Online Menswear Communities

This chapter provides an overview of the ways in which men discuss men’s clothing within online discussion forums, focusing on what is distinctive about the intersection of men’s fashion and internet technology within online menswear communities. Drawing on in-depth interviews with members of online menswear communities and an online ethnography of the communities that they participate in, the chapter introduces the online menswear communities and the distinctive online style microcosm that they relate to as ‘communities of interest’ - communities formed organically around shared interests. The chapter then demonstrates how online menswear communities are enhancing cognition, communication and co-operation in the field of menswear. While online menswear communities are treated # instrumentally as sources of information about men’s clothing, this chapter shows how for the more-engaged participants, they are also true communities characterised by the communication and co-operation of Web 2.0. This chapter argues that the communication and co-operation around men’s clothing has produced an evolving archive of shared, expert knowledge of menswear, an example of the ‘collective intelligence’ generated by internet technology.