By Jonathan Howcroft
Style
Dressing like a man is simple. It requires style. Style, not fashion. Style, not conformity. Style, not product.
Style begins with wearing what suits. All men suit tailoring. Slim builds suit narrow profiles, not billowing expanses of material. Larger builds benefit from slimming vertical lines, not bust and belly accentuating hoops. No men suit meggings.
These, like all style guides, are only that – a guide – because once an appreciation of fit is attained, individuality takes over. While most examples of good style will share DNA, the execution relies on the individual to bend the rules to their preference. For example, Nick Cave has a conservative style, with an understanding of classic tailoring. This understated appreciation of fit however is accompanied by such a brooding gait and provocative facial hair that the outcome is distinctive, individual and incontrovertibly stylish.
Crucially, and perhaps most importantly, style is about confidence. We look good when we think we look good. We carry ourselves differently. We strut, we project, we expect. In this regard, the rules about what items are or are not stylish become blurred. A level of ownership takes over and an individual can carry off whatever look they are attempting. Look at Andre 3000, an African-American with the balls to get away mimicking a post-war Hampton dandy – in style.
Style in Australia
Style is often most apparent when it is absent. It is frequently absent, but not altogether extinct, in Australia. But while Australian men’s much-maligned lack of style (the ubiquitous checked-shirts, blonde-tips and thongs with everything) is now reserved for bogan enclaves, mature sartorial expression has yet to blossom nationwide. Style to many Australian men remains an inconvenience to be sidestepped, most preferring instead to conform to styleless fashions, aware that success is shaped by proximity to the (however ugly) norm.
Shopping for Style
Achieving style requires a few basic shopping skills. The first is that you try before you buy. How something fits has a major influence on whether the end product is stylish. An appreciation of this can only be achieved if the item is worn prior to its purchase. To help matters further, take people with you when you shop. This might be a radical idea for many men, desperate to approach shopping for clothes like a trip to the mother-in-law’s, but a fresh pair of eyes is often more reliable than the image reflected back at you in the flattering light of retail outlets.
As part of this shift in mindset, an openness to new shopping experiences should be adopted. A move away from the same shops that have provided the majority of staid wardrobes for generations is one solution to achieving more stylish outcomes. Also, when in these unfamiliar places, remember that you’re in control. You have the cash that they want – ask questions, shop assistants are paid to help you.
The Guide
There are as many different examples of style as there are stylish people. This guide therefore is not intended as a manual or a bible. It will provide some basics to help the uninitiated think more about how they look, what they should have in their wardrobes and how to develop good buying habits. It will provide help for both common and challenging requirements from the beach to special-event formalwear. Mostly it will try to start a conversation that will hopefully continue in pubs, living rooms, workplaces, shop floors and changing-rooms. A conversation that asks repeatedly whether an item, an outfit, or an entire look works. A conversation that ends in style.
