Jonathan Sigmon helms one of the most famous American tailoring shops at a pivotal moment. He’s the new owner of Alan Flusser Custom shop in New York City, taking over the business after serving as Flusser’s right-hand man for nearly seven years. Flusser, as many readers know, is famous for having dressed some of Hollywood’s most iconic characters — Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in Wall Street, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in American Psycho, and Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino) in Scent of a Woman. His book Dressing the Man is widely considered to be the Bible of tailored clothing. But with work-from-home arrangements and decades of dress casualization in offices, it’s unclear whether the suit has any relevancy in America’s future. In the summer of 2020, about five months after the first US lockdown was announced, The New York Times prophesized that we’ll be living in sweatpants forever. 

For tailoring to survive, I think there needs to be another pop-cultural moment — a film or TV show like Mad Men to inspire people to dress up again. Additionally, tailored clothing needs figures such as Sigmon to help champion the look. Every generation has a unique set of clothiers that introduces them to classic tailoring (e.g. Louis Pearlstein of Louis Boston or Sid Mashburn of the eponymous store). I believe Sigmon is one of those figures. He has years of experience fitting people, recommending fabrics, and helping men and women build wardrobes that make sense for them. On Alan Flusser Custom’s Instagram page, Sigmon shows how you can wear tailored clothing in a way that’s never too “hip” or “gentlemanly.” He pairs sport coats with t-shirts and light-washed jeans, but also knows his way around a more traditional rig. I recently spoke with Sigmon about some of the outfits he’s posted online, asking him to lead me through some of his choices and how he makes tailored clothing feel relevant in today’s very dressed-down world.

Green Blazers

Derek: Many men are intimidated by blazers, as they find the metal buttons to be too flashy and the style burdened by preppy connotations. Green blazers, in particular, bring to mind Masters’ jackets. Yet, this outfit looks so great. How does one pull off a green blazer? 

Jonathan: When I work with someone who needs a dressy blazer but is resistant to the classy navy and brass button configuration, I suggest swapping the brass buttons for gunmetal. Gunmetal buttons are slightly unusual but quite elegant, and they’re a natural pairing with grey trousers, which many men already wear. 

When I commissioned this green wool-mohair blazer, I intended to wear it in semi-casual ways. In the photo above, I’m wearing it with cotton gabardine flat-front trousers and a light blue, oxford cloth button-down. That’s about as dressy as I get with it. A couple of years ago, Kirby Allison and I did a video together, where I wore the same green blazer with light-blue jeans, a yellow crewneck, and a brown alligator belt. I think Kirby’s audience leans traditional (I’m generalizing a large group of people here) and I wanted to challenge them with an idea about how to wear a blazer in more casual contexts. I know something like that will be polarizing and I’m not suggesting this is the most “proper” way to wear a blazer. But in the process of developing a personal sense of style, I believe it helps to think about the different ways clothes can be worn.

On the topic of personal style, particularly as it relates to a company such as ours, which remains rooted in the principles of classic tailoring, I recommend Alan’s post titled “Why I Wear What I Wear.” He has a great line in there: “Whether donning black tie or a black cashmere sweater, knowing how they are supposed to button and what liberties you can take without ‘gilding the lily’ is where substantive personal style begins to emerge.” That’s the spirit I take when exploring how to wear things in more casual ways. 

I don’t think green blazers are difficult to wear or even evoke the look of Masters’ jackets. Green is our second-most used color for blazers, and for good reasons. It pairs well with a wide range of colors, so you can wear it in the same way you’d wear a navy blazer. It also adds a bit of eccentricity to an otherwise very conservative look. The best way to ease into a green blazer is by aiming for versatility: look for a cloth with texture, such as a wool hopsack or a wool-silk-linen blend, and usually in a darker shade of green. 

T-Shirts with Tailoring

Derek: I’ve always liked the look of t-shirts with tailoring on other people, but have never been able to figure out how to wear the combo myself. Are there certain details you look for in t-shirts? Is it about the collar line, fabric, or some other detail? 

Jonathan: As something of a keeper of the Flusser flame for the next generation, I’ll preface my answer by noting that a good outfit is all about having clothes that are cut in the right proportions and are designed to be flattering on the wearer. After that, you need to be thoughtful about how you approach colors and patterns. Everything we do is rooted in these principles.

That said, when it comes to wearing tailored clothing in more casual ways, I’m not that hung up on the minutiae. If I’m wearing a t-shirt with a sport coat, I embrace that this is a more casual look and just have fun with it. Thinking back on these outfits now, I’ve worn a variety of t-shirts, including sturdy white cottons, textured indigos, Breton stripes, or just fun vintage prints. I usually wear these in the summertime with causal jackets, often things made with unusual plaids or textured fabrics, such as seersucker, slubby silk blends, or wool-silk-linen mixtures. I’m never looking to make an elegant statement with a refined t-shirt; I just wear what feels right to me.  

I think it’s more important that folks just grasp what is appropriate for them. L’Etiquette Magazine shows a lot of well-styled tailored clothing with tees, including a French fellow in Issue 07 wearing a sharp Rubinacci suit over a military undershirt tee with a very deep neckline. I’m not cool enough to wear something like that, and I know that about myself. But he looked great. Stuffy people could argue that it is an “inappropriate” pairing, but this is a confident fellow who knows how to wear beautifully tailored clothing in an easy-going way that suits his style. I think that is something worth aspiring to. 

Tonal Tailoring

Derek: Aside from suits, most tailored outfits follow a pretty basic formula — dark jacket, light shirt, dark tie, and medium- to light-colored trousers. Here, you have a tonal outfit combining charcoal, and everything looks harmonious. What is your advice for creating tonal outfits? 

Jonathan: This example is more an exception than the norm in how I dress. But every once in a while, particularly as someone who lives in New York City, I just want to wear all charcoal or black. Even something as simple as the mother-of-pearl buttons on the knit pullover here keeps the outfit slightly interesting, considering that everything else is soft, matte, and in a very similar color.

When you wear tonal outfits, it helps to get variation from something other than color, such as texture, pattern, or sheen. This spring, I plan to wear a pair of tan wool-mohair trousers with a lightweight, cashmere-silk sport that has a light gold base and subtle windowpane check. I like wearing this combination with a white Capri collar shirt or a linen button-down, and then light brown suede Belgian slip-ons or off-white espadrilles. Although the colors here are similar, you get variation through the textures, patterns, and fibers of the materials.

Overcoats with Casual and Formal Outfits

Derek: These are my favorite photos of the bunch. I love how you wear a polo coat with more formal and casual outfits. What should people look for when shopping for a versatile overcoat?

Jonathan: A polo coat is definitely the “house choice” for an overcoat that’s versatile. Nothing else pairs as well with jeans and a sweater as it does with more formal clothing. Otherwise, when aiming for versatility, I like having a bit of contrast between the formality of the coat and the fabric. We just finished making an overcoat for a client who wanted something he can wear with a wide range of things. This coat has a double-breasted closure, peak lapels, and slanted flap pockets. We made it using a light brown Loro Piana Pecora Nera wool with a wide herringbone pattern.

On the flip side, we often make car coats from pure cashmere. We like our car coats to be a touch longer than what you commonly see these days, but it’s still a rather casual overcoat made from luxurious fabric. These two coat models come at things from different ends of the spectrum, but depending on the fabric choice, they can be wearable in a wide variety of settings because of how they combine the coat style with contrasting formality in fabric choice.

Tailoring with Denim

Derek: A lot of guys try wearing sport coats with jeans because they think it helps dress down the jacket, but the combo is often trickier than just wearing the jacket with wool trousers. Do you have advice on how to combine denim with tailoring? 

Jonathan: Like other things we’re discussing here, this is partially about confidence and one’s comfort level in pairing “high and low” pieces together. There are a lot of ways to wear jeans with a tailored jacket well. I prefer heavily worn denim or light washes if I’m wearing a jacket, for similar reasons to the t-shirt topic. Just as I’m not necessarily trying to formalize or dress up a tee, I’m usually not aiming to make an outfit with jeans smarter by wearing a new pair of dark, raw denim. That just doesn’t interest me these days. I understand it’s inherently casual to wear jeans, so if I wear jeans with a tailored jacket, I’d rather use the opportunity to show my style. This is my preference, but someone at a creative agency might wear a dark pair of jeans and a navy blazer with dark horn buttons, which is a very simple and chic look that is completely appropriate for that person’s setting and lifestyle. 

As far as fit, my jeans are usually relatively tapered. On the other hand, you have folks like Ethan Newton and Henrik Wilberg, who offer excellent examples of how to wear relaxed straight-cut jeans. Those types of jeans can look great with a tailored jacket because they mix up the proportions. I’ve tried it a time or two, and it hasn’t felt natural to me, so it’s just not how I do it these days. 

In the photo above, I’m wearing 90s Gap jeans. They’re not actually from the 90s; that’s just the name of the model. I bought them new a couple of years back, and I have our photographer Chris Fenimore to thank for the tip on finding those. I think they were on sale for 25 bucks, and I bought two pairs and wear them all the time. While I love them, they’ve also reminded me of the difference between a pair of jeans from a place such as The Gap and the better quality denim I’ve been wearing over the last decade (usually 3Sixteen). These are quickly falling apart, and I’m on the hunt now for a replacement.

Favorite Spring/ Summer Fabrics

Derek: Since we’re heading into spring, I’m curious to hear your favorite fabrics for the warmer seasons. I feel like fall/winter fabrics are obvious: tweed, flannel, corduroy, etc. For spring/ summer, many guys struggle to think of materials beyond tropical wool and linen. What fabrics do you wear in the spring/ summer? 

Jonathan: This is a tough topic, as the answer will depend on a lot of things. I would recommend different fabrics depending on the garment — business suits to casual suits, sport coats to alternative jackets. I would also have different recommendations from one client to the next based on their needs and how they like to wear their clothes.

The easiest answer is that we almost always suggest wool-silk-linen blends for jackets. The silk and linen mixture will lend a lovely texture and character. If the fabric has over 50% wool in the mixture, it will also be relatively resistant to wrinkles. We often turn to Loro Piana and Caccioppoli for these fabrics, as they have a wide variety of wool-silk-linen blends in various weaves, colors, and patterns. Beyond that, to try to offer something of an answer, here’s what I’m contemplating for our spring/ summer showroom samples right now.

First, I’m thinking of two fabrics for trousers. The first is a relatively lightweight, 8oz wool-mohair blend in a 60/40 mixture. This comes in a light tan color. I love the idea of wearing super crisp, tan wool trousers in the summertime instead of the usual cotton chino, linen, or lightweight gabardine. The second fabric is a heavier 13oz pure linen that comes in mid-gray. Given its weight, it will rumple more than wrinkle. I’m using this as an experiment to see how I like robust linen pants throughout late spring and early fall.

For jackets, I’m looking at an 11oz linen. I’ve been on a slate blue and tan/ gold kick, so you’ll be seeing a lot of these colors from me. This one is from Maison Hellard, a new merchant who launched last year with a lovely Italian-made linen collection. For me, 11oz is the sweet spot for linen, as it will hang well but still be lightweight enough to wear during peak summertime. I’m also looking at a light gold windowpane in 7oz cashmere-silk. It’s incredibly elegant; a very Palm Beach piece.

Finally, I’m thinking about getting a Solaro suit in an 8oz wool-silk fabric. Drapers has a lovely new fabric collection full of Solaro-esque fabrics made with rich, subtly iridescent colors and striking herringbones. It’s nice to make something like this with minimal lining to take advantage of the different colors on the reverse side of the cloth. Additionally, I’m looking at Drapers’ mid-gray 8oz high-twist open weave wools for a trouser and a suit. Their high-twist wools are amazing. Last year, I wrote an article about them and called the fabric “the perfect pant.” It’s robust enough to hang nicely and performs better than some of the lighter-weight tropical wools. Yet, it’s still a weight that I find tolerable on even the hottest of days. 

Unlike some of our other friends in the industry, neither Alan nor I have ever been keen on heavy open-weave fabrics for summer. I know they will hold their shape very well, and I know they are pretty breathable. So on a breezy day, you may still keep cool if you’re staying in the shade. However, in NYC, when it’s 90 degrees, and the sun is beating off the pavement, and the air isn’t moving, it just feels like you’re wearing a blanket. We once had a client who asked us to get a 16oz hopsack from an English mill. This fabric was suggested to them by the head of a Savile Row tailoring firm, and the client wanted to get our thoughts. Alan told him he wouldn’t make a garment out of that fabric for his worst enemy.  

My favorite book for summer fabrics is Loro Piana’s Mare. You could build an entire summer wardrobe from that book. They have wool-silk seersucker, wool-silk-linen blends, pure silk Dupioni, silk-linen blends, pure cottons, etc. A couple of years ago, we were the biggest buyer of the wool-silk seersucker among US tailors. We love that fabric and use it all the time. It may not be the piece that you pass down to your son in twenty years, but if you have to wear a jacket when it’s 90 degrees outside, there is absolutely nothing better. We commissioned an exclusive 100-meter piece of that wool-silk seersucker in black after impatiently waiting several years, hoping Loro Piana would release it in their primary collection. Of course, you don’t usually think of black when you think of seersucker, but we think it’s a super cool take on a classic. Clothes should be enjoyable. Wear an all-black seersucker suit to your summer evening cocktail-attire event and have fun with it.

Many thanks to Jonathan for his time! Readers interested in Alan Flusser Custom can follow them on Instagram and read their blog. They have a showroom in New York City, located at 3 East 48th Street, Floor 3, where they offer custom tailoring. Made-to-measure suits start at $2,500, sport coats at $1,600, and shirts at $225. Additionally, they hold trunk shows in select cities across the United States and offer a small line of ready-made accessories, which you can order directly from their website. 

The post How To Dress Like Jonathan Sigmon appeared first on Put This On.

As a title, Dressing the Man suggests more than what you’ll find in the book. The book is actually about how to dress the body, not necessarily a person’s identity or lifestyle. In other words, it’s not about dressing the totality of a man, but just his physical form. This isn’t to fault Flusser. For all the books written on fashion, few, if any, actually talk about how to dress for the more intangible dimensions of a person’s life. Esquire’s Handbook of Style is one of the best primers on men’s style. It covers everything from tailoring to casualwear, but even the book’s editors don’t discuss how to dress for one’s personality. And how could they? Fashion writers assume that readers will figure this part out for themselves.

This is one of the problems that runs through nearly every online discussion about men’s style. Men from dramatically different backgrounds, locations, lifestyles, age groups, and other demographic dimensions argue about how others should dress. People who are overly prescriptive about style often fail to consider that there are many lifestyles and identities nowadays. Style is fundamentally about social language, and clothing is deeply connected to identity.

I want to talk about two people whose style I’ve admired online as a way to discuss the broader idea of “dressing the man.” The first is Mitchell Moss, the author behind the excellent blog Menswear Musings. The second is Marco Martinez, a motorcyclist, tech analyst, and champion of berets. Both men are tremendously stylish and about the same age. Mitchell is 34 years old; Marco is 28. Yet, they live very different lives. Their dress habits are a reflection of those differences.

Marco lives in Los Angeles and works as a research analyst for Twitter. He’s an avid motorcyclist, drives a Yamaha Scrambler 950cc, and attends warehouse parties on weekends. About ten years ago, he got into breakdancing and then choreo. A few years later, he also picked up waacking, a form of street dancing that emerged out of LGBTQ+ clubs during the 1970s. “Waacking riffs on Golden Age Hollywood films and kung fu movies,” Marco explains. “So people threw their hands in the air in this very expressive manner.” Nowadays, Marco still loves dancing, but he does so in a way that blends various forms — breaking, waacking, and his new obsession, house. You can see some of his dance videos on Instagram (warning: they will make you want to get up and dance, so only watch in a clutter-free, open space).

Marco became interested in clothes when he was still an undergraduate student at Wesleyan. Inspired by Jean-Luc Godard films and old cinema, he wore button-down shirts, silk neckties, and even wide-brimmed fedoras. “I wore those clothes to college parties because I wanted to look dapper,” he says. “In hindsight, it was kind of embarrassing.” After graduating from college, he relocated to San Francisco, where he found himself sifting through the racks of discounted, second-hand designer clothes at Wasteland. Through online forums and a Discord server, he also found out about hard-to-find Japanese labels, such as Orslow, A VONTADE, ts(s), and companies that he describes as being “Engineered Garments adjacent.” “That’s when a whole new world of possibilities opened up for me.”

“In the beginning, I thought that if I had the right pieces or brands in my wardrobe, I would be happy or comfortable in my style,” he says. “But the clothes just didn’t fit who I am or my situation. Context is always important because you want to show up as yourself, not a set of clothes. I think the things in my wardrobe now are more reflective of how I see myself, and how my friends perceive me, as well.”

Marco struggles to find words to describe his style. He’s long abandoned the “dapper” look, and no longer tries to dress like a character in a French New Wave film. If he had to point to a style inspiration, he says he likes Uma Thurman’s yellow tracksuit in Kill Bill. “There is something about that look that is both sexy and utilitarian, and I feel very drawn to that right now.”

He wears trackpants of his own these days — the famous butterfly embroidered, retro-striped trackpants from Needles. “I dismissed those for a long time as being a hyped streetwear item, but during the quarantine, I bought a pair from a friend because the price was right. It turns out, I love them. When I put them on, I was like, ‘OK, this makes sense.’ They have the best silhouette and match comfort with utility. I’ve since bought two more pairs of Needles pants — a pair of velvet climbing pants with a dark brown paisley pattern, and then a pair of faux-leather, python-embossed pants.”

Some of Marco’s other go-tos include a mutton fleece rider jacket (pictured above), star-motif pants from Arts in Education (also pictured above), a drunk striped “work suit” from Kapital, and a vintage pair of black Tyrolean shoes by Galibier. “I’m also really loving all of my Bode pieces,” he adds. “I think Bode has brought me back into this New Americana look. They make unique, one-off pieces using found fabrics. And I love my ribbed tank tops from Calvin Klein. They’re the perfect base layer for Los Angeles. They allow me to enjoy layers and outerwear without sacrificing comfort.”

By contrast, Mitchell of Menswear Musings lives a much more conservative lifestyle. Having grown up in the midwest, he moved to a town just outside of Nashville a few years ago, where he and his wife raise two young sons. He also works for a church organization, helping them with their writing, editing, and design. He spends his time working on his menswear blog and playing the piano. About once a year, he and his family enjoy traveling abroad. “I’m not a city kid at heart,” he laughs.

Mitchell’s style will be more familiar to long-time readers of Put This On. He wears soft-shouldered sport coats that ride the thin line between modern and traditional. His navy raw silk sport coat from Eidos, navy double-breasted from Ring jacket, and “modern tweeds” from Eidos and Natalino aren’t as fashion-forward as what you’d get from Thom Browne, but also not as fuddy-duddy as Cordings. Keen-eyed readers will notice small details in Mitchell’s outfits that recall some things that menswear obsessives talked about ten years ago, when Mitchell started seriously getting into tailored clothing. His sport coats have a curvier silhouette, sweeping quarters, and lapels that are either razor straight or slightly concave (a style that’s influenced by both Neapolitan and Florentine tailoring). He also enjoys wearing tall collars and Eidos’ long-sleeved polos. Yet, even with the subtle echos of hashtag menswear, Mitchell has avoided the worst trends: cutaway collars, skinny clothes, flannel cargo pants, and incongruent layering. 

Some of this success is due to Mitchell’s conservative nature. Ultimately, he knows what he likes and is reluctant to venture too far. When I ask him what are some styles he’s experimented with in the past — whether successfully or not — his answers are almost comically strained. There was a uniquely trimmed t-shirt, which he ultimately gave to his wife. And yes, the requisite pair of double monks that everyone had to own (by law) around 2010 (“those shoes taught me that I don’t like calfskin as much as suede”). More recently, a friend gave him some free shirts, including a chambray Western shirt by Bryceland’s. “That experiment has been much more positive,” he notes. “Like everyone, I’ve noticed that guys such as Ethan Newton and Simon Crompton have been wearing Western denim shirts, often with tweed. I wasn’t sure about the combo for myself. But when a friend gave me these shirts, I tried them on with a tweed sport coat and thought, ‘wow, this is sweet!’ It’s funny because I think I’m just not very experimental.”

“When I first joined StyleForum, I saw a lot of new members spending a ton of money on clothes,” Michell adds. “This was around 2008, so during the Great Recession and around the time when there were still epic sales. So perhaps they were buying things at a discount. But they were buying expensive, high-quality brands, such as Ralph Lauren Black Label, Borrelli, and Cucinelli. But then, their style would suddenly change, and it seemed like they were wasting money. I think I was saved from that because I’ve never made that much money, so I couldn’t afford that stuff in the first place. But seeing that also made me a more methodical shopper. I learned from other people’s experiences and was careful not to get hung up on labels or ideas about ‘quality.’ I made a list of things I wanted each year and prioritized my purchases.”

Since Mitchell lives in a small town and works in a business casual environment, he likes to dress down his tailoring. He wears his sport coats with slim-straight jeans, some of which are from shockingly affordable brands such as American Eagle (the blue-washed jeans are AE; the white jeans are from Sid Mashburn). He mostly wears long-sleeved, pique cotton polos and oxford button-downs (including some from our sponsor Proper Cloth), and he favors the more casual suede leather shoes over finer, dressier calfskin.

The thing I love most about Mitchell’s style is that it’s so at home for someone of his background, age, and environment. His blog is a good guide for how younger men can wear classic clothing in a way that feels relevant, but without losing the spirit of what makes classic tailoring so great. “I like things that feel fresh and contemporary, but not trendy,” Mitchell says. “I think part of it is about being honest about how you look in your clothes. I tried those cropped, no-break pants and super short jackets, and I just didn’t like how they looked on me.”

Classic style holds a special place in menswear. As a result of the history of men’s dress, it’s the lingua franca of style — something that everyone can understand. But just as British English has Received Pronunciation, there are also regional dialects that may be more authentic to you. It’s hard to imagine Marco wearing Mitchell’s clothes, and vice versa. Each person’s wardrobe perfectly fits their lifestyle, personality, and background. This isn’t to say that you have to dress according to stereotypes. Some of the most interesting expressions come through people breaking norms — young people in tassel loafers, older men in streetwear, masculine men in feminine clothes, feminine men in masculine clothes, etc. It’s only to say that style is a language, and dressing well is often about dressing for the totality of the person, not just the physical form. 

Marco and Mitchell share one outfit: Barbour. When the weather is wet and gloomy, both slip into the waxed cotton Barbour jackets they bought many years ago. Mitchell says he wears his Barbour Ashby with blue jeans, cream-colored turtlenecks, and suede Astorflex chukkas. Marco’s version is surprisingly not too different, but tweaked just enough to be “Marco.” When it rains, he wears a sage green Barbour Beaufort with Wallace & Barnes carpenter jeans, a chunky turtleneck, boiled wool Kapital scarf, bucket hat, and some Blundstones or Tyrolean shoes. He’s decorated his Beaufort’s collar with some pins that he’s collected over the years. “It’s funny how I revert to those classic pieces when it’s about utility,” Marco says. “Barbour is just so classic, and you don’t have to overthink when wearing one. It has a ton of pockets and can be worn with anything.” 

Marco and Mitchell’s Tips for Developing Personal Style

Marco: “I think knowing yourself is crucial to developing personal style. On the internet, you can find a ton of articles and YouTube videos about how to dress better. All these things talk about the things you need in your wardrobe, but they don’t talk about the journey. The rest of your style journey will be a lot like life: you might start with a plan, but then things might deviate. My advice is to know yourself, be prepared for disappointments and mistakes, and just throw yourself into the process. Don’t be scared of how other people might perceive you.”

Mitchell: “First, develop a sense of taste by consuming media, rather than feeling like you always have to buy new things. Save photos of outfits you like and think about why they look good to you. Revisit them every once in a while. Sometimes you’ll see something that looks cool, but then revisit the photo, and you’ll see small details that you overlooked before — things that might change your perception of the outfit. Second, be honest about how things look on you. No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy, and no idea about style escapes contact with your actual body. The idea here is to develop your eye, try things on, and best honest about how you look.” 

(You can follow Marco and Mitchell on Instagram. Mitchell also runs his own men’s style site, Menswear Musings)

The post Dressing The Man appeared first on Put This On.

This past week, I interviewed three such figures: Greg Lellouche of No Man Walks Alone, Peter Zottolo of Plaza Uomo US (and frequent PTO subject), and PTO reader Charlie in Australia. Since he used to work as an investment banker on Wall Street, Greg knows his way around a classic, tailored rig. He used to get his bespoke suits from tailors such as WW Chan and special ordered his dress shoes from Vass. But even before he started his store, he wore brands such as Stephan Schenider and Nigel Cabourn on the weekend. Similarly, Peter wears rugged chambray shirts and raw denim jeans to his job as an electrician. During his off-hours, he wears everything from soft-shouldered Sicilian suits to motorcycle jackets to Rick Owens. Charlie’s wardrobe leans more heavily on the classic side of the spectrum. Still, his wardrobe spans everything from Shetland sport coats and cavalry twill trousers to black Westernwear-inspired jackets and bold Jacques Marie Mage eyewear.

Online discussions about men’s style often center on some specific and overlapping themes: how to build a tiny capsule wardrobe or how to find one’s “true style.” I wanted to talk to these three guys about the opposite: how do you create a well-rounded wardrobe that includes different and disparate aesthetics? Do you have to create a narrow archetype to dress stylishly? Is it OK to be eclectic in your taste? Here’s what they had to say.

Greg of No Man Walks Alone

Derek: Men’s style used to be very Balkanized. There were sneakerheads, denimheads, techwear guys, and the more avant-garde dressers. Even Ivy Style existed as its own insular community. But in the last six or seven years, people are increasingly comfortable mixing and matching. It’s not unusual for someone to have Aldens sitting alongside Nikes in their closet. What do you think brought on this development, and do you think it’s ultimately good for men’s style?

Greg: I don’t think people ever dressed in just one way; it’s more that they used to pay attention to only one facet of their wardrobe. A guy might spend a lot of money on bespoke suits, but he would still have casualwear for the weekend. His casualwear would just be terrible, for lack of a better word. He might only have one Barbour jacket, some random sportswear he’s collected over the years, and a pair of jeans he doesn’t care about. His casualwear was an afterthought, but it’s not like it didn’t exist.

A couple of things have changed. First, office dress codes have become more relaxed, which has forced many “suit guys” to adopt more casual clothes. Second, the internet has exposed us to a much wider range of things. In the past, you might only get a few dozen highly curated images per month through a GQ spread. Nowadays, we’re getting served thousands of images per day online, particularly if you’re on Instagram. And when you see something more often, you become more open to it. You might see an image and think, “Oh wow, that looks cool. I hadn’t thought of wearing something like that.” Your mind then opens up, and you’re encouraged to explore more.

I think this development has been great for men’s style. I often draw the parallel between what we like in clothing and everything else. Of course, some people only eat pasta or only listen to one type of music. But most people have a diverse set of interests and allow themselves to be open to new things. Imagine stepping into a home where everything is perfectly curated as mid-century modern — it would be kind of lame. How can someone only like one type of music, one type of food, or one type of art? I think the same is true for clothing. There’s no reason to not let yourself enjoy other things, regardless of how they’re categorized or labeled.

Derek: Some people feel that you should dress not only for your body type, but also for a persona. In other words, your clothes should be a reflection of your personality, interests, and background. Your wardrobe spans everything from conservative suits to streetwear to workwear. Do you think it’s possible to dress for a persona when you have such an eclectic wardrobe? 

Greg: It comes back to this idea of “what is a person?” We’re all multi-faceted individuals. I like hip hop, so sometimes I may adopt a style cue from that ’90s hip hop era. But I don’t only like hip hop. The idea that you can communicate your entire being through an outfit seems absurd to me. If you do that, you’re only really communicating one facet of yourself. 

For me, it makes much more sense to dress for how you feel for the day. Your style might change from week to week, month to month. You might wear sneakers for a while, and then the next month, not want to wear sneakers at all. I don’t think those decisions go against the idea of having a personality. In fact, they’re a better reflection of your personality. You can dress in a way to communicate a style persona, but that’s an image you’re projecting out to the world. A singular, narrow wardrobe will never reflect the complexity of everything you’re about. 

Derek: That’s very interesting. So, for example, Eugene Rabkin of StyleZeitgeist dresses in a very dark, avant-garde way. He’s done so consistently for many years. It sounds like you’re saying this is more about creating an image, not necessarily communicating our authentic selves. People are more than just an “Ivy Style guy” or “Rick Owens guy.” 

Greg: I think so. Some people wear turtlenecks all the time, or they dress like a mid-century architect all the time. I’ve heard some people say that, when your clothes are neutral, it allows your personality to come through better. But all you’re doing is creating a facade; that narrow wardrobe doesn’t reflect all the complexity that’s inside you. I think it’s perfectly fine to wear one style all the time, but that shouldn’t be confused with your style being a better reflection of you as a person. 

(You can follow Greg on Instagram and through his store, No Man Walks Alone)

Peter of Plaza Uomo US

Derek: Many guys struggle with the idea that they might be playing “dress up” if they wear disparate aesthetics. How do you feel about this? Is it possible to wear such disparate styles and still be authentic? Is it bad to play “dress up?”

Peter: I totally understand why some guys feel this way. Up until fairly recently, men’s dress was governed by time, place, and occasion. Even when I was a young adult, wearing a biker jacket meant that you ride a motorcycle.

To be honest, I still dress according to some of these dimensions. I’m fortunate to live a life with varied activities that lend themselves to certain clothes. I work as an electrician; I attend religious ministries and meetings. I also help produce a menswear magazine. So it’s easier for me to wear workwear and tailoring.

That said, I think it’s great that some guys can wear these clothes without those associations. You can appreciate style on its own terms without being hung up on how certain clothes were historically worn. I think it’s just about experimenting and finding things that are “you.” I wrote off black leather jackets for decades, as I always considered myself a more classic “brown leather” guy. But then Antonio Ciongoli designed a black grizzly jacket, which is normally brown, so I decided to try it out. Shortly after I received it, I found black leather jackets to be so versatile, I now have several.

Derek: I often think of style as a kind of language. You have to be able to work within a set of rules to communicate something, but you also want to express some individuality. In this sense, people who are good at wearing different aesthetics are “multi-lingual” — they know how to communicate in different “visual languages.” How does one develop that kind of ability?

Peter: I think it’s about reading, watching, and practicing. I learned how to be an electrician in much the same way: by combining classroom time with on-the-job training. Reading theory is one thing, but putting it into practice is another. A good first step is seeing how other people wear different styles well. Pay attention to how colors, patterns, fabrics, and silhouettes play with each other. If you have something similar in your closet, try to create a similar outfit. Take a photo of yourself and post it online to get feedback, or send the image to someone whose taste and opinion you value. If they give you suggestions on how to improve, see if you can follow through to complete “the look.” If you like how you look in that aesthetic, keep learning about it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes — it is just clothes, after all. Like any language, pretty soon you’ll be comfortable enough to express yourself.

(You can follow Peter on Instagram. He’s also the newly appointed editor of the US edition of Plaza Uomo. A digital version of his inaugural issue can be found online.)

Charlie in Australia

Derek: Many guys are attracted to the idea of having a uniform — going to the same tailor, ordering the same things, and relying on the same, comfortable combinations every day. But there’s also power in dressing appropriately for different environments or expressing yourself in different ways. Do you think there are some advantages to having a more diverse wardrobe? Is it harder to dress well when you have so many options in a closet?

Charlie: I think uniforms appeal for two reasons. The first is to take the decision-making process out of something as “trivial” as getting dressed – to signal that one is so singularly focused on the serious, significant things in life that one couldn’t possibly have the mental energy to spare on what to wear. The second centers on the concept of authenticity – that one’s external, clothed appearance is an extension or reflection of some “true” inner self. For these people, deviating from the uniform is tantamount to spiritual betrayal.

I’ve found both of these unsatisfying in my process. Readers of this site will understand that clothes are things we choose to think about — they bring joy, spark imagination, and lead us down rabbit holes. Removing the thought process and filling one’s wardrobe with identical black turtlenecks makes the overall experience dull and unsatisfying.

Likewise, I think the obsession with authenticity and “true identity” is overrated. Bring on novelty, diversity, experimentation, and play! It may lead to one finding themselves in a place where they have four options for black tie, but only a single, lonely OCBD; or wearing a three-piece suit one day and graphic tees the next (both recent experiences!). But give me a bunch of Marie Kondo joy-points any day over pragmatism. I want enough variety in aesthetics to allow me to dress satisfyingly and appropriately for whatever life throws at me, and enough choice within those aesthetics to experiment with color, texture, and silhouette.

Derek: There are very few guys with well-rounded wardrobes. Often, someone who’s good at dressing casually isn’t so good at wearing tailored clothing. Likewise, guys who primarily wear tailored clothing struggle to dress casually. Why do you think this is, and how does one become a more well-rounded dresser?

Charlie: It’s interesting, isn’t it? As someone who spends a large chunk of his time learning the rules of tailoring and classic menswear, the transition to casual dressing continues to be difficult. I think it comes down to the emphasis on adhering to rules in classic menswear versus breaking the rules in some casual styles. I think one’s ability to have, and feel comfortable in, a well-rounded wardrobe comes down to how much time you’re willing to invest in the process of learning and experimenting on both sides of the fence.

It’s like cooking – French chefs don’t automatically make great Japanese food unless they take the time to combine pre-existing skills and techniques with newly acquired knowledge. Just as we recognize the differences, it’s important to recognize similarities. Both classic and casual dressing reward those who spend time learning about and experimenting with silhouette, congruency, color, and texture. Consistently good results come to those who have a clear vision and the cultural and aesthetic understanding needed to execute it.

Derek: Men who wear classic tailored clothing often gravitate towards those styles because they’re attracted to the ideas of timelessness, craft, and a rules-based system of dressing. Do you think it’s possible to find those values in other aesthetics, or do you mostly abandon them when exploring different styles? Is there such a thing as timelessness or craft when it comes to casualwear?

Charlie: These are very powerful ideas, and it can be easy to get caught up in them. I think they’re wrapped up in other powerful values, such as commitment to work, dedication to quality, and even a vague sense of community. All of these things are increasingly rare in today’s world. Unfortunately, they’ve also be co-opted for status and sales. Whether it is the promise of something “artisanal,” a social, political, or environmental good, or the power to confer “gentlemanly” powers, timelessness and craft now underpin an economy of conspicuous consumption. That’s a long way of saying that while I still very much value tradition, quality, and craftsmanship, I’m much more sensitive nowadays to how such values can be used for marketing.

Is it possible to find them in other aesthetics? Of course! Just as my decision to buy a particular suit from a particular tailor in a particular cloth is based on my perceived notions of quality and craft, so are my choices to buy denim from Bryceland’s or a beautiful replica 1950s knit from Scott Fraser Collection.

I’ll add another idea to your list – romanticism. So much of what appeals to me across both the tailored and casual spectrums – and what generally produces the best results — are combinations that inspire imagination and offer the promise of escape to a particular time or place. That can be something like a tailored outfit inspired by the 1930s French Riviera or a Westernwear look inspired by the 1970s. And in the current environment of restricted movement, doom-scrolling, and general awfulness, anything that inspires this kind of mental transportation can only be a good thing.

(You can follow Charlie on Instagram)

The post Get You A Man Who Can Do Both appeared first on Put This On.

The Hungerford Building in Rochester, New York is a sprawling, four-story industrial center that overlooks a train yard. A hundred years ago, it was the home of the J. Hungerford Smith Company, an American manufacturer for soda fountain flavoring syrups. They were known for their “true fruit” formulations, such as Cherry Chic, Golden Orangeade, and the licorice, aged vanilla flavor that goes into A&W’s root beer. At one point, they were one of the largest employers in Rochester, but the company hasn’t been based here in many decades. In 1963, they moved out of their longtime home and eventually relocated to Tennesse, after which they were acquired by Conagra. At the Rochester building that still bears their name, you’ll no longer find whizzing, humming machines that produce flavoring syrups, but a community of artists, craftspeople, and small businesses.

David Lane Design is one of those small businesses. Tucked away in one of these red-brick buildings is their modest, one-room workshop. This space is neatly organized with workbenches and heavy tables, which hold an array of leatherworking tools. There are pricking irons, mallets, edgers, awls, waxed threads, and needles; a wooden clamp for securing leather while it’s being handsewn; a leather strop for sharpening blades. The most complicated tool here is sitting in the back of the workshop. It’s a clicker press with a swing arm and a white sticker plastered on the side that shouts “MIGHTY WONDER.” 

David DeMarte, the company’s founder and sole craftsperson, works here. He transforms leather hides from Italy, France, and the United States into beautifully crafted watch straps, handbags, belts, and wallets using a time-honored technique known as saddle stitching. This is the same technique that leatherworkers at Hermes use to craft their fine leather accessories. In this tradition, a craftsperson first punches holes into the leather with a pricking iron before threading two needles through with a careful pace and repetition. One needle enters from the left and another from the right, with the craftsperson repeatedly stretching their arms like how a bird stretches its wings. The result is a tighter, more secure seam than what can be achieved with a machine-sewn lockstitch. Whereas a lockstitch can unravel if one part breaks, a saddle stitch has to be picked apart using a special tool. In an interview with local news station WHEC, David describes his leather goods as “heirloom quality.” 

I occasionally email David for his opinion when I’m thinking about purchasing a watch. With over fifteen years of experience in making watch straps, he’s seen a lot of quality timepieces. He’s also been passionate about watches for even longer than he’s been a craftsman (his first straps were sold at Paneristi, a Panerai enthusiast forum where he’s been a member since 2007). Additionally, I admire his style and approach to clothing. Many men interested in style are obsessed with just one type of item — watches, shoes, jeans, fragrances, or tailored suits. These niche-within-a-niche subcultures are often very inward-looking, such that guys will debate the minutia related to mechanical movements, Goodyear welting, or handsewn buttonholes, but not how these items should relate to a broader wardrobe.

David, on the other hand, is always thinking about the bigger picture. When purchasing a watch, he thinks about how the design fits into his lifestyle and wardrobe. Next to his Shetland tweeds and navy sport coats, he has more casual clothes, such as patched-up jeans, heavy cardigans, chambray shirts, and chore coats. When put together in outfits, all these items work together in concert — sleek loafers are worn with tailored trousers, work boots with jeans, and suede chukkas with smart-casual ensembles. Best of all, his choices suit him in terms of cut, personality, and lifestyle. He has clothes for the different sections of his life — tailoring for his work as a high school educator, workwear when he’s crafting leather goods. It’s what I would describe as a holistic wardrobe.

There are two distinct sides to David’s wardrobe, tailored and casual, although they’re designed so that the clothes can be easily mixed. David started seriously getting into tailored clothing around the time when he launched his leather goods business. By his own characterization, he didn’t have a lot of money back then, so he started shopping for ready-to-wear and made-to-measure. The clothes were a bit hit and miss until David started using bespoke tailors, which is when he began hitting his stride. “I learned about silhouette and drape, the benefits of a high armhole, and why the details are much less important than fit,” he says. “Not just the fit but creating the best version of me in clothes.”

These days, David relies on New York tailors Franco Ercole and Frank Shattuck for his suits and sport coats, and then CEGO for his dress shirts. During the fall and winter months, he often reaches for his Shetland tweeds, particularly one made from a gun club cloth he bought from the tailoring enthusiast forum London Lounge. David wears them with dark jeans, heavy flannels, oxford cloth button-downs, denim shirts, suede chukkas, and shell cordovan loafers. In the warmer months, he swaps the tweeds out for inky blue hopsack and Fresco sport coats, which he pairs with grey tropical wool trousers, linen-cotton chambray shirts, striped button-ups, unlined suede loafers, and black tassel loafers. In the photos above, you can see him wear some of these items to his job as a high school art teacher, a subject he’s been teaching for twenty years.

Like most men, David prefers a slightly softer shoulder line, but his shoulder construction isn’t so soft that it’s mushy. A lot of modern tailoring is trim, short, and uber-soft, such that there’s little to no padding in the shoulder line. With such little construction underneath, the jacket does little but recreate your natural body’s shape. By contrast, David’s coats have a silhouette of their own — a tiny bit of fullness in the chest, curved fronts, and sensible, middle-of-the-road proportions. “Frank Shattuck is the only tailor I have found that shapes the bottom of the coat below the waist, which curves in past my stomach to create a leaner look from the profile,” David says. “It’s not much, but you can’t unsee it once you notice it.”

The casual side of his wardrobe is mainly made of trad items from O’Connell’s and stylish workwear items from upscale labels such as RRL. “In leatherworking, I am constantly using glues, dies, and blades,” he explains. “With workwear, if I cut something or stain my jeans or shirt, I can patch it, and it just looks natural, sometimes even better. They also last longer than dress clothes, which never look good with stains or holes.” When David is heading to the workshop, he’s often in jeans, flannels, or five-pocket cords, sometimes paired with an O’Connell’s Shetland or RRL shawl collar cardigan for warmth. On his Instagram, you can see how he creates simple, but stylish outfits by layering chamois shirts over henleys and chunky Southwestern-style cardigans over flannels. His casual shoes include sneakers, work boots, and ropers.

In the outfits above, you can see how he creates coherent outfits by pairing dressier suede shoes with grey tailored trousers and a brown wool-silk-linen sport coat (the touch of spring green in the shirt is a nice touch), while casual ensembles consist of heavy work shirts, thick outer layers, raw denim jeans, and rounder work boots. Notice how everything comes together to create a message. While David occasionally mixes dressy items with casual (e.g. jeans with a sport coat), the pieces are carefully chosen so the outfits are harmonious. If David wore a pair of dressier shoes with the suede chore coat outfit above, it would ruin the look.

“It’s important to me to feel comfortable,” he says. “If I feel like I’m trying too hard or in a costume, I’ll change clothes and pull the reins a bit. Not for the sake of others, but for myself, as I want to feel comfortable in what I’m wearing. I’ve tried to build my wardrobe with this in mind. I keep most of my tailoring tame in terms of color, and try to use casual, textured fabrics such as tweed. That way, I wear things interchangeably with jeans or flannel shirts. From there, I try adding layers and different accessories, such as hats or scarves. Layering is a great way to add some visual interest, but on a bigger frame like mine, it’s important not to add too much.”

David’s Suggestions for Building a Wardrobe

In the course of our conversion, I ask David here and there if he has suggestions for guys who are just starting to build a better wardrobe. He gave the following tips:

Dressing for Larger Build: “I look for clothes with a classic silhouette — nothing too long or short, wide or skinny. If you know someone who has a good eye for proportions, ask them for their opinion. I have a local seamstress who will tell me when something doesn’t work, saving me time and money. It also sounds silly, but I’ll take photos of myself in a new garment to see how it looks on me. When you’re looking at yourself in the mirror, you do not always see the whole story. So I’ll set up the timer on my cell phone camera and snap a few photos, including the front, back, and side views. I’ll look for whether the garment is pulling anywhere and how the fabric drapes. If there’s tension, especially around the waist, I’ll usually pass — 95% of the time in workwear and 100% of the time in tailoring.

I also want to be comfortable in my clothes, so I like to see how clothes fit for real-life activities, not just standing in front of a mirror. I’ll check to see if a garment is too short when I’m reaching up, or if pants are too short for when I’m bending down. It’s not just about how clothes look on you, but how they make you feel throughout the day.

For bigger guys building a wardrobe, I think the most common mistake is settling. There aren’t many good ready-to-wear options for our build, so when you find something cool that’s close to fitting well, it’s easy to feel like you should buy it. But eventually, you’ll find you’re not comfortable in the item or don’t look good in it, so you sell it for a loss. The other mistake is not taking advantage of your local tailor. Big guys often have to size up, but when they do, the sleeves or legs are too long. Find a local tailor who can take care of these things for you. Lastly, I look for a silhouette that’s flattering and has some shape to it. For tailoring, I like a soft, natural shoulder with no roping, a slight pinch to the waist, and enough room for me to comfortably move around underneath. Trousers should be slightly tapered and have a single break to them. For workwear, I like my clothes to have even more room. I’m OK if there’s even less shape to the silhouette. I want to be able to layer.”

Suggestions for a Capsule Wardrobe: “When you’re starting, resist the temptation of sales. When you shop on sale, you often need to make a compromise, but the truth is that you don’t need that many things to have a good, working wardrobe. For a capsule wardrobe, I would do:

• A grey or navy suit
• A brown tweed with three patch pockets
• An unlined mid-blue summer sport coat in a breathable fabric
• One or two oxford cloth button-down shirts in light blue
• Two to four casual shirts in chambray or denim. Get some with a pocket and some without, and get them in varying shades of blue
• A dress shirt with white and light blue stripes
• A white linen shirt with flapped chest pockets
• Two Shetland sweaters. I would start with navy and dark grey (or one in a color that matches your pet’s hair, if you have one)
• A chunky shawl collar cardigan
• A pair of dark blue jeans
• A pair of mid- or light gray flannels
• A pair of tropical wool trousers in light gray
• A pair of tan cords
• A pair of olive green military-inspired fatigues
• A pair of dark brown suede chukkas or loafers
• Outerwear based on your climate. My most used coat is a navy quilted Barbour.
• Some accessories: a navy knitted hat, a navy cashmere scarf, and a good brown leather belt

Once you have these bases covered, I think you should explore. For me, I would get a third sport coat in a patterned, mid-weight cloth. Again, stick to staple colors, such as navy or brown. I would also get an olive green overshirt or chore coat in cotton or wool, a hand-knit RRL cardigan (get something with an interesting pattern or color), a plaid flannel shirt in red or burnt orange, a pair of black or brown work boots, and a pair of simple white sneakers. A leather coat isn’t a necessity, but it’s a hell of a thing to have. Since I’m bald, I would want a baseball cap in yellow or blue. And finally, I would get a thick pair of brown horn sunglasses and then a solid, time-only mechanical watch — nothing over 40mm.”

Finding a Watch for Your Wardrobe: “Watches should fit with your wardrobe. I would steer away from the extremes, such as paper-thin, yellow gold Calatravas, or big, chunky, resin-cased watches with 87 functions and a flame thrower. If you buy something too precious, formal, or ‘out there,’ you’ll never wear it. Stick with what you can use. If you travel and wear suits to work, get a solid GMT or Reverso. If you work from home, wear chunky shawl collar cardigans, and make pour-over coffee, get a chronograph so you can time your pours. If you work with your hands, wear jeans and leather jackets, get something such as a field watch, which will look better with scratches and dings. Above all, get a watch you will actually wear and use.

If you have the money for one, I don’t think you can do better than a vintage or modern Rolex Submariner for a one-watch collection. They go well with workwear or tailoring, and they look just as great on a suede or shell cordovan NATO, as they do on a bracelet. If you like that style but want something more affordable, you can get an excellent vintage Skin diver for about $300 and up, depending on the brand. They’re a good size at about 35mm to 38mm, have a unique case shape, squared out lugs, and a rotating bezel. That watch on a simple black or dark brown strap in calfskin or goatskin will pair well with tailoring, while a suede strap or nylon NATO can be used with workwear. There are a ton of them on eBay, and they’re not too expensive to service.

When I’m in workwear, I often wear a vintage Cyma on a canvas strap I made. They look great on leather two-piece straps, nylon NATO straps, mesh bracelets, and everything in between. If you’re not into vintage, you can also get a new field watch. If you often wear suits, however, you should step up the formality in your timepiece. A simple, time-only watch in steel, set with a black or white dial and matte alligator strap, will look great with a tailored suit.”

Take It Slow: “My biggest piece of advice is to take your time. I’ve built my wardrobe over fifteen years, and I only purchase one or two pieces of tailored clothing per year. New shoes get added every year or two; shirts come here and there. It takes a while to find what you like. When I first started, I loved the look of balmoral shoes — loved them. I bought five pairs in different materials, soles, and designs. But even though I loved them, they didn’t make any sense with what I actually wore. I’ve since sold all of them at a considerable loss, except for one pair of balmorals in black. Don’t keep things just became you like them. If they don’t get worn or can’t be tailored to fit, sell them and move on.

As I mentioned earlier, you also want to find a good tailor. Ask them for advice: what are the risks of tapering trousers or letting out a seam? Establish a relationship with your tailor — bring them a small gift, tip them, or be kind and understanding about the jobs you bring in. Oh, and don’t go in when you’re in a hurry. Once my clothes are pinned, I will walk around, go back to the fitting room, and even snap a few photos. Like with shopping, this should be a considered process.”

(photos via Jaiden Tripi Photography, Julia Merrell, and David Lane Design)

The post Real People: Building A Holistic Wardrobe appeared first on Put This On.

Mitchell Moss in a sportcoat and flannel trousers from Natalino.

In a clip on her Netflix series “Pretend It’s a City,” writer (and proud Anderson and Sheppard customer) Fran Lebowitz is asked whether she attributes her sense of humor to nature or nurture. Fran replies, “There wasn’t much nurture of it, I assure you.” Lebowitz means she wasn’t encouraged to be funny; that growing up in the 1960s, being funny wasn’t a character trait society wanted in a woman. Of course, she built her career (and, eventually, paid for those A&S jackets) by being funny, acerbic, and amusingly cranky.

Some people may be born with a sense of style — for the rest of us, though, style can, in fact, be nurtured. Developing yours, and building a wardrobe, can be daunting, and even discouraging, especially when we first start out. First of all, most of us can’t go to Anderson and Sheppard and rely on their guidance (or ignore it, as Lebowitz has on occasion). We rely on guideposts of style we want to emulate: whether that’s parents, characters in literature or film, magazines, websites, Instagram.

Many resources (including this one) will advise you to focus on basics — navy jackets and suits, white or blue shirts, gray flannel or khaki cotton trousers, decent lace-up shoes, and versatile accessories. Even post-dress-codes, these items will serve you well in many situations, sort of like a decent sense of humor.

Mitchell Moss, an editor in the Nashville area, is an excellent style guidepost. He sets a really useful and accessible example of finding a lot of range in tailored clothing without going full Pitti Uomo (even though Mitchell has, in fact, been to Pitti Uomo). Mitchell has a tremendously consistent style, taking advantage of some core colors and silhouettes. Much of his wardrobe uses blues, grays, browns, and other neutrals, with shirts almost exclusively in the blue family. He also relies on makers that allow him to blend Italian and European influences (soft tailoring, print scarves, suede footwear) with American style (denim-adjacent shirts, five-pocket pants).

The post Real People: Keeping The Basics Interesting appeared first on Put This On.

To be sure, some of those rules are sensible. Suits are typically easier to wear in navy or gray, rather than black, and black dress shirts are questionable at best. But as men have become more comfortable with fashion, black has seen a resurgence. It’s a color that connotes mystery, sophistication, and perhaps even a little edge. And for those reasons, black persists in menswear.

I find I rely on a lot of black clothing nowadays. Black leather jackets are a favorite, particularly Margiela’s five-zip (a slightly fashion-forward jacket, but easy to wear and has been around since the early aughts). I also often wear black shoes, including black Blundstone boots, black side-zips, and black Brooks Brothers tassel loafers (the ones made by Alden before they discontinued the model). Slim black jeans are also surprisingly versatile, particularly if your wardrobe heavily leans towards the olives and blues found in workwear. Additionally, I like black button-up shirts this time of year, but in more casual materials such as flannel, denim, and chamois, rather than dressy poplins.

If you’re looking to incorporate the color into your wardrobe, however, there’s no better place to start than a simple black sweater. A black knit will go with anything: offbeat Japanese workwear, contemporary labels, and even a health chunky of classic men’s clothing. The great thing about black knitwear is that it forms a visual void, helping your outerwear “pop.” You often see this done in runway shows, where designers and stylists will use black knitwear to help highlight a piece of outerwear coming down the catwalk.

In the photo above, Gerry is wearing an all-black outfit, but in a way that feels classic. The Shetland is from Jamison’s, the moleskin shop coat from JeansDA, the jeans from Orslow, white shirt from Orslow, and unlined suede boots from Christian Kimber x Eidos. “The sweater isn’t pure black when seen up close, but it resolves to black from a distance,” he tells me. “What I’m finding is that, if black is the dominant color in an outfit, then black or white footwear seems to be the way to go. But when black isn’t the main ingredient, you can wear shoes in other colors, such as brown.”

Black Shetlands will probably be your most versatile option, although Shetland yarns are a bit scratchy and will need to be layered over long-sleeved shirts. Our sponsor Proper Cloth has some refined cashmere black knits this season, which can be layered under sport coats or casualwear. If your style leans more casual, a black cotton sweatshirt can be worn with olive bomber jackets, denim truckers, and French chore coats. You can try shopping around at Unrecorded, Blank Expression, Strike Gold, Merz B. Schwanen, 3sixteen, Todd Snyder, and J. Crew for various options. Aime Leon Doré has black waffle knits this season. For something cozy, try the mock-necks and turtlenecks from Drake’s, John Smedley, Anglo Italian, GRP, and Margaret Howell.

One of my favorite black sweater ensembles is this one on 3sixteen co-founder Andrew Chen, who’s wearing a black knit with a Schott B-3 sheepskin bomber and, of course, 3sixteen jeans. Andrew tells me he prefers cotton knits because he finds wool to be too itchy against bare skin. So this season, his company made a half-cardigan stitch cotton sweater in all-black. It strikes just the right balance between plainness, comfort, and texture, and has a bit more body and resilience than cotton Shaker knits. You can layer it under waxed cotton Barbours, vintage Lee denim truckers, or just wear it on its own with jeans, as 3sixteen styled it in their lookbook.

The post Real People: The Very Useful Black Sweater appeared first on Put This On.

The post Style & Fashion Drawings: My Mate Chris Pizarro appeared first on Put This On.

There was a time, however, when California was known for tailoring. The leading men most closely associated with the Golden Age of Hollywood — Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Gregory Peck, and Humphrey Bogart among them — spent much of their lives in and around Los Angeles. Their work also helped spread a lot of American taste around the world: the two-piece suit, the lounge suit as business dress, the button-down collar, penny and tassel loafers, and belted trousers. While California didn’t invent these things, it provided the necessary marketing through films and TV shows. American tailoring is most closely associated with the East Coast, where it continues to live today. Still, many of the most iconic images of American men in a coat-and-tie were shot in Southern California.

Some men there still keep the tradition alive. Robert, who lives in Orange County, one of the suburbs just outside of Los Angeles, wears tailored clothing on most days. For the last fifteen years, he’s worked as an Art Director for a large consumer goods firm, spearheading the company’s branding and packaging design. He picked up his love for tailored clothing through old films. “Even as a kid, I wanted to be Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Bogart, Sinatra, Cary Grant, and John Wayne,” he says. “I’m inspired by old photographs of Hollywood celebrities of the ’30s through ’60s; and those incredible Apparel Arts/ Esky illustrations. I think there is a lot to glean from those decades, but I also don’t want to look like I just walked out of a time machine. It’s probably obvious, but in recent years, my biggest inspiration has been Mr. Yukio Akamine. Most of my ‘aha’ moments come from something I gleaned from him.”

There are all sorts of challenges to wearing tailoring in SoCal, many of which will sound familiar to readers. While the stereotypes here are often overstated, most people here are indeed casually dressed. The weather is also pretty temperate — too warm for the heavy 18oz tweeds and gamekeeper coats that come out of Scotland. Consequently, Robert has had to find ways to keep clothes lightweight and dress things down. In the summer, he often finds himself in Mersolair and Spence Bryson linen suits, which he buys from Kent Wang’s made-to-measure program. The suits are made with a three-roll-two closure, barchetta breast pocket, and patched hip pockets. He also enjoys wearing Castañer’s canvas espadrilles with a rubber outsole, Crockett & Jones’ unlined Harvard loafers, and Kent Wang’s pique cotton polos. In the winter months, he likes tweed jackets and flannel trousers but doesn’t find as many occasions to wear them. So he sports lighter weight Barbour jackets instead with oxford-button downs, wool sweaters, and Alden boots.

“Casual suits look great on men of any age, but especially men who are worried about looking overly dressed up,” he says. “Nearly all my suits have some casual element. Put This On’s articles on suit formality show how you can work with the details — the fabric, color, and construction all play a role in making a garment look less formal. I’ll wear a casual suit almost anywhere. The way I look at it is, if it used to be ‘normal’ for a man to wear a suit in that setting, you still can. For certain environments, however, it helps if you style it more casually. If I were going to a casual lunch with my wife, then for drinks at a pub, I’d probably wear a suit, but ditch the tie, maybe a polo instead of a button-down. I’d do less formal shoes, usually loafers, but occasionally sneakers if I’m feeling rebellious.”

Robert is big into polos, especially those from Kent Wang, G.Inglese, and Lacoste. “I think the fit is most important. Not too bulky in the chest or waist; and a good fit in the shoulder,” he continues. “I think most of the negative stereotypes come from wearing them too casually. There’s a place for that, and sometimes I want to look like an old man on a golf course. But I think that the high-low effect makes all the difference. Trousers in linen, cotton, or wool hopsack; with 2” cuffs, side-adjusters, and extended tab waistbands are details I like in odd trousers in general. But when paired with a polo shirt, I think those details help elevate the formality, making the outfit seem somehow more elegant. I typically wear polos with tailored trousers or casual suits. Kent Wang’s polos have a spread collar that looks great when layered under a jacket or when worn on its own. This past summer, I bought a couple of G.Inglese’s one-piece Miami collar polos from No Man Walks Alone. Those are beautiful, rakish, and make me feel way cooler than I am in real life. Lacoste’s are a classic, and I find their cloth lightweight and comfortable.”

There’s a good smattering of genuine casualwear in his wardrobe, as well. Things that are smart, but not overly dressy, tailored to fit, but not pristine. “I would say, regardless of the season, I often wear Epaulet’s Doyle Jacket,” he says. “The Doyle is their version of a French chore coat. I have one in French blue cotton-linen, one in brown canvas, and one in indigo chambray. I find them very comfortable and versatile. I dress them up a bit with an OCBD and tie. I’ll also wear them with a sweatshirt or sport shirt.”

Some of my favorites from Robert include the three-quarter length topcoats, including this season’s Ikiji in heavyweight cotton twill. Topcoats are a great way to get some of the benefits of tailored clothing without looking like you’re headed into a boardroom. Robert also sports Valstarinos, which is a citified, Italian version of a traditional American A-1 jacket. It’s a style that goes well with slim-straight jeans, flat-front chinos, and even tailored trousers. It’s something you can wear to work and weekends, and it’s light enough for spring and fall.

Then there are the Harringtons and other simple zip-up jackets, which Robert wears exceptionally well. Sometimes these jackets can look a bit too conservative — more retiree than James Dean — but Robert somehow gives them some verve. Even his most pared-down outfits, where he teams a blue madras shirt with a thin belt and white trousers, have something special. “I usually try to match my socks to either my shirt or tie, but if that doesn’t work, I fall back to matching socks with either my shoes or trousers,” he says. “I also try to match my shoes to the tie or jacket when possible. I’ll select a certain shade of brown if I think it will match, say a burgundy color tie or a brown jacket.”

Robert’s Suggestions for Dressing Better

I ask Robert if he has any suggestions for men who are just starting to build a better wardrobe. How does he feel you can dress up in more casual towns? Does he have any personal rules or guidelines for how he puts together an outfit? He shared some tips with us.

Dress Accordingly: “I always start with the weather. Not just in terms of comfort, but also how I feel an outfit may look in my surroundings. If the sky’s blue, I might try to wear blue. If the clouds are gray, I might play off the gray. Next, I think about what I’m doing that day. I try to be very conscious of the level of formality as I put things together. Tie or no tie? How formal of a tie? Should I wear loafers or oxfords? My goal is to feel comfortable, prepared, and also look the part for the day’s activities. If I’m planning on eating a pizza with summer truffles, I might try to match the truffles — seriously. I always start by selecting one piece of clothing that fits within the context. I then try to reinforce the story with the rest of the outfit.”

Take Your Time and Experiment: “I think everyone develops their tastes over time, which in turn informs their style. You have to be introspective. Fundamentally, I feel the key to wearing anything well is being comfortable in your clothes. Fit, I think, is the utmost consideration for being comfortable. You have to feel good about the way things fit you. It’s more than just the length, width, and volume. It’s also about balance, symmetry, and details. Learning how things fit you best takes time, experimentation, and a certain level of risk. You need to be critical of yourself, and at times be open to criticism from others. This isn’t always easy. It can be disheartening, but given time can be immensely rewarding.

I think once you are confident in what looks good on you, it frees you up for more experimentation with styling. The way you put things together is a reflection of your creativity and style. Pay attention to what you see in the world. During my time in the beauty industry, I’ll never forget an interview I saw with Vidal Sassoon, where he said something like, ‘Creativity is like having an antenna. Use it to pick up everything you see. Sometimes you’ll be working on an idea, and it comes to you — wait, I saw that, and if I put that with that.’ Being creative is allowing the things that strike you to manifest in unpredictable ways … creating a mashup, and in essence, bringing about something new.”

Grow A Wardrobe Organically: “Start with what you already own. Picture how each item fits into your wardrobe. Think about how you can make those items more useful by considering or testing out potential fits. Take note of what doesn’t work and what could make it better. Start acquiring the pieces that will make it work to fit the ideal vision you have in your mind.

If I had to start all over again, I’d focus more on suits than sport coats. Especially more 3-4 season suits. I also have a lot of winter clothing, but I live in a place that doesn’t get very cold. I continue to be in love with the fantasy of fall/ winter wardrobes, but I should have spent my money on other things. That said, I want to invest in a couple of overcoats and some of O’Connell’s Shetland sweaters. I think they would allow me to wear lighter weight suiting when it does get cold or rainy.

I also wish bought made-to-measure shirts from the start. And not invest so much in shoes or boots, especially #8 shell cordovan. I probably also shouldn’t have bought so many go-to-hell pants. All things considered, however, I’m not sure I would change many things. We all need to experiment and make mistakes to learn.”

Put Yourself Out There: “If you’re thinking about wearing tailoring more often, my advice is to have the courage and take the leap. We grow by taking risks. Feeling nervous is a sign that we’re exploring new territory, trying something outside of our comfort zone. Again, it comes down to developing confidence.

Several years ago, I started making a conscious effort to wear tailored clothing more frequently. It was a gradual process, starting with dressing to go out more. I’d be better dressed at dinner, better dressed for drinks, better dressed on vacation, and eventually better dressed at work. It was practice. I was practicing to be myself in the world, and learning to feel confident as myself in the world. It takes time to build confidence in yourself. Be patient; it doesn’t just happen. You have to start putting yourself out there. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll gain confidence.”

Thanks to Robert for taking the time to talk with us! Readers who want to see more of Robert can follow him on Instagram. 

The post Tailored In California appeared first on Put This On.

To be sure, there are good reasons to never wear shorts. They can be too suggestive of Boy Scout and private schoolboy uniforms, as well as an age before childrenswear became shrunken-down versions of their adult counterparts. They also show off your legs, and few men have good-looking legs. But most of all, few people know how to wear them well. What do you wear with shorts? How long should they be? Can they be patterned?

For direction, we turned to Sam in South Korea, the head of the Seoul-based menswear boutique THE RESQ & Co. and one of the best short wearers we know. Sam wears shorts three seasons out of the year. During the colder months, he pairs them with parkas, Champion sweats, and neo-retro styled outdoor gear. In the summer, Sam switches those things out for lightweight military-styled jungle jackets, overshirts, chambray shirts, button-downs, and graphic tees. His outfits reference the heydays of American style, particularly Rugged Ivy, and look a whole lot better than the cargo-shorts-with-polo ensembles that give this style a bad name.

Tips for How To Wear Shorts

The Right Cut: There’s nothing wrong with a shorter cut — thigh-length shorts are popular right now — but if you’re getting your first pair, consider something middle-of-the-road. Most of Sam’s shorts fall a little above the knee, which keeps them from looking too fratty or daring. And while he has a couple of baggy shorts, most of them are slim-straight and keep good proportions with his body. “It is important to choose shorts that complement the thickness of your legs,” he recommends.

Color and Pattern: Much like the cut, there’s nothing wrong with something adventurous in terms of color and pattern. But if you’re after something you can easily throw on in the morning, treat these like chinos. “Khaki, olive, and navy are pretty easy colors to wear,” says Sam. “Solid colors are also easier to coordinate with shirts and shoes.”

Details: “I like to wear shorts without a belt,” says Sam. “And I like the design to be functional, so I look for smartly designed pockets and sometimes pleats.” When it comes to the very controversial cargo short, Sam says it depends. “I prefer basic shorts, but sometimes I’ll wear cargos. Cargo shorts often have to be a little longer, ending around the knee so that they can accommodate for the large pocket. Generally, it’s easier to wear plain-colored, khaki shorts in a more basic style.”

Styling: Sam says he generally wears shorts with oxford button-downs and chambrays. Then, if the weather allows, he’ll layer with a lightweight jacket, such as a jungle jacket or military overshirt. In a few of the outfits above, you can also see him wearing shorts with t-shirts. Graphic t-shirts have gotten a bad rap, not undeserved, but Sam’s choices are tasteful. If he goes with a plain colored tee, he says he likes to play more with textures (a waffle knit t-shirt can do this for you).  And for shoes, he generally sticks with classic sneakers, loafers (tasseled and penny), and flip-flops. “I like matching colors through a bag or watch strap,” he adds.

Stay Within an Aesthetic: It takes a bit of familiarity with fashion to do this successfully. You’ll probably need to know a bit about the history of the item or how things are generally combined in specific niches. But the general idea is not to pluck random things from your closet and throw them together in a way you assume looks good. Find a well-defined aesthetic — workwear, Rugged Ivy, contemporary classic, etc. — and work towards that.

Sam mixes and matches the sort of things that have made American style famous. There’s the military surplus gear GIs continued to wear after the Second World War, when they returned home from their stations abroad. There are also campus classics, such as retro running sneakers, oxford button-downs, and collegiate sweatshirts, which comprise the dressed downs styles of the Ivy era.

The best way to wear shorts is to stay within a well-defined aesthetic. When you’re just starting out, however, it can be challenging to learn this visual language. Find inspiration where you can – films, music scenes, historical archives, and fashion lookbooks are natural starting places — and try to create a message with your clothes. We have a two-part series on different casualwear styles.

Favorite Brands: Being the owner of a menswear boutique, Sam naturally favors his own line of shorts, which are available online. If you don’t read Korean, THE RESQ’s website can be a little hard to navigate. However, you can reach out to Sam directly through email (his contact information is at the bottom of the site). Sam says he also likes to wear military and sportswear styled shorts from both vintage and contemporary brands. “RRL, Engineered Garments, and Champion have great vintage-inspired details,” he says.

Thanks to Sam for taking the time to answer our questions! For more of Sam, you can follow him on Instagram. 

The post How To Wear Shorts appeared first on Put This On.

Building good wardrobe is like making a good sitcom. You assemble elements you think have the right chemistry, refine the vibe over seasons, and see how it all plays out in different situations. Over time, the characters (stay with me here) become familiar; you know what works together and what doesn’t, and your audience knows what to expect. Sometimes, you introduce something bold and new; sometimes it works–Rob Lowe and Adam Scott brought new energy to Parks and Rec–and sometimes Poochie has to return to his home planet.

Brett, a TV critic and pop culture journalist in New York, has had his basic cast in place for a long time. “I’ve dressed more or less the same since I was a freshman in high school. A denim jacket, Hawaiian print, argyle and plaid and polka dot, a suit when no one asked me to wear one–those have been staples of my wardrobe for 20 years.” He’s refined his style over time, though, upgrading where possible and getting more comfortable trying different ideas.

With his husband at a friend’s wedding, in an Indochino suit.

About a decade ago, Brett found a style northstar (or consience) in actor Martin Freeman. “In my early 20s, my goal was to dress like all five Strokes at once. Discovering Martin Freeman’s personal style choices was a major turning point in how I look at clothes. I was always self-conscious about being 5’6″ and gray-haired, but Freeman–who is both of those things–showed me I could look like that if I tried.” He checks off Charles Nelson Reilly and Bob Newhart as additional style icons–he even ran a (truly awesome) Newhart style blog, The Natty Newhart.

He also keenly aware of what his clothing choices say to others. “We use clothes to communicate who we are to the outside world and, as a gay man that was deeply closeted through college and who still can ‘pass’ for straight, I like using my choices to be proud. That’s why I default to a lot of florals, pink, and purple… and also partly why I have a mustache.”

Martin Freeman in The Rake, wearing a Mark Powell suit.

For many of us, wearing tailoring is a choice rather than an obligation. We regularly recommend building a suit and sportcoat wardrobe by starting with basic fabrics and designs (navy, gray; single breasted; not a lot of trim detail) to maximize value. If you’re just going to have one suit and one blazer, you need to make them work for the modern semi-formal occasions, where other people’s expectations are still rather narrow — weddings, funerals, job interviews.

Brett makes the case, however, for knowing what you want and therefore going for it. He told me he owns only a few suits, but wears them as much as possible. He saw a green, double-breasted suit online at Suit Supply, and ended up accidentally ordering a custom version. “I made an appointment to go in for a fitting unaware that I was making an appointment with the made-to-measure department. When I showed up, I realized I’d be plunking down twice as much money as a I planned, but my specialist (Josh B. Cooper, who I will always shout out) helped me customize the suit so that I could wear it year round. The default version was a heavier green wool, but I was able to get it custom made in that same shade in a lighter fabric, and half-lined. Way more usable year round.”

“It’s the most expensive thing I own, and I find every. single. excuse. to wear it.”

Brett’s rad Suit Supply suit in green.

Thanks, Brett!

Brett in his Worldwide Pants jacket, which he got while working as a page at CBS, and a great polka dot scarf.

The post Real People: Homing In On Your Personal Style appeared first on Put This On.