A Beginner's Guide to Using Men's Style and Fashion Forums

Before you join that online community of style denizens, take heed of these items or thou shalt be trolled the f*ck out.

Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

The underbelly of the fashion world resides not in the blogs or online publication comments section, but rather the denizens of the many message boards that are flooded with people who discuss designer clothing, denim, shoes, and all things style-related at length. While their initial layouts aren't exactly as user-friendly as popular men's style sites, many of your favorite style bloggers, designers, even rappers have been a part of a fashion forum or two.

If you want to get the most out of these resources, there are certain rules to abide by—kind of like Disney World, but replace Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck with Rick Owens and Martin Margiela. Diving right into a What Did You Wear Today with a fit pic or asking an ignorant question can get you trolled faster than walking under a bridge. Before you settle on an online community to take part in, learn how to properly conduct yourself. Here's A Beginner's Guide to Using Men's Style and Fashion Forums.

Fashion forums have a mob mentality. Develop a thick skin, and don't be afraid to argue.

There are many reasons to join a fashion forum. One is to become more knowledgeable. If that's your main goal, the important thing is to keep an open mind, and learn from seasoned members about what the general taste consensus is. For example, people on StyleZeitgeist lean more towards brands like Rick Owens and Siki Im, while SuperFuture has a proclivity towards Visvim, NEIGHBORHOOD, and Raf Simons.

The groupthink on each forum varies, and it helps to wade around each one until you find an environment that really vibes with you or what you're looking for. Need to know how a suit should fit? Consider Style Forum's Classic Menswear board. Looking to buy a new pair of raw denim? Consult Superdenim. If you're a noob, there's a good chance you'll face a fair amount of ribbing. That's normal. Either just brush it off or dish it out some snark of your own, without resorting to straight-up flame wars.

There is a lot of member cross-over from forum to forum. Don't be afraid to try a few out at the same time.

Even though each forum has a little different audience it caters to, there is a lot of cross-pollination between the forums. It's not a bad thing to get a look at different styles and fashion interests, so joining multiple forums is very common.

Every forum has its own lingo.

Just like countries have their own dialect, online fashion communities have their own language as well. Some words and phrases you may learn throughout your forum inhabitance are 100% never to be used outside of the forum. Especially IRL (in real life). Everyone will look at you funny if you go into a store and ask to "cop" some "jawns"

Don't make any posts without lurking for a few months

Lurking is the best way to get yourself acquainted with the site. Lurk the popular topics. Lurk how members interact. Just play the background for a while before you decide to contribute to the community and make yourself an active member.

We understand that sometimes you join a forum just to get a question answered from a couple of people who know more than you about clothes. But to go right at it for your first post? Members will sniff that out troll you out of spite.

Do your homework. Read up before asking stupid questions.

Most forum members hate getting the same questions asked over and over again. "If I'm a sz 11 in Vans Authentics, what size should I get in these?" is the equivalent of the "LOL DIDN'T READ" meme to a forum member's face. Take a look in the thread, see if your question has already been asked then maybe, just maybe, you can contribute something worthwhile.

Plenty of forums like Reddit's Male Fashion Advice subreddit have threads solely dedicated to quick questions. If you can't find your answer, consider asking in one of these threads rather than starting a whole new topic. You'll spare yourself from getting trolled or drawing the ire of other members.

Quoting a huge post with a bunch of pictures in it is a cardinal sin punishable by death

Some forums literally can't handle the bandwidth of dozens of pictures, .gifs and videos on one single page. So when you decide to quote a post with multiple pictures in it just to say "dope," then you better put your most retardent flame suit on. Just quote one of the pics or give them a shout, no quote.

No matter how good you think your fit is, be prepared to get made fun of or ignored for your first WDYWT post.

You may think your shit is airtight. Impenetrable by hate. You've got all the right pieces and the fit is ace. But guess what? You're a n00b lolz. Fuck your perfect outfit, son. You finna get flamed anyway! Earn your stripes before you go running off with your DSLR to post your very first WDYWT (What Did You Wear Today, herb) or take it all in stride and keep posting until you get that "fit's dope" you've been fishing for.

Hypebeasts, they know 'boutcha. "Dressed by the Internet" was born here.

It's okay to wear and post forum-approved pieces every once in a while. But all of them? At the same damn time? That will earn you a pass to "get all the way the fuck out of here-ville." Forum members will call you out and you may be shunned for life. Hell, even Four Pins might get in the action.

Have a store or brand? There's a wrong and right way to promote it.

While some forums let you freely promote your brand however you please, others make you pay a fee in order to become a "sponsored" brand. You get to control your brand's topic and offer cool, exclusive deals to members. Many will give you suggestions and brutally honest criticism. It's a really organic way to develop a relationship with a community, provided you've shown that you've done your homework and believe that your store/brand really appeals to the tastes of the community at large.

The other way is to just blindly post about your brand in a new topic. Which is likely to get you flamed, but again, if you've shown that you're legit and are really aware of what the audience is into, it's a really great way to build brand awareness. Shops like Epaulet and brands like 3Sixteen have achieved success with forum members and before becoming popular with the Internet at large.

Meet-ups are common; it's okay to make friends on the Internet.

Believe it or not, making friends on the internet is totally normal. You all have common interests. Some of you even live in the same city. There's clearly some crossover between favorite brands and shops. It's a no-brainer that you might actually get along with these people in a social setting.

Why not meet up, grab some drinks and talk about jawnz? Meet-ups between multiple forum members are very common. They can be real cool and be the beginning to some fruitful friendships... or at worst, they can end up like the Chicago Hypebeast meet-up of 2008.

For the most part, it's a boys' club.

Men's style & fashion forums are catered to men, duh. So the appearance of women is usually limited to "appreciation" or "Rate My Girlfriend" threads. So if you're looking to meet a member of the opposite sex, the odds are against you. But if you're trying to step up your style in order to make yourself look better for women in the real world, then you'll definitely get help.

We aren't saying females don't exist on a male-centric fashion forum. However, most of the ones that are have to deal with catcalls, inappropriate commentary, and getting hit on incessantly. That said, there are a few female members who have found their online niche amongst throngs of clothing-obsessed dudes.

Need some detective work done? Approach your fellow fashion forum members.

It's no secret that forums are full of Internet sleuths. Just look at threads from 4Chan and Reddit that make the news. When it comes to the members of your favorite fashion forums, that investigative spirit doesn't change. Except these people can help you ID a certain brand, or decipher if an item is fake or legit.

Basically, if SuFu was around in 1963, we would 100% know if Lee Harvey Oswald had an accomplice or not. For posers who attempt to stunt on people with fake shit or tall tales about copping designer prices for cheap, they'll get called out and debunked with the quickness.

Yes, you can buy awesome stuff from other members. But be aware of seller feedback.

With the multitude of forums offering marketplaces for members to sell their new and used goods, you are able to find pieces you may have missed out on seasons ago. Authentic Supreme Box tees have never ben easier to get, just don't expect to get them for anywhere near retail.

The secondary market on these forums caters to people who already have a higher perceived value of clothing, and are willing to pay a bit more because of it. So use common sense: If a deal on a forum is too good to be true, it very well could be. Do some intel on the seller's feedback, see who they've dealt with and, if everything checks out, dig right in.

You don't always have to talk about clothing.

Music is so closely correlated with all genres of fashion that you can expect them to cross streams at any given time. This is especially true on fashion forums where everyone has an opinion—which is usually "I'm right and you're wrong." There are also forums dedicated to ogling models and unattainable women, and most entertainingly, the "off-topic" section.

In there, anything goes. You'll find posts about booty appreciation, how to make the best grilled cheese sandwich, corny white girls, Pokémon gifs, and other things that have absolutely nothing to do with fashion. This is where legendary threads are made. This is where "WTF" happens. You'll find yourself here 75 to 80 percent of the time you visit, so just be prepared to get angry/horny/happy/sad/etc. It'll play with your emotions.

Don't be a complete dickhead.

Look, the Internet has a different set of social norms than the real, actual world, but that doesn't mean you can't maintain a little decency. Barbs will be exchanged, but it's all in good fun. Trolls can only bother you as much as you let them.

That said, a quick wit and some well-worded insults—combined with a demonstrated knowledge of style—can earn you a begrudging respect from fellow community members. There's nothing wrong with being snarky on the Internet, just don't take it too seriously.