Looking To Past Style Icons Can Influence A Man's Personal Style
Everyday we are presented with the slightly terrifying prospect of presenting ourselves to the world through the prism of our clothes. Our clothes tell people who we are, what we think about our bodies and trends happening in the world.
Women are encouraged to play with trends no matter the results - clothing is unfairly portrayed as the exclusive playground of women. Mini-skirts, leggings, and ever changing styles and colors are the headaches of women. For men to be overtly on trend or extremely fashion forward, that mantle mostly resides in the realm of celebrity.
As teenagers, boys have their choice of costume to use to declare what they are into. From aligning with bands like Death Cab for Cutie with jean skinny styles or blasting Jay-Z with oversized jeans strapped underneath their buts with belts. Extreme? Sure, but also part of the teenage experience. Outside of being a performer, it becomes more difficult for adult men to carve out their identities in an understated way.
Once the overly flamboyant fashions of the Victorian era passed, men's clothing styles have followed similar and fundamental rules that look fresh and stylish decade after decade. Three piece suits, vests, dress shirts, polo shirts, slacks, cashmere and even leather jackets are all timeless pieces that any man can adopt. The most important facet of these pieces is their fit- it cannot be overstressed that the defining characteristic of a great outfit is the tailoring involved fitting an individual's body.
The simple style of Steve McQueen with his jeans, lumberjack shirts and leather brown boots added to his coolness which translates as easy in the 21st century as it did in the 1970's. A stylish man owns who he is, much like the dark suit and skinny black ties of champion Muhammad Ali or white button down oxford shirts of actor Paul Newman. Silhouettes that are more than 40 years old still looks as sharp today- dismissing something that works is counter-intuitive to creating your fashion identity.
Trying to keep up with the times is anathema to being truly stylish- attitude coupled with clothing that is so neat as to be almost invisible is what separates men from boys and is incredibly seductive to women.
The fashion upside for men is an insistence on simplicity. Accessories are sparse at best from a knotted scarf, to a streamlined men's sport watch, to a wedding ring. Finding the silhouette that works for your body shape without straining to make your shape work for the clothing is a fashion rule that crossed both genders. Clothes do make the man if they are picked with simplicity and elegance.
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