# Something Went Terribly Wrong Something Went Terribly Wrong is a catchphrase pasted under side-by-side image macros that contrast dapper mid-20th-century menswear with modern streetwear, implying the old look was better. The format first spread on Facebook in August 2016 through the Gentlemen's Club International page, and by late 2019 users were running the setup ironically on pairings like 1695 pirates versus 1940s suits. ## Origin The precursor image predates the Facebook format by nearly two decades. Michael Sinz's homepage, registered in 1997, featured an evolution chart of ape to human to hunched office worker captioned "somewhere, something went terribly wrong"[5]. The image was redrawn many times across the early web before the modern two-panel version appeared. The gentlemen's-fashion version first surfaced on August 11, 2016, when the Facebook page Gentlemen's Club International posted a two-panel macro putting a 1950s man in a peacoat and suit against a modern male fashion model[1]. According to Know Your Meme, that post gathered roughly 7,800 shares and 11,000 reactions over the following six years[6]. - **Platform:** Facebook (viral spread) - **Creator:** Gentlemen's Club International (Facebook page) - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview Early entries follow a predictable layout: a crisp photograph of a 1940s or 1950s gentleman on the left, a current male model or celebrity on the right, and the caption "something went terribly wrong" running below both panels[1]. The joke argues that modern menswear is a decline from a lost golden age, usually targeting ripped jeans, oversized hoodies, or dyed hair. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian became stock subjects on the modern side of the comparison, with their streetwear outfits lined up against black-and-white photos of couples in formal attire[2]. As people kept remixing it, the setup gave way to absurd pairings that have nothing to do with menswear. A November 2019 Facebook edit lined up 1695 pirate garb against a 1940s man, flipping the usual direction of the complaint[3]. By late 2021, the caption had drifted so far from its origin that an Instagram post stuck it beneath a floating eye in a void, using the phrase as pure deadpan reaction text[4]. ## How It Spread Reposts moved across Facebook through the rest of 2016, and the setup jumped to Instagram on October 10, 2016, when the account inesklara posted Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in streetwear next to a black-and-white couple in formal attire[2]. That post gathered more than 2,700 likes over the following six years, cementing the celebrity-couple variant as a stock example. The ironic turn arrived in late 2019. Facebook user The Spectre of Communism paired 1695 pirate dress with a 1940s man on November 29, 2019[3], and three days later Instagram user sonny_librarian ran a 9th-century outfit against the same 1940s baseline[7]. A January 2022 repost of the sonny_librarian edit by trashcanpaul reached over 49,000 likes in a day[7]. On December 21, 2021, Instagram user new.incognito.tab moved the catchphrase off fashion entirely, using it under an ominous floating-eye image for about 21,900 likes in a month[4]. By that point Something Went Terribly Wrong worked as a free-floating caption for any image someone wanted to label as a cosmic mistake. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Something Went Terribly Wrong? It is a catchphrase paired with side-by-side image macros that put a well-dressed mid-20th-century man next to a modern male model or celebrity, with the caption suggesting the old look was better[1]. ### Where did Something Went Terribly Wrong come from? The two-panel fashion version first appeared on August 11, 2016, in a post by the Facebook page Gentlemen's Club International[1]. An earlier version of the phrase ran under an ape-to-office-worker evolution image on Michael Sinz's 1997 homepage[5]. ### What does Something Went Terribly Wrong mean? On fashion edits, it means modern menswear is a step down from older styles like 1940s and 1950s suits[6]. In ironic reposts it has drifted into deadpan reaction text, slapped under things like a floating eye in a void[4]. ### How do you use Something Went Terribly Wrong? The common convention is a two-panel image, old photo on the left and modern photo on the right, with the phrase written underneath. Later edits often pair wildly different time periods for comedic effect, such as 1695 pirates against 1940s men[3]. ### Is Something Went Terribly Wrong still popular? The format is a classic internet comparison macro, with documented reposts and remixes through early 2022, including a trashcanpaul repost that reached over 49,000 likes in a day[7]. ## References 1. [https://www.facebook.com/446650652040974/posts/1163808703658495]() 2. [https://www.instagram.com/p/BLYCEAvg0s5/]() 3. [https://www.facebook.com/1097815910287844/posts/2505457999523621]() 4. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CXc6s53Lxxq/]() 5. [http://www.sinz.org/Michael.Sinz/Evolution.html]() 6. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/something-went-terribly-wrong]() 7. [https://www.instagram.com/p/B5lKDOkALQu/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/something-went-terribly-wrong Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library