(Before: blue blazer, red cotton trousers, blue mini-houndstooth check button-down shirt and knit tie.)

I’ve just finished reading “The Little Black Book of style” by Nina Garcia. She is the fashion director at Elle Magazine and involved with “Project Runway”, a cable TV show that I’ve heard is addicting.

The book is full of some very good suggestions. I particularly like the idea of investing in quality basics and adding pops of colour with accessories. Buying timeless classics that nonetheless add dramatic impact — a leopard print coat, or crocodile handbag, for example — is good investment advice.

Almost none of it is applicable to menswear, of course. Our trends are trends of millimeters. Narrower trousers, fewer pleats, no pleats was the progression. Narrower lapels. Not skinny, just narrower. And so narrower ties soon followed. Now the classic tie width of the 50’s through the 70’s is back in fashion to reflect the narrower lapel.

But it is very easy to get caught up in fashion and not even realize it’s happening to you. Take my picture above. It is a look based on a street scene in Milan during the menswear shows. I saw the shot on The Sartorialist and thought “Hey! I’ve got some red trousers and they would really pop with a blazer,” etc. .

But, as Mr. Robert Stuart once reminded me in this very blog “Would Cary Grant have been more elegant if… .”

Now, I am all for living in the present. Anything else is simply a frustrating waste of time. We are here and now and must accept certain things with good grace. Men don’t dress as they used to. Well, most men, anyway. But what we don’t have to do is compromise our principles, ever. And if one of those principles is to dress well while cultivating an everyday elegance, well ask yourself…. WWCGD?

What would Cary Grant do?

“I’m sticking with the classics, and if somebody doesn’t like it, I can deal. If you look at Cary Grant’s suits from the thirties, forties and fifties, they still look good today. That’s style, not fashion.” Glenn O’Brien, The Style Guy, quoted in “Cary Grant Style” by Richard Torregrossa.

Cary Grant, once he became Cary Grant, knew what looked good on him and wore it even on days when he wasn’t in the public eye. Cary Grant made sure that he was always “Cary Grant.” He made the effort to always look the part. Of course, he loved clothing. He had suits in storage that he had no room for in his (mechanized!) closets and dozens of pairs of nearly identical, highly polished bespoke shoes. But they all had one thing in common: sober colours. Dark suits to match his dark hair in the early days. Mid-grey as he greyed. Dark shoes.

Even unposed snapshots of him (shopping, or on an indoor picnic) show him to be well-turned out whether in a suit and tie or a sportcoat and slacks (and neckerchief, of course. He felt that, as an acrobatic sort, his neck was too thick.)

Cary Grant’s secret was this: elegance through constant editing. It’s a lesson we should all take to heart.

(After: a casual cotton suit.)

Conventional wisdom says dark trousers and a light shirt. Hollywood says wear all black.

Turn both on their heads. For a summer evening, try white trousers (hey! it’s summer, you can’t wear these after Labour Day) and a dark shirt.

White, lightweight wool pleated trousers (lined to the knee in muslin — or they’d be see-through), tan calf belt, dark blue shirt with white windowpane overlay by Brooks Brothers (ca. 2000?) Spectator or light brown loafers (although I usually wear black shoes in the evening) continue the evening’s palette. I have seen this work very well with navy Belgian slippers. Finding a blue leather belt can be difficult, however.

Have a swellegant weekend. If you are in the metro D.C. area, don’t forget about the Doc Scantlin Dancin’ under the stars concert at Reston Town Center. Wear your white dinner jacket.

(”You see ‘em wearin’ their baggies/Huarache sandals, too…”)
One of the more difficult things about summer is trying to look well-dressed whilst enduring sweltering temperatures. In a professional setting one resorts to seersucker, cotton, linen, wool fresco. Cars are air-conditioned as are offices. Most men remove their jackets in both. This month’s Town and Country profiles Robert Rufino, now editor-at-large for House Beautiful who gets it right. (For more on Mr. Rufino while he was VP of Creative Services for Tiffany, see this post at The Peak of Chic)

But what happens when we’re “off duty?” The temptation to “let it all hang out” is terrible. T-shirts, flip-flops and Crocs appear. On grown men. And not just at the beach or in the yard.

Mr. Rufino’s answer, quoted in T&C’s profile, is: “When I bicycle to the beach, you’ll find me in a Brooks Brothers cotton shirt or a linen one with a pair of white, khaki or madras shorts.”

Amen, brother Rufino.

Herewith a list of items from bottom to top that would go a long way to making your summer off hours more elegant:

If you really need that much air to get to your feet, Huaraches will do the trick. I prefer:

Espadrilles. (In stripes or red, please. These are from Ropeysoles.com)

White bucks.

Brown and white spectator loafers. (This is the Ferrragamo Prisco via Sak’s I wear the considerably less expensive Martin Dingman Jonathan Loafer.)

Suede driving shoes. (Mine are Tod’s bought at a better exchange rate and still going strong! They sort of look like this pair from Needless Markup, only in suede. Below, the Cole Hahn Air Barton from that same company.)

Sperry Canvas sneakers.

White canvas or linen shorts. (USD$12 from Old Navy!)

Red or orange shorts. If you’re going for colour, now is the time to do so. (Ralph Lauren, who else?)

Ghurka shorts (These are linen by JL Powell. A great, handmade and expensive, brand.)

A well-cut, non-elastic waistband, swimsuit (7″ - 9″ inseam) Try Birdwell Beach Britches custom option. I like the short versions or the “National Lifeguard Suit, Style 307.”
Vilebrequin is pretty snazzy, too. If you’re an elastic waistband guy.

Linen trousers. Specifically cream. (Polo Linen Herringbone Trouser.)

Seersucker trousers.

Drawstring trousers. Yes. In linen. At the beach. (From Bluefly, the Acrobat Linen Drawstring Trouser)

White or natural linen/cotton or cotton jeans. (From J. Crew)

The ribbon belt. (Grosgrain belt by J Crew)

The crisp white cotton or linen shirt. (Brooks Brothers Pinpoint Oxford)

The pastel linen shirt. (Target!)

The tunic (if you’ve got the build for it and the brio)

(Photo by Daniel Billett for About)

The nautical striped t-shirt long or short sleeve. (By St. James)

The linen or summer cashmere sweater. (I usually like a crew neck, but this one from Corneliani via Sierra Trading Post is good-looking.)

And finally the accessories:

A straw hat. There are a thousand different kinds. But you probably don’t want to wear one that looks like a model that a professional golfer would wear (unless it was Sam Snead.) Try for a packable elegant, or rustic, or functional, and above all, distinctive model.

Good Sunglasses:

(Ray Ban Aviators through Amazon.com)

Persol. Good enough for Steve McQueen and at least two Bond, James Bonds, and Mrs. E….
(The PO2720S through Amazon)

(Persol 0649 through Amazon)

The rest is up to you.