9 Steps to Better Fashion
May, 2006
American men are wealthy, powerful and creative, but when it comes to style, most are less than world-class. A Playboy manifesto on overcoming the fashion deficit
Last year Americans spent more than $52 billion on men's apparel. That's a sizable chunk of change and one that should reasonably produce an attractive return on investment in terms of how we look. Unfortunately that isn't the case. While a minority of men in the U.S. have learned to make clothes work for them--those paying attention to Playboy, for example--the typical male is a lost soul when it comes to personal style. Fortunately all is not lost. By following Playboy'S nine-step recovery program, Americans too can join the ranks of sharply dressed men everywhere.
Step 1
Fight fashion bashing. Good clothing is part of an aspirational attitude that can make life richer and more enjoyable.
Nothing exposes the general slovenliness of American men like traveling abroad. Treading through Tokyo, one sees legions of salarymen decked out in proper suits, as well as side streets teeming with stylish hipsters. Italians have long lived by the credo of bella figura, which pervades all aspects of life and is just one reason the country is such a beautiful place to visit. And the influence of Savile Row on the generally polished English is as strong as it was during the 19th century.
In contrast, one can easily spot Americans in any airport or tourist trap. Just look for the walking piles of laundry: lumpy khakis, rumpled sport coats and oversize sweatshirts.
The underlying reason for the disparity? Cultural perspective. While many societies embrace personal style as a means to enrich people's lives, American men tend to view it as trivial or effete. And the fashion industry does little to challenge that opinion. Dressing stylishly is not Sudoku, despite the apparent complexities of Karl Lagerfeld's getups. It's more like appreciating fine wine: It can be somewhat intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, a whole world of pleasure opens up--a world previous generations of men navigated with aplomb. Style is an integral part of living well, a worthwhile luxury on a par with French cooking, fine furnishings, convertibles and beautiful women. Of course, some guys don't care for any of those things, either. But that's their loss.
Step 2
Ignore the wholesale decline of sartorial standards. Just because dilbert in the next cubicle looks like crap doesn't mean you have to.
Bill Downes, a 25-year veteran menswear buyer at Wilkes Bashford, the San Francisco specialty store, blames the counter-cultural movement of the 1960s for sounding the original death knell for American elegance. But at least those tie-dyed flower children had a sociopolitical message in their antiestablishment garb. Nowadays laziness underpins most male sloppiness.
Whereas previous generations wouldn't have left the house without a proper hat and tailored jacket, guys today traipse into theaters and fine restaurants in jeans and sport shirts. "That's appalling," says Downes. "Most of the theatergoing public looks as if they should be sitting at home watching television."
While no one expects men to revive the Cary Grant look in toto, dressing appropriately pays dividends personally and professionally.
"Business casual is to men's style today as the black plague was to the Middle Ages," declares designer Joseph Abboud. "It destroyed dressing standards, and I don't think we've recovered from it."
That's why, after a brief dalliance with business casual in the 1990s, many companies--especially those, such as banks and law firms, that rely on the special confidence of clients--reinstated traditional corporate dress codes. It's time for everyone else to follow suit.
Step 3
Learn to embrace the fundamental conventions of style.
Even the best-dressed man seizes the chance to keep learning. Reading this magazine regularly, of course, will help. The photos at left, for example, illustrate some key rules for choosing a well-appointed look.
But you don't have to take it just from us. If you admire someone's style, don't be afraid to ask him for advice or a short list of his favorite designers. He'll be flattered, says Michael Macko, men's fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue. "Just don't start wearing all the same outfits he does, or you'll remind him of Single White Female," Macko warns.
The nuances of style don't come overnight. Rather, acquiring them is a lifelong pursuit, which is part of the challenge. You'll be refining your tastes and preferences over decades, constantly building on what you've learned. "It's sort of like cooking," explains Wilkes Bashford's Downes.
And as with cooking, once you know the accepted conventions, you can start breaking with them. After all, most people wouldn't make ice cream with mustard, but that hasn't stopped the adventurous chefs at New York's WD-50 restaurant from doing just that. And most people wouldn't wear Converse sneakers with a suit, but that combination can look unconventionally dishabille on the right guy. You may not be him, but only you know for sure.
Remember that fashion can be fun--a sport, almost. Once you know certain ironclad rules of fit, pattern and proportion, feel free to play around with everything else.
Step 4
Visit a better men's specialty store and talk to a good salesman.
A trip to a great men's store is an eye-opening experience. While big department stores and chain retailers provide a wide selection and are convenient places to shop, independent men's stores tend to stock unique products and hire a knowledgeable sales staff. Here you're more likely to get individual attention from someone who truly knows the merchandise and can devote some real time to helping you.
"The people who work in these stores like fashion, and they enjoy turning people on to it," says Downes. "Talk to them. It's like going to antiques dealers. They are there to help you, and they want to spread the gospel."
Building a relationship with a good salesman is like finding a trusted financial broker; the best ones will help you make the right choices, and their services pay long-term dividends. For example, a good sales associate will contact you about new items you may like, put stuff aside for you and let you know when things will be marked down, says Saks's Macko.
Step 5
Focus on quality, not quantity. Well-made garments are well worth the extra money.
Last year about 4.7 billion pieces of men's clothing were sold in the U.S. Inexpensive Asian production and high-tech supply chains have made it easy to churn out massive quantities of garments. Retailers boost turnover by emphasizing quantity over quality, and America's consumer culture has happily embraced this model of disposability.
"In Europe customers buy less but choose better quality, and they look better for it," says Downes. "Americans have big sliding-door closets packed full of absolutely nothing."
You can wear only one outfit at a time, so buy the highest quality possible. It's better to spend money on one great item you can wear again and again than on multiple pieces that will go out of style or fall apart quickly.
A Burberry trench coat, a Jil Sander cashmere sweater, a stainless-steel Rolex and darkrinse Levi's Premium jeans are luxury items that look great and will last for years.
"Spend as much as you can on shoes and suits," says Saks's Macko. "Other things, like ties, belts and jeans, you can cheat on with inexpensive options."
10 Great American Men's Stores
745 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 212-753-7300 bergdorfgoodman.com
375 Sutter Street San Francisco, California 415-986-4380 wilkesbashford.com
670 Post Road East Westport, Connecticut 203-227-5165 www.mitchellsonline.com
1513 Sixth Avenue Seattle, Washington 206-223-1461 marios.com
900 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 312-440-0720 markshale.com
An understanding of fabric, proportion and color goes a long way toward creating a polished, versatile wardrobe--and makes for a more confident, productive shopper. You'll find the best sources of advice are specialty stores (pictured left and right), reference books on the tenets of men's style (below) and websites offering free tips (bottom).
Volumes of Vogue
Here are some of the best books on men's style:
Dressing the man
by Alan Flusser
After the publication of this guide to fashions that never go out of style, Ralph Lauren bought 796 copies of the book for his employees.
Chic Simple: Men's Wardrobe
by Kim Johnson Gross and Jeff Stone
A gracefully designed volume that concisely explains the ins and outs of stylish threads, with plenty of illustrative photos.
Gentleman's guide to grooming and style
by Bernhard Roetzel
Erudite and packed with trivia, this encyclopedia of elegance can be difficult to locate in stores but is available on Amazon.com.
The Men's clothing guide
by Steve Brinkman
This book boasts a comprehensive city-by-city directory of men's specialty stores.
Style Sites
The web is a veritable vault of useful fashion advice. Some of the best online addresses include:
Joseph Abboud.com
Simply Googling a fashion-related question and taking tips from a random website is as dangerous as dressing in the dark. Abboud's designers field actual style questions and post the answers through this website.
AskAndy About Clothes.com
Founded by Andy Gilchrist, a retired business executive and former Polo Ralph Lauren salesman, this site claims to be the most popular destination on the web for men's clothing advice. It's chock-full of recommendations, resources, store info and sartorial history.
The Sartorialist.Blogspot.com
This amusing site written by a fashion-obsessed New Yorker is full of entertaining menswear arcana. While the Sartorialist is very serious about style, he is also playful in his posts.
500 Crescent Court Dallas, Texas 214-871-3645 stanleykorshak.com
270 St. Paul Street Denver, Colorado 303-377-8488 andrisenmorton.com
18 East Orange Street Chagrin Falls, Ohio 440-247-2828 cuffsclothing.com
1818 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 215-564-9000 boydsphila.com
1065 Newport Center Drive Newport Beach, California 949-759-1622 garysonline.com
Step 6
Ignore dippy fashion ads and absurd magazine spreads. They'll annoy you, and they have little to do with creating a true sense of personal style.
"Fashion advertising has set men's style back 15 years," says Abboud. "If you go through the first 10 pages of some magazines, you'll never want to wear clothes again. Those pictures have nothing to do with real life. The average guy takes one look at that and runs the other way."
Why the big disconnect between a lot of magazines and reality? On a basic level, the objectives of the fashion press are not directly aligned with those of the typical apparel shopper. Fashion magazines are primarily interested in provocative images, not in clothes per se--which is why in some fashion articles and ads you can be hard-pressed to find any clothing at all.
"The fashion press tends to glom on to weird trends and avant-garde ideas because they make for a better story. But it ends up talking to a tiny world," says Wilkes Bashford's Downes. "When you see a male model wearing hot pants and antlers, it's not hard to see why men aren't interested in fashion."
Ironically, most male fashion editors dress fairly conservatively themselves, in tailored jackets and high-end sportswear.
Don't try to copy looks straight from runway shows. Even professionals know those presentations are predicated on sheer entertainment value rather than any sense of what guys should wear in reality.
Step 7
Don't follow fashion trends too closely. Focus instead on developing a permanent sense of your own style, based on what works for you.
The fashion industry is founded on the somewhat obnoxious concept of planned obsolescence. By forcing consumers to chase trends, style houses ensure that people buy things they don't need. This approach stems from the women's ready-to-wear industry, in which trends come and go like the tides. But for menswear, it's largely counterproductive.
"Gentlemen's fashion is based on permanence and tradition," says Downes. "Chasing trends can be fun, but it should be done in moderation."
Case in point: those omnipresent multihued striped shirts so popular for the past few years and always worn with the tail hanging out.
"When every guy at a bar or party is wearing the same thing, it's a uniform," says Abboud of that thankfully flagging trend.
Rather than latching onto passing fads--leaving you with a closet full of ugly bias-striped shirts--invest in quality and timeless designs: Think spread-collar shirts from Thomas Pink (yes, you can pair them with jeans for a night out), Fred Perry polo shirts and Paul Smith suits. You'll always look sharp in them.
Trends are also a game for the young and fit. "When the bloom is off the rose and you have a bit of a belly, it's a good time to dress your age and invest in quality," says Downes.
Step 8
Size Does Matter.
It sounds easy, but many guys mess this up. Wearing your correct size will dramatically enhance your appearance and won't cost a nickel extra.
Make sure the shoulder seams of your new shirts and jackets fall at the end of your shoulders, not down at your triceps. Collars on woven shirts should close neatly around your neck. Polo shirts should end just below your waistline, not at your crotch.
Attention to the finer points of tailoring can help accentuate the body's natural proportions. A low waistline on pants will appear to elongate the torso, whereas a high waistline will shorten it. A spread collar will make your neck look more substantial, while a pointy collar will make it look longer. A jacket that drapes low appears to shorten your legs, while an abbreviated cut will lengthen them.
Step 9
You may not be able to afford the jeans-and-t-shirt look.
In today's hypercasual culture, idols like Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell show up on David Letterman's show in jeans, sporting three-day growth. Yikes.
But there are bright spots on the style landscape. Hip-hop stars like Kanye West, Jay-Z, Diddy and Pharrell Williams have embraced classic traditions of men's haberdashery and added a touch of modern-day flair. For them, Brioni and Burberry are integral parts of the Bentleys-and-babes high life.
While that kind of aggressive style isn't to everyone's taste, it is illuminating to see how fine tailoring and traditional notions of elegance can be molded into compelling new guises. Take inspiration from these ideas and incorporate such influences into your own personal style.
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