Making it Look Easy

Can you spend too much time perfecting your look? Yep. I'm talking about seeming "fussy" -- something you want to avoid.

A large part of appearing stylishly elegant is dressing the part, and a large part of dressing stylishly elegant is making it look easy and unrushed.

In other words, don't make it look as if you've just spent hours fiddling with your shirt cuff to get it extending exactly one half-inch beyond your jacket cuff. That bow tie (if you're the sort that wears them -- more on that at some other time) doesn't need to be perfect. Your clothes should be clean and neatly pressed -- but they shouldn't look as if they were purloined from the window at Saks just before you came to work today. Wear the clothes, not the other way around. Even in formalwear, you don't need to look formal. You dig?

Here's a nifty rule of thumb. If any of these phrases come to mind while looking in the mirror, rethink your look: wooden, stilted, firing squad, full dress parade, vertebrae fusion.

An excerpt from an old New York Magazine interview with Tom Ford:

"You can put a Frenchman and an American man in the same outfit, stand them next to each other, and you’ll still see a difference; you’ll see it in the way the Frenchman stands, the way his tie is tied. I’ve been in trouble before for saying that Americans are too perfect in their approach to dressing, but Americans are descended from Puritans, and sometimes that comes through in their style. To have too much style is looked down upon in America, whereas for the French it is something to be celebrated."

Striped Up Beyond All Recognition

Just a few thoughts on striped dress shirts. By "striped," I don't mean restrained, respectable stripes. I mean the crazy, multicolored, vertical stripes we've been seeing for too many seasons now.

Bad shirt patterns are easily among the top three causes of Fashion Victimization. Unfortunately, yes, stripes are still in. And no, most of them are hideous-looking on 99% of the population -- it's not just you.

Don't believe that these shirts can make you look horrible? Take this simple test. When considering a striped shirt, ask yourself:

Will this shirt cause someone looking at me to have a seizure?

While wearing this shirt, might people mistake me for a barber, a sideshow barker, or a TV test pattern?

Does this shirt look best when obscured by a tie and jacket?

Is this a Ben Sherman striped shirt?

Answer "yes" to any of the above, and tread carefully.



In case you were wondering, these rules also apply to any sort of pattern. Be vigilant: Unfortunate patterns can sneak up anywhere -- Oh, no, Barneys!

Get Your Barneys On

Spent part of my Sunday shopping at Barneys New York. If you're not from the area (or Chicago or Beverly Hills, where they also have locations,) you might not be familiar with the luxury retailer. But, oh man, you should be. Barneys carries big-name designer lables (Kiton, Prada, Zegna) as well as a slew of smaller designers, as well as its own house label -- and has impeccable taste. You'd be hard-pressed to dress yourself poorly by wearing anything you buy there. Their Web site is top-notch, too -- take a look and get some ideas, even if you can't afford to have Barneys stock your entire wardrobe.

And, if you are in the city, right now is the Barneys Warehouse sale. It runs through Monday, September 6th. Weekdays 10am-9pm, weekends 10am-7pm. 255 West 17th Street, (212) 450-8400.

New suit styles

A followup on my previous post on Alexander McQueen. Take a good look at the suit's close-up. What do you see? Peaked lapels. You'll see that everywhere.

Good news: Broad, peaked lapels help shorter men look taller, and thinner men look wider.

Bad: Get too carried-away with the peaks and you'll look like how they sometimes depict the future in cheezy movies... you know, like, the 80s.

A look from McQueen

Not much time to post today but wanted to pass along a suit from the new fall/winter collection from British designer Alexander McQueen. Even if you can't get the suit, you can affect a look like it.

Key points that you need to notice -- not about the suit, but about looking good. French cuffs extending well beyond the jacket sleeves. Top bottom buttoned. Trousers long -- but not too long.

Here a check, there a check, everywhere a Novacheck OR: What not to keep buying

One of the easiest ways to always look great is to remember that style, in large part, is about avoiding dressing like an idiot. Or, like everyone else -- especially when they're dressing like idiots.

Today, I've decided to tackle an issue that's long been vexing both men and women's fashion -- something that I've hoped would sort itself out, but still shows only a hint of abating.

At issue is the use and abuse of one of the classic fashion patterns: the Burberry house check, the novacheck plaid. Here's the network TV pitch: A tasteful idea is driven to madness by rampant consumerism, misguided adventurism and sheer folly.

But first, a brief history of the Burberry house check. Burberry's [sic -- the name was officially changed to "Burberry" just a few years ago] came into being in Hampshire, England, in the mid-1800s. By the end of the century, the brand had won wide acclaim, particularly among sportsmen of the day, for its innovations in fabric (specifically gabardine, the waterproof sensation developed and patented by Thomas "Old Tom" Burberry) and outerwear (specifically, the equally sensational gabardine trench coat.)


Burberry's reputation soared through the early 1900s, receiving commissions to design military officers' uniforms and to outfit famous adventurers. There's a Burberry gabardine tent left at the south pole, it's said, and King Edward was such a fan of the brand that he's said to have called for his coat by saying "Give me my Burberry." I can't think of a major menswear brand today that can evoke a similar sense of refined sportiness and masculinity and (simultaneously) the upscale.

The 1920s saw the introduction of the Burberry's camel, black, white and red novacheck -- as a lining for the company's gabardine trench coats. This bears repeating: a lining for the company's flagship outwear garment. That is to say, the Burberry's house check was unseen almost all the time, except for fleeting moments such as when a man wore or removed his coat.

By the late 60s, Burberry's of London began expanding use of the house check slightly, to also include accessories such as umbrellas, luggage, and scarves.

Fast-forward some decades. Times change, tastes change, and companies change. By the 90s, the onetime luxury brand Burberry's of London found itself in a rut, perceived generally as a raincoat maker. Ugh.

Burberry's subsequent turnaround story is one for the record books, and students of the fashion industry's business side will probably be pouring over accounts of the brand's phenomenal revitalization well into the next century. But while the company's -- now Burberry Group -- financial performance has seen quarters of heady growth, something got lost along the way. Self-respect, perhaps?

The theatrically named Rose Marie Bravo and designer Christopher Bailey (ex-Gucci) are credited with restoring Burberry's fortunes in the late 90s -- principally by expanding use of the house check to hitherto unprecedented levels.

Bravo and Bailey extended the novacheck to every conceivable item of clothing. Suddenly, you could buy novacheck hats, novacheck shirts, novacheck trousers, novacheck socks, novacheck sandals, novacheck sunglasses, novacheck watchbands, novacheck formalwear, novacheck swimwear, novacheck underwear. (Women, as it happens, had even more choices. Novacheck bikinis, anyone?) And believing the novacheck signified both status and, now, hipness, the average consumer invested in it heavily. Too heavily.

Now, we've seen similar overexposed pattern/logo problems with Gucci, Coach, Fendi, and especially with Louis Vuitton (which, to its credit, has been kind enough to generally limit to bags its nigh-omnipresent brown "LV" signature pattern). But Burberry went over the top. The novacheck pattern was never meant to be this visible.

Seemingly overnight, the novacheck -- which began as a lining, remember? -- had gone from sophisticated to banal. No one seemed to recognize that the pattern, in excess, looked positively garish, visually assaulting. The more we saw it become overexposed, the check lost its cachet as a reliable, respectable, classy and adventurous British brand. Aiming for hip, Bravo pushed the novacheck into triteness.

Today, after excess in the early 2000s and the introductions of variations on the pattern (in pastels and greys, and in a stripe) the classic Burberry pattern itself no longer feels stylish. It's no longer classily subtle. It's not even stylishly flamboyant. It merely comes across as hackneyed.

Hackneyed? Oh, yes. Bravo hadn't stopped the adulteration of the Burberry's brand by applying the novacheck to every type of dress and casual attire imaginable... Anyone recall seeing skateboards sporting the novacheck? The novacheck diaper bag? The novacheck sun visor? The horror, the horror. This crap was OUT the moment it hit the stores!




Your takeaways from this diatribe: Don't buy anything novacheck'd -- yes, not even fakes, dimwit -- save for (maybe) a scarf or (maybe, maybe) an umbrella. Meanwhile, hope and pray that the novacheck reverts from an overblown, overused eyesore to an earlier, classier level of restrained visibility.

Until then, we can mourn the passing of a once-high-flying classic design. Seems fitting, considering that today marks the 78th anniversary of Thomas Burberry's death. Well, not really. He died April 4, 1926. But it makes for a better story, huh? I actually just wrote because of all the tourists outside my building, cooing at the Burberry knockoffs being hawked by the fake handbag seller there. Maybe I'll just republish this piece next April. Better let, let's just hope that I don't have to.

Stand out

One quick way to improve your style: Don't be shoppin' where everyone else is. That means, think long and hard about stores like Banana Republic, and labels like Diesel, Seven Jeans, and so on. Yes, I know I've highlighted a few Diesel deals here and there. I'm not anti-Diesel. Rather, the secret is to avoid advertising that you're wearing brands that everyone owns, like Diesel. From those labels, look for quality pieces overlooked by the masses. You might be surprised.

But some stores and labels might be beyond hope. Banana Republic might be refashioning its image, but it'll still where most of your coworkers will be shopping -- and that should be reason enough to stay away.

Michael Mann Style

The The New York Times Magazine has a profile of director Michael Mann ("Heat," "The Insider," "Miami Vice") that specifically focuses on his relationship with men's style and fashion.

"Mann has been known to change a character's clothing three times to get the proper effect. He can spot the wrong tie in a sea of extras and will park a boring white car next to a snazzier baby blue model to enhance the mood. 'Adding white always makes color burn a little,'' he has said. 'I got that idea from a 20th-century British painter.'

I saw Mann's latest, "Collateral," last night. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the credits to learn (if I could) who made Tom Cruise's fantastic grey suit. Single-breasted, single-button, side vents, slit (no-flap) pockets, flat-front trousers, and a great overall cut.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the suit. EurWeb notes: "The wardrobe of Cruise’s character was an important aspect of the characters' personality. 'While Vincent is in the same suit throughout the movie, it is a very expensive custom tailored suit with a certain foreign element to it,' said Mann."

Pre-Fall @ Bluefly

Like everyone else seems to be doing, Bluefly is allowing its users to get in early on a pre-fall sale. Members can get a jump on the deals before the unwashed masses do -- but today only! You've gotta register at the site to become a member.

The sale features some fairly mediocre shirts by Hugo Boss, and some better choices from Zegna, Polo, and Costume National. Skip directly to the suit section, though, and pick up some terrific deals from Gucci, Zegna and Cerruti. Donna Karen suits also are running about $150.

Guyshop deals

Guyshop is letting its registered members get a head start on its end-of-summer sale (which actually includes new items for fall, ironically.) A tasty 20% off on all items. The sale opens to the public on August 9th, so you've got a precious few days to splurge before the unwashed masses move in.

A caveat, though. Guyshop leans heavily toward Ben Sherman and similarly inspired designers -- and loyal readers of this site will recall that I'm no fan of the campy Britishization of casual men's fashion. Avoid, avoid. That being said, there are still plenty of great deals on T-shirts, accessories, and more on the site. Membership registration is free.