Men’s Style Revival

Fashions Fade. Style is eternal.

-Yves St. Laurent

These are very important words to me. I think style plays (or should play) a very important role in a man’s life. And while most people could provide their own individual definition for what fashion means, the word style has that certain je ne sais quoi about it that incorporates not only how a man dresses, but also the way he takes care of himself, the way he acts in certain situations and the way he treats others.

Style, to me, is not a look, but rather a lifestyle; a paradigm, if you will. And each person is living their own – and must embrace it.

By no means do I claim be an expert in style or any aspect of it. That would be like someone claiming to be an expert in truth. How many different versions of truth are there? My truth is different than your truth which is different than their truths. There can never be one universal style, no matter how badly I may want it be like mine.

Taking a man’s dress, for example, I have a very specific philosophy. There is no one right way for men to dress, but rather a myriad of “right ways,” depending on a lot of factors: age, job, climate, attitude, etc. But what a gentleman must understand is that in each of these particular styles of dress, there are certain understood and unwritten rules.

I usually encounter two problems when considering my own dress and the dress of others. One is when a man is not familiar with the rules of the style which he has chosen as his own. Let’s say casual (business casual or otherwise) is how you spend the majority of your non-nude time. One must understand that the rules now say that pants need to be flat front, baggy styles are long since gone and shirts should still fit the body you possess (like it or not). Not realizing the rules for your chosen style typically leads to one looking like they do not know what they are doing.

The second is a more common and slightly more forgivable issue. It happens when a man is forced (by event, climate, or other external factor) to move temporarily or permanently into a new style. When someone who has never worn a tuxedo before receives an invitation to wedding that is black-tie, panic can set in. This is when you end up with a guest arriving with the multi-colored matching bow-tie and cummerbund. We should give this guy a little mercy – he is not familiar with the rules.

But being at least vaguely or moderately familiar with the guidelines across the style pallet provide a man with confidence and security, knowing that he is always presenting himself in the best possible way.

And sooner or later, that confidence and security becomes second nature. It leaves more time to focus  on how we should be as men. It leaves more time to be a gentleman.