I was into seddit for something like a week. It was a fun little excursion and nothing more. It's inconsistent with my general lifestyle. I would categorize it as a fun experiment. Honestly I'm surprised how much random redditors associate me with seddit for what was such a brief stint.

I doubt I ever said that I was into style for women, because that's never really been my deal. It's possible and likely that I've talked about style in the context of getting women, but that is something completely different than my own personal motives.

the average girl you run across is not gonna care if your watch has mechanical movement or that your shoes

Right exactly. Some guys dress outside of the context of getting women. Other guys aren't at all interested in your "average woman".

I have been shopping with a lot of women, of all different sorts, and they will invariably all pick out some ugly...

I think men's style largely belongs in the realm of men. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the role that Ann D, Jil Sander, and many other influential women play in menswear. However, I think it is an area where men should excel (rather than allowing women to monopolize style). This may sound almost tautological, but I'm simply rebelling against the common idea that style and fashion is purely feminine vogue.

If you don't talk to women about fashion, how do you know what they like?

This is something of an interesting question. As I already mentioned, I do speak about fashion with my sister, who knows a good share about fashion (wrote and edited for multiple popular fashion magazines, has supervised many photoshoots, went to school for fashion, etc) so that offers me some sense of what women are interested in. Some of my general knowledge is picked up just by paying attention in normal society and seeing how people respond to things. It's also partially about general aesthetic - certainly subjective, but my personal taste indicates that some looks are superior to others. As something that's subjective, tastes vary widely anyway. Someone wearing Goth Ninja may very well not be looking to capture the attention of the average girl.

Why are you criticizing me for talking to women about fashion, and generalizing based on their opinions?

I'm criticizing the fact that you are making assumptions about me and oversimplifying a very complex set of people. Not every guy is going after the mean or the lowest common denominator. It's not about numbers. Oppositely, not all women are the same. This is some very important stuff.

does not encourage looks that women generally prefer

Although I don't think women are always the end goal, I still disagree with this. I think MFA advises mostly on the ground of fit and quality, both of which women can appreciate. They advise within the context of the individual asking for advice. We do not advise plimsolls to someone going on an interview, or desert boots to a guy working in the office - that's simply common sense. It's pointless to be upset at smart-clothing advice when people are asking for that type of advice. Alternatively, if someone was asking about Yankee Fitteds, Varsity jackets or sick Nikes, I would have absolutely no problem offering that advice.

It encourages, for the most part, the kind of looks I categorize under A) trying to hard or B) effeminate starbucks barrista (who tries to hard).

I disagree, and I think this comment has zero grounds in reality. See previous comment.

MFA does a disservice to naive guys just trying to get basic tips, who leave believing they have to subscribe to the MFA uniform to be presentable.

MFA offers advice tailored to the advice that people want. Yadda yadda. If someone is going to dress based on the advice that we're giving an intern, that's their own fault.

This has been an unrewarding exchange for me

Rest easy knowing that the feeling is mutual.