My friend and fellow menswear writer Bruce Boyer is fond of saying that clothes are more important than the general public thinks, but less important than some fashion people think. I agree with him. I think there's a tendency — particularly on social media, where people are prone to self- promotion and self-aggrandizement — to position their pet interest as the "most important thing in the world" and everything else must be in service of it. Fitness people here stress the importance of fitness; stock gurus say you have to focus on finance and investments. Notably, these people often have something to sell you, such as a personal training session or self-improvement newsletter. Menswear for me is a hobby, similar to how someone might be into fountain pens or model trains. I think it can be fun and an interesting lens through which to understand culture. But I don't think everyone has to care about clothes, and I certainly don't think you should read someone's deeper, more important qualities based on their appearance, including how they dress. Bruce notes that clothing matters, but there are limits, and thus "we must leave the deeper aspects of our souls to priests, psychiatrists, and late night reflections." You can learn how to dress well, if you wish, without making clothes more than they are.