Issue #44 - The Fine line

Issue #44 - The Fine Line

Hello gents! Well fall is officially here, which means that any store that carries good men's clothing will be carrying a lot of the items (or similar items) to what you've (hopefully) been seeing in men's style magazines. GQ just released 2 great style issues, and SHARP just released the massive fall issue of their style guide. They're both available at corner stores, so you have no excuses.

That being said, this issue is being written specifically about the looks you see in stores and magazines. I call this issue the fine line because there is indeed a very fine line between dressing well, and dressing like a mindless clone. Gents, if there is one thing that i hope this blog has taught you, it's that style is not just about what you wear. It's about your own personal style working with your clothes. If your outfit doesn't speak a story about you, then you've wasted your time and money, and that's just not good, now is it?

For example. Today i saw a young guy, wearing an outfit completely constructed out of what were obviously all brand new clothes. These clothes looked to have also all been bought together, with this particular outfit in mind. This is definitely something i applaud, and i think many, MANY more men should shop with outfits in mind. All things considered, it was a decent outfit, and probably would look extremely well put together on a store mannequin, as it was most likely taken from one. Yet something about him looked off. His look may be deemed "stylish" but it lacked any essence of personality. There were no objects or accessories that spoke about him. The clothes were too  new to have any wear patterns on them. He fell into the trap of trying too hard to look good, and ended up being invisible; a trap that far too many men fall into.

Never fear gents, this can be avoided. The first and easiest way to keep from crossing this very dangerous line is simply knowing yourself. What are your colours? We all have different skin tones and we all have colours that just click for us. Some of  you can work anything, others cannot. This young man didn't do the most basic of basic research on himself.  He has black hair, and dark features, and admittedly "fake and bakes", giving his skin a decently dark, albeit fake, hue. Now the rules of thumb would say to put him in lighter colours, however on this particular gentleman, darker colours work much better. He unfortunately opted for a pink/orange/green large checkered button down over a crisp white v neck tee. Either of these items on their own would have been fine, but he just simply didn't do any studying. He completed the outfit with a pair of navy blue pants, and gray espadrilles, with no socks. Again, totally stylish items, but when paired with the rest of the outfit, and no personality, they fall flat and don't have the impact they should.

So. How do we avoid this? First, know your colours. If you know you look good in blues, then work with those. Expand and push your boundary, but don't take it too far. This dude should not have been wearing bright checkers, and to a certain extent, although a white v neck is my number one go-to classic item, on him, it fell flat. He would have looked much better in a black or charcoal shirt.

The second step is almost as easy as the first: Try not to wear too many new items at once. Why? because even though they might look awesome, they haven't been worn in, and don't have that patina that other clothes have. Believe it or not, the simple washing of an item a few times can give it a whole new vibe. Now this doesn't apply ALL the time. If you're going to bust out a brand spanking new outfit, anchor it with a couple items of your own to bring out your personality. For example, the other night I wore a brand new blazer over a brand new vest...but anchored it with worn in jeans and some beat up boots. The result? A clean, new stylish outlook with lived-in appeal. A good friend of mine wore an almost entirely brand new outfit, and completed it with a brand new accessory, and totally rocked it. All she added of old items were a black tank top and aviators. But she worked it. So there are exceptions to every rule guys.

Bottom line, do your homework. It sucks to admit to yourself that you just can't pull off a look, but unfortunately it's a part of life. There have been many times where i've had to reluctantly hang an item back up on the rack because, as much as i loved it, i just couldn't pull it off. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO YOUR OWN PERSONALITY. Bring yourself out in your look guys. It makes the entire difference between looking top notch, and looking like a copycat. Trust me.

I have a few more issues ready to go guys, so i will see you soon!
SG