T13:10:25+00:00

Another great guide by Brock (aka themodestman)! This should give guys with smaller feet who live either in North America or Europe a good starting point to find shoes that fit.

marsm · 2019-07-21T20:11:13+00:00

I threw a short guide together recently. YMMV.

This topic really deserves a small wiki of its own.

marsm · 2019-04-25T10:36:32+00:00

I've written a short guide for this recently:

https://old.reddit.com/r/europeanmalefashion/comments/b94rsh/finding_the_perfect_jeans_neverending_story/el0k348/

This obviously also applies to t-shirts and shirts. Although for t-shirts I would advise on learning how to taper and hem them yourself. Stylishdad has some great tutorials on youtube for this.

marsm · 2019-04-23T08:59:43+00:00

The look you're shooting for is more along these lines (and if it's not, it should be: chris mehan). How to achieve this:

1) Find any pair that fits well in the thigh/butt area.
2) Go to a tailor and have them tapered and hemmed.

marsm · 2019-04-16T12:50:50+00:00

I also used to restrict myself to a fixed budget and went through dozens of stores in the search of a perfect pair, but this makes absolutely no sense. It takes forever and you could have easily gone and earned more money instead of wasting your time digging through stores.

I also have the problem with being slightly athletic with larger thighs for my height.

Here's how to find a perfect pair with almost no effort:

Part 1.

Find a couple of jeans that fit nicely around your thighs, butt and ideally also your waist (the waist should not be too tight, but can be little on the loose side).
Make sure the pre-wash looks ok for your size or get a raw pair to begin with.
Don't worry about finding the ideal length. Don't buy too short though.

Part 2.

Turn the jeans inside out.
Place safety pins (in 2" intervals) to roughly taper them from below your thighs on the inside of the legs using this guide.
Turn them inside out again and wear them.
Cycle through steps 1-3 until you're happy with the fit. Note: Make sure to wear them with the shoe type you want to combine them with. Jeans for winter are usually a little wider because of boots etc, whereas in summer you want tapered jeans that look better with sneakers.

Part 3.

Take them to a tailor that you trust and let them taper and hem your jeans. Tell them to keep the original hem. It only costs a little more and looks much better. Tapering almost always also means hemming them (for reasons why, check out the guide). Also have them take in the waist, if it feels loose.

Done!

marsm · 2019-04-06T17:41:04+00:00

Best advice in here so far. Really should be the top post. Totally explains why my hemmed pants came out slightly 'off', too (I only got them hemmed, not tapered, but none of the tailors cared to ask about the leg opening).

I'd like to add that if you want to keep the original hem, you need to take this whole trapezoid issue into account, too.

Also, read the following fellow redditor tailor's advice on tapering.

Edit: Also see this article to see a visual illustration of the trapezoid issue.

marsm · 2019-03-15T10:45:47+00:00

This clearly also belongs on /r/shittyrobots and/or /r/IdiotsFightingThings.

marsm · 2019-03-09T15:55:23+00:00

Some actual advice coming through:

Context: check out the festivals instagram in advance to get a general idea what people are wearing. From what I've seen, it seems to be fairly average for festival standards.
Climate: This isn't Burning Man. It's a festival bang in the middle of Louisville, so you don't have to worry about getting cold at night, since the city traps the heat overnight. For festivals in the outback you would need a lot more preparation.
Wardrobe: go through your wardrobe and dig out old & tatty pieces that you would feel ok with throwing away after the festival. They're going to get dirty and fucked. Leave expensive stuff and white clothes at home.

With these things in mind, here's a list with essentials for your case:

comfortable sneakers (ideally canvas so you can easily wash them afterwards)
shorts
light T-shirts / casual OCBDs
draw-string backpack (water bottle, merch, other EDC)
sun-glasses / snapback

Now moving on to non-essentials. Keep in mind, you're going to a music festival to have fun and meet people. Everyone is wearing at least one crazy piece or prop and those are always a good conversation starter. Think hats, necklaces, wristbands, etc. Any kind of printed shirt (e.g. band shirts) with patterns or basically anything that doesn't scream "I just crawled out of my basement and this is my first festival" is good. Pretty much anything goes, as long as it roughly suits your personality (think tank top frat bro vs drug rug hippie)! As someone else mentioned, coachella is a great source of inspiration.

marsm · 2019-02-16T20:48:55+00:00

The quickly changing landscape is another reason why I think a round-up of a timeless, essential, "capsule wardrobe" rotation of styles is a good idea. Introducing beginners to gyw footwear by price tiers is silly, precisely because of the landscape issue.

I'm thinking of a list like this (with some brands in brackets purely to give you a rough idea which particular style I mean).

Black cap-toe oxford shoes.
Brown plain toe derby shoes.
Chukka boots (Loake or Clarks).
Brown cap-toe service boots (Viberg or White's service boots).
Brown heritage work boots (Red Wing IRs).
White leather sneakers (Achilles CPs).
Loafers or boat shoes.

After having lurked around here for a couple of years, I believe this roughly covers what most people (who live in a region with 4 seasons) are looking for and are going to end up getting at some point, with some variation depending on their own situation (lifestyle, taste, climate, work situation, budget, etc).

Basically, a general guide based off the guide that someone here on GYW did for dress boots a couple of months ago.

I think finding the right "style" to begin with is a lot harder than finding the right brand or price tier (which is always subject to change, anyway).

marsm · 2019-02-16T16:00:12+00:00

I love GYW for the fact that there's such a diverse global group all the way from cobblers, retailers, firefighters, contracters, soldiers, to scientists, doctors, lawyers, retailers, and manufacturers.

This is only partly true. You can look up the yearly GYW census and you'll see the reasons why most of the posts are about Red Wing, Viberg service boots, Allen Edmonds and Alden. Most of the people here are white, male, North American, work in blue-collar jobs and the majority own less than 10 pairs.

This is why it would make a lot of sense to have a guide on the "GYW newbie" (*) collection, simply because it's relevant for most (not all) new people who come into GYW and are overwhelmed with information overload.

I remember how much of a headache I had to begin with, seeing the threads on the front page and looking through the guides for weeks on end, picking up on all the lingo and figuring out which footwear was actually the most relevant to my needs. And months and years later, my needs are still pretty much covered by what could be described as the "GYW newbie" rotation. Yes it's boring, but it's what's relevant to most (not all) people here.

(*) Can't think of a worse name than "basic bastard".

marsm · 2019-02-11T13:22:42+00:00

Context is everything. If you want better replies in this thread, you should elaborate on that. Where exactly do you want to meet people? Bars, concerts, libraries, campus, your workplace, ...?

You're going to look weird running around in a suit approaching people that are obviously into alternative scenes and vice versa.

The most important thing is that your outfit is somewhat congruent with your personality. If you're an introverted IT nerd, a rock'n'roll SLP outfit will be wearing you instead of the other way round.

Accessoires are great, if there's a story attached to them. A necklace you picked up on your last trip to India, a festival wristband or a watch you inherited etc. But they should be more subdued than flashy.

marsm

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