Esquire magazine’s editors crowned their choice for the “best dressed real man in America” today on The Today Show. Great idea. I like that “real people” were being celebrated for their style. Almost all of the finalists acknowledged their fathers as influential in the sartorial education. Interestingly, one of the finalists, Mr. Kanarek is starting up a men’s luxury vintage shop in L.A. He says that his job there will be to reteach “The rules. Because there are rules and a lot of people aren’t paying attention to them.” Amen.
Which brings up a couple of questions: What are the hard and fast rules? The ones that you refuse to do away with? And, who was the greatest influence on you when you were developing your own style?
I’m with Gino Versace when he said that rules are etiquette. and ignoring them is style.
I figured out what I looked good in and now I stick with it, but add a dose of common sense. For instance, in DC I’ll wear linen until day temps get consistently below 80, but the seersucker is going into the cedar closet until next year.
“Rules” are safe, especially for someone who doesn’t know what looks good on them. Unfortunately it’s my experience that most men, if they ask themselves the question at all don’t know even if they think they do, (look no further than short guys wearing cuffed trousers for proof).
That said, rules are where I started, and you have to start some place.
I’ll agree that sometimes ignoring the rules is a good thing. But I’m of the opinion that you’ve got to know what’s in the box, before you can “think outside of it.”
I’ll volunteer one of my own hard and fast rules. I always wear a pocket square of some sort with a sports jacket or suitcoat. I think it adds a touch of personality and style. Sometimes it’s linen, sometimes it’s silk. But it’s always there.