For us at the Gentleman’s Gazette, style is a personal journey that develops over time–and this principle is embodied by Sammy Davis Jr., a Hollywood icon whose style remains memorable to this day! In this installment of our How to Dress Like series, we’ll discuss the life and career of one of the 20th century’s most multifaceted entertainers, and how you can emulate his signature style.

The Life & Career of Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. is a Hollywood icon who worked as a singer, dancer, actor, comedian, and activist, and his career spanned six decades. He was perhaps best known as a member of the Rat Pack and his biggest hit song, the catchy single The Candyman hit number one on the Billboard charts in 1972, but he was already a well-established entertainer long before that with a rich and storied career.

Early Life

Davis whose full name was Samuel George Davis Jr. was born on December 8, 1925, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. For decades, Harlem had been a crucible of black talent in the United States and Sammy Davis’ family was no exception.

His father Samuel George Davis Sr. was an African-American vaudeville performer and his mother Elvera Sanchez was a tap dancer and comedienne of Spanish and Afro-Cuban roots. 

Sammy Davis Jr. gives a quick peck to his mother, Elvera Sanchez.

Davis learned a great deal about entertainment from his father and the vaudeville troupe he belonged to, the Will Mastin Trio. Because of this vaudevillian background, Sammy became proficient in all of the standard entertainment disciplines, including acting, dancing, singing, comedy, and even impressions, although he’s most remembered today for his incredible tap dancing routines and his music.

US Army Experience

In 1943, Davis was drafted into the United States Army, where, unfortunately, he encountered prejudice and abuse at the hands of his fellow soldiers. Davis later said that because he had grown up amongst black entertainers and performed largely for black audiences, his experiences in the army were his first real encounters with racism. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be his last.

Sammy resumed performing with the Will Mastin Trio after he was honorably discharged from the army.

He often had to contend with racial intolerance from many of his fellow soldiers, getting into frequent fights and having his nose broken several times. Eventually, he was reassigned to the entertainment branch of the army where he was able to perform for his fellow troops. After the war, he was honorably discharged from the army and then resumed performing with the Will Maston Trio.

Losing An Eye & Gaining A Pack (The Rat Pack)

A near-fatal car accident in 1954 resulted in the loss of his left eye. While he was recuperating, he began to discuss religion with his friend Eddie Cantor, himself a famed Jewish comedian and Davis would later convert to Judaism himself. Within a few months of the accident, Davis had recovered and was back to his rigorous performing schedule appearing in the Broadway show Mr. Wonderful in 1956.

He appeared on the cover of his first album wearing an eye patch after his accident, and this confidence attracted the attention of Frank Sinatra, who was, of course, a very popular singer in his own right by this time. Sinatra and Davis became fast friends and by 1959, Davis was a member of a group that included himself and Sinatra as well as Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. This group would come to be known in popular culture as the Rat Pack.

Sammy Davis Jr. confidently wore his eyepatch on the cover of his album which caught the attention of Frank Sinatra Jr.

Although he was already a moderate star in his own right, Davis’ association with the Rat Pack catapulted his career to new heights. Davis made his most popular films while he was a member of the Rat Pack, including Ocean’s 11 in 1960, Sergeants 3 in 1962, and Robin and The Seven Hoods in 1964.

Davis also maintained an active presence on the nightclub scene, in the recording studio, and on Broadway where his talents as a singer and dancer were always in demand. He was also an active supporter of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, headlining several events to raise money for the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The Rat Pack

In 1967, Davis became the first black man to be featured on the cover of GQ magazine wearing a double-breasted checked suit and matching overcoat that had been tailored by Rat Pack tailor Sy Devore.

Career Downfall & Death

By 1968, after career stress and marital troubles, Davis’ career began to flounder and he did descend into drug and alcohol abuse. Fortunately, though, his third and final wife, Altovise Gore, herself an entertainer, helped Sammy to break these addictions and resume his career.

Davis would remain a popular figure in Las Vegas and on television, especially on variety shows where he liked to discuss his various hobbies, everything from trick shooting to photography. By the late 1980s, though, Davis’ wild lifestyle of drinking and partying had caught up to him and he was now suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and throat cancer.

Sammy Davis Jr.’s tombstone.

A planned tour in 1989 had to be scrapped so that he could seek medical attention and sadly, he passed away from complications due to throat cancer on May 16, 1990, in Beverly Hills. Two days later in tribute to Davis, the lights on the Las Vegas strip were dimmed in his honor and his tombstone fittingly reads, “The Entertainer; He did it all.”

Sammy Davis Jr.’s Style: Diverse & Progressive

Even in his first film appearance in 1933 in Rufus Jones for President at the age of just seven years old, Sammy already looked incredibly stylish in a double-breasted jacket and flat cap. But over the ensuing decades, Sammy’s wardrobe would become very diverse, just as his career would.

Sammy Davis Jr. was already stylish in his first film appearance when he was just 7 years old.

He would wear different kinds of things in his movies, on stage, and in his personal life. While certain elements of his style would change to suit the trends of various decades, other elements stayed with him as part of his central style philosophy.

The Suits of Sammy Davis Jr.

Davis was rarely seen without a suit of some kind and while he would follow some of the more dated trends in the 1970s, his overall choices tended to be darker in tone, and often solid but sometimes with a subtle pattern, like a light check. Early on in his career, he favored single-breasted two-button suit jackets, which were standard for men of the day and, of course, are still a popular choice even today.

Sammy’s suit choices often tend to be in darker tones.

Many of his suits in the 1950s were likely made from mohair, which in contrast to the heavier wool suits of the 1940s, were made from a lighter softer, and more crease-resistant fabric. At this time, his jackets were cut straight in the body, and his pants had wider legs and often had pleats.

He also wore a somewhat conservative wardrobe throughout the early 1960s, again, following what was in fashion at the time. At this time, he came to favor slim-fitting one-button jackets with narrow lapels. He could, however, also be seen wearing double-breasted jackets from time to time, often with a six-on-two configuration.

Sammy Davis Jr. in GQ Magazine cover.

When the brighter colors and patterns of the mid to late 1960s arrived, Sammy was again quick to follow the trends here incorporating more flashy items into his wardrobe. This is exemplified in the GQ cover we mentioned previously, where not only is his suit and matching overcoat in a relatively bold pattern, but he’s also seen wearing a gold ring.

The slimmer lapels he came to favor also had the effect of making his shoulders look a bit broader in comparison, which helped to build up his small frame, as he was only about 5 feet, 5 inches tall.

Sammy Davis Jr. was fond of wearing suits with slimmer lapels.

He also favored slim ties, which were in fashion in the late 50s and early 60s, but continued to wear them well past their initial point of popularity. He was also fond of wearing his top collar button undone and his ties somewhat loosely tied, as can be seen in Ocean’s 11 to give a bit of a more casual, sprezzatura-like feel.

Trousers Fit for An Entertainer

Davis’ entertainment style was energetic and really athletic, as he danced and moved across the stage. To accommodate this, he came to prefer trousers that were of a straighter cut, and also had no break so that his shoes were cleanly exposed.

Sammy prefers straight cut trousers with no break to cleanly expose his shoes.

In addition to wearing trousers with little to no break, he also wore them with a relatively high waist to make his legs look longer. He was a fan of the Hollywood top trouser style, which had a waistband that extended higher than where the belt would sit.

Suits by Sy Devore

The Rat Pack was known to take advantage of the talents of Hollywood tailor Sy Devore, and through designing and building suits for them, Devore became almost as famous as the Rat Pack for a time.

At his shop on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Devore became known for making suits for the Rat Pack out of a distinctive fabric known as sharkskin. This is a smooth worsted fabric that’s woven with two different colored sets of thread made from natural fibers, such as mohair, wool, or silk. The different colors give the final product a two-toned woven appearance creating a subtle texture.

Sy Devore builds the suits for the rat pack.

The overall effect, though, especially from a distance is still of a single color usually in dark grey or navy. And as you might expect, the name comes from the finish of the fabric, whose soft glossiness brings to mind the wet skin of a shark.

Jewelry: A Flashy Statement

Beginning in the 1950s, there was a consumer boom in America as the Second World War had ended, materials were now cheaper and people were more confident in spending than they had been previously. In fact, the economy would grow by about 37%, compared to the previous period in this time, and people were encouraged to buy more items that would previously have been considered luxuries, including jewelry like cufflinks or rings.

Sammy became eventually became a fan of rings.

Celebrities of the time exemplified this and Davis was definitely one of them. He started by wearing a large gold pinky ring and became a fan of rings of all shapes and sizes.

He was also a fan of large, decorative, and flashy cufflinks, and in a memorable television appearance on the sitcom All in The Family, he wore a large gold medallion, which came to be associated with him in the broader popular culture.

His Glass Eye & Eyeglasses

As we’ve already discussed, Sammy only had the use of his right eye for most of his adult life and after moving from the eye patch to wearing a glass eye he also chose to wear glasses as a style accessory. He’s perhaps most well known for wearing a pair of Kazal 623 optical frames but these weren’t his only pair, as he could also be seen wearing styles with thicker rims or oversized shapes.

Sammy Davis Jr. also started wearing glasses as a style accessory after moving on from the eye patch.

Sammy Davis’ Hairstyle

As for Davis’ hairstyle, it didn’t really vary much over the course of his life, as he preferred something slick and conservative. His hair did get a little bit longer at points in the 1970s, but by the 1980s he had returned to the style akin to a disconnected undercut that had made him famous. Of course, the disconnected undercut is one of a handful of classic hairstyles for gentlemen.

Sammy Davis Jr. preferred a slick and conservative hairstyle.

Black Tie Ensembles

Black Tie ensembles were a common feature of entertainers of Davis’ day, but much like his standard everyday suits, he was known to wear his Black Tie outfits in a somewhat nonchalant style.

He kept his lapels slim and while he would occasionally wear peaked lapels or a shawl collar, he was a fan of wearing notched lapel tuxedo jackets. While the notched lapel has come and gone over the centuries as a feature of Black Tie, we would today recommend that you wear a shawl collar or peak lapels as the most traditionally correct options.

Sammy Davis Jr. wore his black tie ensembles nonchalantly.

He would often wear a tuxedo shirt with pleated fronts and would always wear a self-tied bow tie. Indeed, it would often be untied at certain points during shows for an especially nonchalant look. Davis would also frequently wear a pocket square in a bolder and contrasting color. While a white linen square would be the most conservative choice for suiting or for tuxedos, Davis was often known to wear silk pocket squares in louder colors. 

Emulating Sammy Davis Jr.’s Looks: Have Some Fun!

Of course, Sammy was comfortable playing around with the rules of different dress codes and added his own unique touches to things. And his wardrobe of course varied, both from day to day and from decade to decade. As we can see from both his suits and his tuxedos, which were well-tailored but worn with an air of casual elegance, one thing to keep in mind if you’d like to emulate Davis is to not take yourself too seriously.

The many styles of Sammy Davis Jr.

You could try to emulate the slick back hairstyle and pencil-thin mustache that Davis was known for at different points in his career but this might verge on being a bit costumey. If you’d like to go with a look that’s closer to what Davis wore earlier in his career in the 1950s and 60s, you’ll want to go with a slimmer fitting suit. It could be single or double-breasted in configuration, but adding a touch like jetted pockets for additional slimness would be a good choice.

While he was most frequently seen in suits, Davis wasn’t a stranger to the occasional sport jacket, so you could opt for one of these as well in a similar fitting style. Whatever the case, if going for this cleaner look we would recommend a shirt with a classic point or even a spear collar and a slim dark tie.

Sammy’s slick back hairstyle

Conversely, if you’d prefer a slightly more casual look, you could, of course, go for unbuttoning the top button of your shirt collar We wouldn’t really recommend that you wear a loosely knotted tie with an open collar, but of course you could skip the tie altogether for more casual ensembles.

And as we mentioned, Sammy was a fan of loud and large jewelry. While if you were to go for styles he wore, they would probably look a bit dated today you could certainly go for something more modern and subtle. Don’t forget that eyewear, too! Eyeglasses or sunglasses with larger and wider frames, like aviators and wayfarers, can give you that Sammy Davis Jr. look.

Sammy Davis Jr. wearing a bowler hat.

One bonus point here: we often discuss hats on our website, and indeed, Davis was no stranger to headwear. He would frequently wear bowler hats in film, but he was also seen wearing pork pies, fedoras, and other styles.

Conclusion

In conclusion, then, the crux of Sammy Davis jr’s style lay in taking the distinctive features of various trends over the decades and incorporating them into a larger style that was more timeless and unique. Even if you’re not interested in directly replicating his signature looks, the overall lesson to take from Sammy Davis is, again, not to take yourself too seriously and have fun with the way you’re dressing, so long as you also know what makes you look good.

How do you like Sammy Davis Jr.’s style? Would you dress like the ’60s icon? Let us know in the comments!

While hats were once a requirement for any man in a public setting, societal changes through the 20th and into the 21st century have now made hats entirely optional in all but the most niche of settings. Today, we discuss wearing classic hat styles as a modern man and how to do so confidently and stylishly. 

This post is the first of a two-parter on hats. The second part will cover the surprisingly easy and simple process of reshaping a felt hat at home.

The Fall of the Hat-Wearing Tradition

Many attribute the decline in hat-wearing, particularly in the US, to the presidency of John F. Kennedy–a man who was known for his good looks, including his hair.

The story goes that when JFK went hatless to his presidential inauguration in 1961, sales of hats across the country dropped precipitously. While this story has been repeated in print and elsewhere many times, the fact of the matter is it actually isn’t true. In fact, JFK actually revived a hat-wearing tradition at the inauguration.

JFK in morning dress with a top hat

While President Harry Truman, a former haberdasher himself, wore the customary top hat to his inauguration in 1949, his successor Dwight D. Eisenhower chose to wear the slightly less formal homburg to his inauguration in 1953. When he did so, Truman also wore a homburg that day as a show of good faith.

JFK did have a top hat at his inauguration, and that was well covered. It just so happened that for reporters and cameras to see his face better during the inaugural speech itself, he wasn’t wearing the hat at that time.

When Did the Cultural Shift Against Hats Really Begin?

It can probably be traced to the end of World War II when returning servicemen were so sick of wearing things on their heads like helmets or their uniform headwear that they stopped wearing hats more and more in civilian life as well.

Whatever the historical case for the decline in hats may be, we’ve begun to see a bit of a hat renaissance in the last 15 years or so. This can probably be attributed in part to stylish television shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire, where hats are depicted regularly. More and more modern men are again starting to see the virtues that a classic hat can provide.

Nucky Thompson from Boardwalk Empire (Image credit: HBO)

But if you’ve never worn a traditionally styled hat before, you may be worried that if you try to wear one now, you’d look silly, unconfident, or out of place. We’re happy to say, though, that this doesn’t have to be the case. Let’s run down some tips to stylishly wear hats in this day and age.

7 Tips to Look Great in Classic Men’s Hats

If you’re looking to transition more often from ball caps and beanies to more classically styled hats, we’ve got seven tips today on how you can do so effectively.

1. Find a hat style that complements your face shape

Not all hats are created equal, of course, and as we’ve said, there are many different styles, so you’ll likely want to try on many different shapes and sizes of hats to see which one harmonizes best with your natural proportions. Since a hat naturally sits so close to your face, it will draw the eyes almost immediately.

Find a style that complements your face shape.

Therefore, finding a hat that works well with your face shape is definitely important. Of course, be sure to learn your hat size as well. This is especially important if you’d like to wear a stiffer hat style like a homburg, bowler, or straw boater. These hats aren’t going to stretch and conform to the shape of your head as much, like flat caps and some fedoras will.

2. Make sure that your chosen hat complements your skin tone

Once you’ve found a style or, indeed, styles of hat that you would like to purchase, the next big consideration is probably going to be what colors you want to get. One important consideration when contemplating color is choosing a hue that harmonizes well with your skin tone. Since the hat is, again, closer to your face than some of the other elements of your outfit, this isn’t an insignificant concern.

For men with pale and or lighter skin tones, darker colors like charcoal and medium gray, dark to medium brown, and navy blue are best. In other words, the menswear staples will contrast with your skin and bring warmth and color. For a more adventurous and fashion-forward look, you could try something like burgundy or perhaps dark green.

Best hat colors for pale and lighter skin tone.

If you’ve got a more olive skin tone, your slightly warmer complexion will benefit from colors that are either slightly brighter or darker than the middle ground. For example, you could take a mustard brown trilby. Lighter grays will work here as well, and the bold can experiment with more different types of colors.

If you’ve got a darker skin tone, we’ve got good news here: you can pretty much wear any color you’d like but try to keep some contrast between your skin color and the color of the hat.

Hat colors that are either slightly brighter or darker than the middle ground will work best on someone with an olive skin tone.

One shade that we would advise wearing only sparingly, however, is black. It’s probably going to wash out a lot of skin tones, and it won’t harmonize well with many outfits. Black hats are best worn only with more formal dress codes like black homburgs for Black Tie and black silk top hats for white tie. Even morning dress will often substitute a gray top hat for a black one.

3. The hat color you choose must harmonize with your outfit

After considering your skin tone then, our third tip is to keep in mind how the color of the hat you’ve chosen will harmonize with the other colors in your outfit. For example, if your outfit features browns and blues, a brown hat would be a safe bet, while a blue hat could work but would be perhaps a bit more daring. If you’re wearing an outfit that has many grays, a grey hat is obviously going to work well.

Outfits mostly in blue can work equally well with a brown or a gray hat depending somewhat on the colors of your accessories and leather goods. That is to say, if you’re wearing mostly brown leathers, go for a brown hat, and if you’re wearing black leathers, go for a gray hat.

Choose a hat color that complements the other colors in your outfit.

As a personal example, the two hats in my own collection that I wear most often, at least outside of the summer months, are trilbys in charcoal gray and mustard brown. They pair well with almost any outfit, and they don’t overpower it.

In the winter, don’t forget to consider how your hat will pair together with your outerwear, not just your overcoat but also your gloves and scarves. The techniques for pairing these accessories together well covered in our How To Pair Overcoats with Gloves and Scarves can also be extended to hats. The exception to these points about harmony lies chiefly in the realm of summer hats.

A selection of straw boaters, each with a multicolored, striped band.

Warm weather hat styles, with the partial exception of the straw boater, are generally considered less formal overall and are less of a finishing touch to your outfit as they are a practical accessory. As such, you don’t really have to worry if your summer hat is paired quite so exactly to the rest of your outfit with the possible exception of a straw boater, which, again, is more formal than other summer hat styles. So, in the warmer seasons, have fun and experiment.

4. Pay attention to the weather

Transitioning, then, from seasons, our next tip is to pay attention to the weather. Remember that a hat isn’t a purely stylish accessory. It can also serve a direct function.

In the summer or on any sunny day, a traditional hat style with a brim can help keep the sun out of your eyes. Hats can also keep your head from getting wet in the rain when you’ve forgotten your umbrella, though we wouldn’t really recommend getting them soaked. And they can also help keep snow off in the winter.

A nice straw hat for the summer.

Also, whether it’s a straw hat in spring or summer or a felt hat in fall or winter, hats can work to regulate your body temperature keeping your head cool or warm as desired. With that said then, keep in mind that certain materials look best and perform best in certain seasons.

Felt and other wool hat styles are the safest choices for autumn and winter, where they can also be supplemented with ear warmers in the latter case, and they can also work on cooler days in the spring.

Felt and wool hat styles are best during the winter seasons.

Meanwhile, straw hats are best worn exclusively in summer though they can be worn on warmer and sunnier days in the spring. These aren’t absolute rules, of course, just general guidelines to keep in mind.

5. Be mindful of the overall formality of your outfit

Certain hat styles are more formal than others and thus, can affect your outfit accordingly. Generally speaking then, the stiffer a hat style is, the more formal it is. The prime example of this would be the top hat, which is a quite stiff hat sized specifically to one’s head using a specific machine and is also worn with only the most formal of dress codes–White Tie and morning dress.

Down one step in both stiffness and formality would be the homburg worn with Black Tie and stroller suits, the bowler or derby also worn with strollers and suits, and the straw boater worn with warm-weather black tie and formal summer looks.

A top hat is only worn with morning dress or white tie events.

Next would be fedoras, trilbys, and pork pie hats good for business attire and some smart casual outfits, followed by flat caps and panel caps, which are good for smart casual and casual looks, especially in the fall.

Of course, there are many other hat styles that we didn’t mention here but in general, remember that the stiffness of a hat can be used as an indicator of its formality and make sure that the hat is similarly formal to the rest of the outfit you’re wearing.

6. Be mindful of hat etiquette

This is another point that we won’t spend a great deal of time on today as it has its post, but suffice it to say, if you’re confident in your knowledge of traditional hat etiquette, which should still be observed, at least to some degree when wearing traditional hat styles, then you’ll be that much more confident with the hat in the ensemble.

Be mindful of wearing a hat in public and private places.

As a general rule, your hat should be on in public spaces and off in private spaces, but be sure to read our Hat Etiquette Guide as there’s a lot more nuanced than that.

A Note on Hat Hair

One of the upsides of maintaining a traditional hairstyle as Raphael and I do, or an otherwise close-cropped style like Kyle does, is that you won’t have to worry about a traditional style of hat mussing up your hair. So long as you put on and take off your hat properly using two hands, your hair should never need more than a quick touch-up and often won’t be disturbed at all.

Remove your hat properly with two hands so your hair won’t need a touch-up.

In fact, I sometimes use a battered old trilby, which I refer to as my hair hat, to hold things in place in the middle of styling. Traditional hats can work with more modern, which is to say, longer hairstyles, but the hair will likely have to be swept out of the face or otherwise held back.

7. General Hat Style Tips

Our final tip here is a set of general style pointers. Hopefully, all of our preceding points have been building your confidence.

If you’re still a little bit wary, try to keep all of them in mind, and also, consider wearing a more minimalistic look overall. That is to say, think about keeping the rest of your accessories and outfit details pretty basic. Especially for a new hat wearer, a hat can carry some weight both because you might feel some comments and compliments from others and because you might feel a bit self-conscious, which will be communicated in the way you carry yourself.

A simple yet stylish look.

Going with a simpler look using staple colors, neutrals, and maybe even a monochromatic feel will free up your mental energies to making sure that your hat looks good and you’re following the other considerations we outlined today.

Overall, remember the old saying that “You should wear the hat. The hat shouldn’t wear you.”

Conclusion

Finally, here’s a piece of good news: while the evidence isn’t exactly scientific, history and aesthetics tell us that wearing a hat can actually make you more confident because a hat will often make you look taller.

Wearing a hat adds confidence as it makes you look taller.

It can, therefore, send a subconscious signal of increased strength or power. This is evidenced by the fact that many police and military dress uniforms often feature a hat, as did many other types of uniforms in past centuries. So, let this confidence spur you on to more hat wearing. Combine it with all of the tips that we laid out today, and you’ll be well on your way to making classic hats a staple of your wardrobe.

What’s your favorite classic men’s hat, and how do you style it without looking dated? Let us know your techniques in the comments section!

Stated plainly, there are those who look forward to middle age, and those who dread it–the “midlife crisis” is a common phenomenon, after all! Aging is inevitable, however, and we believe a gentleman should embrace the benefits that come with it, while at the same time steering away from habits that make him look older than he needs to!

Men and Middle Age

When you really think about it, men should look forward to middle-age. We’ve learned lessons from our youth, we’re more secure at work, we’re more confident in our social situations, and we’re set up to enjoy life.

So, why is middle-age so feared? I think, for a lot of men, it’s the start of old age in a society where youth is valued very highly. It’s a sad thing for many out there. While a gentleman knows that every stage in life has its significance and beauty, very few want to appear older than they actually are.

Age-appropriate?

Aging is a common topic around the Gentleman’s Gazette, probably because we all age, and when it comes to clothing, there is the aspect of age appropriateness. Basically, all that refers to is styles and types of clothing that look particularly well on a person of a certain age.

Of course, the so-called rules aren’t intended to limit your spirits or creativity in any way. They’re merely a guideline to help you look your best. On that note, we cover balancing style and maturity in our guide on How To Dress Your Age.

Mistakes Middle-Aged Men Make – Mistake #1: Behaving like times haven’t changed

I find that more formal occasions are often a perfect display of men wearing things they’re simply no longer appropriate. Just think of your Uncle Philbert, who clearly pulled out a jacket for your cousin Danny’s wedding that is two sizes too big, with shoulder pads like a football player and a buttoning point super low like a 1990s Armani jacket. The same goes with a wildly printed 90s silk tie. They are just simply not in style anymore, and for good reason.

Another one of those drastic changes is weight gain, which can make you look and feel very different. Conversely, some gentlemen experience the opposite, where they’re losing mass and muscle, and it makes their bodies look scrawny, and their faces are drawn out or thin.

Preston as “Uncle Philbert” in a suit that’s much too big.

An easy first step to combat these effects of aging is by dressing appropriately for your body type. And yes, I mean the body type you have today. Not the one you had 30 years ago. That clothing will help define, contain, and structure the look of your body in a way that is flattering. It will also hide imperfections.

Quality clothes typically come with a lot of fabric reserve, and so having a good relationship with your alterations tailor allows you to change the look of your garments and make them more flattering, no matter what your current physique is like. An alterations tailor is certainly not a magician. He or she can truly help you hide the signs of age that you sometimes encounter with clothing, and we discuss what he or she can do in our guide to Suit Alterations.

An alterations tailor can help you change the way your garment look so it’s best to have a good relationship with them.

Let’s be honest, many age-related changes to your body can be very drastic, and that pair of trousers that fit so snuggly simply can’t be altered and made larger anymore. Wishful thinking about the body type you had and the hopes that you maybe one day return to that will most likely make you unnecessarily feel bad about yourself.

Mistake #2: Gravitating toward trendy haircuts

For many men, one of the first signs of middle-age is changes in their hair; it could be receding hairline thinning of the hair or graying follicles. Yes, I know exactly what I’m talking about. If we compare videos from the early days of our YouTube channel today, you can surely see that my hairline is receding and thinning.

Recently, a company sent me a laser helmet that’s supposed to bring my hair back. They say I should use it every second day for 16 weeks. So far, I’m only halfway in, but I haven’t noticed any changes. By the way, it’s 100% unsponsored.

Raphael’s hairline – then and now

So, does this thing work? Frankly, I have no idea, but the fact that they sent me a bunch of stuff, such as hair gummy vitamins, anti-hair loss serum, and shampoo, and anti-thinning conditioner, as well as 3-in-1 hair growth formula supplements with extra strength, I really doubt that this in itself is really doing it, because why otherwise would they send me all that other stuff?

I guess I take advantage of money men’s fear of losing their hair and have a throw everything at it approach, hoping that something or everything altogether will surely help. Nah, I won’t use all that stuff; I don’t really believe in it, but after all, I’ll try the helmet because what do I have to lose? My hair is coming out already.

A company sent their products for Raphael to try. No visible changes, so far.

Obviously, the degree and the positioning of the hair loss varies from person to person, but when you think about your hairstyle, it makes sense to think about how much hair you still have and where you have it.

Trendy haircuts are designed for young men that exaggerate areas that simply aren’t so flattering anymore for older men, especially if they have thinning hair. For instance, the modern pompadour accentuates the hair in the crown and the front, which is typically an area where middle-aged men lose their hair first, or see a receding or thinning hairline.

The modern hairstyle pompadour isn’t really suited for middle-aged men.

In the same vein, the extreme undercut buzzes away all the hair on your side, making the thinning top of your hair look even thinner than it already is.

The way these trendy haircuts draw attention to your problem areas makes you look even older than you actually are. That’s why my recommendation for middle-aged men with a relatively full head of hair is to stick with classic haircuts that are not extreme in any way, shape, or form.

We talk about our favorite classic style haircuts in our guide to Timeless Hairstyles for Men, and if you’re considering hair loss treatment, our honest, 100% unsponsored review of the five top hair loss treatments for men might be helpful.

An Ivy League hairstyle can emphasize your hair volume.

Of course, ideally, you talk to your barber and see what he recommends for you and your hair.  In broader strokes, here are some concepts you might want to consider.

1. First, if you start to see receding hairlines, you can focus on haircuts that emphasize your hair volume. A good example of this would be the Ivy League hairstyle. That aside, taper fades can also give you the appearance of volume, and it can be incorporated in most haircuts.
2. As your hair recedes, consider more of a chopped look, which makes your hair look denser. The butch cut works very well here, as well as the Caesar’s cut, which was named after the Roman emperor.
3. Finally, as the bald patch on your head expands, hitting your receding hairline, it’s probably time to go with something like a buzz cut or a crew cut. You can even go with a smooth shaved head, and bald can be beautiful, and why not be bold. When a hair in your head starts to fail you, you can start growing a beard, and many young men who turn bald early can grow impressive beards. 

A chopped look, like the butch cut and Caesar’s cut, is best for receding hair.

Aside from hair loss, most men will experience some graying that maybe even turn into white hair one day, but as a matter of fact, that can be a benefit of age, which transitions us nicely to our next point.

Mistake #3: Not accepting your gray hair

Most middle-aged men try to hide the fact that they’re graying or deal with it the wrong way. Of course, while the first gray or white hair on your head can be a shock to you, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A grey streak, especially in dark hair, can make you look sophisticated and dashing. For this reason, we believe that, for most men, embracing their gray hair rather than dyeing, it is the way to go.

Just look at Greg Berzinsky of Beardbrand, for example. He just has an impressive hair color and a beard to match. If you choose to dye your hair, just be aware of certain pitfalls.

Greg Berzinsky looking sophisticated and dashing with his gray hair color.

Be cautious when you employ at home dyes. They’re typically quite strong and can just color your hair more than you’d like. The problem is this will be very noticeable to other people, and you will actually appear older with your dyed hair than you would have looked without.

Oftentimes, it can also make your hair color too uniform, which is obviously not natural anymore, and it looks like you’re trying to hide your gray hair. People will assume you try to hide your age, which is the quintessential definition of making you look old.

Mistake #4: Ignoring your body hair

Just like the hair on your head changes, it does on your body, too, and ignoring that is another mistake. It’s sadly ironic that for many middle-aged men at the time, they started losing their hair; the hair on their knuckles, their ears, their noses, and so forth start growing excessively. For example, I have a few eyebrows here that always get super long unless they’re groomed. The same thing is hair on my ear and hair on my nose. So, I constantly have to use tweezers to pick them.

Remove all those unsightly body hairs.

Obviously, hair coming out of your nostrils, unkempt eyebrows, or hairs on your ears and nose is something that people are going to see right away, obviously. So, making sure that you keep those in check first is the best course of action.

One can have body hair on your chest and back, which isn’t as immediately visible, but it can impact your self-esteem, so you want to take care of it and avoid grooming mistakes. The right grooming tools may be what you need to keep you looking young, and we’ve listed our favorites in our Grooming Products Recommendations.

Mistake #5: Neglecting (or not having) a skincare routine

After all, when it comes to small things that have a big impact on how old we look, skincare is probably at the top. How you want your skin to look is obviously a personal choice, and while some people will not want to see any wrinkles, others just accept them as part of getting older.

We don’t argue in favor of having extensive skincare routines, but at least you should have some basic preventative skincare measures that protect you from UV radiation.

You don’t really need to have extensive skincare, a sunscreen will do when heading out.

The first probably most important tool is, therefore, sunscreen and, ideally, you get an SPF anywhere from 30 to 50 depending on where you live. Especially when it’s sunny, you put in sunscreen every time you go outside, and you’re exposed to sun rays. I know that’s hard to do. But because of that, many moisturizers these days that men are supposed to put on everyday, anyways, contain SPF, so you don’t have to think about it twice.

In addition to that, wearing a hat and using a moisturizer will make your skin, especially in the face, look young for longer. A good product will include ceramides and hyaluronic acid, a molecule and a fatty acid that’s naturally produced by our bodies. It’s supposed to help protect the skin and hydrate it.

Applying moisturizer regularly will make your skin soft and young-looking.

Some on our team like the CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Solution because it’s not overly oily or greasy, and it comes at a very reasonable price. I’ve also tried Tiege Hanley and VitaMen for my buddies Aaron Marino and Antonio Centeno. My wife is really into skincare and loves Beautypedia because they tell you exactly what works for what kind of skin. Because, in truth, not all skincare products work for all types of skin. And so what works for you may not work for me and vice versa.

General Skincare Tips

1. Drink lots of water throughout the day because proper hydration makes your skin look young and supple, and hydrated.
2. Get sufficient sleep, which is about eight hours from most people, give or take. So, how is your sleep impacting your skin or the way you look? Well, a lack of sleep can cause an imbalance of hydration around your eyes. It leads to dark circles or eye rings that make you look tired and just older and worn out more. A lack of sleep also contributes to the stress and strain on your body, which makes us age even faster.
3. Last but not least, wear sunscreen, avoid prolonged sun exposure, and use a moisturizer daily.

Drink a lot of water.

I know it’s all easier said than done. Personally, I drink a lot of water, and I get enough sleep. But I have challenges putting on sunscreen and moisturizer regularly.

Mistake #6: Wearing clothing as a uniform

Uniform dressing is a perfectly acceptable way for men who don’t want to think about their clothes and just wear something and go about their day. I think President Obama did that when he was in office. Uniform dressing is definitely not our style because we believe that a style should reflect how you feel. 

However, sometimes, you might find yourself in a rut where you simply don’t know what else to wear, and so you gravitate towards the same things over and over again. Also, as you age, those looks may be less flattering.

Wearing the same things over and over could be less flattering.

For example, look at young Alain Delone in the 1967 movie Le Samouraï. His à la mode, gray suit looks really elegant because it highlights his youthfulness and his built. The plainness of his suit is intentional as to not distract from his figure. The exact same suit and the same color can look very conventional and boring on a middle-aged man.

To make an outfit appear livelier without aging yourself in the process, we advocate for using color and texture in your outfit. Why? Because it will zest up your look and will probably be more fun and satisfying.

Raphael looking dapper in different suit ensembles.

Especially in casual settings, Don’t be afraid to go out there, try and experiment. That means pastel colors during the warmer months of the year and darker, jewel-tone colors during the year’s colder months. Also, experiment with patterns such as checks, Prince of Wales, and stripes, and don’t feel like you have to always stick with solids. Also, rich textures such as tweed or flannel can be much more interesting than the same plain worsted fabrics you’re used to from your business suits.

Even if you are in more formal settings, you can still play with your accessories here. A relatively conservative pairing of a light blue shirt in a grey suit has been colorfully accessorized and striking with subdued weight. But there is another side of color and pop for middle-aged men, especially when it involves too much of a good thing, which brings us to the next pitfall to avoid.

Mistake #7: Wearing flashy things

While plain clothing can fade middle-aged men into the background, loud and bold colors can make you look gaudy. If something makes you feel good when you wear it, go ahead and wear it because you can in this day and age without major life consequences.

However, if you’re wearing flashy clothes to regain your youth, you’re not going to fool anyone. Also, too much color and vibrancy can give off the impression that you’re trying to look younger, which in turn makes you look older. Just like with the trendy haircuts we mentioned earlier. 

An outfit that is too bold will give the impression that you’re trying to look young.

Extreme fashion-forward clothes, bold lime, and pink colors, as well as exaggerated slim cuts, are not something that is typically associated with the seasoned maturity and self-awareness of middle-aged men.

For that reason, once you hit middle-age, go through your closet. Get rid of those old 90s ties, those blazers that are just not you anymore, and they don’t flatter you. At the same time, don’t just buy new clothes that are made for 20-year old’s. But, try to find something with more texture and subdued colors and classic patterns that will stand the test of time.

Mistake #8: Wearing clunky comfort shoes

The wear and tear on a middle-aged body, along with the gain and confidence that comes with age, can often lead men to wear nothing but comfortable shoes. And when I say that, I mean physically comfortable shoes because there’s also an aspect of psychological comfort. Obviously, we dress for ourselves, but a choice of shoes can make or break an outfit.

Some of the worst offenders of comfort shoes are typical tennis or workout shoes, as well as those clunky, square-toed slip-ons that men like to wear when they get a little older. The fact of the matter is that you can achieve the same or similar level of comfort with much better-looking dress shoes.

Never wear these shoes with your suits.

Obviously, if you need to wear orthopedic shoes for medical reasons and you cannot afford a bespoke shoe from an orthopedic shoemaker, by all means, go ahead and wear them. We just don’t want anyone to think that comfortable shoes are, per se, tennis shoes and ugly, but comfortable shoes can also be high-quality leather shoes.

It’s the same thing with suits. Many men think that dress shoes or suits are, per se, uncomfortable. In fact, just cheap, poorly constructed suits and dress shoes are uncomfortable, not the higher quality, better ones.

Opt for a pair of chukka boots for a more casual look.

I get it. The black Oxfords have their time and place but maybe think about a loafer if you want more casual footwear. Maybe boat shoes or a chukka boot. Likewise, driving mocs or a tassel or a derby shoe can look really good. They can be quite comfortable, especially if you utilize insoles. Orthopedic shoemakers can also work things into existing quality shoes. 

Mistake #9: Not embracing one’s age

As we said in the beginning, middle-age can be an incredible time for gentlemen. Sadly, someone insists that they cling to their past. Conversely, others accept defeat, and they consider being middle-aged the start of being old and the end of life as they knew it. They consign themselves to old, boring style to boring thoughts and activities, and that in itself will make them older faster.

Raphael looking confident and dapper as always. (Tie and pocket square from Fort Belvedere)

For the self-aware gentleman, however, middle-age is the age of abiding friendships, loving partners, and great achievements, and a whole new world to explore. And he wouldn’t waste a minute of it by allowing himself to be artificially aged by bad habits.

Does middle-age excite or scare you? Let us know how you feel about aging and if you’re guilty of these mistakes in the comment section!

Building a classic menswear collection is an ongoing journey–and today, I’ll walk you through my wardrobe, show you the purchases I’ve made to build it, and discuss some gaps I’d like to fill!

Today, I’ll give you some insight into where my wardrobe stands currently (as of the filming of this video in the fall of 2020), and what I like and dislike about it. By the way, stay tuned for Part II, where I’ll dive more specifically into my collection of accessories, coming soon!

Preston’s Closet Tour (Transcript Lightly Edited) 

This is most of the full scope of the closet. Obviously, I take up roughly half of the real estate here; the other half belongs to my wife. Space-saving hangers certainly do come in handy for me here in our humble apartment. A special thanks to my friend, Tim, for gifting them to me!

Preston is also a baseball fan.

Minnesota Twins Jersey

The first item I suppose I could mention, because I do keep it in my closet, is a Minnesota Twins jersey. Of course, I am a baseball fan and not absolutely everything in my wardrobe is classic menswear-inspired!

Jackets

Moving on to jackets – we’ll start first with odd jackets – we’ve got this piece, which is louder and bolder in almost kind of a madras-like pattern or at least a plaid overall. But I do like the color scheme and like to have something a bit bolder as an option in my wardrobe. 

Next up is one you’ve seen many times. This is a camel hair sport coat – a vintage model. In fact, it’s got the football style buttons as you can see here. I am a big fan of this one and wear it quite often; as is also the case with my double-breasted navy blazer. This is a vintage model that I found secondhand, as well. And this is another one of my favorites.

Preston’s camel hair sport coat.

Obviously, it’s got contrasting buttons, which makes it a blazer. If you’d like to learn more about blazers, you can find our video on the differences between those sport coats and suit jackets here.

Next up, another sport coat you’ve seen quite often. This one in a kind of a charcoal color with a herringbone pattern. I’ve had this one for quite some time, but I do quite like it.

Preston’s charcoal herringbone sport coat.

Here is another vintage second-hand model. This one in kind of a more bold blue color. You can see it’s only selectively lined here. So I will wear it commonly in the summer, and I do appreciate the slight knobbiness of the weave in certain areas here. And it’s just a bold and distinctive color so, again, I enjoy wearing this one in less formal settings.

And another herringbone jacket; this one in linen. I’ve only had this one for a few years, but it’s become one of my fast favorites and, of course, you’ve seen it in several posts and videos.

Full Suits

I also have full suits in the closet. So I will start with this one. This is a two-piece in not quite a navy blue, perhaps more of a medium or even a royal blue.

Next up here is the black suit obviously one you don’t see very often. Again, black – not a terribly versatile color. We’ve got a guide on whether or not you should wear a black suit, and how often you can, which is something you might enjoy.

Preston in a brown patterned suit. (accessories from Fort Belvedere)

I’ve also got a brown patterned suit. It’s another two-piece, of course, and it is a vintage model. But, I do appreciate the dark, kind of charcoal brown color, and, obviously, subtle pinstriping. I also find it quite nice.

Next is a newer acquisition from Suit Supply, as you might be able to see on the hanger there or on the inside of the jacket here with this nice bold lining. And you can learn whether or not we think Suit Supply suits are actually worth it or not in our Suitsupply Review post.

Preston’s newly acquired navy suit from Suitsupply.

Finally here, for suits, we’ve got a charcoal model with kind of a subtle pattern and texture in the weave. This one is the sole three-piece suit in my collection with a waistcoat here, as well.

Wardrobe Gaps

As far as gaps In this part of my wardrobe are concerned, I think I would like to add some more full suits to my collection – single and double-breasted styles, two-piece and three-piece, probably some incorporating more patterns. Most of my suits are solids, so, I would like to add some of those, perhaps a medium gray suit that fits well would be one that I would like to acquire.

Preston hopes to fill his wardrobe gap with pieces that fit and complements his style (…but probably not this very 1970s suit!)

As far as the odd jackets are concerned, I feel that you can never really have too many of those. 

Shirts

I have a white ground with a microgrid pattern in a light blue and green, a simple blue and white striped model, a Prince of Wales check in blue and yellow over white. Also, I have a plain blue, a blue gingham pattern on a white background. I’ve had many of these in my wardrobe for several years. Some of them, almost 10 years at this point.

Warmer hues shirts are organized here. I have one in a plain pink pastel, of course; another micro-check pattern in red and blue on a white background. I have one in a purple color that I believe Tira calls lilac.

Preston’s patterned dress shirts.

This one again, here, in a glen check in a more traditional kind of cooler purple color. I also have one in pink and blue, again, on a white background. And you will note, as well, that most of my shirts again happen to be French cuff models. I quite like French cuffs and cufflinks, but more on cufflinks when we talk about accessories.

Next up here, a microgrid in green kind of lime green on a white background. Here. another twill weave shirt – this one in a yellow pastel. I have another one with a micro-check in blue and yellow on a white ground; another check pattern. This one I like because it’s got several colors in it. There is orange, there’s purple, there’s green, and there’s blue. And here we’ve got my plain green shirt.

Preston’s pink pastel dress shirt.

Next up here, another check in a darker blue and kind of a magenta color. This one, another of my oldest dress shirts. I believe it is from Calvin Klein, and it’s another micro-check, of course. You can see I’m quite fond of those because they are versatile; they have character without being too flashy, for the most part.

Most of Preston’s shirts have French cuffs.

This one, of course, is in light blue and black on a white ground. Here, we’ve got a finer stripe in gray and white, and this one is in ecru or off-white.

I’ve just got a collection of white shirts. I’ve got a few spread collar models here. Although, I really don’t have too many spread collar shirts in my wardrobe.

Short-Sleeved Shirts

As we continue moving through the racks here, we’ve got short sleeve button-ups for more casual ensembles in warm weather. Summer is a more casual season. In a lot of circumstances, overall, I find that these short sleeve button-ups are good for those kinds of casual ensembles. 

You would usually see Preston in his short-sleeved shirts during the summer season.

And here, we’ve got my selection of short-sleeve button-ups from Charles Tyrwhitt. These also have button-down collars, which again reinforce that they are, indeed, casual shirts.

Polo Shirts

Still in the realm of short sleeves, but we’re moving on now to polo shirts. This one, one of my favorites. I’ve had it for many years and I like it quite a bit. In a navy blue color with a textured kind of weave that gives a sort of striped feel.

This empty hanger here is for the shirt that I’m currently wearing. You’ve seen this one in videos elsewhere in the channel; in kind of a grayish-blue color with variegated white stripes. This one, is in fact, from Polo in a navy color, as well, and kind of a thicker coarser weave.

Preston’s polo shirts.

Here’s one more turret model. This one is a flannel in kind of a dark magenta, sort of a jewel-toned color with accents in gray and blue. And you can find our video on how to wear flannels here and here. Of course, these are not shirts at all but my odd waistcoats, which I wear on occasion with my jackets. This one is in navy blue with a subtle lighter blue overcheck.

I have one in a micro-check of sort of brown and blue tones that are very subtle. And this one – in plain black. Although, again, I don’t wear it terribly often because it isn’t too versatile. So, that rounds out the shirts in my wardrobe.

Trousers

We’ll start here with my white pair of trousers. These are from Brooks Brothers, as you can see by the hanger here. I don’t believe I’ve actually worn these in any videos for the channel, as yet. Although, you have seen them, given that I did wear them as part of the sort of club formal look that I wore for my wedding ceremony. You’ll find that almost all of my trousers are plain. I find that it helps to ground outfits in a very simple way, especially when my shirts are incorporating more patterns.

Most of Preston’s trousers are plain and in solid color.

So, we’ve got, for example, a khaki color here, charcoal gray, a medium to a slightly lighter brown. Here’s a black pair, one of a few. This pair, slightly more unique, in sort of a gunmetal blue-gray, perhaps you might call it. This pair is one of the few patterned pairs in my wardrobe, although the pattern is very, very subtle. Here’s another black pair. This is actually the oldest, uh, pair of trousers that I still have in my wardrobe.

Preston wore these white trousers at his wedding.

Here, we’ve got a navy blue, another black pair, a bolder medium blue, another brown pair. These have a bit of a warmer tone than the other brown pair. 

And here we’ve got another sort of khaki color, although this is a bit more in the stone range, and this empty hanger here is for the pair that I’m currently wearing in kind of a taupe shade somewhere between gray and brown. So, they can work in either family and they’re versatile in that regard.

Preston’s khaki pants (belt and buckle from Fort Belvedere)

As far as gaps in my wardrobe, I feel that I do have a fairly solid collection of trousers here. Although, I’m always on the lookout for more pairs. I might incorporate some more patterns, as well, in the future. And as far as shirts are concerned, again, I feel that I’ve built up a fairly solid wardrobe here. Though, I’m also always on the lookout for new shirts, as well. 

In particular, you’ll notice that, although I do have many colors here, I don’t have any shirts in an orange shade. So, that’s one that I’ll be on the lookout for, and I would like to get more casual options and more polos in the future, as well.

Sleepwear

My bedside seemed like a perfect place to give you a brief look at the few sleepwear options that I do have that fall into the realm of classic menswear. We’ve got here a matching set of pajama shirt and pajama pants. Also part of that set, actually, was this robe; as a matter of fact, too, in kind of a navy blue color fairly simple there.

Sleepwear options – pajama sets, robes, moccasin slippers.

This is an old pair of slippers, kind of a moccasin style that I’ve had for many, many years and kept around. I’d like to get a more formal style at some point, but just for the sole functional purpose of keeping my feet warm, they do their job and they’re not terribly bold or flashy in how they look. And here, of course, is my vintage dressing gown in kind of a burgundy red color featuring some fairly bold accents.

You’ve seen this, I believe, briefly in our vintage buying video, as well as in the interior design classics video.

Shorts and Undershirts

Believe it or not, I do have a small collection of shorts, although you probably won’t see them in a video anytime soon. I’m not a frequent wearer of shorts by any means; not even in warm weather. Although, I do have a few pairs and here, of course, undershirts in white but also in gray to more closely match my skin tone; to be worn under dress shirts that are particularly thin. Having shirts in a different color than plain white can sometimes be a smart choice. 

Preston’s shorts and undershirts go in the drawer.

Casual Trousers

In this drawer, we’ve got more casual trouser options like denim jeans, of course, as well as things like corduroys for when casual pants are the order of the day.

Sweaters

I also have a collection of sweaters, most of which you have seen on the channel in some form. Things like plain blue, blue, and brown in a pattern. Here, this more rustic brown model.

This one – brand new to my collection. Haven’t even removed the tags yet again from Hawes & Curtis. Stay tuned to see if we produce a video on them. Here, my wine colored cardigan from Charles Tyrwhitt, one of my favorites. This one – in a berry purple color.

Preston’s new sweaters from Hawes & Curtis.

These particularly soft sweaters, I could fold but they’re decently well-spaced in this drawer, so I never really have too many issues. A bit of a spritz with vodka can usually take wrinkles out.

This one in plain black. Here, a sweater vest in light gray and this one, a quarter zip in an oatmeal color that you’ve seen a time or two on the channel.

Under Things, Athletic Wear & Swimwear

And down here in the bottom drawer, mostly what I’ve got down here is extras of underthings, pajama socks.

Preston’s underthings, swimwear, etc. is in the bottom drawer.

Here is where I mentioned you can find a bit of athletic wear, as well as some swim trunks of various different types. But that about covers the dresser. All right.

Large Hall Closet

So, now we’ve moved from the bedroom to the large hall closet, which contains the remainder of my wardrobe. So, up here on the top shelf, unglamorous but you can see I’ve got a couple of boxes. This is where I keep all my shoe polish, shoe brushes, shoe care, shoelaces, shoe bags. All of that, perhaps, a subject for a future video. We definitely plan to do more with shoe care in the future.

But, moving on here to what we’ve got in the closet.  This is a piece I wear quite often. Standard navy blue Harrington jacket from Polo Ralph Lauren, one of the staples in my wardrobe. And we’ve got a couple of garment bags here, of course, from various places. This one from Suit Supply, I believe. That one more heavy-duty, of course. 

Preston’s navy blue Harrington jacket from Polo Ralph Lauren.

Moving on, these three pieces, again, are brand new acquisitions at the time we’re originally recording this video. These from Hawes & Curtis. Here’s my overcoat area. This one in navy blue. This one in plain black. And you can see a pair of Fort Belvedere gray gloves in that pocket. I’ve kept them in there. We, of course, have a relatively wide selection of glove styles, as well. So, be sure to check out the Fort Belvedere shop for that.

This one, a vintage military overcoat. You can tell, of course, from the buttons, as well, there. I may get the buttons replaced if I choose to wear the coat just for its color. I certainly wouldn’t want to be accused of stolen valor or anything of that nature.

Preston’s vintage military overcoat.

Here is my collection of scarves. I won’t go over these terribly in-depth, but you can see this one in kind of grays and browns, another gray model, some burgundy red, blue. This green one, knitted for me by a friend.

This one in a check pattern, again, in browns and grays. Here, in what might be called a macro herringbone pattern, perhaps. Uh, here’s a more standard herringbone in gray, and, I believe, that about covers the scarves, at this moment. I would, of course, like to get some Fort Belvedere scarves into my wardrobe, as well. Here, a shorter overcoat-style. 

Preston’s collection of scarves

This one in a charcoal gray color, and this one, perhaps, my favorite a vintage camel hair coat that I picked up from a small local shop. But I quite like that one, and we’ve got various other pairs of Fort Belvedere and other gloves here in the pocket, and these burgundy ones are touch screen compatible gloves. So, quite handy there. Let’s do a bit of reconfiguring here, and then I can show you some of the other elements, like Black Tie and a few pieces I don’t wear terribly often.

Formal Wear

Next up here, we’ve got formal wear, and then also pieces in my collection that, for one reason or another, I don’t wear terribly often. So here, of course, a standard pleated front tuxedo shirt, which you have seen a number of times on the channel before. A pair of Black Tie trousers with the single gallon or braid along the side here in black.

Two ivory dinner jackets, both featuring shawl collars. This one – single-breasted and this one – double-breasted, a more recent acquisition. A vintage model originally from Sam’s Tailor in Hong Kong. You can also see the sleeve style here.

Preston wearing his ivory dinner jacket. (accessories from Fort Belvedere)

Another pair of Black Tie trousers with a grosgrain braid, but these are actually unhemmed. I have not worn them, but I keep them on standby here.

We have a variety of different White Tie and Black Tie jackets, as well. This one – a vintage shawl-collared tailcoat, which was given to me by a friend of mine. In fact, it was maestro Andrew Casey with whom I’ve collaborated on a few concerts and different things. You can learn more about him in my concert video.

Preston in his black tie ensemble. (black tie accessories from Fort Belvedere)

Here is one of my vintage Black Tie tuxedo jackets – double-breasted here. Although, you can see that it is in need of a bit of steaming and ironing, and I, perhaps, will even have to do some restoration work on these lapels. That one in midnight blue, as is this vintage tailcoat. You can see the vintage, almost kind of grosgrain-inspired buttons here. Next up is another tuxedo jacket. This one, again, in black with a peak lapel and single-breasted in style.

Other Pieces

Here then are pieces that I still have in my wardrobe, but that I don’t wear terribly often. This again is a medium to light gray suit and that was included in my things I regret buying video because it is a very cheap quality, but I don’t wear it because it doesn’t fit me very well nor does this houndstooth sport coat, which you have seen before but again is fairly large on me, so I don’t regularly wear it. I would like to get a sport coat in a houndstooth pattern that fits me better than this one does.

This jacket you’ve seen a few times before. Again, kind of boxy on me. I will wear it from time to time. I do like the pattern, but again, I would like to get something similar that fits me better. This jacket fits me fine. It’s a vintage model, obviously, in green. A single-breasted blazer with contrasting buttons. Fits me well, but is so bold that I just don’t wear it very often. I will on occasion. This jacket, also a bit boxy on me, in shades of blue and brown but could be tailored a little bit to fit me well. I think it’s at least roughly within my wheelhouse.

Some of the pieces that Preston doesn’t wear quite often – like this herringbone sport coat.

This is a waistcoat, uh, that does not have any sort of size adjuster on the back so is a little large on me. And finally, here, you have also seen this jacket in a bird’s eye weave in a few various other videos; also a little boxy on me, and the sleeves are a bit short, as well. But, I think with some tailoring, I could get this jacket to fit eventually.

Shoes

I have excavated my shoe rack from the closet. We can actually start with the pair I’m wearing here. These are tobacco brown suede loafers from Scarosso, a favorite pair of mine.

So starting in on my shoes, we’ll just work from the top down. We’ve got here a pair of cap-toed, black derby shoes. I’ve had these for almost close to 10 years now, I think, and they’re definitely starting to show their age a little bit.

Cap-toed black derby shoes.

We have here a pair of single monk straps in black. These were covered as part of our shoe series. Here we’ve got a pair of Allen Edmonds loafers in black. These do also have rubber soles, but given that they are Allen Edmonds shoes they can be resoled when the time comes for that to happen.

And here on the end, we have a pair of dark brown, sort of chocolate brown, uh, suede loafers. I quite enjoy those, as well. Here is another pair of Allen Edmonds. These in sort of a woven leather design in a medium brown; good as a summer shoe. You’ve seen these shoes a few times on the channel, especially in my early days when I first started with the Gentleman’s Gazette and hadn’t really built up much of a shoe collection yet. 

Single monk straps in black.

Obviously, as you can see, rubber-soled shoes and quite thick rubber-soled shoes at that. This here, a pair from Moral Code. You see I’ve got shoe trees in them right now. Also covered in our shoe series, they are derby’s with broguing, but no medallion on the toe, which is interesting; makes them slightly unique in that regard, I suppose. Another pair of Allen Edmonds. These are Park Avenues, I believe, in a brown color.

If I work in a zigzag pattern here, these shoes from Undandy, are in kind of a chocolate brown suede with contrasting laces. The laces are actually from Fort Belvedere, and you can find many different colors of laces in our shop. Here, we’ve got a pair of wholecuts from Ace Marks. I like these shoes quite a bit. In addition to how they look, I very much appreciate that hand-painted patina. They are excellently comfortable shoes. I absolutely love wearing them, and they never give me any trouble.

Wholecut oxfords from Ace Marks.

Here is another Allen Edmonds, of course, this a traditional penny loafer-style in kind of a dark oxblood color. Of course, to almost all of my shoes, I have had rubber half soles or soul savers put on. I’ve got poor balance due to a physical disability, so I will often augment my shoes with various things.

These rubber half soles, I’ll often put in insoles to control sweat and moisture as I do also have a condition called hyperhidrosis. And, occasionally, these tongue pads, as well, to get shoes to fit better. So all of those different devices can help me with my footwear, to get things to fit me better.

Penny loafer-style shoes in oxblood color from Allen Edmonds.

Here, we’ve got a pair of gray suede derbies. This from the brand Heinrich Dinkelacker and they feature Johann Rendenbach soles. Here, a pair of Sperry Top-Sider – perhaps the classic boat shoe. And you can learn more about boat shoes in other videos we have produced. 

This, certainly, is a bolder shoe from a, basically, a fashion outlet called Strange Island. We again reviewed them as part of our shoe series. And here, a pair of brown and white spectator shoes. Again, wingtips. These are cheaper shoes. I found them on relatively short notice because I wanted to wear a spectator style for my wedding, and given that it was just as we were getting into the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, my options for purchasing were a bit limited.

Preston wore these spectator shoes at his wedding.

In addition to all of those, I will also highlight here a pair of rubber overshoes. These come in very handy in wet weather and also in the winter months. Here, we’ve also got a pair of dark leather, again, kind of an oxblood color of some dress boots made by a company called Parkhurst. I don’t wear these terribly often as I’m not much of a boot guy, generally.

And then, of course, that brings us to my final pair – my vintage pair of Allen Edmonds opera pumps. You can see that I should perhaps re-dye the bows at some point on these, but these have served me well when wearing various Black Tie ensembles over the years. I’ve also now had rubber half soles put on these.

Preston’s opera pumps from Allen Edmonds.

In addition to the shoes that I showed on the shoe rack here, there are a few other pairs in my collection as well. There are a pair of burgundy oxfords from Beckett Simonon and a pair of tan derby shoes with a bit of broguing from Allen Edmonds that I didn’t show today because they’re currently undergoing a bit of restoration and repair.

Another two pairs that you didn’t see were a pair of green suede loafers from Loake and a pair of moccasin-style loafers from Velasca, both of which aren’t in my regular rotation because they are a bit too big on me, even with modification.

Wingtip oxfords from Taft.

Rounding out this group of shoes that you didn’t see would be a pair of wingtip oxfords from Taft, which I’ve decided to use as an experimental pair to see how I can do different types of shoe polishing techniques, and a brand new pair at this time of black oxfords from Carmina. 

And, as far as shoes are concerned, you can see that I have several styles already and perhaps my biggest issue is that I’m currently running out of space. But, certainly, I would always welcome other shoe styles in my wardrobe. So, stay tuned for more shoe content.

Additional Wardrobe Gaps

I would also perhaps like to get a few other overcoats in the future, and as I said, more odd jacket styles, which we also covered earlier. But with that said, that basically covers my whole wardrobe as it stands currently. So, let’s head back to the studio and I’ll give you a few closing words there.

Preston’s wardrobe.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this look at the current state of my wardrobe and a peek at my apartment. As I alluded to with the pieces from Hawes and Curtis, my wardrobe does continue to change and evolve over time which, in essence, is one of the broader themes of this video.

So, whether you’re just starting out on your sartorial journey or you’ve got a well-stocked collection that you know like the back of your hand, chances are that there’s always room for at least one new piece or for a new combination of pieces that you hadn’t considered before.

And if it’s been a while since you’ve done a thorough evaluation of your own wardrobe like I did today’s, we’d suggest that you do so. You may find garments that you’d like to toss, repair, or donate or you might just come up with some new ideas for how to put your wardrobe elements together.

How often do you evaluate your collection? Share how you build and revamp your wardrobe in the comments!

As many of our frequent readers know, we are passionate about classic men’s style, especially historic clothes. So, today, we’ll take a closer look at the outfits and suits in the original Godfather film from 1972. We’ll try to point out things that are off, note certain details, and what we could have maybe improved.

Pasta Cannoli’s, Tommy guns, and striped suits today are often associated with a gangster genre, and they owe this legacy in a great part to the original Godfather movie from 1972. The costume designer was Anna Hill Johnstone and she tried to emulate a 1940s aesthetic. Of course, though, with them being in the 70s, usually these movies all have a certain hint of the era they were filmed in, just like for example, The Great Gatsby does.

The Godfather: Menswear Style Review

Don Vito Corleone

Black Tuxedo

First up, let’s take a look at the godfather himself Don Vito Corleone. As you know, the movie starts out in his office at his daughter’s wedding day with him wearing a black tuxedo. When you look at him, looks like a stiff shirt. You can see there are some X pleats there, which means it was a stiff shirt front, a Marcella bib front– not a pleated shirt front. His bow tie hangs there slightly crooked. And if we take a closer look, it’s actually a pre-tied bow tie.

You could also see a big red boutonniere pinned on his lapel, not worn through the buttonhole. In the 40s, especially mid–1945 after the war when this movie was set, men would have worn the boutonniere through the buttonhole, not pinned onto it. You can see he has two visible shirt sets, which is accurate at the time.

Don Vito Corleone’s stiff shirt comes with a Marcella bib front.

Today, shirts oftentimes have three visible studs. In the beginning, they look black but upon further notice, they almost seem like a gray glass that becomes lighter with a reflection at times. There’s even a photo where it almost looks white but in the movie, he wore something that was probably a darkish gray.

And exactly you could also really see this kind of v-cut of the vest. It shows you that it’s a proper evening vest, not something that you often see today but in the 40s, you would definitely have worn the tuxedo with a cummerbund or more commonly with a vest. So, that’s correct.

The shirts studs that Don Vito had in the movie looked darkish gray.

You can definitely see that it’s a bib shirt front when he takes off his jacket. If you look at his bow tie, it’s like dangling there and it’s very symmetrical and the tips are exactly on point, it’s very flat and it’s a sure sign that in the movie, they used a pre-tied bow tie. Back in the 40s, men would have tied their own bow tie. So that’s definitely not accurate.

Here in this one scene when he slowly turns around. You see there’s an adjuster on the left side because it’s a wing collar and that is something that, in 1945, he probably would not have worn because he would have worn a fixed proper black bow tie, which is the right way to do it; the classic way to do it and that’s the only style we sell at the Gentleman’s Gazette shop.

You can tell that Don Vito was wearing a pre-tied bow tie from the adjuster that was visible on the left side of his collar.

Interestingly, you can see here that he’s wearing a white tie shirt with a detachable stiff collar. In one picture, you could see the color start reflecting from underneath. So, back in the day, men would have shirts where the collar was not sewn on and this wing collar was typical for a white tie shirt, for example, but it would also have been worn more in the 20s and 30s with suits. Later on, collars became attached, they became softer, they weren’t starched as much.

But what he’s wearing in terms of a shirt would be kind of a mix because, for Black Tie, you’d have a softer collared shirt that was turned down collar–a trend the Prince of Wales, late, Duke of Windsor introduced but he was old school in the 1940s and so, he would wear this more stiff-collared formal shirt.

Don Vito was also wearing a detachable stiff collar.

You can also see that it’s not a typical double cuffed shirt that you would get today. If you look at the cuffs, they’re rounded and they’re single cuffs; they’re not folded over. There’s one thing you can actually see his cufflinks a little bit, and you can see that they probably match the shirt studs. Of course, in the 70s they didn’t have 4k or HDTV so it’s hard to see the details. It was very common to have a dress set that had coordinated shirt studs as well as cufflinks. 

You can see them wearing a swivel T-bar cufflink, which was a little more pedestrian, and typically, for evening sets, you had two-sided sets such as from Krementz, for example, or other places that had these double-sided dress sets. It’s hard to see, but actually, the back of the collar is piped with silk satin. Typically, in a tuxedo, the lapel is faced in satin or in grosgrain to make it different from a regular suit and to be a little shinier and sparkle the light.

Don Vito also wore unfolded single cuffs.

So, the piping that he has is typically something you would have seen earlier in the 20s or in the 30s for formal morning wear, not for formal evening wear. That didn’t take place until the late 60s or 70s, and I remember that Maurice Sedwell from Andrew Ramroop, he had this kind of a piping that looked kind of funny, and on a tuxedo, but this is definitely an influence from the 70s in this costume here.

Next, let’s look at his lapel. You can see little ripples, which is common in silk lapel, so that’s normal. And while his lapels are quite wide, they’re probably on the wider side of the 1940s lapel. And he also has a notch lapel, which, at the time, was not very popular especially for tuxedos, because classically, they have a peak lapel.

Don Vito also had a notched lapel with little ripples, which is normal for silk lapels.

Yes, you can find notched lapel tuxedos and you could probably even find them rarely in the 40s. But they were usually associated with a rental tuxedo or kind of a lower class tuxedo, not something the top-of-the-food-chain mobster boss would have worn.

In this one scene, we get a close look at his waistcoat. It has three black buttons. And, actually, if we take a closer look here you can see that the shirt bib doesn’t reach all the way down to the vest. So, you can see that the length of the vest is a little too short for the shirt, but if it was shorter the pants have a low rise and so the shirt peeks out from underneath the vest. So, an Italian mobster of this caliber would have certainly had his suit tailored and this outfit was not tailored for Marlon Brando, I can tell you that.

A closer look at Don Vito’s waistcoat here indicates that his suit was not tailored for him.

There’s only one scene where you can see the shoes. It seems to me like it’s a pair of black leather derby shoes. It’s really hard to tell and that is a style that maybe in Austria is correct to be worn, but in the US you would typically wear either opera pumps with a bow in patent leather or regular calf leather, or you’d have plain toe oxfords. And this is, again, not correct.

So, overall, how does the Godfather himself stack up? There are a number of issues; the adjustable pre-tied bow tie, the boutonniere, the cufflinks, and the little details that are off. But compared to other people in the film, just look at this guy here, for example, with his socks that are too short and the pants actually coming out on top of the vest, he’s doing much better.

Don Vito also wore what seemed to be a pair of derby shoes.

Also, he’s not as bad as Johnny, for example, who wears a ruffle shirt, which was popular in the late 60s and 70s, but not at all in the 40s. So, they clearly took something from the modern-day era and put it in the movie. I don’t know if it was product placement or it was just an oversight. I can see they wanted to make the character more flamboyant, but it was just wrong, and no one would have worn that in 1945.

Brown-Gray Striped Suit

Okay, next up, we see Vito’s brownish-grayish bold striped suit. It’s another interesting outfit because he wears it for a business outfit. The shirt is kind of in a pale-ish olive green, and his tie has kind of a micro pattern that is a 60s-inspired kind of Macclesfield pattern, which you would typically see in madder silk. Here, it’s kind of harder to tell what it is exactly. There are tones of blue and red, maybe even a little brown.

Lapels seem to be at three and a half inches wide, which is something that you could have worn in the 40s. Later on in the 70s, they became wider so this is pretty much on point. In this one scene here you can see that it has a single vent, which again suits at a time probably would have had no vent, and the single vent came from horseback riding, more in the 60s and 70s; you definitely had more center vents.

Don Vito’s brown-gray striped suit.

You can also see he doesn’t have a pocket square, and kind of a missed opportunity in that sense, but again not all men wore pocket squares back then. In terms of sleeve length, he likes to wear his sleeves longer. He did with a tuxedo, where you couldn’t see the shirt, and here, too, you can’t see any shirt cuff.

I mean, interestingly, you can see all the others wearing traditional business suits with like white shirts, but he’s wearing this very casual ensemble, just showing “I’m the man. I don’t have to adapt to conventional dress codes. I can wear whatever I want when I conduct business.” He obviously favors those earth tones, which are different than what usually people would wear around him, and it’s just another nod to the way the film uses color to define characters or make implications. For example, whenever you see orange, something bad is going to happen.

Assassination Attire

His preference for earth tones is continued into the next scene when there is an assassination attempt. This is overcoated in this kind of lovat color and they’re in the street and you see the orange fire burning; there are oranges on the shelves that he’s gonna buy and then it all goes downhill–he takes five bullets, basically.

You can just see how he goes down, he has this bold multi-stripe tie. I definitely think it’s something that I would have worn. Also, the shirt color, is that like a plain white it’s maybe like a pale orange or pastel shirt, which is definitely something you would have seen more often in the 40s; They’ve fallen a bit out of favor.

The assassination attempt on Don Vito Corleone.

If you look at the hat, it’s a silver belly colored fedora, right? All in that kind of earthy tonal range that is more subdued and less contrasty than like a black or navy or charcoal suit. Actually, as he gets shot and falls down and turns towards the front so we can see him, you can actually see his belt buckle and there’s a little C on it for Corleone.

Double-Breasted Dark Suit

Later on, when Vito has recovered, and they’re at the table with all the other mobsters trying to keep the peace, you could actually see him deviating from that color scheme. He wears this dark three-piece suit and he has a collar that’s very classic, very long. Today, you’d see a much more spread collar. In the 70s also you had these big, bold oversized collars, and I think this would be okay for the 1940s, with the exception of the tie space. This collar has a lot of tie space, which is something you saw later on in the decades. In the 40s, you simply saw less tie space.

The tie is kind of a brown, red, and blue paisley tie, which stands out a little bit, but again it’s hard to tell. He also wears a pocket square in a kind of a crown fold to just underline the somber importance of the event. If you take a closer look, you can also see that it’s a double-breasted suit that has a vest underneath of it, which for 1945 is something you still could have seen because central heating was just starting to really become mainstream, and up until then places are a little cold. So, I think that extra layer underneath the double-breasted layers kept you extra warm.

Don Vito deviated from the Earth tone colors and can be seen wearing a dark DB suit during his recovery.

Since he was an older guy, it’s realistic that he could have worn that kind of style, but today, you’re definitely not going to see that unless you go custom. Also, during World War II, there was a fabric shortage, so double-breasted suits, in general, fell out of favor because they use up more fabric than single-breasted suits. I could argue Vito wearing this kind of a suit just shows them that he’s from the older guard, or maybe that he’s disregarding the needs of the common man or society, in general.

Casual Attire

Later in the movie, you can see Vito wearing a much more casual outfit. It consists of this shirt that is grayish with an orangey overcheck, which is unusual with slightly contrasting gray wool pants. There are tones of olive green muted blues and orange in his shirt.

If you look at his collar, it doesn’t have collar stays, but he buttons it up all the way, which is kind of a funny look. It’s not a really 1940s thing, but it’s odd, but it also has a pocket and you can see it’s not neatly ironed. It’s just a shirt for comfort.

Later on, you can also see him wearing a dark gray cardigan as a form of outerwear. If you take a closer look at the shoulder of the shirt you can see that the seam is outside of his actual shoulder, so it’s cut a little too big. I don’t know if it was intentional, or just an oversight.

Don Vito can be seen wearing a casual outfit later in the movie.

Now that he’s not in the helmet of the family anymore, he spends more time in his garden playing with his grandson, which is also seen in his last scene, he has the same kind of gray trousers that he wears again, right, because it doesn’t have to change so much.

His shirt looks kind of whitish or off-white, sometimes hard to tell in the sun. The shirt is definitely cut looser, which was much more typical at the time because shirts typically weren’t worn on their own, so they were really there for comfort and to protect your outer clothes, so they were cut really roomy and not slim fit at all. So, that’s pretty accurate of a shirt that someone would have worn at the time.

Don Vito in a different casual outfit — an off-white shirt and gray trousers.

He also still wears his hat outside because that’s what men did; they wore hats especially the ones of the old guard.

Michael Corleone

Military Uniform

So, next up, let’s look at the outfits of Vito’s youngest son Michael. He’s first introduced coming to his sister’s wedding after the war wearing his kind of greenish-brown military uniform and dragging along his girlfriend, Kay, who is not Italian.

The uniform is a standard olive green jacket, and the shirt has a tan color that you would have seen in US uniforms at the time. When he’s introduced he doesn’t want to have anything to do with a family business and he’s aspiring to do his own thing that is a little more socially acceptable.

Michael was first seen wearing his military uniform at his sister’s wedding.

There are epaulets on the shoulder, but then a half belted back and a center vent. Nevertheless, though, if you’ll take a closer look, you can see the stereotypical Italian bracelet. 

Brown Corduroy Jacket Attire

Later on, you see glimpses of his outfits but they’re not really full outfits. So, the next full one comes quite a bit later when they discuss the assassination attempts and you can see him wearing a kind of a brown corduroy jacket. He has this kind of button-down collared shirt with a fine white and maybe grayish stripe; it’s a tie that has orange-brown and white in it, with kind of a bolder stripe, it’s definitely a pattern that would have been popular maybe more in the 50s, I’d say, so it’s probably pretty accurate.

He’s wearing a wristwatch with a leather band. He’s wearing dark socks and gray pants. They seem to be flannel, but it’s hard to tell. And actually, the shoes, upon close inspection, they are bluchers named after the German General von Blücher and they’re like a derby variation.

Michael Corleone wearing a brown corduroy jacket.

Oh yeah, on another zoom in, you can see the corduroy, which is brown and at the time it’s a very classic fabric, it’s actually made in the same way as a velvet just with a cut in ridges. You can see this jacket here in that close view has a machine-stitched hem, which is something that became more popular in the late 50s, sometimes also earlier 50s, higher-end handmade suits typically would have hand-picked stitching and not as strong machine stitching. You would also see that later on in the 70s, so maybe that’s what they chose there.

In general, having a button-down collar with a tie can be a hotly discussed topic and to learn more about where you can wear them together or not, we answer that question on our website, too.

Michael can also be seen later on wearing a brown overcoat.

In other scenes, you can also see that same outfit with kind of a brown single-breasted overcoat, and very kind of classic clean somber look, but again utilizing these earth tones; no stark contrasts of white shirts.

Ivy League Suit

Yeah, when he tries to get his father out of the hospital, you could even argue that it has this kind of Ivy League or Trad style look. After all, attended college, and he looks a little more educated than his brothers because of that. When I say educated, I mean he just looks more like someone in an Ivy League school would have looked than the brothers do. The brothers are more flamboyant; they’re noticeably different compared to Michael. And again you can see maybe there’s an orange in his tie, and that’s a hint that his innocence will soon, yeah, be over. 

And no, I’m not the only one making up this Ivy League term. There’s this one scene where Sonny refers to Vito’s odd trousers and jacket combination is an Ivy League suit.

Michael looks a little more educated than his brothers because of his Ivy Style look.

And obviously, as you know, the suit comes from the French word suivre, which means to follow, and it’s referred to a jacket and pants out of a matching fabric. So a combination can never be a suit. That’s what I reference Ivy League kind of comes into play here.

Three-piece Flannel Suit

If you look at Michael’s next outfit here, he actually wears this kind of gray three-piece flannel suit with a button-down collar shirt, again, that he wears with a tie, striped that looks like a white maybe a gray, could also be a kind of washed-out dark blue – hard to tell exactly in the picture. 

You could argue that the typical business colors of red and gray, which we made a video about, are a very kind of common business color combination and he wears that here to indicate he’s serious about business.

Michael wore a three-piece flannel suit in this scene.

Of course, he has different plans and doesn’t intend to honor anything that’s agreed on and walks out, killing a cop and the guy who tried to assassinate his father.

Take a closer look there you’ll see some collar gap, which is generally something Hollywood has issues with a lot of times; that fit is not a hundred percent and it’s just surprising because in British productions, oftentimes they just get that right every time.

Sicilian Attire

As Michael heads off to Sicily, you can see him wearing this kind of striped vest, which is too short for him, walking around with his bodyguards, and a flat cap.

Wedding Suit

The next major outfit again is then him wearing his like black wedding suit. It’s a black double-breasted wedding suit that he wears instead of a morning coat. In Sicily, at the time, you know maybe morning coats weren’t the style anymore, but you still had that boutonniere, and this time it’s worn through the buttonhole, not pinned onto it. It’s a big white carnation and interestingly, he wears a Winchester shirt, which means it’s a white-collar with a different colored body.

Michael wore a black double-breasted suit at his wedding in Sicily.

Even though the carnation is so big you can see him with a little bit of a pocket square, and sometimes it actually blends together, but if you look closely there’s actually a pocket square and a carnation.

Double-Breasted Gray Suit

Last but not least, one interesting outfit worn by Michael is his double-breasted gray suit. It has this kind of faint stripe. He has this kind of light blue or off-white shirt with kind of a black and white striped silk tie. He’s wearing it with a Homburg hat and it’s actually was somewhat of a renaissance for the Homburg hat because it has this brimmed curl, it’s an older hat and the history goes back to back to Homburg, a town in Germany where the then Prince of Wales would often come for vacation and he picked up that hat and made it popular.

As you imagined, in the 70s hats had already fallen out of favor, but this movie for a short while actually managed to make him more popular again, especially the Homburg, which is what was also known as The Godfather Hat. I mean, even RUN DMC adopted that Homburg hat and it had mainly to do with this movie, I’d say.

Michael Corleone wearing a gray double-breasted suit and a Homburg hat.

If you notice one thing, he rarely actually wears a pocket square even in the last scene, maybe it’s because he just doesn’t care about it. I think in the 30s you would have seen men with pocket squares across the board. Here, he only wore it for his wedding day, and I think that maybe it’s just part of a style of the 70s; pocket squares weren’t really popular anymore, but maybe it’s just a symbol at their mafia that they can do whatever they want.

Sonny Corleone

Double-Breasted Tuxedo

Next up, let’s look at the oldest son of the Corleone family, Sonny and you can see him wearing a tuxedo especially a double-breasted tuxedo with peak lapels, and it’s not a 4×1, which would mean you had four buttons and one closing button, but it’s a six-two meaning six buttons with two closing buttons. Considering this is right after the war and during the war single-breasted jackets were the number one thing, you can see that he likes to be flashy and more flamboyant. 

You could have certainly seen those and you can see it’s definitely a wider cut, which in the mid-40s, you know, some of the tuxedos could have been still from like the 30s because if it was a 40s suit, they would have been a little trimmer in the pants. You can see there’s still quite a bit of shoulder padding, there are no vents in the back, which was very common and typical.

Sonny Corleone can be seen wearing a double-breasted suit with peak lapels in this scene.

Same if you look at the tuxedo of his father, that was also ventless and you can pretty much only see it in this dancing scene with his daughter here. That was the proper way to do it because the idea of no vents in the back meant that you get a clean silhouette.

You can see that he has no pocket square, but he actually wears the same white tie shirt, with stiff and double cuffs that are not folded, so they’re not traditional and double cuffs, but it’s a white tie shirt with a double-breasted tuxedo. It’s kind of a more unusual look but I don’t know if they would have actually done it like that in the 40s.

Sonny also wore a pinky ring to match his outfit here.

You’re going to see his pinky ring and he has the T-bar cufflinks, which again, there would have been more double-sided cufflinks.

I mean throughout the movie, Sonny is kind of the impulsive one, kind of a hitman of the family. Again, he’s also wearing an adjustable bow tie that is pre-tied, again not something you would have seen, just doesn’t look great.

Grey-Black Suit

In this next scene, you see him beating up his sister’s husband because he abused her and he’s just, you know you can see his tie is not really tied, and he’s wearing this kind of grey-black suit; the vest isn’t really done, but he still has black and white spectator shoes that just yell like, “Look at me!”

Overall, his impulsive nature is portrayed through his clothes. He’s just never really put together. 

You can see Sonny wearing a seemingly black-gray suit with an undone vest and tie here while beating up his sister’s husband.

It’s not thought through, it’s just whatever you know comes to mind in any given situation.

So, was it accurate for the 1940s? It’s hard to imagine for me that someone would have been so open, because again, it was not common that you just showed your shirt in public on the street, right? It must have been pretty different but maybe he just didn’t give a **** about dress codes at the time.

Gray Double-breasted Suit

In his final scene here, he has another unfinished outfit. It’s kind of a gray double-breasted suit that he’s wearing without a tie has kind of blue overcheck and a shirt is light blue, too, which is fine but typically and traditionally, at that time, a double-breasted suit was a little more formal than a single-breasted one because it had the peak lapels, had more of that military influence. So, not wearing a tie would not have been something a typical 1940s man would have done.

Sonny was wearing a gray double-breasted overcheck suit during his final scene.

Obviously, after his Tommy gun, the suit is hardly recognizable but overall, he’s not someone to look up to for genuine 40s style or classic men’s style, in general.

Fredo  Corleone

Black Tuxedo

Next up, let’s look at another brother Fredo Corleone. In this short opening scene you can just see him saying hi to Kay, talking to Michael and it’s very obvious that he has this adjustable bow tie, a pre-tied, seems like they all had it–he has that big carnation and for him, if you take a closer look here you can actually see that he does neither of a cummerbund nor a vest, so you see the end of the bib and the shirt underneath just bunching up.

Definitely not something that a person his position would have worn like that. I think it was an oversight of the costume designers here; they just thought it didn’t matter or what, but not very historically accurate.

Fredo can be seen here wearing a black tie outfit minus a cummerbund.

Otherwise, you know, he’s wearing the same kind of stiff shirt with the T-bar cufflinks here, too. 

You don’t see much in the movie, once, quickly, when the dad’s assassinated, it’s just more obvious that he can’t kind of get his gun out quickly enough. He has more of a softer side, some may call it effeminate, even.

Disco Vegas Attire

If we look at him here later he’s sent to Vegas and he’s kind of welcoming Michael, he has this kind of creamish, off-white, or even yellow sport coat that he combines with a black shirt with like a disco collar. And no, it’s not just like a classic collar from the 40s and I get it, right, Vegas was always out there and he also had this bandana, which was dark with a pattern on it.

In contrast, you see Michael, for example, with a somber dark business suit, the kind of reddish tie and he tells him to get rid of all the women in the room and come to business and he’s wearing his kind of aviator-ish sunglasses with a disco style.

Fredo was later seen wearing a seemingly cream-ish, off-white, or even yellow sport coat.

Definitely flamboyant, and more like of an Elvis impersonation, in my mind. And as you can see like Michael doesn’t take him seriously because of that. So, they use clothes to underline the characters, their moods, and what they want to communicate.

Yeah, look at that, I mean definitely that classic point collar from the 40s and 50s was shorter than this disco collar. He has a brown belt and a checked pair of pants that you can see here in the background, definitely something that’s louder. He’s also wearing a ring on his ring finger. There’s kind of this obvious rift between Michael and Fredo and I think that’ll carry over into The Godfather II.

Tom Hagen

Gray Suit

A more interesting style approach from a classic point of view is definitely Tom Hagen the consigliere, and then later the lawyer of the family. When he’s first sent to LA to speak with Woltz to give Johnny that role that he desires, he wears this typical kind of lawyer-ish gray suit. You can see him strolling down the street. It’s like a gray fedora hat, gray suit, white shirt, navy tie.

The suit is double-breasted and upon close inspection, you can see nice peak lapels. It’s kind of an interesting fabric, it almost looks like a herringbone kind of stripe, but it has an element of pinpoints in it, as well. You can take a closer look at it at the dinner when he sits at a dinner table listening to what’s going on.

Tom Hagen wearing a gray suit and a fedora hat.

They’re just having dinner. His counterpart wears this kind of blue blazer with white piping. Early on, you could see him like this tiny sweater when they were in a horse stable. Tom, on the other hand, is just very sober; also his whole mannerisms are all better matter-of-factly very rational, just as you would expect it from a lawyer.

Even though his suit is double-breasted, he doesn’t wear cufflinks with it, which is something back in the day because a double-breasted was more formal, people wore shirts with cufflinks with it. Also, especially in this scene, you can see there’s a terrible collar gap going on and they didn’t really pay attention to that which is kind of sad, because I think it would have looked even better and would have made him look more proper, like a lawyer who got his bespoke suits.

Tom Hagen at dinner wearing the same gray suit.

You can see though there’s some shoulder padding, but it’s not super strong, so it’s realistic with what you have worn at that time, in terms of padding and silhouette. I still think the collar gap is just too much. No tailor would have let you out a door looking like that.

Other Lawyer Attires

Throughout the film, he always dresses like that picture lawyer, you know, white shirts, dark suits, kind of patterned silk tie. The most disheveled you can see him is where he has taken his jacket off, but still, then you know he looks so much better than Sonny does, for example.

How accurate are The Godfather’s costumes?

I think they want to get that classic feel of the 1940s, but there are definitely some 60s and 70s influences, and it’s overall not a hundred percent historically accurate. But no American movie I’ve ever seen is or was.

The British, on the other hand, are just miles ahead in that department. And sometimes, the outfits are a bit oversized. If you look at the suits of the B-cast or the C-cast, you can sometimes see really wide lapels and low gorges, which is not something you would have seen like that in the 1940s. So, part of the 70s modern trends made their way into the movie.

Some of the ties are longer than they would’ve been worn back in the 40s.

Also, some of the ties in the movie are worn quite a bit longer than they would have been worn in the 1940s, but in the late 60s in the US, Ralph Lauren had these super wide ties, but if you go back in time, ties were a lot shorter than they are today, and they were oftentimes, they ended the belly button, which in combination, they were designed for high-waisted trousers.

So, they got far and they tried to use the more high-waisted pants but with the longer ties so it doesn’t quite mix as well.

What menswear styles did you appreciate in The Godfather? What other movies do you want us to review? Post your answer in the comments section!

While sneakers certainly aren’t considered a staple of classic menswear, we at the Gentleman’s Gazette can’t dismiss them outright; they’re part of a great many men’s wardrobes, and storied luxury brands are even getting into the sneaker market–case in point, the French fashion house, Lanvin! Here’s our verdict on whether Lanvin’s DBB1 tennis shoe is worth its price.

This post is an installment of our Is It Worth It? review series, and today we talk about sneakers from the brand Lanvin.

You wouldn’t expect to see sneakers on Raphael or Preston, but I happen to be a big fan of them for certain outfits. I’m not talking about any kind of sneaker, just those that have a sleek and modern look from the popular menswear brand Lanvin.

These would usually include a leather sneaker with a solid upper, little to no branding, and really no athletic purpose other than just walking. I wear sneakers with jeans, chinos, dress shirts, and even sweaters so that the look is polished and looks appropriate for most occasions.

Kyle likes to pair his sneakers with certain outfits.

There are a few more reasons to take a look at the shoe. Like an Hermes belt, it has a high price tag. It is hyped and hashtagged across social media. And there is not much special about it, besides the brand.

A typical pair of sneakers can cost you anywhere from $450 to $550. That same amount of money could also be spent on a pair of quality leather dress shoes, which will last you for decades. The same can’t be said for sneakers.

Lanvin: The French Couture House

Lanvin is the third oldest French fashion house still in operation. It was started by Jeanne Lanvin, a talented milliner, in 1889. She designed a luxurious wardrobe for her young daughter, who caught the eye of wealthy people. Lanvin first focused on children’s clothing but soon began to work on mother’s and daughter’s clothing together. She soon became a formal couturier in 1909.

Her original clientele were women, but in the 1920s, she began to expand into furs, lingerie, perfume, home decor, and menswear. Lanvin was the first Parisian designer to launch a made-to-measure clothing line for men in 1926.

Lanvin, the third oldest French fashion house that’s still in operation was started by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889.

By the end of the decade, she had 23 ateliers and 800 employees. The company was first sold in 1990 and was run by a family member until 1996. The company changed hands and creative directors many times over the next 30 years, and a Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International currently holds the majority stake.

Nowadays, Lanvin is similar to many other high-end fashion houses. They focus on seasonal, trend-driven collections. For example, for men, they offer ready-to-wear evening pants with a satin waistband. This is paired with a long sleeve t-shirt and red and gold trainers. It doesn’t feature a gallon stripe. They also don’t offer a matching jacket.

Jean Lanvin was also the first Parisian designer to offer a made to measure line for men.

Clearly, their goal is to break rules and to create new trends. So, it’s unlikely that a company with this kind of approach will focus on truly classic menswear. Based on the clothing that Lanvin offers, their popular sneakers seem almost pedestrian.

The Lanvin DBB1 Sneakers

The iconic sneaker from Lanvin is model DBB1. This is a low top sneaker with a flat rubber sole, a prominent cap toe with tone on tone stitching, trimmed edges, and tone in tone shoelaces. This model is made in Portugal.

Style and Overall Appearance 

The overall look is mature and understated for a sneaker; no loud branding colors or details. It comes in a range of muted colors, mostly white, black, and shades of gray, and also the occasional earth tones like an olive green or shade of brown.

Lanvin clearly doesn’t want this to be the trendiest of their shoe lineup. They have many other loud and over-the-top options for men who want to be flashy.

Lanvin DBB1

The toe cap of the shoe is usually in contrast to the rest of the upper, most typically as a tone on tone contrast and a different finish; for example, such as suede, calfskin leather, patent leather, or even a croc-embossed leather.

Sizing of Lanvin Sneakers

It’s important to know that this model only comes in whole sizes, which can be quite awkward for many men. This situation can be further complicated by the fact that Lanvin also says that their DBB1 model runs one half to one whole size large. So, you need to decide what whole size makes sense for you.

For Its High Price Point: Is It Worth It?

Materials in Lanvin Sneakers

While $450 to $550 does sound expensive for sneakers, it’s actually not outrageous. It’s still highly overpriced for the materials and the kind of shoe that it is, but at least it has great quality if basic materials in comparison to the average sneaker.

They’re 100% calfskin uppers and linings, which makes for a comfortable feel. The soles are 100% rubber, which is unusual for sneakers. Not only is it a natural material, but it’ll also take much more of a beating than other rubber look-alike sole materials.

The price might be too steep for a pair of sneakers, but it’s got great quality compared to average sneakers plus you get to post #Lanvin on Instagram.

You’re still paying substantially for the brand and for the ability to have a #Lanvin sneakers on your Instagram page. The look is mature and understated, so for men who want to stay on the dressy end of the spectrum, this is a great option, if you’re willing to pay the price. 

Pattern & Color

We like that there is minimal branding and none that is visible on the outside of the shoe. The only tell that these are Lanvin sneakers would be the characteristic toe cap. We like the least flashy options and tone on tone uppers and caps in colors like green, brown, or white.

The patent leather is the least appealing option because it’s such a formal material. It’s really out of place here. Black patent should be reserved for formal wear and evening attire, not sneakers. This is mostly a cry for attention.

DBB1 and it’s characteristic toe cap.

So, we suggest opting for a more appropriate leather option for casual footwear. That being said, black in menswear is also a very formal color. Traditionally it’s only a part of Evening Attire or funeral attire, and you definitely shouldn’t be wearing sneakers to a funeral. I hope that goes without saying. It’s also highly overrated as a color on its own.

Many of the shoe options are black, some even having black rubber soles as well. Unless you’re wearing contrasting pants, black will have the effect of making your legs and feet recede, and it’s just a bit boring.

Lanvin Sneakers’ Versatility

In terms of how much you can get out of a product, that really depends on you. As we said, Preston and Raphael will probably never wear sneakers, but I do tend to wear them from time to time. I would pair these sneakers with a dark pair of jeans, a dark turtleneck sweater, and perhaps a camel overcoat just to add a pop of color, or perhaps even like the outfit I’m wearing today, with a dark sport coat, a white button-down shirt, and a pair of khaki slim chinos.

Kyle wearing the Lanvin sneakers with a dark pair of jeans, a dark turtleneck sweater, and a camel overcoat.

In our opinion, the brown version is the most versatile. It’s more casual than black and will pair nicely with jeans and chinos, without looking too dark. Though Lanvin does offer a white option, someone who is after a more classic look might find this color a bit limiting. White is bold and will contrast with almost anything you wear with it. White shoes tend to draw your eye down, so for guys who like to wear dark pants and white sneakers, it tends to make people focus on your feet, rather than your whole outfit.

Kyle pairing the Lanvin sneakers with a dark sport coat, a white button-down shirt, and a pair of khaki slim chinos.

White will call even more attention to the fact that these are sneakers, and this will cause them to look as casual as they can be. Bear in mind that this look, regardless of the color chosen, will be much harder for a mature man to pull off than a younger man. We talk about this issue at length in our Mistakes Older Men Make When Trying To Look Young guide. Wearing pieces commonly associated with youth can make you look like you’re trying too hard. It can sometimes be just too hard to pull off.

Our Verdict: Not Worth It

In conclusion, we do not think Lanvin sneakers are worth it. They are expensive, basic, not too versatile, a little bit difficult to size, and they focus a little bit too much on the color black, in general, which makes them quite boring. It’s from a trendy brand, which will focus on the next best thing. So, don’t expect the trend to last forever.

Lanvin sneakers in our opinion: NOT WORTH IT.

If you really like this look, there are many other options out there that are almost identical for a quarter of the price, and frankly, a good loafer or driving moc will make you look much more put together.

Would you spend your money on Lanvin sneakers? Or would you rather skip sneakers altogether? Let us know what you think in the comments!

For our longtime followers, scarf-tying is likely a familiar topic. And while we did film a video on our favorite knots back in 2014, we thought it needed an update! Furthermore, we’ve got an additional knot to add to our old list, so today, we’ll share 7 of our favorite ways to tie a scarf to complete your classic cold-weather ensembles.

Best Scarf Knots for Gentlemen

First of all, all these ways to tie a scarf require a scarf that’s between 70 to 75 inches long. If it’s shorter, it won’t look as good. Why is that? Well, you won’t have enough scarf left at the end of the knot to actually tuck it in so it keeps you warm and looks dapper.

Whenever you buy a scarf, definitely check the length, for example, the Burberry scarf I reviewed was too short. The Fort Belvedere scarves that you can find on our website all have the proper length. On the flip side, the scarf is much longer, you just have a lot of material to work with and if you tuck it into your coat it just makes you look bigger.

You’ll need a scarf that measures 70 to 75 inches long to try these scarf knots.

Scarf knots are most useful when you practice them, and you know what you want because some are warmer, others are cooler; some are better for an overcoat with a deeper cutout, and others better for something that’s more uptight and closed.

So, here are our favorite knots in order from the least involved or least secure to the more involved or more secure knots.

1. The Over-the-Shoulder

This one is not really a knot but it’s the simplest way to wear a scarf. It’s jaunty and nonchalant and looks really great with a silk scarf for evening wear.

The simplest way to wear a scarf.

You can also wear it with a cashmere scarf or a wool scarf where it’s not really cold outside and it’s all about the looks. You can also pull this one off with a slightly shorter scarf, and it’s ideally worn with an overcoat or a jacket that has an opening that’s not too deep and a textured fabric, so the scarf can grip the material and doesn’t just slide off like, let’s say, in a worsted jacket.

How do you get the Over-the-Shoulder look?

• Take the scarf and loop it over the center of your neck.
• Now you put a little bit on your right side, and then you just throw it over your left shoulder.
• Looking at it at a profile view from the side, you want the front and the back end to be roughly the same length for a balanced overall look.

As easy as it is to wear the scarf this way, it’s also most likely to come undone easily.

The problem is if it’s too short in the back it’s likely to just come undone, and it’s more an annoyance and it doesn’t look the way you want it to.

2. The Once-around Chest Warmer

Even though this one is also not a knot in a true sense, it’s definitely more secure than the Over-the-Shoulder one. This one really only works with an overcoat.

How do you tie it?

• Take your scarf and loop the center over your neck.
• Adjust the length so one third is on the one side and two thirds on the other. No, it doesn’t matter which side is longer.
• Tuck the short side underneath your coat across the chest.

  Raphael wearing the once-around chest warmer “knot”.

• Loop the longer side of the scarf once around your neck and tuck it in cross-chest on the other side.
• Try to hold it in place, button up your coat, and adjust the scarf so it looks the way you want it to. Especially if you have your double-sided scarf, you want it to show both sides.

3. The Loop Tie

The Loop Tie, also known as the European loop or Parisian knot. Well, this is our last false knot today. It’s a very easy one and a personal favorite of mine because it’s quick, simple, and it looks nonchalant and that has a slight asymmetry, which I find to be pleasing.

The loop tie, also known as the European loop or Parisian knot.

It pairs best with a high to medium cut v-neck jacket or overcoat opening. It can be worn with a sport coat, a blazer, or an overcoat. It’s not ideal for super cold weather because you get openings on the side. It’s a great way to wear a double-sided scarf because you get a different look every time, and you can adjust it the way you want it to.

How do you tie it? Well, it’s actually super easy.

• Fold the scarf in half lengthwise.
• Hold the ends and center the scarf around your neck. I typically have the loop in my left hand and I pull through the other ends on the left side with my left hand. You can also do it the other way around. Have the loop on the right hand and pull it through the right hand on the right side. I prefer on the left because men’s jackets are buttoned left over right and so it has that same kind of direction if it’s more on the left, and it would come out when you pull it out of the jacket.
  
• In any case, once you have the loop, stick the other ends through the loop and pull it tight. Not too tight but also not too loose. If it’s a longer scarf and your overcoat doesn’t have a deep cut-v, you can probably tuck it in. Otherwise, you can just let it dangle, same with a sport coat.

  Once you have the loop, pull the other end using your left hand or right hand.

This tie doesn’t work with a scarf that’s too short because it will come undone all the time. So, make sure you have the proper length. If you’re a really deep v-cut, it’s probably going to be hard just tuck it into your overcoat because there will be a shirt or something else exposed underneath the scarf.

For most regular overcoats, you will just be able to tuck it in though. If you have a sport coat or a blazer or a jacket or a suit, don’t tuck it in, just let it dangle.

4. The Knotted Once-around

It is similar to the Chest Warmer but a little more three-dimensional and a little more elegant, in my opinion. Why? Well, it turns out a little differently every time, which gives you a slightly more rakish look.

So, how do you tie it?

• Start by opening your overcoat and take your scarf and loop it around the center of your neck. 
• Just like with a Once-around Chest Warmer, adjust the length to about one third on one side and two thirds on the other.
  

  The Knotted Once around scarf knot.

• Loop the long end once around your neck so you end up with two roughly the same long ends in the front.
• Now, you take the longer end and tie a simple knot again, it doesn’t matter which way you tie it; you can cross the loose ends or just let them dangle. You just don’t want to have a knot that is too tight or too loose. It should visually cover the v-neck of your overcoat. Ideally, you tuck it into your overcoat and you can bunch it up a little bit to get even more three-dimensional texture.

5. The Pull-through Knot

It’s not one you see a lot on the streets but it’s very simple to tie, so if you want to stand out from the crowd in a subtle way, this is a knot to consider.

How do you tie it? Well, the first three steps are the same again.

• Open your overcoat.
• Loop your scarf around your neck in the center and then pull it about one-third to two-thirds.
• Now, take the longer side of the scarf and create a loose knot about halfway on that longer side.
  

  The pull-through scarf knot

• insert the shorter end without the knot through that loose knot and pull it close to your neck. You don’t want it to be too tight but it should sit really close to your neck.

This knot works best with an overcoat because you should really pull in the ends. Otherwise, they’re kind of uneven, and with a jacket, it’s just a look that is too long and it accentuates not your face but your crotch. And you never want to do that with clothing.

6. The Count

Next is the Count, which is a high coverage knot and kind of an extension of the Pull-through Knot. It’s a particularly elegant knot that makes you look like the Count from Sesame Street. No, just kidding, of course.

How do you tie it?

• Open up your overcoat and loop the scarf around your neck centered.
• Pull it again to one-third to two-thirds.
• Again, on the longer side, you start with a loose knot, but this time get the loose knot closer to the edge. Not about halfway through, more about a quarter to a third.

  The count scarf knot.

• Now, insert the other end through the knot and pull it close to your neck. You’ll now see that one end is quite a bit longer than the other.
• Take a long end and pull it through the gap between your neck and the scarf, bring it forward, adjust it, and tuck it into your overcoat. The loosened underneath provides support to hold it in place but to get that kind of debonair look that changes every time you wear it, but it has the advantage that it covers everything and it looks very elegant.

7. The Modified Four-in-Hand Knot

Lastly, we have the Modified Four-in-Hand Knot, which we somewhat borrowed from our ascot and cravat tying guide. Obviously, this scarf is also inspired by the Four-in-Hand necktie knot, which you can see in our 3 Easy Tie Knots guide along with many other regular gentlemen’s tie knots.

How do you tie the Modified Four-In-Hand knot?

• Because of that, it starts like tying a regular Four-in-Hand knot. This means, take your scarf and loop it over the center of your back neck.
• Adjust the length so your right side is just a few centimeters or a few inches longer than the left side.
• Take the longer end and cross it over the shorter end.
• Now, open it around once – 360 degrees.

  Tying the four-in-hand knot start like the regular four-in-hand tie.

• Then, pull the end up under the gap between your neck and the knot you created. Pull the end all the way through, so it’s comfortably tight but not too snug.

More Modified Four-In-Hand Knot Options

You can, basically, pull that end through the knot just like you would with a regular Four-in-Hand tie knot. It will likely look a little different because scarves are typically thicker and sometimes both ends will show from the front, which is typically not the case with a regular tie. Frankly, I don’t like this true Four-in-Hand knot because it just doesn’t keep me warm enough.

The second option is to pull the end, not through the knot, but to just throw it over the knot. Because you created a knot, it creates certain stability and you can adjust it and it looks somewhat similar to the count because it is not super tight. It may not last, it will come loose over the course of the day.

A variation of the four-in-hand knot.

For the third variation, do the same thing as in step number one, meaning you pull the end through the knot just like a regular Four-in-Hand knot, but now, you take the longer end, bring it in between the gap, between the knot and your neck once more, and throw it over. That way, you have a secure knot in place. Behind the scarf, you can adjust it and make it look good.

Because you have one end dangling down and the other one folded over, it won’t kind of rotate or move around. It’s very securely in place. It just takes a little longer to take it off, so keep that in mind if you’re in a hurry.

Which of these is your favorite way of tying a scarf? Share it with us in the comments!

As we’ve said numerous times, the true menswear aficionado seeks not only to build a robust wardrobe, but also to keep it well-maintained. This means using the proper laundering techniques, removing stains whenever they first occur…and removing those pesky little hangers-on that seem to find their way onto all different types of clothing: fabric pills!

What is Pilling?

A pill, sometimes known by other names, including a bobble, fuzzball, or lint ball, is a small ball of fibers that forms on a piece of cloth. It’s a surface defect of textiles caused by the washing and wearing of fabrics as loose fibers begin to push out from the surface of the cloth, and over time, abrasion causes the fibers to develop into small spherical bundles anchored to the surface of the fabric by fibers that haven’t yet broken fully.

A fun fact here: the textile industry officially divides the pilling process into four stages: fuzz formation, entanglement, growth, and wear-off.

Pilling normally happens on the parts of clothing that see the most wear and tear day-to-day, such as the collars and cuffs of shirts and sweaters, as well as under the arms, and around the thighs and the rear on trousers.

A garment with visible pilling.

All fabrics do pill to some extent, but the primary causes of pilling are the physical characteristics of the textile, how it’s processed during manufacturing, the personal habits of the wearer, and the environment in which the garment is being worn.

Overall, natural fabrics are less likely to pill. These include things like silk, linen, hemp, and cashmere. Meanwhile, man-made fabrics are generally more likely to pill. These include things like polyester, acrylic, nylon, rayon, and spandex. 

Also, depending on the weave, twist, and softness of the fibers, wool, and cotton can go either way in terms of pilling. You have to take garments using those on a case-by-case basis. Note also that wool pilling generally diminishes over time as more wool fibers work themselves free of the fabric and break away, whereas stronger synthetic fibers will hold on to pills preventing them from falling off of the garments.

Garments with natural fibers are less likely to pill.

In general, longer fibers are going to pill less than short ones–partly because there are fewer loose ends to the fibers and partly because being longer, it will take more time and effort for those fibers to work themselves out of the weave. This is also related to the idea of “twist.” In other words, the higher the twist, the denser the yarns are going to be and the firmer they’re going to feel to the hand.

As you might imagine, fabrics with a large number of loose fibers are going to be more likely to pill. When a fabric is made of a blend of fibers both weak and strong (think of something, for example, that blends natural and synthetic fibers), the weaker fibers are going to break, work their way out, and bundle up, but the stronger fibers are going to hold those weak ones on.  Therefore, blended fabrics are going to be even more likely to pill overall.

A garment with blended fibers is most likely to pill.

Keep in mind that pilling doesn’t generally interfere with the functionality or wearability of a textile or garment–unless of course an area of excessive pilling eventually causes a hole in the fabric. But with that said, pills are definitely a nuisance and they can certainly be quite unattractive, so you’re better off dealing with them properly.

How to Handle Pilling – Part 1: Pill Prevention

Fortunately, there are a number of different strategies that you can use to prevent your clothing from pilling in the first place.

Buying Advice

First of all, as we alluded to before, try to find and buy garments that have higher-density, more finely twisted yarns that are going to be more durable. As we also mentioned, fabrics that are made from blends of natural and synthetic fibers are going to be more likely to pill.

Garments with a higher density of fabrics are more durable and less likely to pill.

Always remember to check labels and tags before purchasing and, as a general piece of advice, try to avoid garments that have three or more different kinds of fibers in the weave. 

Laundry Techniques

Next, let’s cover some laundry day strategies you can use to prevent pilling when you’re washing your clothes. First, keep in mind that when you’re washing, any pills that are present on a garment can agitate other clothing fibers causing more loose ends and more pilling overall; it’s something of a “snowball effect.” With that in mind, here’s our list of washing advice.

1. First, for garments that you suspect are going to pill, consider using your washing machine’s gentle cycle. The lesser degree of agitation and shorter wash cycle should prevent more pills from forming. You could also consider using mesh garment bags for such garments when they’re in the washing machine, or hand washing, which is going to be even more gentle.

   Use your washing machine’s gentle cycle for garments that are more likely to pill.

2. Remember to turn your garments inside out before washing them, and also to fasten any zippers, buttons, or hooks as these hard and, sometimes, sharp surfaces can cause more abrasion and loose fibers. Also, if your clothing is inside out when it’s being washed, any pilling that does form is going to be on the inside of the garment and, thus, won’t be seen when you’re wearing it.
3. You can also consider sorting your clothes according to color and fabric type to prevent heavier fabrics from abrading or damaging lighter ones. As an example of this phenomenon, you could avoid washing lint-producing fabrics like terry cloth with your other clothes. If there are broken fibers on something like polyester, the lint from the terry cloth is going to cling tightly to that polyester surface.

   Consider using mesh garment bags if you’ll be using your washing machine.

4. Next, make sure that your washing machine isn’t overloaded. If your individual garments aren’t able to move easily inside the machine, they’re going to be rubbing up against each other causing more friction and more pilling.
   
5. Use a gentle liquid detergent, avoiding powder detergents as they cause more abrasion, and avoid any harsh chemicals or bleaches as they can break down fibers and cause more pilling. If you use soap flakes in your washing machine, these should also be soft enough not to cause any additional abrasion.
   
6. Some online sources will encourage you to use a detergent that contains the enzyme cellulase. While this enzyme will help to break down pills on some fabrics like cotton (which is why it’s used by the textile industry), it can also eat into other natural fibers like linen and silk, so we’d advise that you steer clear.
   
7. Another popular method we would avoid is using a commercial fabric softener. While fabric softeners do coat the fibers of your clothing to lessen pilling. They can also contain petroleum-based compounds that will make your clothes less breathable over time and can also coat your washing machine leading to mold or other odors.

   Avoid using bleaches, as they can break down the fabric–even bleach alternative, which we do recommend in other scenarios!

8. Returning to more helpful tips then, avoid the clothes dryer. You can dry your knitted garments on a flat surface and your woven garments on a clothesline, drying rack, or hangers. If you are using the dryer remove delicate items as soon as possible to lessen abrasion from other fabrics. You can put everything in the dryer for five to ten minutes just to knock out a few wrinkles, but we wouldn’t advise going any longer than that.

General Wear & Tear Tips

Moving on from the laundry room, our final prevention tips today refer just to the general wear and tear of your garments.

First, try to rest your garments in-between wears, as excessive and repeated wearing can cause more pilling. When you wear an article of clothing, the fibers tend to stretch a bit, which can cause some of the shorter, looser threads to come loose more and, thus, begin pilling. As a general guideline, try to give a garment at least 24 hours in between wears to give it time to rest. 

Give your garments some rest in-between wear.

Next, don’t carry backpacks. Anywhere that a backpack has prolonged contact with your clothes or your body, such as your shoulders and back, is going to be a site of an increased likelihood of pilling. Of course, backpacks are also an item that we would encourage stylish men to avoid for other reasons in our guide to 19 Things Men Should Never Wear. A briefcase or attache case would be a better and more stylish choice.

Finally here, just try to limit the amount of everyday friction and abrasion that your clothes experience from things like resting your elbows on tables or sitting on rough surfaces.

Part 2: Pill Removal

Sweater Comb or Razor

Fortunately, there are several tools available for removing pills from your clothing, and perhaps, the safest bet among these is a sweater comb. To use the sweater comb, place your garment on a hard flat surface, pull it taut with your free hand, and run the comb slowly but firmly across the fabric at a slight angle. You can increase your speed as you feel comfortable, but be sure not to abrade the fabric.

The safest bet among these pill removers is the sweater comb.

Also, you should periodically clean off the teeth of the sweater comb as you work. This same technique can be employed with a cheap disposable razor, although you should exercise more care, and, of course, avoid using razors that have gel comfort strips or anything like that. 

Stones

Other tools with which you can use this same method include a sweater stone, as well as a more typical pumice stone, although the latter will be rougher and should be used with more care. Some sources will advocate for the use of things like sandpaper sponges or Velcro, but we believe that these types of tools are generally going to cause excess abrasion to your garments. 

A sweater stone can also do the job of removing the pills on your garments.

Scissors

An alternative method involves pulling your garment taut over a slightly curved surface and using a pair of small sharp scissors to cut off the pills. This can work, but exercise caution as you obviously don’t want to cut open a hole. A more precise option would be to use something like a cuticle clipper, like the ones that are included in our Fort Belvedere manicure kits.

An alternative method is to use small sharp scissors to cut off the pill.

Electric Pill Remover

Finally, you could also consider using a battery-powered or electric fuzz and pill remover that shaves the pills off of the fabric. This is generally going to be a safe option, but we would advise against using them on knits or particularly loose weaves, and if you do use one, again, exercise caution.

You could consider using an electric fuzz and pill remover but try not to use them on knits or loose weaves.

No matter what tool you choose to get the job done, once you’re finished de-pilling your garment, brush it off with a garment brush. Don’t use a conventional lint roller or other adhesives that are advocated online, like tape, as these are going to pull out more loose fibers, essentially starting the pilling process all over again.

Conclusion

So, that’s the low-down on why pilling happens, and how you can prevent it and remove pills from your clothing. Hopefully, when you see these little fuzz balls, it won’t be such a hard pill to swallow in the future!

Have you tried any of these tactics? What are your best techniques to combat pilling? Share with us in the comments!

As a foundational piece of any menswear ensemble, a shirt should provide not only a good fit and style but also a good value for money! However, with so many shirts on the market these days, it can be challenging to find what’s right for you. As such, let’s kick off a three-part series on men’s dress shirts by looking at off-the-rack models, and how they stack up against other options.

Be sure to stay tuned for the next two parts in our series; part two will cover made-to-measure shirts, and part three will discuss bespoke (that is, custom) shirts. And if you’re interested in these sorts of differences when it comes to other types of garments, our Ready to Wear, Made to Measure, and Bespoke – Terminology Explained guide is something you’ll find insightful and enjoyable!

History of the Shirt

So, first of all, how did we get to the distinction between off-the-rack, made-to-measure, and bespoke shirts? For that, we have to look a little more at the history of shirts.

Until around the 1930s, a shirt (or what we’d call a “dress shirt” today) was actually considered to be an undergarment, just like an undershirt is considered an undergarment today. That means a dress shirt was always at least covered by a jacket – either a suit jacket or regular jacket – and often, also by a vest or waistcoat.

Dress shirts were originally meant to be undergarments until the 1930s.

No, you actually never saw a man just wearing his dress shirt. That would probably be the equivalent of today with a man wearing just his underwear. So, back then, you really only saw portions of the shirt; you saw the cuffs, the collar, and part of the shirt front, which was often a stiff bib or just a stiffer shirt front.

At the time, central heating wasn’t as advanced, so it was more important to have more layers to be warmer even inside buildings.

People in past centuries wore layers of clothes to feel warmer even inside buildings.

The fact that you never really saw the full shirt led to the invention of detachable collars and cuffs in the late 19th century. That meant you could always just exchange your collars and have them look pristine while the rest of the shirt wouldn’t have to be washed, laundered, and starched as frequently. That enabled men to actually wear their shirts for several days at a time without actually laundering or washing them.

Of course, the etiquette at the time was also different; men just were expected to wear hats, and they were expected to wear a jacket over their shirts.

Dress shirts have led to the invention of detachable collars in the late 19th century. (silk satin bow tie from Fort Belvedere)

As a funny side note, the fact that you couldn’t see the full shirt even led to a Victorian oddity. Rather than actually having a shirt, you would just have the cuffs, the collar, and the bib. Our scriptwriter Aaron White, on his own channel, Antique Menswear, actually dug up one of those combinations, and it’s surprising to see that these three items actually make it look like you’re wearing a shirt.

During World War II, you had fabric rationing, and pants just didn’t lose their pleats and their cuffs, but also the waistcoat or the vest became less desirable because it needed more fabric. 

One of our scriptwriters, Aaron White, has done some digging on the curious Victorian practice of “fake shirts!”

Even though double-breasted suits use more fabric than single-breasted suits, they still used less fabric than a single-breasted suit with the vest. So they became more popular, but it also meant the buttoning point was a little higher, and the overlap of the jackets led to less of the shirt being actually visible. So, the shirt maintained its role as an undergarment.

The Shirt Moves Up From Being an Undergarment

Interestingly, it wasn’t until the 1950s or 60s when men started embracing the shirt as something other than just an undergarment, as men’s fashion moved more towards what is arguably today the classic business wardrobe, which was a single-breasted suit without a vest.

That meant, though, that the shirt now became more visible, especially when you were seated, and you would unbutton your jacket. The full shirt front was visible, and maybe even the sleeves at times.

Raphael in a charcoal brown business suit (necktie and pocket square from Fort Belvedere)

Of course, in today’s more casual world, it is not considered to be impolite by most people if you take off your jacket when you sit at a table, or you sit at your desk chair, or you drive in your car. Still, back then, the vast majority of all shirts out there were not custom-tailored, but they were off-the-rack shirts. You could only afford a bespoke shirt if you were filthy rich.

A hundred years ago, mostly everybody else would have gotten a universally fitted dress shirt. Yes, it actually fit like a tent, and it was just huge, but the idea was that you have one shirt that fits everybody literally. While the color sizes were obviously different and many shirts were even made for detachable collars in their own special sizing, the sleeves were all about the same length, and so were the overall shirts, which were quite long because they were tucked in and they were supposed to protect also the pants and not just the jacket.

Elastic sleeve garter

Of course, men still had different lengths of arms, and so they adjusted the length of their sleeves with the help of sleeve garters, which today is only something you see worn by vintage aficionados or maybe by a bartender at a Prohibition-era bar.

Modern-Day Men’s Shirts

Nowadays, many men prefer a tighter shirt fit and in combination with a separate collar size, sleeve length, and different fit options ranging from slim fit to a custom fit or a classic fit and anything in between. You literally have hundreds of fit options out there on the market today.

What may seem a little daunting at first, of course, you compare the options down and, for example, a size 15, or a size 40 in European, sometimes comes in three different sleeve lengths or maybe just two. And then, those probably just come in two different fit options – the classic fit and the slim fit. But that, of course, depends on the brand.

Made-to-measure became popular because it allowed a higher degree of customization minus the price of a bespoke shirt.

With the advancement of IT technology and just-in-time production, the whole field of made-to-measure became much more popular because it allowed a higher degree of customization without the extremely high price tag of bespoke. So, now, that’s how we ended up with off-the-rack, made-to-measure, and bespoke shirts.

OTR vs. MTM vs. Custom Shirts

Off-the-Rack Shirt

As the name implies, it is a shirt that you can take off the rack. It is completely produced and ready to be worn right then and there when you buy it. The biggest pro of an off-the-rack shirt is that it’s relatively inexpensive, and, at the same time, with all the different fit options, it provides you with a reasonable fit.

The vast majority of shirts today are off-the-rack, and most men out there can afford to buy one. Of course, there are high fashion brands, which charge an arm and a leg for their off-the-rack shirts. But, in general, you can find off-the-rack shirts at very low entry-level points. For example, at Walmart or Costco.

Eton dress shirt in pink

If you want to take a step up from there, you can find manufacturers specializing in shirts, such as Charles Tyrwhitt, or places like Hawes & Curtis or Spier & Mackay. Those brands typically offer better fabrics at a slightly higher price point, but it’s still affordable.

Unlike cheaper brands, which just offer you different sizes based on the neck size. Better brands will offer you, at least, a neck size, a sleeve length size, and a different fit type. And if you’re into classic men’s clothing, we strongly suggest that you buy those kinds of shirts because the fit is much improved to a shirt that just fits you around your neck but has sleeves that are too short, for example.

Pros of Off-the-Rack Shirts

You Have A Myriad of Options

If you consider all the different fabric types, collar options, cuff options, and placket options, you have hundreds, if not thousands, of different options to choose from. As with anything, though, producing at scale increases efficiencies and lowers the price per unit.

Some brands offer a discounted price if you buy multiple pieces.

Some brands might even offer you discounted rates for buying four shirts rather than just one shirt. 

You Can See It and Get It Right then and There

The other big pro of a ready-to-wear shirt is that what you see is what you get, and you can just go online now or go to a store, buy the shirt, and you have it right then and there. There’s no wait time involved. You can simply unpack the shirt; you can touch it, you can feel the softness or stiffness of the collar, you can feel the softness of the fabric, you can see how it wrinkles, you can see the details of the bracket, you can see the buttonholes, how the buttons are sewn on, and how you like the cuffs and the sleeve length or the overall body length.

Most people don’t even think about it, but it is a huge plus of an off-the-rack shirt that you can truly see and experience everything before buying it.

One advantage of ready-to-wear shirts is you don’t have to wait to check their collars, etc.

With a custom product, you have to have much more imagination. And with made-to-measure items, they may show you the different options. With the bespoke item, the sky’s the limit, and it’s very different.

Good Value and Reasonable Fit

Because the off-the-rack shirts are a really great way to kick-start your classic dress shirt wardrobe because it’s limited in what you need at first, and you pretty much get an excellent value with a reasonable fit.

Off-the-rack shirts are the best way to kick-start your classic dress shirt wardrobe.

Shirts are also consumables, so by the time your tastes have evolved, and your classic style knowledge has increased, you are ready to buy maybe shirts a step or two up from what you bought initially. So, if you’re at the very beginning and you’re not sure what shirts to buy, check out our guide to the 10 first shirts a man should buy if they’re interested in a classic style.

Cons of Off-the-rack Shirts

Limited Choices

A big one is obviously the limited choice that you never get exactly what you want. There’s zero input from your side about the shirt because it’s already made. For example, you might like the collar style or the cuff style, or the placket style, but you may be unhappy with the choice of buttons, the color, the thickness of the fabric, how it wrinkles, or the cut.

Naturally, some of these items may not be a deal-breaker for you, and especially if you start out, you may not even notice them. However, as the interest in classic men’s style progresses, chances are you’ll be more interested in the details of items, and you’ll notice nuances that you were oblivious to before. In the same vein, your criteria of what constitutes a good fit will likely change over time.

While there are many options available, remember that with OTR shirts, what you see is what you get.

At the end of the day, it all depends on where you are at in your style journey and what satisfies your current needs.

If you’re like me and you have a long torso and long arms, you want shirts with a long torso and something that accommodates your long arms. At first, though, you may not even realize that you can buy shirts with different sleeve lengths or different body lengths.

Later on, maybe you start appreciating hand-sewn buttonholes, or you realize that you have a long neck and, therefore, a taller collar looks more flattering on you. And then, of course, not all the fabrics that you like or want comes with the right choices that you desire.

After a while, you’ll want something that will accommodate your body type, say, if you have long arms like Raphael.

Also, as your wardrobe grows and you’ve got your basics covered, off-the-rack shirts become increasingly limited.

Looking for The Right Manufacturer Takes Time

Another con is that it can be time-consuming to find the right manufacturer with the right fit, the right collar, and fabric options that you want. No two people are built the same way, and, at the end of the day, we’re all, at least in some portions, slightly asymmetrical.

So, when you realize that one of your shoulders is actually more sloped than the other or that one arm is slightly longer than the other, you also realize all the limitations and imperfections in the way a dress shirt fits.

Unlike made-to-measure, you’ll realize the limitations with off-the-rack shirts, particularly with the right fit on you.

Usually, that’s expressed in wrinkles. If something is too tight, you get X wrinkles. If one side is too low, you get wrinkles underneath your armpit and so forth. And then, of course, there’s also the fact that no two companies use the exact same sizing system. 

Yes, most companies will have a collar size, but let’s say it’s a size 16; in some brands, the actual measurement maybe 15 and a half, and in others, it may be 16 and a half.

In fact, in our tests of different brands, we’ve encountered that a single size can range in the actual measured distance in about two to two and a half centimeters, which is about one inch, and that is huge.

Not all dress shirt brands have the same sizing

Also, not all collar sizes come in all sleeve lengths. So, let’s say you have a very slim neck but a very long arm. It may be really challenging for you to find a well-fitting shirt off the rack. And then, of course, some companies don’t want to stock all sizes in all fabrics, so they come up with their own numbering system, their own fit descriptions, and so it takes time for you to understand what is it, how does it fit in what I already know, and what’s actually the best shirt for me.

High Costs of Alterations

Yes, shirts, just like many other clothing items, can be altered to a point. For example, you can always put in darts to slim down your shirt. On the flip side, you can’t just let out the seam because there’s no fabric reserve.

Having your shirts altered will not just take time but will also cost you money.

Likewise, you can’t slim down a sleeve without having a weird dart on your sleeve or make the armhole tighter. And naturally, a trip to the alterations tailor doesn’t just take time but also money, which brings up the cost of off-the-rack, which was initially one of the big pros of it being very inexpensive and affordable.

Conclusion

In all fairness, it probably requires just as much time to create a made-to-measure shirt and even more time to create a bespoke shirt, so if you want a well-fitting shirt that works for you, be ready to invest some time.

What type of shirt do you prefer and what are the reasons for your choice? Let us know in the comments!

For true menswear enthusiasts (like us here at the Gentleman’s Gazette), hats are a wardrobe staple. A hat serves both a functional and an aesthetic purpose, and makes outfits all the more stylish. If, however, the shape of a hat’s crown isn’t providing you with the desired effect, fear not–using the following techniques, you can easily reshape your classic hats from the comfort of your home!

This is the second of a two-parter on hats: the first covered seven tips on how to wear traditional hat styles with confidence. So, if you’ve bested any self-consciousness about hat-wearing and are now a regular wearer of classic hats, you may occasionally find that one of the hats in your collection might look better with a different shape to its crown.

Hat Crown Shapes: A Brief Refresher

We have covered crown shapes before in our guide to the anatomy of men’s hats, but let’s have a brief refresher. Of course, the crown is the part of the hat that covers and conforms to the head. 

The teardrop crown shape also called the C-crown looks like a teardrop if you’re considering the entirety of the hat or like a letter C if you’re looking primarily at the back portion of the crown. The center crease or center dent-style features one central crease that runs down the middle of the crown typically at a depth of about 1 to 2 inches.

The telescope crown shape — commonly used on top hats, straw boaters, etc.

The diamond crown is a slightly less popular shape than the more commonly seen teardrop, but it was a popular style for a time in the 1940s and it’s a little bit wider than your typical C-crown shape.

The telescope crown (also known as the flat top) is seen on everything from top hats to gambler hats, straw boaters, and pork pies. This crown shape either features a totally flat top of the crown or a slight lip that runs around the perimeter of the crown at a very small depth.

The diamond crown shape.

And finally, we have the open or round crown which simply refers to the natural shape of the crown before it’s shaped into a different style. Also, the crown can be left round for some styles such as the bowler or derby hat.

Shaping A Hat At Home

What You’ll Need

Hat

First, of course, you’re going to need a hat. You’ll want to use a felt hat preferably a soft or crushable style. Crushable hats are designed to take a bit more wear than their stiff counterparts, which can be lacquered or otherwise coated. As such, crushable hats are the easiest ones to reshape at home.

Use a felt hat — preferably a soft or crushable style.

While you might be able to remove a minor imperfection in a stiff hat like a Homburg and you could preserve the open crown in a bowler hat, we would strongly recommend that if you need a stiff hat reshaped you consult a professional haberdasher or milliner.

Source of Steam

Next up, you’re going to need a source of steam. In addition to your hands, steam is the primary tool you’re going to use to reshape a hat. The heat and moisture will work their way into and amongst the felted fibers, loosening them up and getting them ready for reshaping.

Dedicated hat steamers are used by manufacturers and garment care professionals, and they can be found online, though they’re generally pretty pricey. And while a standard garment steamer could work, steam output generally isn’t going to be forceful or concentrated enough to penetrate the fibers of a felted hat.

Hat makers and manufacturers use a dedicated hat steamer.

As such, the easiest appliance to use in the home is a stovetop tea kettle; not an electric model. Of course, kettles generally whistle, so you’ll probably want to put in some earplugs or be alone or isolated in your home, and if you’re in a small or not particularly well-soundproofed apartment building, be careful as well.

Fortunately, the tea kettle I’m using has lost its whistle completely over years of use. So, it’s actually ideal for this job.

Source of Misted Water

You’re also going to need a source of misted water. To introduce more moisture in areas where steam doesn’t seem to be cutting it, having a spray bottle can also be helpful. While a large one could work, it will again probably be somewhat imprecise. Therefore, having a small fingertip model will be best.

A small fingertip model is the best choice for using a spray bottle.

If your hat has a leather sweatband, you’ll also want to have a paper towel or rag handy, just so that the sweatband doesn’t get saturated with water.

A Round Form

You’ll need a round form of some kind to open and shape the crown of the hat. Traditionally, hat blocks, which are also known as hat forms or bashing blocks, were carved from wood by a craftsman known as a block shaper.

For a truly bespoke hat, a gentleman’s head would be measured and a hat block created just for him while this artisanal trade has faded somewhat over the past century, traditional hat blocks are still available, not only in wood but also in materials like metal and plastic.

A hat block is what’s commonly used for shaping (or reshaping) a hat.

Vintage hat blocks are considered collectible by enthusiasts, and one advantage of a wooden hat block is that it can be re-carved to suit a new head shape unlike plastic or metal blocks. 

Fortunately, you don’t actually need a dedicated hat block for this job at home; just something that’s round enough and tall enough to roughly approximate the shape of your head. A relatively round bowl on top of a cylindrical object should probably be fine. You could use something like a plastic bowl over a cookie jar or other household appliances.

If you don’t have a hat block or something round to shape your hat on, you can use your own head.

And if you can’t find anything around the house that fits these dimensions, you can, of course, just use your own head as the form. If you do this, you’ll probably want to cut up a plastic grocery bag to put on your head as a moisture barrier. It may look a little silly, but after all, you are just in the comfort of your own home.

A Basin of Water (If necessary)

Finally here, for a hat that’s really been mangled out of shape, you may want to consider soaking the hat in a basin of water for a day or so before attempting the reshaping process and you may need to weigh the hat down if necessary.

You can soak the hat in a basin of water for a day if it’s really been mangled out of shape.

Just be mindful that the hat doesn’t have a leather sweatband and use cold water to try to keep things relatively more colorfast, especially when dealing with vintage hats. Soaking a hat in a water basin should really be considered a last resort technique, and we wouldn’t recommend it for most reshaping processes.

The Hat Re-blocking Process

If your hat has a liner tipping inside of it, you’ll probably want to remove this before attempting reshaping so that the liner doesn’t stretch or tear in the process. This can typically be done fairly easily by flipping out the sweatband and cutting the threads that hold the liner in place with scissors or a seam ripper.

Remove the liners so they won’t stretch or get soaked.

Liners can be reinserted if you choose, but personally, I find them to be a bit of a nuisance. So, I just leave them out of my hats after taking them out for reshaping.

Step 1: Boil Your Source of Steam

So to get started, you’ll obviously want to get your kettle on the boil.

Step 2: Introduce Moisture to the Hat

While this is happening, you’ll want to introduce some moisture to the hat ideally using your fingertip sprayer. Get things good and saturated but not dripping wet.

Introduce moisture to the hat using your sprayer.

Step 3: Place Your Damp Hat in the Path of the Steam

Once your kettle is boiling and producing a steady stream of steam, you can take your damp hat and put it in the pathway of the steam. Make sure to work the hat around fairly thoroughly, getting both the outside and inside of the crown steamed up.

Step 4: Stretch the Hat on Your Round Form

Once the crown seems fairly malleable, you can stretch it softly but firmly over your round form to open up the crown and get it back to its default shape. Remember not to pull too hard here.

Gently shape the hat to its round form.

If the crown hasn’t opened up completely, you can simply repeat the process of introducing some mist, then some steam, and then force to open up the crown.

Step 5: Place a Center Crease in Your Hat

Once the crown is open, you can start by putting a center crease in the hat. Hit the crown with a little bit more water and steam and then you can use one finger to draw a line over the center of the crown.

After introducing moisture, use one finger to draw a line so you can place a center crease.

Check to make sure that things are actually centered using the small bow at the back of the sweatband found on many hats and just making sure that front to back things are lined up. 

Step 6: Place Your Center Crease

If the line is centered, you can then use a small amount of pressure to make a center crease in the crown of the hat. Work slowly and carefully. You can start in the middle of the crown and crease outward or start at one end.

Start placing a center crease by using a small amount of pressure.

I often find that it’s easiest to start at the back of the crown and work my way up to the front. If you’d like your hat to have a center dent-style, you’re more or less finished.

Step 7: Pinch the Front of Your Hat

The only other thing you’ll have to do is make a pinch at the front of the crown to put two dimples in the front of the hat. Then hit it with a bit more water and steam, hang it, and you should be good to go with a center-dented hat.

We’re going to demonstrate a teardrop or C-crown shape here, though, so there are more steps involved.

Step 8: Begin Flattening Out the Crown

After using a bit more water and steam, you’re going to want to start flattening out the top of the crown. You can start at the back and, again, work your way toward the front creating that teardrop shape.

Keep in mind that the back of the crown will have a lower overall height than the front when viewing it with the brim parallel to the floor.

When viewing the hat with the brim parallel to the floor, keep in mind that, traditionally, the back of the crown will have a lower overall height than the front.

Step 9: Use Your Hands to Shape

Again, working gently and carefully, just shape the hat with your hands into the overall teardrop shape, working with water and steam as needed. There really isn’t a better way to explain this; your hands should hopefully just develop a feel for where they need to be as you go through the process.

Step 10: Add a Bubble Shape to Your Crown

Once you’re satisfied with how the top edge of the crown looks, making sure that it’s symmetrical side-to-side, then you can use either your round form or your own head to introduce a bit of a bubble back into the center of the crown. Then, again, hitting with water and steam every so often, make sure that the top edge of the crown forms a bit of a lip relative to this bubble.

Hit the hat with steam and water occasionally while molding the hat to the shape that you want.

Step 11: Hand-shape a Point in the Front

The last stage here is to hand shape the front of the crown into more of a defined triangular point again, making sure that you put in the two creases at the front of the crown as well. Give one more hit of water and steam to finish and that’s the end of the reshaping process.

Step 12: Leave Your Hat Undisturbed for a Few Days

At this point, you can just leave your hat undisturbed on a hook for a few days, preferably one that has a large and rounded point so as not to leave a bump in your hat.

Additional Pointers for Hat Reblocking

• First of all, you can raise or lower the overall depth of the crown using the center point as a guide. Remember that how much depth you want in a crown is partially determined by how tall the crown is, to begin with when it’s open and should also be determined, in part, by how the hat will look relative to your head shape when it’s finished.
• For snap-brim hat styles like fedoras and trilbies, it’s important that you don’t steam the front of the brim in a downward position. It should be left up so that you can snap it down when wearing it and snap it back up when not wearing it. Also, if you need to reshape the brim of a hat somewhat, you can do this but make sure to use a delicate touch in addition to water and steam.
  

  Store your hat in a hook when not in use or when drying so it won’t fall out of shape

• It’s also important to store a hat on a hook when it’s drying so that it doesn’t fall out of the proper shape. If you set a hat down on a table on its brim, the brim could flatten out or curl up, otherwise just not in the shape it’s supposed to be and if you store the hat on the top of its crown, as you normally would store it when it was dry, this could flatten out the crown somewhat, which would also look undesirable.

Shaping Other Crown Shapes

Most of the tips we’ve gone over today have applied more exclusively to felted hats. However, you can use these same techniques to steam and reshape a straw hat, but you must be considerably more gentle. Use your hands to lightly coax the straw into shape as if you’re too rough the straw could tear.

Each of the crown styles we discussed today has its own level of difficulty when reshaping as well.

• The open crown is fairly self-explanatory, of course, as all you really need to do is use the round form to open up the crown of the hat.
• The center dent-style is the simplest, as we mentioned, followed by the teardrop or C-crown shape, which is really only slightly more difficult.
• The diamond crown is a bit more difficult than this and will require more hand shaping, especially to make sure that all of the sides of the diamond are roughly equal and that the hat is symmetrical front to back and side-to-side, not counting the pinches at the front and the positioning of the brim.
  

  The teardrop shape is among the simplest shape to mold on your hat.

• Lastly, telescoping or flat top style can be especially difficult if you want to get that tight narrow lip at the top of the crown. However, with time and patience, it can be done.

Resizing a Hat

Finally here, in addition to using these techniques to reshape a hat, you can also use them to some extent to resize a hat while the hat is saturated with water and steam, you can use a tool called a hat stretcher, which is available online, to increase the circumference of the crown, but only by so much.

These stretchers use tension so putting too much on the hat may damage the sweatband or indeed the felt itself. This is why it’s important overall to know your hat size when purchasing hats, especially if you can’t try them on, so if you need to resize, it will only be slightly. 

You could use a tool like a hat stretcher but keep in mind that stretching your hat too much can cause damage.

Conversely, making a hat smaller is a much tougher process. It involves a period of prolonged exposure to heat using an oven. We really wouldn’t recommend trying this process, unless you’re extremely confident.

As a bit of a horror story, That’s how I got the hat you’re seeing here into such poor shape, and even after copious attempts at reshaping, this is all the better I’ve been able to get it so far.

Conclusion

Using these methods, hopefully, you’ll be confident and or curious enough to attempt reshaping your felt hats at home. It may sound and seem difficult at first, but trust me, it’s actually a relatively simple process. I was actually somewhat shocked at how easy the process was when I first attempted it and I was pleased with the results I got that first time. Of course, like anything else, it might just involve a bit of trial and error. If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Have you tried reshaping your hats at home? Share your experience in the comments!

With the presidential inauguration taking place on Jan 20, 2021, we thought it was an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at the suits and outfits worn by U.S. Presidents throughout history on their inaugural day.You will probably be surprised to see how the outfits developed over time. The very first was George Washington in 1789 in New York City wearing a morning coat with ruffled shirt, knee length trousers, matching waistcoat, over the calf silk hose and buckle shoes.

George Washington in Morning Dress at the First Inauguration in NYC April 30, 1789

Andrew Jackson wore a very different outfit with a black tailcoat, trousers, and vest, combined with a white starched shirt and big black bow tie.

Andrew Jackson at the first Capitol inauguration in 1829 with tailcoat, high-cut waistcoat & black bow tie

On the other hand, Lincoln wore a frock coat in 1865, which was an upcoming trend at the time.

Lincoln in frock coat and black bow tie at his second inauguration in 1865

Ulysses S. Grant wore once again a black tailcoat with a black bow tie, and for his ball, people were not allowed to wear overcoats, hats or canes, which must have been the exception to the rule back then.

Inauguration Oath of Ulysses S. Grant in tailcoat and black bow tie with stiff cuffed shirt and cufflinks 1873

Inauguration Ball on March 4, 1873, for Ulysses S. Grant

Chester Arthur was one of the first presidents to adopt the stroller suit, but if you look closely, you will notice that his jacket had rounded quarters similar to a morning coat but much shorter in length.

Chester Arthur Sep 20, 1881 in Stroller Suit with open quarters

William McKinley wore a double breasted frock coat with partial silk-faced lapels. Of course, during the speech he took off his top hat.

William McKinley in frock coat & black bow tie at his first inauguration, March 4, 1897

Theodore Roosevelt wore a turndown collar in this picture paired with a necktie and a frock coat. While common nowadays he was fashion forward back then because the bow tie and stiff wing collar were considered more traditional back then.

Theodore Roosevelt in frock coat with striped necktie and turndown collar at Oath of Office, September 14, 1901

Top hats were reserved for the wealthy while the general public wore bowler hats or Homburg hats.

Theodore Roosevelt in a carriage on Pennsylvania Avenue on the way to Capitol, March 4, 1905

Roosevelt Inauguration Day in 1905

Taft was a portly president, and he liked to wear fur. At his inauguration, we can see him wearing a fitted fur-lined overcoat with fur collar and cuffs as well as a top hat but without gloves.

William Howard Taft Inauguration, March 4, 1909

The dress code remained unchanged.

President-elect Wilson and President Taft, standing side by side, laughing, at White House before Wilson’s inauguration ceremonies, March 4, 1913

Woodrow Wilson and wife riding in back seat of a carriage to the second inauguration with top hat and velvet collar on March 5, 1917

President Wilson, with top hat and speech in hand, delivering his inaugural address, March 5, 1917

President Harding in a light colored overcoat with a fur collar.

President Harding waving to crowd from inaugural stand on east portico of U.S. Capitol, March 4, 1921

Just look at the splendid top hats…

Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Philander Knox and Joseph Cannon, in convertible, March 4, 1921

Coolidge in morning wear.

President Coolidge, Mrs. Coolidge and Senator Curtis on the way to the Capitol, March 4, 1925.

Chief Justice William H. Taft administering the oath of office to Herbert Hoover on the east portico of the U.S. Capitol, March 4, 1929

Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a fur collar and polished top hat.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover in convertible automobile on the way to Capitol for Roosevelt’s inauguration, March 4, 1933

FDR with an evening overcoat with cloak and velvet collar – it is too bad that this kind of overcoats has almost vanished entirely.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt inauguration, 1937 with shiny top hat and evening overcoat with cape and frog closure

Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes administering the oath of office to Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the east portico of the U.S. Capitol, January 20, 1941

Harry S. Truman swearing the oath. For more information about his wardrobe take a look at this post. Here you can see his ties and shoes.

Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone administering the oath of office to Harry S. Truman in the Cabinet Room of the White House, April 12, 1945

Eisenhower in 1953 wearing a roomy, double breasted overcoat.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower inauguration, 1953 in double breasted overcoat

Eisenhower in morning dress, reacting to the cheering of the spectators.

Eisenhower in Morning Coat

Dwight D. Eisenhower in Stroller suit taking oath of office in a private ceremony in the East Room of the White House, January 20, 1957

John F. Kennedy in full morning dress with top hat.

JFK with top hat and overcoat

JFK in morning coat giving his 1961 inauguration speech.

John F. Kennedy in morning dress delivering his inaugural address, January 20, 1961

JFK wearing the evening equivalent of the morning coat outfit to the inauguration ball: white tie with wing collar, stiff fronted shirt and piqée vest with studs.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy

Chief Justice Earl Warren administering the oath of office to Richard M. Nixon on the east portico of the U.S. Capitol, January 20, 1969

Nixon with a shawl collar tuxedo and cummerbund at the inauguration ball.

Nixon in black tie at the inauguration ball with shawl collar tuxedo, cummerbund & studs

President Ford wearing just a plain suit with a striped tie.

Inauguration of President Ford in a solid suit with a boldly striped tie

Reagan was the last US president to wear a stroller suit for his inauguration in 1981.

Reagan was the last President to wear a stroller suit on his inauguration day in 1981. We’d love to see a president wear one again.

In 1985, he switched to a regular suit.

Ronald Reagan in striped tie, dark suit, pocket square and double cuffs with Nancy Reagan

George H. W. Bush is a dark suit with silver tie in 1989.

Bush senior in Suit and barel cuffs 1989

Bill Clinton in a dark suit with plain tie in 1993.

Clinton 1993 in a dark suit

George W. Bush junior

Obama in 2009 & 2013

Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Sasha Obama, Malia Obama in 2009 – his pants are way too long.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administers the oath of office to U.S. President Barack Obama during ceremonies in Washington

Trump on inauguration day Jan 20, 2017 wearing a dark overcoat, white double cuffed shirt and a bright red tie that is 4-5 inches too long, drawing the eye towards his crotch, rather than his face

Based on the fact that Trump has been wearing his ties that way all year, it is safe to say he doesn’t do it by mistake. In any case, Stephen Colbert of all people did a funny analysis of Trump’s tie:

Detail shots show that he taped his tie ends together with scotch tape, even though a tie bar would have been much more elegant. Even worse, it seems to be a habit as the picture from Dec 1, 2016 shows.

Scotch tape on the tie of Trump at the inauguration

Donald Trump with tape on his tie at Indianapolis International Airport Dec. 1, 2016, in Indianapolis

Joe Biden came in a navy single breasted 3 button overcoat with notched lapels, which was made by Ralph Lauren at a Hickey Freeman factory in the US. He skipped the pocket square in the overcoat and went with an American flag pin instead. While he did not wear a scarf for the inauguration itself, he later had a double-sided solid colored light grey and blue scarf on when he exited the car.

Joe Biden wearing a navy single breasted overcoat

Joe Biden at work Photo Doug Mills EPA

His gloves were plain black. His suit was likewise Ralph Lauren made by Hickey Freeman. Simple plain navy 2 button suit with flap pockets, side vents and quite some shoulder padding. The pants had a trim cut, not cuffs and he paired them with plain, black, capless leather Blucher shoes and dark socks. He wore a white spread collar dress shirt with neatly starched french cuffs, that fit him well, and were not too big. The cufflinks were round and seem to be a blue background with goldcrest. His tie looked like a light blue solid satin tie, which is something many politicians wear, and can be found at the $5 on ebay. A nice white crown fold pocket square finished off the look together with an American flag pin on the lapel.

Biden at the inauguration wearing a Rolex Datejust and t-bar cufflinks – note he leaves the bottom button of his 4 wrist buttons on his overcoat undone. Also his collar gaps

Overall, Biden plays it very safe and unexciting like most politicians these days. Rather than going for a gold round simple watch with a white dial, he wore a Rolex Datejust, with a smooth bezel, applied markers, and Arabic numerals around the dial. He also wore stainless band sports watch in on January 20, 2013.

Overall, it is a somber outfit, and while he has demonstrated in the past that he likes Ralph Lauren he does not seem to be a style enthusiast otherwise he would not have worn the satin tie day or cheap t-bar cufflinks for a day event or a sports watch for a formal event such as the inauguration, and the his collar would not have gapped once he raised his hands.

While Rolex watches are a good investment, it would have been nice to see him not just buying an American made suit but also an American watch. Ironically, most people focus on where the clothes are made, but I would guess they cost less than his watch. In all fairness, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Donald Trump also wore Rolex watches…

Conclusion

The inauguration used to be a much dressier and more formal event where top hats and proper morning dress were obligatory. Sadly, ever since Reagan’s second inauguration, U.S. President have only worn plain solid suits with uninteresting neckties and I would love to see a stroller or even a morning coat at such a celebratory event in the future.  What do you think? Do you think a suit is enough or would you prefer a slight change in dress for such special occasions?

Shoes are the foundational piece of a well-dressed man’s wardrobe; no matter how expensive your wardrobe is, a bad pair of shoes can ruin everything. As choosing the right shoes is crucial and can make or break an outfit, we’ll discuss whether or not a gentleman should wear loud, colorful, and flashy dress shoes (and when such shoes could be worn) to avoid looking clownish.

Most traditional dress shoes come in colors ranging from black over burgundy, to oxblood, to mate, or chestnut brown, to maybe lighter brown, or tan or some darker, chocolatey brown. Why are those colors so popular? Well, they’re easy to combine, they don’t stand out too much, they provide a bit of contrast, and are just considered to be classics.

However, if you go back in history, it wasn’t always like that, and today, you can wear pretty much anything you want – meaning you can pull off a pair of purple shoes, orange, green, or whatever color you want including silver, gold, and rainbow colors.

Popular dress shoe colors

As always though, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Generally, quality dress shoes are an expensive investment and most people out there don’t have an unlimited budget. So, if you want to buy a shoe that you can wear 5, 10, or even 20 years down the line, buying that two-tone purple shoe is probably not a great investment.

The History of Men’s Dress Shoes

The history of shoes reveals a surprising element of color in men’s shoes. Shoes, as we know them today, have their origins in Europe and have always been synonymous with status and wealth since the Gothic and Middle Ages.

Back in the day, materials were expansive, tanning was a dirty business, and cobblers were highly-coveted craftsmen. The vast majority of peasants and servants weren’t able to really afford nice shoes. They had rudimentary pieces of material on their feet, and the left and the right shoe looked exactly the same. The style of those shoes was usually rather boxy and maybe serves as the inspiration of boxy shoes today.

Pointed-toe Cracow or poulaine shoes

On the flipside, royalty and people associated with accord had more effort put into their shoes, which meant they had a pointy shape. Also, they were made of more expensive materials such as velvet.

The longer the point of your shoe was the higher class you were because it signaled that you didn’t really have to work. They didn’t have to be practical. They just had to show your status and wealth. These shoes here were known as “poulaine,” and they required actual special lacing so you could even wear them.

Renaissance: Heeled Men’s Shoes

Moving on to the Renaissance, shoes changed and developed a heel, specifically for men. Today, it would probably be something that most men would consider to be feminine, but going back in history, the heeled shoe was actually made for men.

They were colorful, sometimes the heel was different from the uppers, and they also had buckles that were sometimes quite decorative and today, we would call them “bedazzled.” So, the original French shoes really have a very close resemblance to the platform shoes today. 

Heeled men’s shoes during the Renaissance.

Men who showed off their toned legs in silk stockings were a beauty standard popularized by King Louis XIV. And if you think that was bold, hold your breath and look at shoes from the Baroque Era.

Baroque Era: Shoes Have Even Louder Ornaments

Historically, that’s probably when shoes were the loudest and most flamboyant. Silk, velvet, embroidery, and even ribbons, all on men’s shoes. The wealthy would sometimes also use exotic skins, and all types of detailed materials and silk, velvet, fabrics, and everything that made you look rich, including gemstones, laces, and even bright red heels.

A lot of ornaments were added to shoes during the Baroque Era.

Looking back at all these colorful shoes shows you that the idea of men’s fashion or manliness is a hundred percent defined by society and the environment you live in. Wearing makeup, colorful clothes, and bold, loud, colorful shoes with embroidery and gemstones used to be as manly as it is today for a man to drive a truck, go ice fishing, and buck hunting.

Industrialization: The Birth of The Left Shoe & The Right Shoe

Surprisingly, it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution, starting around the 1830s, that men had shoes for a left and a right foot. Of course, the influence of Beau Brummell made the entire men’s color landscape more muted and somber.

Even the most classic men’s dress shoe today – the Oxford shoe – had its origins in women’s wear. Yes, Oxfords and Balmorals were women’s shoes, and then, slowly but surely, were adapted into the men’s wardrobe. Just like the fedora, they picked up popularity with men and then, especially, young men, such as students at Oxford, would wear those shoes in that style, and then, it became known as the Oxford shoe.

Tan Cap Toe Oxford without Heel Cap and 6 eyelets with burnished cap toe – No 549 by Shoepassion

Most shoes at the time were conventional, but there were still special things such as a spectator, which John Lobb claims to have invented in order to play cricket. 

A hundred years ago, nubucks or suede were also still a little less conventional and oftentimes, considered to be less expensive and less desirable, and material for the lower classes. Someone started wearing white bucks though during summer and sometimes year-round, and so, the material became more popular. Still, for conservative men, it wasn’t the leather or the shoe of choice because it wasn’t quite up to par.

The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis, liked to wear blue suede shoes. In fact, he liked them so much that he even released the track called “Blue Suede Shoes.” Because of that, blue suede shoes became a popular counterculture item in the 1950s.

Suede Shoes in Brown (socks by Fort Belvedere)

As you know though, eventually with cultural evolution, dress shoes became less important. And now, sneakers are what most men wear today. That being said, there has been a resurgence in classic men’s clothing. And with the help of the internet and improved supply chain technologies, you have many companies now that offer made-to-order options that allow you to get shoes in pretty much any color under the sun right from your computer.

Should You Invest in Colorful, Flashy Shoes?

The short answer is: It depends! It goes without saying that your personal tastes, preferences, and environment play a huge role in this. Leaving it aside, it will come down to what you already have in your wardrobe and what you don’t. If you are still starting out, our guide to The First 5 Dress Shoes You Need to Start a Shoe Collection will help you.

Your personal tastes, preferences, environment, and day-to-day tasks play a huge role in deciding if you should invest in colorful shoes.

For example, if you work for a conservative law firm or CPA firm and you don’t want to draw too much attention to yourself, wearing a bold, yellow pair of dress shoes is probably not the way to go. On the flip side, if you’ve already got all the classics and you’re interested in something a bit more whimsical or something a little more different that makes you stand out from the crowd in a subtle way, maybe an olive green pair of shoes or something gray could be a really good addition.

How Can You Pull Off Bold Dress Shoes?

You probably don’t want to look like a clown, a pimp, or a carnival character, so what’s the line and how do you pull off colorful shoes?

1. Invest in All the Classics

First, before you buy a single pair of bold, colorful dress shoes, I suggest you invest in all the classics because they’re versatile and provide a much better value. I’m sure you hear me, a purple shoe is very difficult to combine with most items in your wardrobe.

But even a classic like a white bucks shoe may only work with maybe a seersucker suit or pants. When you wear them, you want to make a statement that says, “Hey, look at me!” And if you want that, then go for it. If not, be aware of it.

Raphael looking dapper in seersucker pants, a sport coat in a light shade of blue, white buck shoes, and a Panama hat with a brown band.

Because colorful shoes are so different, people will see them first and then the person wearing them. And by the third time you wear your brown and white spectators, people will probably know you, “Ah! This is the guy with the crazy shoes!”

The advantage of darker, more conventional colors is that they fly out of the radar, and people won’t even notice until a second or third glance. They can also be paired much more easily with most colors in a classic men’s wardrobe.

The same is true with pretty much any dark color; a navy shoe, a dark green shoe, or even a truly dark purple shoe will not be something that people notice right away. Grey can be a great color for boat shoes or for boots, and so can blue.

Brown and white spectator shoes.

However, the darker the color, the easier it is to combine with your outfits. The lighter the color, the bolder it gets, the more attention you attract. Sometimes, if you like preppy outfits, you want something that is loud in multiple colors. And I own boat shoes, for example, which are more casual, and so I, sometimes, like to have a yellow pair of boat shoes or a blue and red pair of boat shoes. For dress shoes, on the other hand, everything that is too bright has a very limited level of usefulness. 

2. Experiment with Textures

Other than just with shoe colors, you can also experiment with different textures. The more texture you have in a shoe, the more casual it gets. When you combine it with color, you can play around a little bit.

For example, a dark brown leather shoe will not draw a lot of attention. However, if you have woven leather, it immediately makes it more casual without being overly loud. Plus, in the summer, it is a great shoe because the woven leather makes the leather more breathable so your feet won’t be sweaty.

A pair of woven leather loafers from Scarosso. (socks from Fort Belvedere)

Of course, you can also find embossed leather shoes that look like they’re woven leather when in fact they aren’t. You can also enhance certain colors by having a mix of suede and calf leather in your shoe. Let’s say you have a black or a brown mixed calf and suede leather in the same color, it is louder than a plain suede or a plain calf leather shoe, but it’s not as loud as a pair of boots that have black leather and white suede.

If you go back in history again, this was actually a style quite popularly worn by gentlemen, especially with formal morning wear, and it triggered the interest in spats. So, you couldn’t afford a pair of two-tone shoes, you could wear the spats to give the impression of having that two-toned look.

Mid-brown oxfords with embossed leather. (socks from Fort Belvedere)

Again, what’s popular, manly, or classic always depends on the society around you. And it’s interesting to see how those standards have changed over time. That being said, the cap toe Oxford has been a staple in a classic men’s wardrobe for the last 100 years, and it likely will be for the next hundred. But who knows what the future holds?

So, you want to take it up a notch? Colorful bold shoes with exotic leather or a blend between exotic and calf leather are even more eye-catching than suede. When it comes to patterned, textured, or colorful shoes, the less contrast you have, the easier it is to wear them and combine them with your wardrobe.

A bolder option – black and white button boots.

For example, there’s a black and white button boot, so the style is unusual, the color combination is bold; it’s definitely something you’ll get noticed in. Another example is a brown and white calf leather wingtip Oxford. The materials are the same, but it’s still a rather bold shoe. As our last example, a shoe with a mix of navy calf leather and gray suede can have less contrast between the colors, so it’s a little more subtle, but still much more noticeable than the black capital Oxford.

3. Invest in Colorful Shoelaces

Now, let’s say you have shoe colors in black, various shades of brown, oxblood, and burgundy and you wish you could have something that’s a bit more daring? You don’t just have to go out and buy a pair of new shoes in one specific color that you may only wear five times over its lifespan. You can also invest in colorful shoelaces because they cost less than $10 and they’re reversible.

So, if you have a brown pair of shoes and you add a yellow pair of shoelaces, it looks like an entirely new shoe, but if you don’t like the look anymore after a day or two, you can just exchange them and put them in a different pair of shoes.

Colorful laces by Fort Belvedere.

Experimenting with little things that are easy on your wallet and that are not permanent, maybe a great first step to see if you’re comfortable with the attention you’re getting.

For a broad selection of quality men’s dress shoe laces and boot laces in round and flat styles in many colors, please check out our shop here.

Wearing Colorful Shoes in a Gentlemanly Way

Now, let’s assume you already bought the colorful shoelaces, you’ve played with it, and you want to take the next step. How do you actually wear colorful shoes in a tasteful, gentlemanly way?

Tri-Colored Boat Shoe

It’s always easier to implement color in more casual shoes than it is in dress shoes. So, introducing color into a sneaker, into a driving moc, or a boat shoe is much easier than into a cap-toe Oxford.

1. Olive Green Dress Shoes

One of the first colorful shoes I suggest you invest in, if you’re at that point, is an olive or dark green shoe because it combines very easily with the rest of your wardrobe. It is not something that shouts, “Look at me! I have green shoes!” But it’s something that people will notice maybe at the second glance.

Just like how brown is the dominant color in men’s dress shoes, green is a natural color. And because of that, it combines very easily with black, navy, blue, charcoal brown, and gray.

Dark olive green dress shoes (socks by Fort Belvedere)

Maybe green derby is a good first alternative or a loafer. You can also have an Oxford but if you go for that, maybe go for a Wingtip or something with broguing that makes it more casual, rather than a plain capital one.

You can also go with suede in that color, which is particularly nice during the warmer months of the year, but also during the fall. Of course, it’s even easier to maybe have a green pair of boat shoes.

Green suede Albert slippers

An outfit example would be a green fresco jacket, blue and white-striped seersuckers with green suede tassel loafers, and a pan on my hat with a matching green band tying it all together, having a little pop of color in the orange silk knit tie, and a light blue boutonniere that picks up the tones of blue.

So, having some green in your jacket, your tie, maybe your socks, or your pants will make it much easier to incorporate a green shoe into your wardrobe.

1A. Navy Dress Shoe

Fortunately, most men already have some green accessories so olive green or darker green is a no-brainer to start. That being said, if green sounds too bold for you, maybe start with a dark navy because it’s very close to black and it’s something that allows you to ease into the colorful shoe realm.

Two-tone oxford with light grey shoelaces by Fort Belvedere

It looks great with navy suits, but can also be worn with gray flannels. It can also blend into business outfits or if you want it to be a little more noticeable, you can think about a spectator or two-tone shoe, such as a pair in lighter navy calf leather and gray suede.

2. White Buckskin Shoe

Once you have a green or navy shoe, the second choice is probably the white buckskin shoe. Even though it used to be a really popular men’s item, today, it’s actually hard to find a buckskin leather shoe or a deerskin leather shoe, which is actually a quite nice leather; it’s rather soft. I found the company Shoepassion offers them, and this is the one I have in my collection.

White Buckskin shoes with leather sole by Shoepassion

While they’re bold, they work really well as a summer shoe with all types of seersuckers or linen pants or even fresco. Look at the white as kind of like the backdrop of your entire outfit that just lightens everything up. Even though it’s bold, you can also combine it with pretty much any other color, thus, rendering it quite versatile.

3. Spectator Shoe

Once you get the white buckskin summer shoes, it’s time to think about a nice spectator. The most classic one is probably the one in brown and white, and you can even have black and white, but it’s a little harsher of a contrast and I find they’re harder to incorporate into outfits. 

Wearing brown and white two-tone shoes will immediately give your outfit a vintage 1930s flair. One of the first things many people say is “Oh! Al Capone!” and they associate spectator shoes and striped suits with that period in time, but also with mobsters.

Two-tone spectator shoe (socks by Fort Belvedere)

The good thing about white and brown is that it works with any kind of earthy, natural tone, but you can also wear it with a grey suit or even a navy striped suit. Yes, it’s bold but it still works. 

Instead of leather, you can also find spectators made of canvas, typically not kind of white canvas but it’s darker. It’s like khaki or fawn or tan, which means less contrast and, therefore, easier to combine with other outfits. It’s a cool, classic alternative to the brown and white or, in general, spectator shoe in all leather.

4. Grey/Mid-blue Shoes

Once you have the spectator in your rotation, I think a gray pair of shoes is really underrated or maybe something in blue that’s a little lighter than navy.

Gray can work really well during the summer because it’s very neutral. It can be combined with a lot of colors. At the same time, it’s not as noticeable or loud as a white buckskin shoe. So you can wear them with chinos. I even have gray boat shoes, which you can combine with different pairs of shorts and polo shirts very easily.

Raphael’s grey full brogue winter boots by Heinrich Dinkelacker with shealing lining

Preston has a nice pair of derbies, which look really well on him and are quite versatile. I also have a pair of gray winter boots that are lined in wingtips with kind of a scotch grain leather. They always look good.

Blue shoes are a little harder to combine and I find myself wearing them less often, but I know others who like them quite a bit. Let’s say you have blue shoes and blue pants, it creates a monochromatic look and it’s more noticeable than a grey shoe in my opinion. It just looks a little more artificial and like you want more attention.

Blue shoes are not so versatile.

If you want to try experimenting with other colors such as orange or yellow or purple, it’s probably best to not do it with classic dress shoes but think about a driving mocc, think about a sneaker, or a boat shoe.

In any case, before you make the purchase, I suggest you consciously think about what outfits and what items in my wardrobe can I combine this pair of shoes with? You’d be surprised how few outfits you can actually wear with a purple shoe.

Some of Raphael’s boat shoes.

Personally, I’m a big fan of bolder, colorful shoes for my casual boat shoes in the summer that I typically wear with other seersuckers or some cotton or linen shorts. I have them in blue and green, and navy and red, and kind of orangish-red. I have them in yellow, in gray and blue with tan two-tone. I also have some in white with tan, and it’s just fun to wear them.

Of course, I also have the classic brown boat shoes, but whenever I can, for a casual wardrobe, I just like that pop of color that makes me stand out from the crowd and defines my personal summer style.

What Should You Avoid?

1. Overly Bold Patterns, Textures, and Colors

First of all, having shoes with extremely bold sequins or colorful flower patterns is just something that is not really part of the realm of a classic men’s wardrobe today, and it just makes you look like a bold artist. And if that’s what you want to go for, by all means, invest in those shoes.

But, if you’re here, chances are you’re interested in classic men’s clothing and that’s simply not part of that. I know I said conventions are a hundred percent defined by the society we live in at the time, but the fact is, we live today and that’s what the conventions are and they have been that for a long time.

Avoid shoes with too much pattern.

If your shoes have all kinds of patterns, it makes it hard to wear with other patterns in your outfit because you have one more dimension to consider when putting together things. Bold pattern shoes also draw the attention away from your face towards your shoes and they always will be the centerpiece of the outfit.

2. Shoes Made From Fabric

Keep in mind that cotton and canvas are materials that are very summery; they’re breathable, they have that nice casual look but they also wear it a lot more quickly than leather does. Once they’re stained, they’re a lot harder to clean, so just something to keep in mind.

That’s why other than, for maybe, canvas or fabric boat shoes or canvas alpargatas for summer wear, I think fabric shoes are ideal for areas where they don’t get a lot of wear and use, which is typically around the house.

Avoid fabric in shoes, unless longevity is a not concern of yours. Also, fabric is great for house shoes such as these Albert slippers in needlepoint green with red and black stripes or if

I’m a big fan of fabric Albert slippers and I have them in green velvet or in needlepoint green with red and black stripes, which is quite cool and unusual.

Once you have 50, 60, or even 100 pair of shoes in your wardrobe, the question of longevity really becomes a moot point because even if you wear a different pair of shoes every day, you only get three, four, five, or six wears out of each pair of shoes per year, and so you probably won’t have to resole a shoe anymore, unless you wear some more often than others.

Conclusion

While they are not very apparent in classic menswear, bold and colorful shoes have their time and place and can be implemented in classic outfits. Having the knowledge of when and where they should be worn can help you put your best foot forward and choose the right shoe to match and complete a timeless and stylish outfit, without the risk of looking funny.

Do you have bold and colorful shoes in your collection? How do you wear them? Let us know in the comments!

Certain men almost always look great, no matter when you see them. You might think of Steve McQueen, Cary Grant, Ryan Gosling, or Frank Sinatra as effortlessly stylish, for example. What’s more: it’s absolutely possible for you to create that kind of visual charisma without spending a ton of money or having your own personal stylist–just by learning these 10 style secrets!

Many of these effortlessly stylish men dressed themselves and made their style an extension of their identity. And they did this by following a chain of principles, which you can replicate in your own life. That is to say, you, too, can find your own signature style, which will serve as an extension of yourself.

10 Tips To Become Effortlessly Stylish

1. Dressing Well Is A Skill You Can Develop

When you first start out on your style journey, you might have a vague idea of what you want to achieve, but might be overwhelmed by the number of options and information made available to you. As oxymoronic as it might sound, the more you study how to dress well and make clear, deliberate decisions about how you look, the easier it will come to you. It’s not a magical trait that you are or are not born with.

The more you gain knowledge, the more confident you’ll be with your choices.

Like training a muscle, the more information you have on color theory, pattern matching, pattern meshing, and the historical understanding of formality, the better you’ll understand how to naturally put together a great outfit. Once you understand the foundation of how to be well-dressed within the principles of the classic style, you’ll start to develop an appreciation and a fondness for certain articles of clothing. 

2. Consider Your Personal Lifestyle and Goals

Once you understand what’s classic and timeless, you need to assess then what kind of clothing you’d actually include in your day-to-day life. And while owning a bunch of three-piece bespoke suits is nice, it won’t help much if you, for example, are a warehouse worker who rarely gets an opportunity to wear them. However, you could also get a lot of mileage out of something like Red Wing boots in this scenario.

It’s also important to understand why you’re dressing well in the first place. Are you looking to get an edge at work and want to present yourself in the most professional way possible? Are you doing it because it makes you feel good, and it’s a personal statement as to how you respect others? Or is it a step on your journey in self-improvement?

Assess what type of outfits you’d most likely wear on a daily basis.

Once you have these points locked down, it’s important to then create a checklist of the things that you want to add to your wardrobe that will be the most beneficial to you. Doing this prevents impulse buying and ensures that you get the lowest cost per wear on what you decide to purchase.

3. Fit Matters Most!

You can own the most high-quality clothing in the world, but if it doesn’t fit right, something will always look off about your appearance, almost as if you don’t look at home in your own clothing. An incorrect fit can throw off your body’s proportions and give the appearance that you’re either shorter, heavier, taller, or thinner than you actually are. This will kill any opportunity you have to look effortlessly cool right out of the gate.

We can’t stress this enough – having the right fit is important.

Men will often choose clothing that is far too big for them because they want to appear broader than they actually are, or they want to be the most comfortable. And while skinny fitting or clothing can be just as unflattering, understanding what works best for your body type will save you a lot of frustration and heartache. Also, while the modern style plastered on billboards or online marketing content can be tempting to pursue, it just won’t work for every man, so be secure in styles that flatter you best.

4. Buy The Nicest Quality Clothing You Can Afford

Once you get the fit down, you can earn bonus points by picking up clothing of the nicest materials and construction. One of the best examples of this is with dress shoes. Having a shoe with a blank stitch or Goodyear welt along with great calfskin will always be more eye-catching as opposed to having a shoe that is poorly, made which will fall apart in around a year. 

Quality clothing not only looks nicer in subtle ways; it also lasts longer and will appear more lived in. Having a shoe patina and cork molding that’s unique to you, for example, will make them feel more lived in and almost like a second skin every time you wear them.

Shoes that are made with the highest quality doesn’t just look nice, they will also last longer.

This technique will also help you create your own uniform as you’ll start to have your own signature articles of clothing every time you get dressed. Certain construction methods will also enhance fit in ways that a cheaper product can never replicate. The canvas in a jacket, for example,  will mold to your body and will drape better over time as opposed to a fused jacket.

While you should never spend above your means, it’s important to remember that you should focus on fewer pieces of greater quality, rather than many things of lower quality, which are probably going to just get discarded anyway.

Less is more.

These also aren’t necessarily branded clothes as most designers have inferior construction methods and sell mostly off of their own name recognition. Having an eye for what constitutes a well-made piece of clothing will help you both save money and stay away from overly logoed clothing, which makes you look like you’re just trying too hard.

5. Stick to Neutral & Versatile Pieces of Clothing

When creating your foundational wardrobe, try to stick to neutral and versatile pieces of clothing. You also want to pick up clothing that will be able to be paired with as many outfits as possible. While a white dress shirt and a navy blazer aren’t the most exciting things on their own, they can easily be included with other outfits and other accessories to create a more bold statement, if you so choose.

While this green jacket isn’t necessarily neutral, it can still be a versatile piece when paired with more subdued garments.

Knowing that everything that you own is interchangeable saves you the stress from having to match if you’re not one who likes to plan outfits. And nothing screams effortless more than putting together a clean outfit in a matter of seconds.

This only works if you choose articles of clothing that are neutral by design. Having a wardrobe primarily consisting of white, blue, navy, gray, brown, and khaki is both masculine and a refined choice. And these are all neutral colors that, for the most part, can always go together.

6. Practice Wearing Your Clothing

When you start to get nicer clothing, you’ll be stepping out of your comfort zone and might not feel quite yet comfortable in wearing them. The best way to fix this is to get into the habit of wearing them. Whether it’s around the house or when out running errands, just to get into the habit of doing them so that when it’s time to wear them, you can do so effortlessly at work or at an event.

Once you get comfortable in your style, you’ll be as confident as these three.

While you should always take care of your clothing, it’s important not to baby them and be overly paranoid about ruining your clothes. For example, when Sean Connery was cast as James Bond, he was advised to get a suit made on Savile Row and wear it at all times. While Connery expressed that he didn’t feel like himself at first, the more he wore it, the more it became an extension of himself.

7. Organize Your Closet & Do Your Clothing Maintenance In Advance

Even if your clothing is versatile, it won’t matter if it’s a wrinkled mess or if you can’t find it five minutes before you have to head out of the door. Being proactive about how you store and care for your clothing will save you a lot of time and stress in the long run.

Keep your closet organized and do any maintenance necessary in advance.

You can also practice habits like setting out your clothes the night before if you’re not much of a morning person. Preparation eases the mind, and it makes you more confident that things will go smoothly, which will give you the demeanor of someone who’s in control without trying too hard.

8. Once You Have the Basics, Experiment!

Don’t be afraid to experiment once you have the basics. Once you have all of your essentials covered, now it’s time to start fine-tuning your style and finding your personal flair. Ask yourself if there’s a particular style you prefer over another–for example, double-breasted jackets over single-breasted jackets, or bow ties over neckties. This is where you can start to fine-tune those style differences.

Don’t be afraid to experiment,

Try to go for brighter and bolder colors than you would normally choose. Instead of buying something in the navy, try buying something in royal blue. Throughout this process, you’ll find your own quirks that will help you differentiate yourself within the guidelines of classic men’s style and help you develop a style that looks best to your personality. This will make you even more comfortable in your outfits, and that ease will give off a laid-back elegance, which will attract other people to you.

9. Stay Open-Minded About Style

There isn’t just one right way to be stylish. At this point, you might find yourself feeling like you’re on a bit of a plateau on your style journey. To avoid feeling like your style is stale and stagnant, it’s important to follow people whose style you respect. Following them can give you outfit combinations that maybe you didn’t think of, and this can also expand your repertoire with a second opinion.

Follow people whose style you respect. Like these three, perhaps?

Having a community of like-minded people can help your journey feel less lonely. The beauty of the internet is that it connects like-minded people around the world who otherwise would not have met. While your style journey might only consist of you and your personal life, having a group of like-minded people can help keep you held accountable and motivated.

10. Enjoy The Process & Have Fun With It!

At the end of the day, clothing is still just clothing. While it can make a difference in your day-to-day life, it’s important to not take it so seriously so that the process isn’t fun anymore. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, as everyone has at one point. Realize that it’s not the end of the world, and don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself a little bit.

Young Raphael in a white suit with a Mao collar–trendy at the time, not so impressive today!

This live and let live attitude will exude off of you and put people at ease, and instead, will make you seem smoother and cooler in how you present yourself.

What do you think makes up an effortless style, and do you practice it? We’re curious, and we’d like for you to share it in the comments!

Supplementing larger garments, accessories serve as subtle yet powerful additions to an outfit, which is why they’re essential to a stylish, classic wardrobe. Today, as we conclude touring Preston’s wardrobe, we’ll examine his collection of accessories and how each underscores his personal style.

Transcript (Lightly Edited)

This is a snapshot of my wardrobe as it stands in the fall of 2020; with the point of this series of content not only being a look behind the scenes but also to show how a gentleman’s wardrobe can be ever-evolving.

Hats

Let’s start at the top of the body with hats. As you can see, I’ve got a variety of different styles of hats here – covering both felt hats and straw hats. 

Straw Hats

This is one of my newest acquisitions, which is a standard Panama-style hat, though it does have a brown band instead of a black one. This one was actually found for me at an estate sale by Raphael, and he found one in my size, so I was happy to take it.

Preston wearing his new Panama hat.

Other straw options here include my coconut pork pie hat with a sort of madras-inspired band. This is one of my favorites and one that I wear quite often in summer. And, of course, we’ve got the straw boater here, which is a more formal style.

Felt Hats

Moving on to felt hats, I’ve got a number of vintage models. We can start here with this more charcoal gray model. You will notice that most of my hats have a relatively narrow brim as I feel that it fits my head shape best. We’ve also got this kind of mustard brown model, which, of course, you’ve also seen several times on the channel.

This next one is close in color to this one, although in a different light. This is darker charcoal and this is more of a medium gray. Lastly, the final vintage hat: a black fedora. If I were to wear a black hat more often, it would probably be in a style like a Homburg or a bowler, for instance.

Preston has several vintage felt hats in his collection.

I’ve got two newer wool felt hats. You can see that this grayish-blue one is actually quite misshapen and quite beat up. I don’t regularly wear this hat. And this was the first hat that I ever introduced into my collection. I don’t wear it as much anymore, but I have kept it for sentimental value.

Pocket Squares

You’ll see that I’ve basically got these grouped by color here. So, you can see here we’ve got this check pattern of red and black on a white ground, and here is sort of a standard red, perhaps with a little bit of a pink tone with some white micro pin dots there.

I have a standard red one. This is a pocket square I’ve had for many, many years and it’s a relatively cheap square, too. I’ve kept the base colors around just because they can be worn from time to time. This darker maroon, for example, is perhaps a little bit more elegant. So, that one sees much more wear than this plain red does. We’ve also got a white model with a contrasting red edge, which can look nice from time to time.

Preston grouped his pocket squares by color.

I also have a pink square, I believe, in a linen fabric. Here, we’ve got an orange one and featuring blue accents, as well. We’ve got yellow, this one with a contrasting edge and you can see it’s got several different patterns on it.

This is actually a commemorative handkerchief from my alma mater Gustavus Adolphus College that I received a few years ago. But, it’s got enough of an edge on it that it can be worn as sort of a plain yellow pocket square, which I do from time to time.

Preston wearing his pink linen pocket square.

I have a traditional kind of tartan pattern, which you’ve seen on the channel before. And, of course, a plain white silk. We’ve also got a vintage purple square with kind of a linear pattern. Let’s say in black and featuring a blue border. This one, again, is sort of a four-quadrant pocket square in different shades of blue and white with paisleys.

I have another vintage one featuring a Prince of Wales check in blue and yellow with a darker blue border, and on the opposite side, you can see some white on the border, as well. Also, a plain blue silk, again, this one is very old and doesn’t see a lot of wear these days. Although, I have kept it around. I have some brown models. This one features small paisleys. Here, kind of a tan color; fairly simple.

Preston’s vintage purple pocket square with a linear pattern.

This one is in a green shade. This one is newer but has become one of my favorites and it’s in a thicker, thicker fabric here – more rustic, more fall-like. On one side, it features this large, kind of geometric, floral, paisley-inspired pattern and, on the other side, it features pin dots on a green ground. So, I quite enjoy this square.

This one, I don’t believe I have worn really at all in many years. I could probably throw this into an “items I regret buying” category.

This pocket square in a green shade is one of Preston’s current favorites.

This one here in stripes of brownish-gray, let’s say, and light blue. And then we’ve got a plain black silk for sort of a more modern fashion-forward look, and a plain gray or silver, if you’d like to call it that.

Ties

Let’s now get into the ties. I’ve got two racks here. And, again, organized by color. So, we’ve got several red options – both neckties and bow ties. Things like a vintage Brooks Brothers tie in a houndstooth, very similar to a model we carry in the Fort Belvedere shop, actually.

We’ve got red and black stripes, more red and black stripes, blue polka dots on a red background. Here, we’ve got this one in kind of a military-inspired pattern, this another vintage tie.

Preston also groups his ties by color.

Next, and this is actually one of my favorites that’s originally Parisian silk, I believe. And you can see it’s in sort of a micro floral if you’d like to call it that, with a stripe, as well. There’s also orange and blue.

This one is in yellow and actually navy blue. Although, it can look a bit more like black from a distance and under certain light. Another vintage silk; this one, I believe, from the 1970s as you can tell by the very large paisleys. More of a repp stripe here in blue-green and yellow.

One of Preston’s favorite ties in Parisian silk

This one I quite like, in matter silk featuring a repeating geometric pattern. This, of course, has a green ground and sort of orange, off-white, and light blue. And here, we’ve got a few vintage striped models in various shades of blue and white.

On the other side here, another plain red with some stripes. Also, I have a bow tie featuring some blue and white and, I believe, also yellow stripes on a red background. Slightly bolder stripe; more of a modern tie. I don’t wear this one too often. Here is a kind of knobbier woolier tie, in a kind of dark maroon. Although, there’s a subtle blue in that herringbone, which can come through in certain lights, which I quite enjoy.

Another vintage tie in yellow with a large paisley pattern.

Here, another vintage patterned silk, and here, one of our Fort Belvedere grenadine ties in a darker red color, of course. We’ve produced lots of content on grenadine, and on specifically for ties, which might be something you’ll enjoy.

Here, another of my favorites. You can see there from Cable Car Clothiers. This is another vintage matter silk featuring a geometric pattern. I quite enjoy that one. This is a Gustavus tie, again, from my alma mater. So, I don’t wear this one terribly often as it is quite bold. But for certain collegiate functions, it comes in handy.

Fort Belvedere Grenadine tie in Burgundy Red

We’ve got this yellow tie featuring blue squares and some patterning in the weave, as well. Also, I’ve got sort of a plain green tie again with a patterned weave.

White polka dots on green. And this a diamond end bow tie. I have this blue tie. This is one that I’ve had in my wardrobe for many years – another Calvin Klein model, I believe.

Of course, navy blue with a gold black letter P, which is a vintage model that I was very happy to find. Nice to kind of have that P for Preston, of course. And then, another vintage model. Many of my ties are vintage, in fact.

Preston’s yellow tie with blue squares.

This one alternating a red stripe and kind of a crest-like design on a blue background. This one in matter silk with another geometric repeating micro pattern on a light blue base. Here is a light blue kind of more silken tie with a subtle stripe.

The next one is a little bit bolder and more modern. I don’t wear it terribly often, but I have just happened to keep it in my wardrobe up to now. Wore it in my younger years before I learned more about classic style and moved into more classic patterns and designs. This one here another vintage matter silk and kind of a plum purple with geometric patterns in orange, yellow, and light blue.

A bolder and modern tie Preston wore in his younger years.

Here, a Fort Belvedere bow tie in purple with some paisleys, featuring light blue and green, and orange. Next is a purple sort of textured woven tie, relatively simple.

Novelty Ties

Everybody has to have at least a few novelty ties in their collection, even if they can’t be worn terribly often. And being a fan of classic animation, the quintessential Mickey Mouse novelty tie is a favorite of mine. Not exactly appropriate for too many situations, but, of course, a fun one to have. And we can all incorporate a little whimsy now and again.

Preston’s Mickey Mouse novelty tie.

And also, in that same feel, a Christmas novelty tie; this one, I actually did not purchase of my own accord, it was given to me as a Christmas gift.

More Ties

Here are some grey models this one featuring kind of a micro pattern perhaps. This a plain black silk for when somebody needs sort of that starker, more minimalist option – same with this plain silver tie I also have. Another gray option, a slightly more modern pattern, but small enough that it’s not too bold. This one almost in kind of a taupe gray, a little bit on the bolder side. I don’t wear this one terribly often, but every now and again.

I also have another vintage micro pattern. After all, it’s fairly large. Another Robert Talbot offering there. Here’s another Fort Belvedere grenadine tie: this one in brown. Here, we’ve got another brown tie, plain brown with a smaller denser weave.

Preston showing another vintage tie from Robert Talbot with micropattern.

Next is a pique white tie for the white tie dress code – again, from Fort Belvedere, if you can see the tag there. I’ve got the tie in my collection, but have not yet fully assembled a proper white tie rig, as it were. So, perhaps in the future, stay tuned.

Gaps in Ties and Pocket Squares

As far as gaps in this part of my wardrobe are concerned, with ties and pocket squares, the more, the merrier, really. I’m always looking for more designs, more patterns, more fabrics, and in particular, I’d like to get more Fort Belvedere pieces into my wardrobe; I just haven’t happened to pull the trigger on that yet.

Some of the accessories you often see Preston wear in videos are mostly studio property. (Accessories from Fort Belvedere)

Many of the accessories you see me wear in our content are property of the studio. So, it’s fairly easy for me to just go in and put those on filming days. But I would like to get many more of our Fort Belvedere options into my own personal wardrobe. So, that’s something I hope to do in the near future.

Cufflinks

Moving more strictly into the realm of accessories then, we can start with my cufflink box. Obviously, not nearly as robust a collection as Raphael’s, but I’ve built my collection up over the last 10 or 15 years or so.

We can start here on the top row with these fabric cufflinks – obviously, much more casual. You can see we’ve got green paisleys, gold and black, red, and a greenish color, purple paisleys, grayscale florals, and orange with accents of green and brown. I would say that I wear the purple, orange, and, to a lesser extent, gray colors more often.

Green fabric cufflinks

This is a vintage model given to me by a family friend featuring a pattern of black and white. And you can see that these are solid piece cufflinks just one piece, although, they don’t have a design on the back, which would make them truly the most formal style.

Next up here, this is the oldest pair of cufflinks in my collection. Not in terms of the cufflinks actual age because, of course, I do have several vintage pairs here. But I should say that this pair has been in my collection the longest. I’ve had this pair for about 10 or 15 years. It was my first pair. 

Preston has had these cufflinks for over a decade.

Next, a vintage model in a kind of brushed silver with accents on the ends. Here’s another vintage pair featuring kind of a, a wave design with dots in the middle, and also kind of a shell design on these silver ones here. I also wear these fairly often.

And here are some more colorful models, obviously, again far less formal, far more casual, but they work for those circumstances. Here we’ve got red with silver accents. This is kind of a turquoise or teal fabric tied around silver.

Preston’s red cufflinks with silver accents

These are faux stones in a turquoise color. I’ll wear them occasionally. These were gifted to me–more modern. This is one of my favorite pairs featuring these two blue colors within the silver. I’ve gotten several compliments on these over the years.

This, another favorite pair of mine. Another vintage pair featuring a kind of four quadrants. A simple design on these brushed silver links here. More brushed silver with shinier accents on one side there; another vintage pair. This pair in black but, featuring a Spartan’s head design there, reminiscent of the high school sports team of mine. So, those seemed interesting to me.

Another vintage model of black inlaid into silver. Here a starburst pattern with a check behind. Here, a simple gold pair with a bit of detail around the edge. And here, gold with a design on one side. This pair is also gifted to me – certainly a bit bolder – featuring a tree design on these cufflinks. Here, featuring inlays of what I believe to be a mother of pearl, so perhaps a bit bolder there.

Preston’s cufflinks collection

These, another novelty pair, of course, featuring old-style lamps. And these, originally from my grandfather, the type of cufflink that is perhaps less commonly seen, which has a sort of mesh chain that wraps around the outside of the sleeve. So certainly, a bit bolder is that cufflink style. Also, we’ve got black and sort of green and purple. But I definitely appreciate having this pair of my grandfather’s cufflinks in my collection.

Gaps in Cufflinks

As far as gaps are considered, for cufflinks, I would like to, again, get into my possession, more Fort Belvedere models – that would be next on my list. And I’m always on the lookout for more vintage models, as well. This is a pair of shirt stays to keep my shirts down, especially those that are a bit big on me.

Boutonnieres

Loyal readers will no doubt be familiar with these green Fort Belvedere boxes, in which I’ve currently got a few different boutonniere styles; not all of them from Fort Belvedere, but I keep my boutonnieres in here.

We’ve got an edelweiss and the signature blue cornflower. Here is a prototype design of one of our red carnations that I’ve actually converted to a pin-style for some of my tuxedo jackets that don’t have a lapel buttonhole.

Preston keeps his collection of boutonnieres in these two lovely Fort Belvedere gift boxes.

A more casual boutonniere style, this one featuring brown and off-white and blue fabric, and another more casual style in blue and gray. So some classic and some modern in that box in one box.

Meanwhile, I have some more Fort Belvedere options in my second box. Carnations in various colors – red, white, yellow, and pink, which come in handy for my tuxedos.

Gaps in Boutonnieres

I would, of course, like to get several more Fort Belvedere boutonniere styles into my collection. We offer a wide selection of different types of flowers, good for really any occasion. And I might be on the lookout for modern styles of boutonnieres every so often, as well, though, I certainly do lean more classic, most of the time.

Various Accessories

I’ve got one of our white linen monogrammed pocket squares. P for Preston, of course, which is another Fort Belvedere item.

We’ve got two pairs of suspenders or braces, as the Brits would say. This pair is convertible in that they can have either the clasps or can also be fitted to have more traditional button styles. 

Preston’s black suspenders with clasps

Of course, for the more classically and formally-minded among us, having suspenders that only use buttons would be the most classic and formal and correct option, should we say. But, occasionally, given that most of my pairs of trousers don’t have suspender buttons sewn into them, at least not yet, having these clasps can also be handy for times that I would prefer to wear suspenders.

I have a black pair also featuring clasps. This has been in my collection a bit longer. A vintage white linen pocket square. I don’t normally leave my squares pre-folded, but this one, I wouldn’t really want to fold in any kind of a different design. So, that one sits there as is. 

Preston also has a couple of pairs of black silk over-the-calf tuxedo socks from Fort Belvedere

I also have a couple of pairs of black silk, over-the-calf tuxedo socks from Fort Belvedere, which actually can be worn with both Black Tie and white tie ensembles.

Tie Bars

You can see here, this is a piece of an old shirt that I converted to a tie strap, which can be put through the keeper loop of a tie to keep your tie in place if you’d rather not wear something like a tie bar.

I’ve got several vintage models here, many of my tie bars have novelty designs. This one of course is a key. I suppose I could get my pocket watches, which you’ve seen before, out of the way here. Nothing special about those. They’re not valuable or expensive, but they come in handy when I’m wearing waistcoats.

Tie bar collection

I’ve got basic gold and silver there, and a few other tie bars. We’ve got more swords and arrows. Tie bars are not something I wear terribly often, but they’re nice to have. This, one another of my grandfather’s collection originally. I wore this on my wedding day as a matter of fact.

Over on this side of the box, we’ve got collar stays, a good majority, of course, are brass collar stays from Charles Tyrwhitt because I have so many Tyrwhitt shirts in my collection, but a few plastic ones in there as well.

Preston has several of these collar stays from Charles Tyrwhitt.

And if we move over to the other side, you can see I’ve got collar jewelry over here. Many of these are Fort Belvedere collar clips. And, of course, we carry rose gold, yellow gold, and silver color clips, and also now, we’ve got them in standard and longer lengths for different sizes of collars. A few vintage models in here, as well – some in silver and some in gold and a few safety pins and other things in there, as well.

Black Tie Jewelry

Moving down here into this space, I can take out this smaller box, which features some of my Black Tie jewelry, specifically cufflinks in onyx and gold, and shirt studs also in onyx and gold from that set, as well.

Another gold set but featuring sort of faux ruby inlays for warm weather Black Tie ensembles. Some silver and black ones and collar stays for my tuxedo shirt and here are the cufflinks for that warm-weather ensemble. 

Preston keeps his collection of black tie accessories in a smaller box inside his jewelry box

I also have this pair of cufflinks you’ve seen many times on the channel; this is a chain-link style. Just featuring simple black links there and I won’t go into detail on these boxes here, but we’ve got various buttons and things here.

Novelty Pins

I have novelty pins like a dala horse here or things I’ve picked up on my travels. This is when I went to Alcatraz in San Francisco. Various other pins from travels to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, just various things I’ve picked up over the years.

Here are some novelty pins, as well; things like the Golden Gate Bridge or Batman, for instance. I am in fact a comic book fan, which is one of my hobbies I share in my FAQ content.

Preston also keeps a collection of novelty pins mostly from some of his travels.

In addition to a few other items, I have a collection of tie tacks. This one, of course, goes with that pair of my grandfather’s cufflinks that I showed you earlier. I don’t wear tie tacks as often but I do have a decent collection of them here.

Underwear Accessories

All right to finish up with the dresser, we’ll just take a brief spin through my drawers but I’m not going to go over anything too in-depth here. So just at the top, a collection of underthings mostly socks as you can tell here, and, in particular, a relatively wide selection of Fort Belvedere socks are shadow striped models, as well as designs with clock patterns.

The top drawer is for socks and underthings.

Of course, we’ve got many, many different designs in the Fort Belvedere shop so you can take a look there and various other socks as well; again in staple colors navy blue, shades of gray, shades of brown, green, black, of course. A few athletic style socks for when the time comes to do more sorts of physical things.

More Black Tie Accessories

So, I’ll just briefly mention here that, of course, a waist covering can always come in handy. We’ve got a black silk cummerbund here, and also burgundy silk for warm weather Black Tie ensembles.

Finally here, a few other Black Tie accessories – some more pairs of black silk socks from Fort Belvedere, a vintage pair of black braces. You can see that these have grosgrain fabric and, indeed, do take buttons on the trousers.

More black tie accessories — bowties, socks, etc.

Another pair of black silk socks, although those are a bit older. And finally here, a collection of bow ties. So I’ve got a single-ended grosgrain model. This one also offered in the Fort Belvedere shop. Black satin silk, another black satin silk but this with a diamond end. Here, a vintage black model.

This one was actually given to me by my grandfather, but one I wear quite often as well, and to round things out the burgundy silk model, again, for those warm-weather Black Tie ensembles. So, that shows you a bit of the remaining Black Tie accessories in my wardrobe that weren’t covered in our earlier accessory discussion.

Gaps in Accessories

As far as gaps are concerned here, I would probably like to get a few other, bow tie styles. Perhaps in different weaves of fabrics and, of course, we offer several different varieties in the Fort Belvedere shop. But that wraps up this look at my accessories and my wardrobe as a whole.

Conclusion

Whether you’re just starting out on your sartorial journey or you’ve got a well-stocked collection that you know like the back of your hand, chances are that there’s always room for at least one new piece or for a new combination of pieces that you hadn’t considered before.

There will always be room for one more piece of anything in your wardrobe.

And if it’s been a while since you’ve done a thorough evaluation of your own wardrobe as I did here, we’d suggest that you do so. You may find garments that you’d like to toss, repair, or donate, or you might just come up with some new ideas for how to put your wardrobe elements together.

How has your style evolved? Share your wardrobe evaluation in the comments section!

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that most people tend to focus more on their flaws and shortcomings than on their virtues and successes. While this may be true, the waters are life are easier to navigate if you can serve as an ally to yourself, rather than constantly putting yourself down–so, read on to discover 6 techniques to stop being your own worst critic!

Whether it’s something like failing a test at school, making a significant mistake in the workplace, or simply embarrassing yourself in front of others, negative situations tend to take up a disproportionate amount of space in our own thoughts. When obsessing over your shortcomings leads to a negative self-image, this can lead to a vicious cycle of toxic self-criticism, where you’re focusing solely on your shortcomings or mistakes and not seeing things that are positive about you.

One Important Note Before We Begin

With all that in mind, we are going to be covering some topics today that involve matters of serious mental health. While we’re going to be sharing what we believe is our best advice, do keep in mind that we’re not medical professionals. If you’re looking for help or treatment in relation to mental health concerns, we’ve included some links down below. Be sure to always consult a medical professional first if you have serious concerns.

What is Toxic Self-Criticism, and Why Does it Occur?

The American Psychological Association defines self-criticism most broadly as the evaluation of one’s own behavior and attributes with recognition of one’s weaknesses, errors, and shortcomings. But, one of the most pernicious aspects of self-criticism is that it isn’t inherently a bad thing.

In other words, when self-criticism is applied reasonably and in pursuit of making ourselves better and learning how we can grow, it can be a positive thing. This type of self-criticism is sometimes known as “constructive self-criticism,” and it’s closely related to the concept of self-compassion, which is the tactic of dealing with your own shortcomings or flaws in a compassionate manner.

Self-criticizing becomes a hindrance instead of being helpful the moment it becomes cruel or hurtful.

When your self-criticism becomes cruel or hurtful though, this is the point at which it stops being a help and becomes a hindrance. Medical science isn’t yet clear on why self-criticism affects people differently.

Theories On Why & How People Are Self-Critical

One theory is that people who grew up in an environment where they were excessively criticized by others may have developed excessive self-criticism as a defense mechanism of sorts. In other words, they may have utilized self-criticism as an additional motivator to avoid failure and, thereby, avoid external criticism.

Meanwhile, some evolutionary psychologists hold that self-criticism was actually a survival technique at the outset. After all, when our primitive ancestors encountered failure, this was usually in the realm of things like death, disease, or injury. So, it could be beneficial for our brains to over-exaggerate negative impulses in order to avoid them in the future.

People who grew up being excessively criticized by others may develop excessive self-criticism as a defense mechanism.

Obviously, though, this vestigial survival skill doesn’t serve us well in the modern-day as we’re now constantly bombarded by different impulses that don’t present any mortal danger to us. And it’s important to point out that self-criticism can often be harmful for men, in particular, since broader society often judges us by our achievements, wealth, or influence. Therefore, failure would be seen as a sign of weakness, ineptitude, or incompetence – or at least that’s the theory that some hold.

Many men, though, refuse to deal with the concept of toxic self-criticism because they believe that they couldn’t separate their fear of failure from their achievement of success. In point of fact, a 2016 study by psychologists at UC Berkeley found that the opposite was actually true; individuals motivated primarily by a fear of failure and shame tended to be less likely to experience personal growth and new accomplishments than those who practiced self-compassion.

6 Ways to Become a Better Ally to Yourself

How, then, can the modern man ensure that he doesn’t fall into the trap of toxic self-criticism while also still holding himself to the high standards of a gentleman? As we’ve said, self-improvement is a lifelong journey but with that in mind, here are some tips we believe can be used as good starting points.

1. Evaluate Your Internal Monologue

The primary starting point here would be to evaluate your internal monologue. In other words, listen to that little voice in the back of your head that interprets and tells you of all of your different goings-on throughout the day. Your internal monologue, though, is much more than just a personal narrator as it also gives you the tools for self-reflection, problem-solving, and framing the world around you.

Let’s consider the following example of a man who’s just given a lackluster presentation at work, and he isn’t feeling very good about how it went. A negative self-criticism would be, “I’ve always been a terrible public speaker and I always will be.”

Try to evaluate your internal monologue.

Meanwhile, the next example is a bit less critical: “I kept stumbling through my prepared statements. Instead of binging that show, I really should have practiced my lines last night. Maybe then, I would have been better.”

While the variations in your internal monologue are probably going to be more nuanced than this, hopefully, the two examples made things abundantly clear. The fundamental distinction, then, is whether you confront failure with a positive or negative response and how you proceed forward from there.

2. Stay Positive!

Having experienced a failure or setback, an individual with high standards is probably going to feel dejected about it and have a more difficult time remaining positive. However, indulging in this kind of thought can create a spiral of self-doubt and self-loathing that, ironically enough, sets you up for more failure in the future.

Alternatively, out of a desire to be more constructive, we might immediately try to concoct various theories about how failures could have been avoided and how we could have done things differently. However, this approach can also be counterproductive.

Indulging in dejection can further create a spiral of self-doubt and self-loathing.

Some behaviorists have found that trying to analyze and rationalize a failure immediately after it occurs will only lead to more self-doubt. Because, at that moment, you lack the perspective necessary to actually interpret things holistically. What these experts suggest then is that we should identify and directly engage with our emotions relative to the occurrence.

As we also mentioned in our post on seven societal lies, men are often encouraged to be stoic and to tamp down their emotions. But, a better course of action when you’re feeling a strong emotion is to step back and ask yourself why you’re feeling that way. If you can analyze and understand these emotions, it will lead to a broader sense of self and a more fertile ground for self-improvement.

Reflect and analyze your emotions

This doesn’t simply mean further compounding these emotions, however. When you do happen to feel sad, it is okay to engage in activities that will make you feel happier like spending time with friends, taking a walk outdoors, and so on. While these activities may temporarily distract from a failure, that is okay, because as we said before, we always need a certain amount of time and emotional distance in order to evaluate a problem fully.

3. Emphasize the Actionable

In some cases, of course, it is actually the case that problems stem from things that can’t be changed, and in these situations, what’s best is to work through your emotions, let things go, and move on; focusing instead on things that can be changed. However, toxic self-criticism can actually blind us to the influence we can have on different matters; making us think that we can’t change them when, in fact, we do have some degree of control.

Let’s consider another example. This time in the realm of a persistent personal flaw: “I’ll never have any real friends because I’m awkward, and no one wants to be friends with me.” 

Overthinking and too much self-criticism will blind you from realizing the good things that could happen.

Not only does this first framing do nothing to improve the situation, but it also sets up the idea that the person is inherently incapable of establishing emotional connections with others. 

Instead, the following framing acknowledges the problem but, also, presents a solution: “I guess I can’t make friends if I don’t try to meet new people first. I enjoy being around other people. So, when I try to meet new people, I’ll just have to do my best to make them feel comfortable and appreciated.”

Meanwhile, having a positive outlook could help you see what could be worked on.

As a matter of fact, if you’re struggling with this particular problem, we’ve also created a separate guide on how to make friends as an adult, which you may find helpful. This idea of framing may seem like a small thing but, in fact, psychologists have found that having a positive outlook will help you to focus on the things you can improve, rather than the ways in which you’ve failed.

4. Know Thyself

An overly rosy outlook isn’t going to be helpful to you either, which is why it’s important to have an accurate and realistic self-assessment. In other words, for our next tip here: know thyself.

Too often it is assumed that thinking positively is synonymous with wishful thinking, but this isn’t the case. Positive thinking actually requires pairing a keen awareness of yourself and your own limitations with the aspiration and the drive to do better. But, of course, you can’t critically evaluate and improve yourself without first understanding yourself.

Attempting to really understand yourself then is known as “self-assessment,” and it involves evaluating one’s perceptions, values, actions, and abilities. Again, self-assessment for many men is often closely tied to their performance at school or work. But, how you interact with family, friends, and society at large is also an important component of self-assessment. 

Have a realistic self-assessment.

Remember that toxic self-criticism distorts your worldview and makes it harder to assess yourself fairly and accurately, so try to be objective and don’t allow baseless personal assumptions or biases to cloud your own judgment.

Some people find it easier to perform this exercise if they pretend to be someone else while evaluating themselves. This is called “self-distancing,” and it can be particularly helpful to break out of a self-loathing rut. Remember that few things that are truly worth doing are easy, so you should allow yourself to fail a few times in order to understand where your weaknesses are and how you can improve. 

Toxic self-criticism will only give you a negative outlook on life.

Finally here, when evaluating yourself, keep in mind that whatever faults and failures you may have are not an intrinsic part of who and what you are. Your negative traits, whatever they may be, might stem from your personality but you don’t have to let them define you. They can always be corrected or, at least, mitigated given the proper amount of time and effort.

Find a trusted advisor or confidant that can help you see things from a positive perspective.

When you’re figuring out your way forward, though, do remember to be realistic and reasonable. You can’t expect for your faults to be resolved instantly or for problems to go away overnight. As we’ve mentioned before, constructive self-criticism and self-improvement are daunting tasks. So, it can be helpful to have a trusted advisor or confidant to help you through it. As an example, you could consider our content where Raphael talks to Teresa about some of his own shortcomings and how he might be able to work through them.

5. Trust the People Around You

Our penultimate point for today is to trust the people around you. While self-criticism is inherently an internal trait, it can both impact and be impacted by others around you.

When seeking to better understand ourselves then, the perspectives of those who know us best can be helpful in determining what is good about ourselves and what we might consider changing. However, the desire to be self-critical can also cause us to unfairly judge ourselves relative to others or to become paranoid about what others really think of us.

Trust the people around you. [Ties, pocket squares, and boutonniere from Fort Belvedere]

So, for example, if you’re assessing your contributions to a work or school project, remember to ask yourself: Would I be as critical of these contributions if they were made by someone else? If you can be understanding of someone else’s shortcomings, then you can certainly be understanding of your own.

Toxic self-criticism and self-doubt can lead us into believing that we’re a burden to others.

Sometimes, these feelings can be associated with so-called “imposter syndrome,” which is a common psychological pattern in which one doubts one’s accomplishments and abilities and is convinced that others will eventually discover or find out all of these inadequacies. The best way to combat imposter syndrome then is to have genuine confidence, and because many people who suffer from excessive toxic self-criticism also believe that their friends, family, or romantic partners secretly dislike them.

A similar outlook should also be employed in social relationships as well. Remember that, in most cases, if people truly didn’t like you, they wouldn’t be associating with you in the first place. So, we must trust other people in order to overcome the feelings that toxic self-criticism can give to us. Trust your peers to work well with you, trust your friends to like you, and trust your confidants and family to care for you.

6. Have Faith in Yourself

And finally, if you are going to trust other people, you should trust yourself as well, which brings us to our final main tip for today: have faith in yourself.

Something we’ve mentioned multiple times here is the ability to give yourself frank and honest assessments. But, in order to be able to do this, you have to trust yourself first, trust yourself to be satisfied when you succeed, and trust yourself to be able to recognize your own positive qualities.

Remember, nobody is perfect but don’t let that discourage you from improving yourself.

On the flip side, trust yourself to be able to recognize your faults and come up with solutions in order to overcome them. This does require accepting that you will sometimes fail, and being able to forgive yourself for doing so. Remember nobody’s perfect–but, at the same time, we’re not trying to discourage you from recognizing and confronting your personal problems or to simply make excuses for yourself. 

Conclusion

You should always strive to be the best individual that you can be, but remember that toxic self-criticism is not the way to get there. In other words, a gentleman should be his own best ally instead of his own worst critic. There are plenty of people in the world who will try to drag you down, but here at the Gentleman’s Gazette, we believe that a gentleman should try to lift people up and that starts with himself.

Online Mental Health Resources

As mentioned, here are some mental health resources you can consult online if you need to look further than the tips we’ve discussed today.

1. Checkpoint Global Mental Health Resources
   https://checkpointorg.com/global/
2. International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Resources Page
   https://www.ispn-psych.org/international-links
3. National Institute of Mental Health Resources
   https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help/index.shtml
4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
   https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
5. National Health Services (UK) Provider Locator
   https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Mental%20health%20support/LocationSearch/330
6. National Health Services (England) Mental Health Emergency Help Locator
   https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline
7. Government of Canada Mental Health Crisis Support
   https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.html
8. Australian Government Department of Health Mental Health Resources
   https://headtohealth.gov.au/

Have you practiced self-assessment or self-care? We’d like to know your techniques, so share with us in the comments!

As we’ve just mentioned, buttons are (often) small objects that make a big difference. The mere presence of buttons on the collar of a button-down shirt, for example, make said shirt stand out from other styles. With that said, let’s jump into the various ways that buttons can impact a garment–beginning with quantity.

How Buttons Impact Your Outfits – 1. The Number of Buttons

The first way that buttons affect the appearance of clothes is by their sheer number. As mentioned above, their presence on a button-down collar has an immediate impact, making the shirt less formal while also placing your outfit in the realm of American Ivy style.

OCBD collar shirt with a green tennis sweater and a houndstooth tie

Similarly, a single-button tailored jacket looks different than a two-button, three-button, or three-roll-two style of jacket, as the location of the buttoning point affects the length of the lapels and how long an open “V” you’ll have at the front. The change in appearance related to the number of buttons is perhaps even more obvious with double-breasted jackets and overcoats, which come in permutations of six buttons with two functional (6×2), four buttons with two functional (4×2), 6×3, 4×1, and various other configurations. 

Various double-breasted jackets: a classic 6×2, a 4×1, and what looks like an 8×2.

A less obvious place where the number of buttons comes into play is on dress trousers, which usually have many buttons to close the waistband and/or the fly (or to affix suspenders/braces). Buttons on the back pockets are also mostly an ornamental detail to decorate your rear end and don’t have much of a functional purpose (other than perhaps giving the slightest bit more protection to a wallet). 

Multiple button closures on a pair of custom Luxire trousers

Aside from shirts, jackets, and trousers, buttons can appear on other garments, as well. Waistcoats have their own distinct buttoning rules, overcoats feature much the same button styling as jackets, and buttons can even be seen on such garments as gloves and traditional button boots (the latter now confined mostly to formal daywear).

Black and off-white button boots with striped trousers

2. Buttons Open vs. Closed

Unbuttoning always impacts your style by being more casual and, sometimes, showing a dash of that casual nonchalance called sprezzatura. Buttoning, on the other hand, always equals greater formality–when you wear a suit and are standing up, you’re supposed to close some of the button(s) on the jacket. Not doing so flaunts the rules and shows a more relaxed attitude.

Surgeon Cuffs with handmade buttonholes

The same applies if you have working buttons on the sleeves of a sport coat or suit jacket, also known as surgeon’s cuffs. Leaving one unbuttoned presents a rakish attitude. Ditto if you open the second button on your shirt collar or leave the buttons on a button-down shirt collar unfastened. We don’t recommend leaving a button fly on your pants open, of course!

3. Button Color & Contrast

When you buy a dress shirt, most of the time the buttons will be innocuous and unnoticeable off-white. On dark shirts, you’ll often see dark buttons for the same reason. However, buttons can strongly impact the style if you get them in a contrasting color and make them stand out. On a shirt, this means something like white buttons on a navy shirt or black ones on a white shirt. Be aware that as soon as you have contrasting buttons on a shirt, it immediately becomes informal, and therefore more appropriate for drinks after work than the workplace itself. 

Cheap contrasting plastic buttons

The same effect can be had with sport coats as well, with the contrast most suitable for fun summer jackets in fabrics such as wool hopsacks or linens, since they evoke a Neapolitan vibe more suited for hot sunny weather. However, contrasting buttons are most commonly seen on formal navy blazers, which generally have wider three-season use.

A rare moment of British Royal sprezzatura. Prince Charles with an open double-breasted blazer (and a glass of Pimm’s).

In fact, contrasting buttons in either mother of pearl or embossed metal (brass, silver, or pewter) are actually one of the technical features that define what a blazer is. The term “blazer” is meant to capture the assertive boldness of the garment, and such buttons, which can also be embossed with anchors or other emblems, are a key part of that. Most of the time, with suit jackets or sport coats, your buttons will not be the same color as the cloth, but neither will they be strongly contrasting. 

A burgundy velvet dinner jacket with cuffs is enhanced by smoky gray mother of pearl buttons that reflect the light without being too contrasty from afar

For example, you might have black buttons on a grey suit or brown buttons on a navy one. Both colors are dark and subdued. In these cases, first of all, you have the ability to coordinate your outfit using the button colors.  For instance, by wearing pants or a tie in the same color family as those brown buttons on your navy jacket, you can tie together the various parts of your ensemble. So, don’t overlook the possibilities for coordination that buttons provide.

4. Button Stitching

If buttons hardly get any consideration from the average man, the ways in which buttons are stitched receive even less attention, except from true aficionados of menswear. The standard stitch for holding on a button is an X across the four holes; however, different stitches can add character. The most famous of these alternate stitch styles is the zampa di gallina, or chicken’s foot stitch, supposedly created by the grandmother of Neapolitan shirtmaker Luigi Borelli as a method of avoiding sewing errors when she started losing her eyesight.

Different button stitches, with the “zampa di gallina” stitch in the middle

An Overview of Button Materials

If you call attention to your buttons as a style feature, the quality of their make matters. Cheap buttons made in plastic come with cheaply tailored shirts and should be avoided as a general rule. The low quality will either be noticeable or, at the very least, will not enhance your style. Indeed, one of the big (and fun) decisions of getting bespoke items made is choosing the button material. Quality clothing comes with quality buttons made in natural materials. The added labor and cost involved make them more desirable, but the natural appearance is the true selling point.

Shells and MOP Buttons at the National Pearl Button Museum in Muscatine, Iowa

Brass Buttons (& Other Metals)

A common feature of many blazers is their use of metallic buttons; most traditionally brass, but sometimes in other metals. This is largely to do with the blazer’s history being influenced by military attire. For more information on these types of buttons, visit our comprehensive Blazer Guide.

Blazer buttons in gold, silver, gilt, or enamel with crests, anchor & heraldry

Mother-of-Pearl and Trochus Buttons

We’ve already mentioned mother-of-pearl buttons (also known as nacre), which are punched from the inside lining of shells. Originally, they were produced on a grand scale in Iowa using freshwater mollusks from the Mississippi River, though today most of the global production comes from farms in Asia. You can tell true MOP by placing a button to your lips or cheek–if it’s authentic MOP, the button will feel cooler.

Italian shirtmakers tend toward thick MOP buttons that can be difficult to fasten

You can also tap the button against your front teeth; plastic produces a duller and lower-pitched sound than does shell. Mother-of-pearl is usually used for shirts because of its white color, which complements all but the darkest shirts. One thing you may notice when buying dress shirts with MOP buttons is that their thickness can vary more than that of a cheaper plastic button. 

Trochus shell button blanks

Southern Italian shirtmakers prefer to use thick buttons, probably because they think they’re more impressive; however, thinner are easier to fasten and unfasten. Thick ones are more annoying to fit through shirt buttonholes. Some shirt buttons are made with trochus shells instead of MOP. These are sea snails rather than freshwater creatures, and the resulting buttons are more yellow and less iridescent, which some say brings them closer to looking like plastic. They’re also less strong than MOP, and for these reasons, less desirable (though certainly better than plastic).

Horn Buttons

Another common button material is horn, which is used mainly for buttons on jackets and trousers. 

A sample of the color variety possible with horn buttons

These buttons are made primarily from the horns and hooves of cows or water buffalo and are predominantly brown; however, their selling point is the variety of tones they can contain, including swirls and mottling in different colors ranging from nearly black to reddish-brown to beige. These neutrals pair well with a lot of other menswear colors, and their individual uniqueness adds to their appeal.

Blue Horn Buttons on a grey tweed with silver cufflinks from Fort Belvedere

Corozo (Ivory Palm) Buttons

A lesser-known choice in the button world is corozo, made from the tagua nut (in turn, from the tree known commonly as the ivory palm) native to South America’s tropical rainforests. The nuts were originally used as disposable ballast in the holds of ships during transatlantic journeys from South America to Europe during the 19th century.

Corozo buttons have the advantage that they can be dyed in any color and thus harmonize with suits very well

Once the ivory-like appearance of corozo buttons was noticed, though, they became desirable for carving and, eventually, for making into buttons. The interior of the tagua nut naturally has a white color–hence its moniker “vegetable ivory,” but corozo may be dyed to make a full range of colors.  

Leather Buttons

Casual tweed jackets often feature brown leather buttons, which are also called “football buttons,” as they resemble the shape of actual footballs that were still made out of brown leather. 

Leather (football) buttons — most commonly known as football buttons as they resemble their shape. (cufflinks from Fort Belvedere)

These days there are also imitation leather buttons that are made of plastic, so take a closer look at the leather buttons on a jacket.

Plastic Buttons

These days, plastic buttons are not advisable as they are just cheap and often too fashion-forward. In the 1930s they were a novelty and hence they often found their way onto bespoke garments. 

Plastic buttons while often cheap can have their place in high-end evening wear. Here you can see black buttons with decorative edges that reflect the light differently than the center on a bespoke evening tailcoat. It was

Here, you can see a beautiful set of black cuff buttons with a raised edge that is textured so it reflects the light differently than the center thus creating an element of visual interest in a very subtle way.

Conclusion

Although they are common and primarily known as a functional part of clothes, buttons have an underappreciated impact on the overall appearance and style of an outfit. The simple features of buttons, like their color, number, material, and stitching can add up to create the effect you want.

How have you leveraged the importance of buttons in your outfits? Share with us in the comments below!

A true gentleman not only appreciates a well-iron dress shirt, but one that is well-fitting, well-made, and stands the test of time! So, continuing from part 1 on off-the-rack shirts, today’s installment is the second on our three-part dress shirts series where we talk about made-to-measure shirts, and part 3 will be about bespoke shirts.

What Is A Made-To-Measure Shirt?

Basically, a made-to-measure shirt sits between an off-the-rack shirt and a bespoke shirt. It has the advantage of using your actual measurements, which is more like a bespoke shirt but then using an already created pattern that is just modified based on those measurements.

In case you didn’t know, a pattern forms the basis of every shirt or garment, and it can be made out of paper or cardboard or other materials, and it helps to trace the outline and cut the different parts, which are then sewn together. So, you create a three-dimensional garment out of a two-dimensional fabric.

An MTM shirt is something in between OTR and bespoke.

Unlike an off-the-rack shirt, made-to-measure shirts are made one-off for you, but it doesn’t take as much time as a bespoke shirt because you just make changes and don’t create something from scratch.

Typically, you can also choose from a wide range of cuff styles, placket styles, or collar styles from a catalog. So, you may want a certain fabric with a certain cuff and collar, for example. Mostly, you can then further customize the choice of buttons, the thread color of the stitching, as well as maybe a contrasting fabric on the inside of your collar, as well as things like monograms.

Pros of Made-to-Measure Shirts

1. They Are Less Expense Than a Bespoke Shirt

Made-to-measure shirts are typically made in a factory. They’re not made one by one by a tailor that again creates efficiencies and lowers the price.

Typically, they have many specialized sewers, they have computer systems, and a process that allows them to work quickly. You would just take the measurements once for a made-to-measure shirt and then you receive the final shirt. There are no in-between fittings required.

Obviously, because those shirts are less involved than a bespoke shirt, they’re also much less expensive. You’re also not creating anything new. You’re just choosing and picking and combining from pre-existing or designed elements. So, that makes it much less expensive.

MTM shirts are less expensive than a bespoke shirt.

When made-to-measure shirts first became more popular, you typically had to go into a store, someone there – a salesperson – would measure you and then those measurements would be sent off to the factory, and your shirt was made.

Today, there are probably more online made-to-measure shirt retailers and sometimes, they also call their product bespoke or custom, when in fact, all of this is made-to-measure. So, buyer beware and fully understand what those companies actually offer. 

The key point to ask is: Do you create a pattern just for me or do you modify an existing pattern? And then, as a follow-up question: Can I choose and design any detail I want or can I only select from a pre-existing range of options? And sometimes, some manufacturers are made-to-measure but they still allow you to maybe change the collar shape in certain ways or add a detail that is typically only found in bespoke.

Back then, you actually have to go to a store and a salesperson would take your measurements.

Some manufacturers will also offer to you to just replicate a shirt so you can send it in or they just want your shirt measurements. Obviously, making a shirt in that way is a lot easier because you can compare the actual lengths of the sleeve directly to each other, and it’s going to fit.

On the flip side, if you take body measurements, you have to add a certain measurement to get the desired fit you want. You want a roomy fit or a classic fit, add more to that body measurement. If you want a super slim fit, add just a little bit to that measurement. And that’s when fit becomes a much bigger issue.

Also, every brand has a different way of adding different lengths to body measurements. So, it will always be different depending on what company you buy your made-to-measure shirt from. Although most made-to-measure companies are not based in Asia, most of the shirts are actually made there, because they have a lower labor cost and therefore, you get a less expensive shirt.

You can customize the size according to your body measurement and add adjustments if necessary.

That being said you can also find made-to-measure shirts from Italy or other countries in Europe, as well as the United States. Typically though, they can’t compete with a product made in India or Southeast Asia because the made-to-measure shirt has to actually be made for you, there’s typically a lead time, but with quick international shipping, optimized logistics, and supply chains today. Sometimes, it can take as little as two weeks from order to getting your shirt in the mail. Other times, it may take a lot longer. It all depends on the different factors of the supply chain and the delivery.

2. You Have A Much Larger Range of Choices

Sometimes, you can choose from thousands of different fabrics, sometimes, from hundreds, and other times, just from dozens. It depends on the business model of the company. Some may just buy cut lengths and not have any fabric in stock. But just get the exact length for your shirt from the manufacturer, which means it’s likely a higher price and it takes longer. Others may decide to buy a certain range of bulk fabrics, so they can then quickly produce your shirt at a lower cost.

Some small operations will even allow you to provide your own fabric. Of course, keep in mind that there may be problems associated with it. For example, what happens if something goes wrong with a shirt and it doesn’t fit you? Who’s gonna supply the second length of the fabric? Or what if it’s damaged and they can’t cut around it and can’t produce the shirt for you?

You have a wide range of fabric choices.

In general, I would advise to only use your own fabric in a truly bespoke environment and to go with the fabrics that the manufacturer supplies to you. It will just create fewer headaches and will likely result in a better product for you.

In my opinion, being able to choose the fabric not only enables you to be more enamored with a shirt, but it also allows to maybe pick a really breezy, open-pore lightweight fabric if you live in a hotter climate, or just choose something as much thicker and warmer if you live in a cooler climate. More importantly, you can combine exactly the fabric you want with the color or cuff shape you want, or the placket, or the buttons.

3. You Have Flexibility with Your Design 

Unlike, with the off-the-rack shirt, you can actually choose details, and because they’re predefined for you, the choice is relatively simple and easy. Some manufacturers even tone it down for you, so they don’t confuse customers and make the sale easier.

Personally, I prefer companies that give me the largest range possible because I already know what I want and I don’t feel intimidated by the process. But, again, it all depends on where you’re at. If you’re new to this and more choice actually makes it harder for you to decide, then maybe go with a company that just offers you a few options of customizations that will likely leave you happier at the end of the process.

You can customize the details of your shirt.

It’s worth mentioning that not all made-to-measure companies are alike, and there are huge differences. Some made-to-measure even offer you to choose the thread color.

In my experience, typically, only the better ones allow you to customize things like the interlining of your collar. Do you want a soft interlining? Do you want a stiffer interlining, maybe a medium-stiff one, or do you want a completely unlined collar? Most men who buy shirts will have never thought about the interlining of their collars and cuffs. But, it not only makes a huge difference in the way it looks but also the way it feels.

You can choose from a variety of cuff options.

For example, an unlined collar is a lot softer but it will also wrinkle more easily. So, in my opinion, it’s not the right interlining for a proper business shirt or an evening shirt, but it’s great for an Oxford button-down shirt, or maybe a denim shirt. And, even though it sounds counter-intuitive, an unlined unglued shirt collar is actually more expensive to produce than a fused collar.

Even among the interlinings, there are differences in quality. Cheap interlinings are much more likely to bubble up, which means you have to throw the shirt because it looks unsightly. Higher-end companies will use premier interlinings that just feel good, keep your collar in shape and, makes it always look dapper. 

An unlined collar isn’t advisable for a more formal shirt but would work with a button-down collar shirt.

Fortunately, most made-to-measure companies I’ve dealt with have used higher quality interlinings – from companies like Wendler in Germany. But, even if they say we use Wendler linings, pay attention to what they use because they have a basic, a classic, and a premium range, and only the premium range is actually made in Germany. The others are made in Asia; they’re just not as good and less expensive.

So, if the companies don’t provide the information, ask them exactly what they use and see if they can answer that. Because chances are the sales staff doesn’t even know.

Some MTM companies use high-quality interlinings from Wendler – a German company.

Typically, the lower price made-to-measure offerings have more limitations and fewer options to choose from versus the higher priced ones that have a larger range and more things to choose from. But, of course, they’re always exceptions to the rules, which brings us to the cons of made-to-measure shirts.

Cons of Made-to-Measure Shirts

1. They Are More Expensive Than Off-the-Rack Shirts

First of all, obviously, they are more expensive than off-direct shirts. But, it just makes sense because it’s actually something that’s made for you rather than something that is mass-produced.

2. The Measurement Process Can Be Complex

Of course, you have the risk of getting the measurements wrong. While it may sound ideal and romantic to get that perfectly fitting shirt after taking your measurements, in reality, I’ve never had a first made-to-measure that came back and fit me perfectly.

When you’re at a made-to-measure store and someone takes your measurements, the burden is not on you but on them to provide you a shirt that fits. A lot of companies have recognized that and so, they offer a fit guarantee. But, it pays to read the fine print because some companies just offer you to have alterations made to your garment, and then, you have to submit receipts, which takes time and effort on your end.

MTM shirts won’t always have the perfect fit –even if you provided your measurements yourself.

Other companies just say, “If you’re unhappy, we’re remaking the shirt until you are happy.” So that, of course, makes it easier for you.

That being said, you shouldn’t just go out and carelessly take your measurements yourself because that is a recipe for disaster. Instead, have another person take measurements and follow the instructions of the company if it’s a remote made-to-measure operation.

3. It May Take A Few Times to Get the Perfect Fit

Next, you have to keep your expectations in check and maybe assume that only the second or third shirt will actually fit the way you anticipated. Also if you do remote made-to-measure, it can really help to take a video of yourself wearing a shirt and then sending it to them so they can see the flaws in motion, which is much more helpful than just having photos.

Of course, even if a company offers you to remake the shirt for free, there’s still time involved that it takes to reproduce the shirt and you have to reply to emails, maybe re-measure and all those things and your time is worth money, too. Especially if you need the shirt for a big event such as a wedding, you can’t afford to have multiple remakes, but you want to make sure that you get the thing you want in a timely manner.

Take a video of yourself wearing the shirt so that the MTM company can see the flaws in motion.

We also strongly recommend taking a look at the instructions a company provides because each and every one of them has slight differences.

Sometimes, when you look at the advertised prices for shirts at made-to-measure companies, you may think, “Wow! They are just as expensive as an off-the-rack shirt so it’s a really good deal.” But, once you take a look at their fabric offerings, you realize that only the base fabric has that cheap price, and more interesting and higher-end fabrics are considerably more expensive.

Consider checking the fabric selection first before deciding on your MTM shirt.

Yes, you can typically get a light blue or white broadcloth shirt at a very low price. But, once you’ve got those, you’ll have to invest more money before deciding on a company, maybe check out their entire fabric offering to see if the cost works for you in the future as well. Also, check if costs for mother of pearl buttons or monograms, or other changes are included or excluded because the initially quoted price can really go up or down a lot depending on what you choose. 

Fortunately, most online companies have their configurators, so you can configure the entire shirt and see how much it costs before you provide your measurements. Obviously, choosing a more expensive fabric will increase the price but keep in mind that a more expensive fabric may have a higher quality cotton made of a longer staple raw material, and it will also feel softer. But, a super 180s cotton fabric will also wrinkle much more easily than, let’s say, a super 80s Oxford fabric. It will likely also wear out more quickly even though it is much more expensive.

4. MTM Companies Can Give Questionable Style Advice

So, understand what your needs are and, when in doubt, always go with a two-ply fabric because they’re typically longer lasting. I found that one big con for made-to-measure companies is they oftentimes provide questionable style advice and shirt customization options. 

The vast majority of made-to-measure shirt companies out there were founded because someone had expertise in logistics and supply chain management or online marketing and web design. Those people saw an opportunity to take their skills and make money with a product that doesn’t require any high stock levels in capital but a healthy margin to make a living.

A shirt with a 2-ply fabric typically lasts longer.

When they started with their company, they were often not passionate about classic style, history, or stylistic details. They just did something that they thought looked cool in my experience. This becomes evident with monograms, for example, because they’re often offered in weird spots. So, you can have your monogram on your cuff or on the back of your collar, on the inside of your collar. But, they often don’t give you an option to actually place it where monograms were traditionally placed, which is on the left side around your waistline

Also, they offer you options to have bold contrast stitching and contrasting buttonholes and all those things, which just limit you in the occasions you can wear this shirt on.

A monogram is traditionally placed on the left side around your waistline – which most MTM companies don’t offer.

At the end of the day, you can choose what you want and they just provide options. That is a good thing, but the lack of passion for the overall look is very apparent, in my opinion, in the collar tip curl.

When you have two layers of fabric that you sew together straight. They remain straight, however, if those fabric layers are not straight and they’re now sewn together, one side is shorter and this side becomes longer. When you wash that fabric, that can lead to tensions and eventually, the collar tip will curl under. In my mind, that’s a hallmark of a cheaply or not thoughtfully made shirt collar. Unfortunately, most made-to-measure company shirt collars I’ve seen and even off-the-rack shirt collars have that issue.

A curled collar tip is a hallmark of a cheaply or not thoughtfully-made shirt collar.

If I pay top dollar or at least more than for an off-the-rack shirt and I still get that look, I’m disappointed because, ultimately, I buy this shirt because I want to achieve a certain look and I don’t want to have a sloppy, curled shirt collar.

Conclusion

Made-to-measure shirts give room for customization but have limitations, too. Hopefully, the pros and cons presented would help you identify whether MTM is worth your time and money and if they help you create the effect and style you want in your menswear looks.

Would you make the effort to go MTM? Or would you rather just get OTR or go fully bespoke? Let us know in the comments! 

In the current trends of modern menswear, monochromatic looks of gray, black, and blue are becoming increasingly commonplace. While there can be a certain chic element to many of these types of looks, they aren’t the only options for you when trying to look stylish. Today, we unearth how earth tones can also provide a positive effect on your outfits!

When we look at the color schemes within nature for inspiration, we find a variety of hues that we can use to help us create certain outfits. Colors like orange, yellow, or the brown of an autumn tree or a crisp blue lake surrounded by pink, green, and purple foliage; you can find numerous color schemes that can be incorporated into a variety of outfits on all levels of formality.

While some might write these colors off as being drab or uninspiring, we can’t find this to be further from the truth. In fact, these looks will inherently carry a lower contrast to them and will work with any skin tone. They also allow you to stand out from the crowd with bold color statements, which are usually avoided in menswear, without looking out of place.

What Exactly Are Earth Tones?

While this answer can vary slightly depending on who you might ask, the most widely seen answer is that it’s usually something associated with brown and something that’s also associated with plants and soil. This creates a subconsciously inviting situation for the onlooker and puts anyone at ease with their surroundings.

If you are curious about color theory and how to incorporate different methods within your outfits, we have a guide to using the color wheel in menswear ensembles to help you out.

Raphael wearing an olive green coat with a tan vest, diagonal stripe tie, white & blue check shirt, Blue Cornflower Boutonniere, & cream pants plus green gloves

Earth colors will be in either saturated or neutral-based color tones. This means that they’ll be a bit more muted and flat. If you imagine an autumn tree’s color scheme, you’ll see very rich yellows and oranges. They’re sharp in color, but they don’t overpower the brown intent of the bark.

As far as what hues make up earth tone’s color palette, the most obvious ones are going to be shades of brown or tan and colors like umber or sienna. But, they can also be variations of blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, or purple. These colors will often be more rich and somber in the fall and winter seasons and carry a more pastel and lively tone in spring and summer.

Raphael wearing an Earth-toned outfit. (pocket square and gloves from Fort Belvedere)

The greatest strength of this color palette is that it’s incredibly versatile. It provides a number of ways in which you can bring flashes of color into your outfit and it can give a much more casual feel than the more industrial grays and blacks found in many men’s wardrobes.

9 Ways To Look Great In Earth Tones

1. Wear a Sport Coat or Leather Jacket in Brown or Tan

Since brown is the anchor of the earth tone color palette, it makes sense to have your larger garment be the foundation to anchor it all together. This color palette is inherently more casual, so it makes sense to include it in ensembles that are more casual by design.

Tweed was created as outdoor clothing meant to be worn in the British countryside and certainly as a form of camouflage during activities like hunting. This means most tweed sport coats have elements of brown, red, green, or blue built into them by proxy.

A sport coat in a brown shade opens a lot of possibilities in style.

There are also fabrics like camel hair, which are naturally a brown color and further helped to reinforce this color scheme. Leather jackets are often dyed a variation of brown ranging from a deep umber to a bright rust color. This makes them an easily accessible layering piece and either a casual or even a business casual setting.

With this brown base, you can wear shirts that are variations of light, dark blue; shirts with yellow, green, pink, or orange bases, and pants that can either be tan, olive, or navy in complexion.

2. Wear a Brown or Olive Suit

Taking this a step further would be to have a full suit ensemble consisting of either brown or olive. Both of these colors were, at one point, commonplace during The Golden Age of Menswear, but have since become much more obscure in most modern men suiting today.

Now, wearing a brown suit and either a charcoal brown, a pinstriped, or a tobacco brown, or even an olive suit will carry a much more rustic nature. This will serve you well in creating lower contrast looks consisting of earth tones.

Charcoal Brown Business Suit with a more subtle shade of brown shoes (tie and pocket square from Fort Belvedere)

These can also be paired with blue, cream, and off-white colored shirts and can pair with green, purple, and orange accessories particularly well. The earth tones create that harmonious look where elements of the colors are found within the brown itself.

3. Wear Brown or Khaki Outerwear

Another element from The Golden Age of Menswear that’s slightly unusual today is to have overcoats consisting of earth tones. This can include some that are made from a tweed fabric, camel hair, or the khaki color often found in trench coats.

This Heinz Becker overcoat in a tan color is complemented by further earth tones in the dark green gloves and burgundy scarf (both accessories from Fort Belvedere).

These would work well with the olive combinations we’ve mentioned before, and camel hair can also help to liven up a charcoal or a gray-colored suit when on the move. The only downside with owning outerwear in this color is that it can show dirt and wear from the elements much more readily and can cost a bit more to maintain. Just something to keep in mind.

4. Bring in Accessories with Earth Tones

A more affordable way to start incorporating earth tones into your outfits is to focus on the accessories that have a lot of earth tones within them. This can be done with outfits that might not seem like they have a lot of room for earth tones, to begin with. For example, adding a green tie to a navy or gray suit or an orange tie can make any outfit look a little less formal. Other elements that can create this effect are pairing elements of purple and green, yellow and blue, red, pink, and green.

Dark green silk pocket square paired with a bluish-green tweed vest, a houndstooth flannel suit in dark brown and off-white as well as a white shirt, and a brown and green striped shantung silk tie.

Brown ties are also a very underrated accessory and can work incredibly well with gray, navy, and brown colored jackets.

5. Look Beyond White Dress Shirts

While white dress shirts are incredibly useful and deserve plenty of space within a classic wardrobe, relying on them too much can stagnate an outfit. Try using a lower contrast shirt to bring the ensemble together. For example, using a light blue or cream-colored shirt can lower the contrast of an outfit. This will help mesh together color schemes that would otherwise be too dark when using just a plain white shirt.

Consider other hues such as light blue on your dress shirts to lower the contrast on your outfit.

Brown jackets can be better served with shirts and colors like blue, cream, and green, as opposed to white. This will help catch the primary colors that create brown. This makes the white shirt less important in a wardrobe that incorporates these colors.

6. Introduce Brown and Tan Into Your Trousers

Instead of just wearing jeans casually and gray dress pants, look to include brown or tan chinos or dress pants. While most jeans are blue, depending on their distressing, they can help create earth tone-based outfits. There’s a greater variety that comes from wearing tan chinos and can cover a multitude of different formalities.

While wearing chinos, it’s much easier to create business casual outfits when wearing boots and dress shoes. They can also be worn in more casual situations where jeans might often be worn. More often than not, many of us gravitate toward worsted and flannel dress pants in various shades of gray.

Adding a brown or tan trouser can help create an Earth tone to your outfit.

While these are a great choice and serve as a wonderful neutral backdrop to most outfits, they can prove to be not so optimal when trying to create a more earth tone-based palette. Brown dress pants aren’t seen as frequently but can serve as a positive alternative to this, especially if you are one who enjoys a much lighter brown dress shoe. The contrast against the dark brown pants will look seamlessly together.

7. Look Into Wearing Hats or Caps

Another area that gets overlooked in most men’s wardrobes is hats. If you’re someone who has any interest in exploring them, an easy entry point is found in styles like the flat cap and the newsboy cap. Most of these will be made of tweed for the outdoorsman origin, and inherently will also include many earth tones.

Flat caps and newsboy caps are an easy entry and usually comes in Earth colors.  (Accessories from Fort Belvedere)

They mix well with most business casual ensembles and mesh well with our overall theme here. 

8. Opt for Brown Dress Shoes

Black dress shoes work best for dark worsted suits and look off when trying to be paired with more of an earth tone-based outfit. This is due to the fact that there usually isn’t as much contrast between the black and the brown.

Mid-brown shoes often have more variety when paired with Earth-toned outfits.

Mid-brown dress shoes will have the largest amount of variety followed right behind by light brown dress shoes. You could also explore getting suede dress shoes in brown or blue if you frequently wear more casual ensembles.

9. Incorporate Earth-toned Sweaters and Vests

One underrated element where you can include more earth tones is in your sweaters. This can include something like a crew neck or v-neck sweater or even a turtleneck. This works well since they serve as a neutral base to help tone down any louder patterns and help ground your outfit.

A vest in a shade of brown helps tone down loud patterns for a more formal outfit. (Accessories from Fort Belvedere)

A light brown or a buff vest can create a similar effect for more formal outfits.

Conclusion

It might be tempting to go for foundational colors in menswear like black, gray, and blue, and even stick to just one of those basic hues for an entire look! Make your looks more dynamic by introducing colors into your outfit, such as earth tones. They are a great way to start, without risking looking too bold, and when done right, the colors of nature can bring out a naturally stylish outfit overall.

How do you like to use Earth tones in your looks? Share your techniques in the comments!

Quality and utility don’t always come with a high price tag; if you know where to look, you can find products that are useful, enjoyable, and inexpensive! Following our previous list from 2018, today we’re sharing 9 more cheap but awesome things.

9 (More) Cheap But Awesome Things

1. Feather Razor Blades

You always like it when you look sharp and so we’re starting off with Feather razor blades. We’ve talked many times about the benefits of the double-edged razor on our website as we are fans of this shaving method. Personally, my favorite blade is the Feather blade because it is the sharpest, and I have relatively thick beard hair.

Feather blades are made of platinum-coated, high-quality Japanese steel, and the company is headquartered in Osaka and was founded in 1932. Feather double-edge razor blades are famous for being extremely sharp, so if you’re still perfecting the art of shaving, it’s not a blade we’d recommend. Also, if you have very thin hair, it may not be the best blade.

Raphael’s favorite razor blade is from the Japanese brand, Feather.

Some men, even though they may have sensitive skin or very thin hair, still like the Feather blades because it gives them the feeling of a very close shave with a baby butt result. To prevent any razor burn, you want to change out the blade after a second or third shave.

No matter if you use a Feather DE razor blade or one from a different manufacturer, it’ll always save you money. Among the DE blades, Feather is more expensive, but it’s also the sharpest. So, a box of a hundred blades costs around $35, which means 35 cents a piece. If you shave three times with it, it’s a cost per shave of 12 cents, which is extremely cheap. Other cartridge systems will cost you a multiple of that, sometimes even more than a dollar per shave.

Feather blades generally are expensive, but their quality and number of uses make them cheap in the long run.

Apart from that, double-edged razor blades produce a lot less waste. So, it’s better for landfills and at a cost of just 12 cents per shave, you get a fantastic product. Now, that’s what I call cheap but awesome!

2. Smoked Maldon Sea Salt

Why smoked salt? It helps to enhance the flavors and aromas of your food. The Maldon Salt Company comes from Essex in England and was founded in 1882. The special thing about their salt is that it has these relatively large crystals and if you look at it, you might think it’s extremely salty but, in fact, it’s not, which is why it’s a wonderful finishing salt that looks really nice on your dishes but it’s not overpowering.

Yes, it’s still salty but compared to conventional salt, the same volume is less salty. They only use natural ingredients, as well as oak chips to get that subtle smoky flavor that’s not overpowering, but just rounding out the flavors of your meal. I love pairing it with all sorts of red meats, but also use it for stews and you can use it for basically anything you want.

The Smoked Maldon Sea Salt enhances the flavors and aromas of your food for just $5 for around four and a half ounces per container.

If you don’t like the smoky flavor, they also have non-smoked sea salts, which are also really nice as a finishing salt. Price-wise, you can buy a container for around $5 for around four and a half ounces, which gets you to about $17 per pound.

3. Sleeve Ironing Board

Let’s jump from food to clothes maintenance with a sleeve ironing board. If you ever wear a dress shirt without a jacket or if you have a jacket and it needs to be ironed, then you must have a sleeve ironing board. It’s the easiest, quickest, and pretty much only way to get a sleeve without a stark ironing crease. While some people might not mind them on a dress shirt, I certainly do. And if you have a jacket, a crease down the center of your sleeve just looks terrible.

For around $12, any gentleman can add a cheap-but-awesome sleeve ironing board to his collection.

Considering it costs just $12, an ironing sleeve board is one of those tools every gentleman must have in his collection. Want to learn more about how to iron like a pro? Discover the other tools that are useful when it comes to ironing from our guide!

4. Flexible Measuring Tape

If you ever want to order clothes online or if you have close alterations, you want a quality flexible measuring tape that doesn’t get longer or shorter as it ages.

You may assume all measuring tapes are created equal, but that’s not true. Some are super flimsy, others are quite rigid. Some have numbers that rub off and others change their size over time. We found that the Singer brand measuring tapes have stayed in good shape for years, and we can use them over and over again.

Singer measuring tapes could last you a long time making them a cheap purchase.

Sometimes, they can be hard to find. You might spot them at antique shops or at flea markets. If you can’t find them, vinyl or fiberglass tape is a good substitute. Cost is around $2 to $4, so it’s extremely affordable. I own many different measuring tapes. I even have some in my computer bags whenever I travel, so I’ll always have a measuring tape, in case I need it.

5. The Laundress Stain Solution

As noted in our guide on stain removal, it is best to apply a stain solution as soon as you can after the stain hits the garment, otherwise, it has more time to set in.

The Laundress offers many high-quality products, but we like their stain solution because it works for so many different stains. It’s a solution that works best on organic stains, such as tannins and proteins. So, that would include wine, coffee, ink, grass, blood, or tomato stains. Personally, I love to cook, and I’ve definitely gotten cherry juice on my clothes or pomegranate stains, and this Laundress solution has always helped to get them out right away.

The Laundress Stain Solution – a quick fix to stains.

I also have a toddler, so sometimes she touches me with her greasy or dirty hands, and I get stains on my clothes. The Laundress Stain Solution has always been a lifesaver for me. If I have stubborn stains, I apply it onto the garment and rub it in with a little brush. Then, I just add the garment to the regular load of laundry.

A bottle costs about $18 for 16 fluid ounces, which may sound like a lot, at first. But, I found that it lasts for around 200 stain treatments, which is quite a lot. And so, it’s less than 10 cents per stain, which is totally worth it in my book.

6. CeraVe Lotion

We’ve mentioned moisturizing, grooming, and skincare many times on our website, but if you go to the very base level, you need something that provides a good amount of moisturization for your skin. Throughout the day, there are many opportunities for the skin to dry out. It can be the summertime heat or the dry air during the cold winters. It can be your excessively hot showers or the wrong soap that you use when you wash yourself.

If your skin is insufficiently moist, it leaves it dry, itchy, and uncomfortable. It’s also unsightly. While you can spend hundreds of dollars on brand name moisturizers, we found that the CeraVe does a really good job, and it doesn’t break the bank.

CeraVe does a really good job in moisturizing dry skin without breaking the bank.

So, how does it keep your skin moist? Well, first of all, it’s through ceramides. These are naturally-occurring, fatty molecules that basically insulate the moisture inside your skin. Secondly, it relies on hyaluronic acid, which is a naturally-recurring acid that helps to retain moisture in your skin.

CeraVe is also hypoallergenic oil-free and fragrance-free, which is important, especially if you have sensitive skin. It also means there are no weird smells that conflict with your cologne and not a fatty or greasy film that remains on your skin. A bottle of about 19 ounces costs around $18.

7. The Criterion Channel Subscription

For a long time, there was a joke: hundreds of channels on TV, but nothing to watch. Lately, it has become a dozen subscriptions, but nothing to watch. Most major subscription services out there like Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime try to clasp a really wide net and offer various shows in various formats to just interest everybody.

The Criterion Channel is different in the sense that they take a quality-over-quantity approach. Cinephiles may be already familiar with a Criterion Collection, which was started in 1984. The goal was to make significant, important, classic, and contemporary movies available to a large number of people.

The Criterion Channel offers a quality selection with a lesser price than its competitors.

In 2019, they entered the subscription service game and started The Criterion Channel. There are a thousand titles from the collection itself that include classics, art, foreign, and experimental movies. It’s also one of the few streaming services where you can find works of Akira Kurosawa, Michelangelo Antonioni, Busby Berkeley, and John Waters.

Every month, they offer rotating collections of films focused on a subject-matter genre, which can help you find new things that you might otherwise not have found or search for. Because, after all, you don’t know what you don’t know.

The Criterion Collection offers a series of contemporary & classic films on home video.

Nearly all the films also contain bonus features, such as interviews or behind the scenes documentaries. So, if you’re really into that stuff, this is the channel for you. With a price of $10.99 a month or $99 a year, it is definitely on par but less expensive than Netflix, which costs $108 a year, and the base version for Amazon Prime, which is $120 for the year.

As a clotheshorse, you can also find clothing inspiration for movies of Cary Grant, William Powell, Marcello Mastroianni, and Sidney Poitier

8. Martini & Rossi Vermouth

Vermouth is basically a fortified wine, meaning liquor is added to wine and it is enhanced with botanicals to achieve a different flavor profile. There are basically two main varieties: the dry, pale, or white vermouth, which is just slightly aromatized; and there is the red sweet vermouth, which is more heavily aromatized, sometimes also with beets.

Vermouth, in general, is a very versatile drink that can be enjoyed on its own. Personally, I like to mix up  Manhattans or whenever a cocktail asks for vermouth. One of the oldest manufacturers of vermouth is the company Martini & Rossi from Italy, which was founded just outside Turin in 1863.

Martini & Rossi Vermouth

The company is famous for its vintage ad campaigns, and you can find many great posters, which make great wall decorations. It’s theorized that the name of the martini cocktail came from the Martini & Rossi vermouth. In the U.S., you can buy a bottle of 750 milliliters for around $12. It’s good quality vermouth that I personally enjoy and have used.

Is it the best vermouth in the world? In my opinion, no. I prefer the Carpano Antica Formula, which, in the U.S., costs $35 for a 750-milliliter bottle or $20 bucks for a half-size bottle. Of course, as with everything regarding your pellets, taste is very subjective. So, you have to figure out for yourself what you like.

There are, of course, others to choose from but if you’re looking for something cheaper, Martini & Rossi is a good option.

Another contender to throw in there is the Dolin vermouth, and it costs also like $12 for a 750-milliliter bottle. Also keep in mind that while vermouth is a fortified wine and it won’t spoil, per se, like regular wine, it will definitely deteriorate over time. So, it’s best to either consume it quickly, which means within two or three months, or to just go with smaller bottles so you can achieve that goal.

9. Peter Pauper Journals

The last but not least cheap but awesome item is the journal book by Peter Pauper. Yes, we may live in a digital age, but there truly is no substitute for an old school journal.

Of course, there are many uses for a journal. You can use it as a commonplace book. You can utilize it to just write down any notes or things that are on your mind. You can actually use it to journal, meaning you write things down so you kind of take the pressure off of your mind, and you can unwind and relax and not think about thousands of things all the time. It also makes for a great gift and newlywed gentlemen should keep in mind that traditionally paper goods were the traditional one-year anniversary gift.

One of Peter Pauper Journal’s many artistic book bound covers.

Peter Pauper Press has been producing journals since 1928, and they all have a unique kind of artistic look with gold edging. And considering they’re just $10 to $20, most of them being around $13, you really get something that looks a lot more impressive than that.

Each journal features a unique cover image that’s either inspired by works of art or vintage books. The binding is solid and durable and has the right amount of give. Our scriptwriter Eb Daniels has been using the journal for months, and he hasn’t found any loose folios or cracked bindings. So, it’s definitely a solid, quality product.

The pages are thick enough to make it go well with fountain pens.

Also, the acid-free, archival-quality paper takes ink from a fountain pen extremely well, which can’t be said of all journals. The pair is also thick enough so it doesn’t bleed through to the next page. So, if you like fountain pens, it’s definitely one thing to consider.

Sized at 8.5 by 6.5 inches or 21.6 by 15.6 centimeters, they’re portable, yet big enough to actually write things down without feeling cramped. Honestly, looking at them, you never think they’re as cheap as they actually are.

Know of any cheap-but-awesome products that we haven’t mentioned? Share them in the comments below, so we can make a part three in this series!

In modern society, many men shy away from wearing copious amounts of jewelry, and some avoid wearing it altogether. Gaudy fashion trends and celebrities wearing comical amounts of gold have somewhat cheapened the concept of men’s jewelry over time. While some styles are definitely antiquated, a few can still be worn today–and we’ve got some great examples to share today!

Historically, jewelry was often a signifier of status and power in society. For example, in the Victorian Era, men would commonly be found wearing things like watch chains, signet rings, and other types of jewelry. In fact, it’s safe to say that there was a wider variety of jewelry options for men in the past, many of which have become obscure as they’re no longer worn by the modern man. 

Victorian Menswear in June 1871

Other than items like cufflinks, a wristwatch, or, perhaps, a ring, there’s a general lack of variety in men’s jewelry options today, so the obscure items we’ll cover are going to be more classical in nature.

10 Obscure Men’s Accessories & Jewelry – Neckwear

Let’s start in the realm of neckwear. We won’t be covering the subject of necklaces, specifically, but if you’d like to know more about them, our guide to the seven do’s and don’ts for men’s jewelry has you covered.

1. The Collar Stud

Modern shirt collars, of course, are attached to the shirt, so everything is in one finished piece. But as early as the 1820s, men’s collars were detachable, and it was easier and cheaper to launder just the collar of a shirt as opposed to the entire thing. As we all know, the collar is, of course, the first part of a shirt to often become dirty or need repair.

These collars that were separate pieces from the shirts were starched and made stiff, given the consistency of cardboard. However, because of their stiffness, these collars couldn’t simply be buttoned or tied to the body of the shirt, so a piece of jewelry had to be invented: the collar stud.

Vintage Decorated 14k gold collar shirt studs to attach your collar to your shirt. The front one needs to have double spacing as it has to go through 4 layers vs just 2 in the back

The most common style of collar stud is gold-plated with a round head, but they do come in many of their varieties. They could be made from gold or silver and also feature precious stones. Sometimes, rather than being genuine, these stones could also be fake as well to add an element of visual interest without increasing the price.

You’re not going to see many collar studs today, of course, because detachable collars lost favor around the 1940s. Although, you still can find some retailers who sell them today. And if you want to be entirely traditional, they’re still a staple of specific dress codes like White Tie or formal morning dress.

2-3. Tie Pins and Tie Tacks

Sticking with our neckwear theme, we’ll look at items that are designed to hold the tie in place; tie pins and tie tacks. We have actually covered both of these pieces before, but as they’re increasingly rare and because they fit with the theme, we thought we’d give you a more in-depth historical overview.

In the 1860s, tie pins or stick pins became an increasingly popular option in Britain for the upper and middle classes to hold their cravats in place. This would be accomplished by piercing the pin through both the cravat and the shirt. In addition to being popular in Britain, they made their way across the pond and saw popularity in America starting in the 1870s.

Tie pins were popular back in the 1860s as an accessory used to put cravats in place.

By the 1920s, more slender silk ties were coming into fashion, and so, the tie bar became the object of choice for keeping one’s tie in place, though the stick pin could still be used and, indeed, is sometimes seen today.

Roundabout the 1950s, a sort of little sibling to the stick pin, became popular called “the tie tack.” This was a small pin that would be pierced through the tie and then inserted into a backing piece attached to a chain with a T-bar. The t-bar would then be passed through the buttonhole of the shirt, keeping the entire assembly in place.

The tie tack, on the other hand, was a small pin also used to keep the tie in place.

While it was safer for the wearer than the traditional stick pin, these tie tacks still could potentially damage a tie slightly. They’re not commonly seen today, but some retailers do still stock them.

4. Tie Ring or Scarf Ring

To wear one of these, you would simply pass both ends of the tie or scarf through the ring and then pull it up to your neck to fasten.

This style first became popular in the 1860s and remained a staple of both formal morning wear and casual wear up until the 1930s, where it was favored by both King Edward VII – pictured wearing a scarf ring in 1863 – as well as his son King George V – pictured in 1928. The scarf ring was a particular favorite of King George V, and he was often photographed and painted wearing this accessory.

A tie ring, usually a plain band or sometimes looks like a signet ring, is often worn with conventional ties.

The ring could be a plain and simple band, could look more like a signet ring, or could be even more ornate in design. George V even wore his rings with more pieces of collar jewelry – a look that we probably wouldn’t recommend today as it is a bit too ornate.

This style is still readily available in various retail outlets in Japan. And if you search online, you’ll be able to find offerings from other places in Asia, where it’s often shown paired with a conventional necktie. 

5. Collar Chain

A slightly more modern example of collar jewelry that’s experiencing a bit of resurgence among the hipster crowd is the collar chain. This item consists of a chain that’s attached to two pieces that are then inserted through each leaf of a collar, leaving the chain hanging across the collar spread. Other versions include collar bars with chains attached or clip-on styles.

Collar chains, though now being endorsed in modern styles, have a tendency to be a bit garish and gaudy.

Like any piece of jewelry, they run the risk of being a bit garish and gaudy, however, so we think they’re better suited for a more modern, fashion-forward look than classic menswear. Furthermore, while you will sometimes see it suggested online by fashion outlets, we wouldn’t recommend wearing them to any formal event as they don’t quite follow traditional dress codes.

Gadgets

Moving on from neckwear, let’s next take a look at a category of items that could be summed up as gadgets.

6-7. The Trench Watch and The Wristlet 

As timepieces go, these two items are probably the most obscure. Everyone today is likely familiar with the conventional wristwatch, and most people are probably aware of the pocket watch. But we would guess that few are familiar with these two items, which ultimately serve to bridge the gap between the other two styles.

Although the Guinness Book of World Records claims that the first wristwatch was made in 1868 by Patek Philippe for a Hungarian countess, the pocket watch was a popular choice for men well into the early 20th century as the wristwatch was originally considered feminine.

The first wristwatch made in 1868 by Patek Philippe, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Meanwhile, the first modern wristwatch is typically credited to Girard Perregaux, who, as the story goes, had begun to make wristwatches in 1880 for the navy at the request of Kaiser Wilhelm I. When wearing a wristwatch, the naval officers could use both hands for all operations, even if they needed to check the time occasionally.

Meanwhile, another form of an early wristwatch is the wristlet. These are thought to have been in circulation during the late 1880s, commissioned by military and cavalry officers looking for an alternative to the inconvenient pocket watch.

Wristwatches were first made at the request of Kaiser Wilhelm I for naval operations.

However, the first actual patent for one of these devices arrived in 1893, at which point the wristlet became a valuable commodity. These wristlets were actually just a leather strap that simply held a pocket watch to one’s wrist, and they were suitable for soldiers riding on horseback and were sported by British troops in India.

They even found their way into civilian use and were marketed as cycling wristlets. And although companies like Wilsdorf & Davis, which would later become Rolex, were experimenting with wristwatch styles as early as 1905, it would take a devastating world event for wristwatches to become more widely worn.

Although the wristlet immediately gained popularity, it was soon deemed inconvenient by military men.

Fast forward to World War I, then, and pocket watches, again, became impractical, especially in the dirty, grueling conditions of trench warfare. As we mentioned earlier, wristwatches were rejected by most men as being “too feminine,” but the war made them rethink their options.

With smoke and gas weapons, lots of explosives, and early airpower, for the first time in the history of war, generals really couldn’t see much of what was happening on the battlefield, so everything came down to timing. Since as little as 30 seconds could be the difference between victory and defeat, fumbling around with a pocket watch simply wasn’t an option. So, the trench watch was born.

The trench watch was made as an improvised form of the wristlet watch.

Essentially, the trench watch was almost half pocket watch and half wristwatch with the case opening in the front and back like a pocket watch, but with metal wire lugs for attaching a leather strap much like a modern wristwatch. This was an improvement on the earlier leather pocket concept that was seen on many wristlet designs.

The trench watch represented an important stepping stone in the development of men’s timepieces. Because of its military applications, it led to the wristwatch eventually overtaking the pocket watch as the primary timepiece for most men.

8. Pencil Holders and Toothpick Holders

Interestingly, enough the origins of the toothpick itself actually predate recorded history. We can look at Neanderthal skulls that have damaged teeth, likely from the use of picking tools.

Of course, with that said, a toothpick might not be your first thought when it comes to men’s jewelry. But from the 18th century up through the beginning of the 20th, one way that many men showed their wealth and status was to carry around toothpicks made from precious metals and, sometimes, featuring stones.

Back in the early days, men would carry bejeweled toothpicks with them and would use them after a meal.

Eating a large, multi-course meal at an expensive restaurant has always been a way to show off one’s wealth, and capping off the meal by picking one’s teeth with a bejeweled golden toothpick was an excellent way to show off the sumptuousness of the meal you just had.

Even so, it was seen as ostentatious in some circles, even when toothpicks like these were commonly being used. An etiquette book from 1889 suggests that a man should not use a toothpick when at the table, and when using one, he should cover his mouth with one hand.

Toothpicks were often bejeweled back then for the upper-class men.

By the 1870s, wooden toothpicks had become popular among the middle and lower classes, so making the upper class’ toothpicks even more gaudy and bejeweled came to be seen as even more of a class signifier.

These bejeweled toothpicks were often worn around one’s neck on a chain, though some were also attached to watch chains, and still, others had their own cases. And what’s more, some of these toothpick designs even had moving parts so that the sharp end could be retracted and stored away safely when not in use.

Some toothpicks are even multi-purpose and come with an ear scoop.

Some were made from materials like ivory, gold, or sterling silver, and cheaper models were silver plated or made from gilt brass. Some of these were even multi-purpose with a toothpick on one end and an ear scoop on the other.

And similarly to these toothpicks, pencils were also often worn around the neck in decorative holders. These were often retractable and could, again, be worn either around the neck or on a watch chain.

Pencils were also worn with a chain and a bar.

If you’re so inclined to seek out these items, be aware that most antique pencil holders are found on women’s chatelaines, but examples for men can be found out there as well.

9. Retractable Chain Brooch

Retractable chain brooches could be used for pencils, but their primary purpose was to secure spectacles to the body. Although spectacles with arms were invented as far back as the 1720s, designs without arms were popular all the way up until the 1940s or so.

And for much of this period, there was still a societal stigma attached to wearing spectacles. So, designs that could be brought out to be used quickly and then put away discreetly were seen as preferable.

A retractable chain brooch’s primary use is to secure a spectacle to the body.

Such designs were perched in the eye socket or on the bridge of the nose. And to stop them from falling off, silk ribbons and strings were used, which were later supplanted by chains and necklaces, which became decorative in their own right.

However, in 1903, a new type of retractable chain was patented by Ketcham and McDougall, a luxury thimble-making company that could expand, lock, and be retracted by a second pole. These were delicate chains made in silver and gold colors that would give a more luxurious look than string or ribbon. For example, a monocle could be connected to one of these chain brooches and sit on the lapel until it was needed for reading. Then, when finished, the wearer could safely retract the chain without having to worry about fumbling around with the monocle in a pocket.

Unlike the classic and elegant retractable brooch, these plastic retractables are most commonly used in id laces.

Another style of eyewear commonly worn with the chain is the “pince-nez” or pinch nose-style. And you can see an example of this as worn by Bing Crosby’s character of Alan A. Dale in 1964’s Robin and the 7 Hoods, where you can see that Crosby’s character is wearing a plain black enamel brooch on his lapel.

Most were worn on the lapel or through the buttonhole, many were made from decorative precious metals like silver and gold, or they could be gold-filled. And, as you might expect, more feminine designs were also available for women who needed eyewear.

A “pince-nez” or a pinch nose style is a spectacle worn with a nose clip instead of an earpiece and is often hooked to a chain.

It would be best if you didn’t confuse this piece with modern plastic retractable cords that are often seen on things like office lanyards. In addition to the metal chain, the thing that sets the Ketcham and McDougall retractable brooch apart is its ability to lock in place.

You may be surprised to hear that some modern retailers and opticians still even stock these pieces. However, they are definitely an obscure and vintage look and should only be worn by men who really want to go for a particular period style of dressing.

10. The Tussie Mussie/Nosegay

Our final piece today is another particularly antiquated one that has two rather silly names: the “tussie mussie” and the “nosegay.” If you’ve heard of this piece at all, you likely associate it with something used by women at weddings or other ceremonial events for flowers.

It has its origins in medieval times as a way to ward off disease or foul smells, more generally. It is a tussie (or knot of flowers) with some mussie (or wet moss) used to keep the flowers fresh. 

A tussie mussie, or a nosegay, is something that is commonly used at weddings to keep the flowers fresh.

With the historical meaning of the term “gay” being “happy,” one could wear one of these and keep their nosegay by smelling the flowers, which leads to the other name for this piece. Over time, these terms began to refer to the cup or holder for the flowers rather than for the flowers themselves. And, as you might have guessed, these holders could be incredibly ornate and made from precious metals.

So, how does this relate to classic menswear, then? Well, smaller tussie mussies were worn similarly to lapel pins as one might wear a boutonniere today. They often resembled the shape of a full-sized tussie mussie but, of course, much smaller in size. A gentleman could add a few drops of water to keep his flowers fresh throughout the day and avoid wilting, which is why they’re sometimes referred to by a third term: “water reservoirs.”

Hercule Poirot wearing a tussie mussie.

One place you may have seen them is as a costume feature on David Suchet’s Hercule Poirot. Of course, the more decorative types often feature holes through them and, thus, can’t hold water. So, if you wanted to use a tussie mussie to actually wear flowers, we’d recommend that you do it as Poirot does and go for the more practical approach.

Today, larger tussie mussies are still used by women at weddings, but the lapel pin versions are sometimes worn by men at more traditionally-styled ceremonies. But, as we’ve discussed before, the more practical long-term option would be to go with a high-quality faux boutonniere, such as the ones we offer in the Fort Belvedere shop.

Conclusion

As you can see from our list, there was definitely a wider variety of jewelry available to men in the past. Some of these designs are antiquated, some are completely defunct and obsolete, but some could still be useful today. Of course, there are other obscure items that we didn’t touch on today, like cuff holders or bachelor buttons.

Do you own or still wear obscure men’s jewelry pieces? Share your story or outfit ideas in the comments section!