Advent - Day Eight

Video time again. This time it's Fred and Ginger in the snow singing 'a Fine Romance'. Boys, take note of Fred's winter dressing; he looks wonderful in his bowler hat and black, fur trimmed coat (though please go faux if you want to copy this bit!) complement by pale gloves and scarf. Enjoy!

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Transformation through the finer details

The real beauty of menswear is in the details. We have said this many times but neither of us will ever tire of saying it. As we catch our breath from the marathon of fashion weeks, look books and press days, it is time to celebrate the finer details of menswear. It the small details which are so often overlooked and neglected which can transform any mediocre outfit in to something special. A number of recent spots online have combined to give me the required nudge to return to our favourite stlye mantra. First up, Fine and Dandy. One year on since launching Fine and Dandy (see our previous birthday post) is a shop which provides an abundance of finishing details to ensure that you are fine and dandy. Dressing each morning should be fun and accessories like these provide the required pomp and colour. From the grey Herringbone Newsboy cap to a small gold key tie bar (my particular favourite) to an array of handkerchiefs and pocket squares. Since we wished them a very happy birthday, I've been drooling over their selection of accessories whilst declaring my intent to add more layers to my everyday outfit.

Celebrating accessories. Two looks from Fine and Dandy.

The chaps over at Street Etiquette never fail to inspire and I've really enjoyed their Accessories Are A Necessity feature. After the first post on ‘Wrist Ornaments’ they turned their attentions to the humble 'Pocket Square'. JKISSI certainly has an enviable collection. The post is an effective plea for gentlemen readers to tear at the stitching in those unused blazer pockets and experiment with material. Back in July 2007 (man we are getting old) we looked at how they are so much more than hankies but I have to confess that I often over look them. When I talk about pocket squares, it isn't in the strict sense of folded cloth, one can be as imaginative and interesting with filling a breast pocket as possible in my opinion. There are amazing styling perks with a pocket square which most men do not realise; any average or worn out jacket can be instantly livened up with an inexpensive, casually folded pocket handkerchief. Let the below image from Street Etiquette inspire you...

Wearing it well. JKISSI and his enviable collection of pocket squares. Image courtesy of Street Etiquette.

Whenever we discuss the importance of details we always turn the Fred Astaire. Few have worked them better. Astaire was not blessed with the natural aesthetic beauty of some of the his icons of style but Astaire used his style to allow his aesthetics to bloom and even surpass his peers. His style is so casual that any surprises it brings seem ever the more wonderful. He excelled in a relaxed dandyism. His sartorial success is due to the combination of a number of seemingly small touches. Of course, initially these can go unnoticed but once seen, they never fail to excite and wow the viewer. The tie as belt (my personal favourite which I have salvaged for myself), the slanted tie clip and the slim cut sleeves on his suits to name by a few of his little touches. You can watch any one of his films again and again and no doubt you will notice detail after detail. Watching Fred Astaire never fails to inspire me to celebrate the finer details of dressing whilst have fun dressing each morning. I encountered the below Garance Dore shot of Cédric last week and loved his subtle declaration. On the surface he appears to be little more than a casually dressed but cool looking guy, reading a paperback in the sun. You would think that there is very little to talk about. You would be wrong. His wife had embroidered a heart on the inside of the pocket of his shirt. Transforming it from a mundane, dishevelled denim shirt in to a conversation piece. It is all about the finer details.

Cédric as shot by garance dore.

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The beginnings of colour in Manchester

Last weekend the Style Salvage twosome were united in EJ's adopted city of Manchester. As you will remember she recently challenged me to experiment with colour in my daily style so I thought I would rummage through my wardrobe and pack some colour in my suitcase. Here are my weekend outfits....

Saturday was a wet and windy day....as I expected Manchester to be. Here is what I wore to keep me warm and dry, with a hint of colour.

The outfit - J Lindenberg Trench worn with COS studded belt, polka dot silk scarf, polka dot polo shirt, purple sweater, navy wool trousers and purple socks all from Uniqlo, b store suede shoes.

The outfit - As above, without the jacket of course. You can also notice that taking inspiration from Fred Astaire, I wore a vintage leather tie as a belt.

Sunday was something of a surprise as it was a beautifully bright day. Here is my outfit shot in classic Next catalogue pose....

The Outfit - Grey knit with blue trim from Folk, red sweater from b store, apc jeans and blue shoes by swear.

This is only the beginning in my exploration into the wonderful world of colour. I am on the hunt for all kinds of colourful accessories and I will post regular updates.

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Style Shrink for the day

Long before I became a mass consumer of magazines...even before those heady days of poring over The Face...my exposure to men's publications was limited. During my teens I used to read my Sister's boyfriend's GQ whenever I could though. Whilst my peers were consuming and ogling over magazines like FHM and Loaded (which to me were filled with on the most part unfunny jokes, boring/bad style and disturbing images...the only redeeming element were the sheer number of breasts on show) I was always more interested in the editorials and adverts (at times confused by the blurring lines between the two) within GQ... and I was fortunate enough to get my hands on them whenever the boyfriend left them lying around the house (which was pretty much every month). One of my favourite features within the magazine was the Style Shrink. I loved reading men's questions, ranging from enquiries into the right tie knot for a particular occasion to the correct way to wear a pocket square. Of course none of his really mattered to me, as I was just a youth quite happily wearing my favourite red Ralph Lauren Polo shirt, straight leg Levi jeans and Nike Cortez trainers. The worlds which these men were describing and asking about were so alien to me yet they captured my imagination in a way which is difficult to describe. Recently I have become aware (slightly addicted at times) to the online world of style advice with the likes of askandyaboutclothes and styleforum leading the way. I love reading about how men think about clothes and it is clear that at times they think about rules far too obsessively, we always suggest wearing what feels comfortable and what is right for the individual. Ultimately some rules are made to be broken..or at least tampered with.

So, you can imagine how pleased we were after receiving the following email...



If you can't read the above screengrab...here it is...

"Hey guys!

Just wanted to say hi and compliment you on putting together such an inspiring, hilarious, trendy and casual blog. I just found you guys this morning and been reading you the whole afternoon - cant stop laughing. At the same time, I've found soooo many things I've been looking for (on the streets) but was unable to find, talk about the deck shoes from Journal Standard. Keep up the good work because you just won another lousy reader from Milan lol.

BTW yesterday I got a foulard (little longer, brown silk very classy - as show above) and I have no idea 1. how to tie it 2. with what to wear it. Stefano Pilatti much?http://www.zimbio.com/Stefano+Pilati/articles/3/Stefano+Pilati+New+York+Times+Magazine Some ideas would be deeply appreciated!

Best,

Julian

ps - the entry about Modern Gentlemen. LOOOL. i'll start typing comments soon."

This was our first email which made us both blush and beam with pride simultaneously. We started the blog to open up a dialogue focused on menswear but we didn't really expect to receive emails like this where readers were keen to ask us questions and participate in the conversation so willingly (we only expected t continue chatting to each other with no one else even reading!)

The email sits in nicely with our 'Save the tie' campaign. The word foulard comes from the French world for silk handkerchief and to be honest with you I didn't know that much else about them other than Fred Astaire used to buy 50 a time from Brooks Brothers. if you want to learn more about them, I found this information courtesy of wisegeek. When men are wearing ties these days most like me are drawn to the skinny tie but why not opt for some traditional style?

I wish I looked like this after a hard day at the office.

Julian mentions within his email one of the best examples of a modern day foulard wearer: Stefano Pilati. When it comes to fashion, Stefano Pilati (see his feature on men.style) is certainly not afraid to lead by example. He embodies the louche elegance of YSL and of course the foulard is a key accessory for doing so. Pilati identifies with the forgotten glamour of tuxedos and scarves, a era where the foulard can complete an outfit...so why not revisit it today? It is all about style with a natural and relaxed elegance and looking back further than Pilati we of course have the wonderful Fred Astaire - "Astaire had the talent to construct a new model for men based on the democratic ideal of the classless aristocrat. He was a hero whose weapon was style, and that style was a distinctive casualness" (Quote from thesartorialist)

Here is Julian modelling the foulard extremely well - does he even need our advice?

Of course there is a danger of looking over dressed with any neck wear. I recently came across this informative article on asuitablewardrobe which offers some great advice. We suggest wearing the foulard with relaxed finishes - the folded cuff, the unbuttoned collar, Of course there is always the Fred Astaire way... teaming it up with a casual tweed jacket and wearing the foulard as a belt - again, effortless style. We suggest a great deal of experimentation. The above image demonstrates that Julian knows how to wear the foulard well already - he's just showing of to us all. I have tried searching for 'how to tie' instructions but to no avail. If Julian lived in the UK, he probably wouldn't be wearing shorts, instead I would suggest relaxed suit trousers. Jeans should be avoided but that's only my opinion. I recently found Lucas Ossendrijver's 10 rules of style and true style is all about making the clothes your own and ultimately dressing should be fun! Our main suggestion to Julian is build your confidence with the foulard by wearing it with a white shirt, as you become more comfortable you can be more adventurous...and of course you can always wear it as a belt!

Can you help Julian out better than we can? Are you an expert when it comes to everything foulard? Let us and Julian know your suggestions.

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Just out of curiosity...

Is any who reads this planning on going to Fred Astaire: the Conference? I won't be but, as Steve will be visiting that weekend, we may have to have our own meeting to discuss Mr Astaire. We already have quite exciting plans for around then, so watch this space!

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