Dissecting Men's Style
[ 29 August 2007 ]
My dear male readers, I am sorry if you have felt neglected! I am sorry if all the pink is getting to you! I resolve to write more about men’s style, from this day forth! Let me appease you with this (soon to be regular) feature — a dissection of men’s street style. Oh, & of course, feedback is always welcome!
Let’s focus on the guy on the left, since I think he looks the best. His outfit is comprised of very simple components — a flannel shirt, jeans, a belt & a watch. It sounds like the duds of your average lumberjack, but this guy has put it all together with a slight twist & ends up looking cool & stylish. What has he done? First of all, he’s slicked back his hair in a very cool greaser/rockabilly style. There’s nothing fancy going on, it’s probably just pomade & a comb. Secondly, he’s rolled up his sleeves, & it looks fantastic. So many men underestimate how sexy a defined forearm is. Thirdly, & in a very unusual turn of events, one side of his shirt is untucked. Is it deliberate? Did it just happen? Who knows? But it looks great. It makes him look a bit unpredictable, which is quite appealing really…
Here’s a hard fact of life: shorts can look good on men. (See here for another example.) Stop claiming that the world would be better off without glimpsing your gams, & take a chance! This guy’s outfit works because he’s not showing too much skin. His outfit is, again, pretty simple — a long-sleeved black t-shirt, shorts, a belt, sandals — & again, it’s the small touches that make this work. His sleeves are pushed up a little bit. The t-shirt is tucked into his shorts, which makes it look sleeker. The belt is unexpected & it gives a nice little detail in the midst of all that black. & then! Those lovely sandals! Swoon. I love that they are so unusual.
This guy knows his assets — long, skinny legs & great hair — & is working them to his advantage. Notice that they are the only solid black things, everything else is patterned or coloured, so the black really draws your eye in. He’s matched his sunglasses with his bag (awesome!) & his shirt with his sneakers. If all components were green or orange, he might look a bit matchy-matchy, but since he’s using a couple of different colours, it really works well.
Scott (of The Sartorialist) said something about this guy looking like an “old-time movie star on vacation”, & he’s absolutely right. His style is so consummately relaxing-summer-holiday. His outfit is easy on the eye but actually quite unusual. Why? How? First of all, he has brilliant hair. It’s gently waved, which makes him look chilled out but still stylish — this can be hard to pull off. His outfit is all neutral colours, which is a rare thing. Most people would be tempted to throw on dark jeans or a jacket to break it up, & sometimes this contrast can be nice, but I’m glad he didn’t! The charcoal stripe through the shirt is echoed in his pocket square, something which normally looks so stuffy, but in combination with rolled sleeves, light trousers & the absence of socks, he looks perfectly debonair & fresh. CHARMED, I’m sure!
It takes a brave man to don a cardigan — & a vintage one at that! This (cuuuute) guy’s outfit works because of the proportions. Normally a cardigan with pants — unless they were super-tight ones — would look a bit dowdy, a bit Mr Rogers. He has deftly escaped this fate by pairing it with denim shorts, which shows his legs & that incredible sock/shoe combination. He’s kept his palette quite clean — the white shirt is quite luminous & the dark shorts ensure your eye isn’t too distracted. I absolutely love the lines around the socks, it’s such a brave (but perfect) choice. I also think he might have looked a bit childish without the glasses — but they top it off wonderfully.
I am in LOVE. Such an adorable outfit. He’s keep his silhouette very sleek — notice that the singlet, the shorts & the hat are about the same width across his body. His singlet is tucked in, which makes him look tidy. The stripes around his hat match the rest of his outfit PERFECTLY. & best of all, his shoes are neutral. It would have been tempting to match them to the rest of the ensemble, but then he might have been erring on the side of “my mother dressed me”. Fabulous. I also like that we can’t see his eyes, that is totally hot.
Lessons to take home:
Capitalise on your best features. Find out what they are & then WORK them, relentlessly! If you’re not sure what your best features are, ask your friends!
Roll up your sleeves. People who roll up their sleeves look they’ve been working hard at something, like they’re driven & passionate. Even if you’re not, it’s a fabulous illusion to perpetuate! (I am not the only woman who finds this attractive!)
Think about proportion. Wear long sleeves with shorts, or jeans with bare arms. Don’t cover it all up (or show it all off) if you can help it — mix it up, make things a little unexpected.
If most people would leave the shirt untucked, tuck it in. If most people would tuck it in, leave it out. Be different!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
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You definitely aren’t the only woman who finds rolled up sleeves attractive!! :]
I find the (what i tend to call) the ‘just left the office after a long day’ look to be attractive: trousers, white long sleeved button up with the sleeves ROLLED UP a bit, and tie. Yum.
I’m going to direct my boy in the direction of this article. And the articles to come!!
Sometimes, the poor boy needs a bit of fashion advice…
guys should never underestimate the power of well fitting clothes (especially nicer clothes, like dress shirts.) Any guy can throw on nice clothes, but they will always look better if they take the time to actually find clothes that fit their body type!
I agree, rolled up sleeves are hot.
I find nice hands to be really sexy on guys too.
I’m gonna show this to my bf as soon as I can C:
Rolled sleeves are really hot, you’re so right about that. I think vintage leather jackets are seeeexy too (I just drool like mad when my boy puts on his grandfather’s old leather jacket >:D) ; I also like a little bracelet or a necklece too, specially macrame bracelets :P!
Yes! Rolled up sleeves = LOVE.
Wow, you and I have never different taste in men’s style! I can’t stand men with gelled hair or men who wear sandals outside of the beach or shower. And the first two guys are wearing makeup, which I don’t think any man needs unless he’s dressing up in a costume or for drag.
I agree that short shorts sometimes work, but that guy wearing all black with sandals looks really off to me, maybe because from the next up he looks like the most average college student in the world so the whole effect is scary to me when he wears shorts and gladiator shoes. And the movie star on the beach guy reminds me of a murderer from a David Lynch movie! Look at his face again, do you see it? He looks so repressed.
I’m happy there are so many people with so many different tastes so that everyone can find a partner whose taste suits them perfectly. Life is great like that.
xox
Julie
Julie — Wow, really? That’s so funny. I guess my intention in writing this piece was to show that lots of different styles can be pulled off successfully — I wouldn’t necessarily wear that stuff. I think if I was a man, I would probably wear white skirts & skinny black ties & tight black jeans with big boots every day!
Men – gotta love ‘em. (And the Sartorialist, too. Also a man!) Rolled-up sleeves: always a winner (male or female). Also plaid shirts, nice shorts, attractive sandals. A bit of effort goes a long way, boys.
I’ll take the one with the black skinnies, and the one at the bottom, please. :)
oh gala your so not alone….
theres something about a rolled up sleeve that make me want to dive at guys. in the same way any type of uniform does… I don’t know maybe it’s some weird damsel in distress complex we all have. lol we want the guy with strong looking wrists to save us. :P
Nadine — The Sartorialist is a verrrry good looking guy. Then again, talent always makes people more appealing…
Lauren — I’ll give you skinny legs & I’ll have cardigan boy!
Nicola — I don’t know about the damsel in distress thing ;D Isn’t even bringing that subject up a huge taboo?! I prefer to think (!) that it’s more about finding enhanced masculinity attractive… Though someone else might have a different view on this!
This is great, however I wished you’d focused on at least one man who wasn’t rail thin. Most guys are a little beefier, and it seems like the artsy fashion crowd frowns on that. :(
Camille — Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn’t see a single larger-than-average-sized person on any of the street style blogs I looked at… Unfortunately, that’s all I have to work with at the moment!
THANK YOU!!! I reckon this is like one of the BESTEST!!! posts you’ve done…. I also reckon that the 3rd pic, the 5th pic and the 6th pic is probs my faves… like I can relate to that kinda style… i also love skinny jeans wit no socks… and I’m starting to get into the mod style after seeing an awesome pic in vogue… I also face the everyday dilemma of being a teenager so theres usually a 95% chance when I go out I get sly remarks from others about what I wear… I hate being a conformist and choose not to and therefor get bagged for it… Im just so glad I live in Melbourne cause when Im in the city I feel so safe and shielded from my typical classmates who dress according to the typical teenage world and who don’t appreciate uniqueness or difference.
Anywayz Gala keep up the AWSOME work.
Peace OUT!!!
hahahaha! I’m always trying to convince my guy friends to roll up their sleeves. They think I’m crazy, but it’s the simple truth: rocking the forearms is sexy and EASY. More guys need to get on that.
Love, love, love that hat in the last picture. This is me swooning. I want one!
i love the last guy. what a great style! but i must say, please, if you’re wearing long pants and shoes, please, wear socks. they don’t have to be white (better if they’re not) but no Don Johnson looks. just say no.
:D haha great article!
My boyf just wore a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up yesterday ! what a dish. He was complimented left & right. I was proud of him (& grateful that I had dressed up a bit as well)
Hehe, so weird.. we blogged about the first pic and i was forced to comment my love about the last one the other day. Love the 3rd guy in spite of myself. Gala, any chance we’ll get to see your guy’s style any day soon?
Please tell me some one has number three’s number. Yum !
Lauren – You can’t have number three! I want number three! Ditto to Lesly!
I agree about the rolled up sleeves thing, it is pretty hawt. But I have a irrational fear of stylish guys – I always think that they must be bastards and heartbreakers since they look so good. This is insane because I don’t think the same thing about stylish girls! I hate my double standards. Maybe I’m just trying to give an excuse to myself for why they never take an interest in me – I ain’t up for being used and abused.
atlas2020 — Awww, yay! I’m so glad you like it! I hear you, it can be really hard to feel good about what you’re wearing if other people are constantly bagging you. I used to get through it by just being really mean to people, but I don’t advocate that as a technique… it leads to cynicism & general poutiness! I think that dealing with other people’s attitude about your attire would make a good article, actually…
audrey — Pffftttt! No one even remembers Don Johnson anymore! I like the no socks look, it’s casual & summery…
allison — I love that you said “what a dish”, hahah!!!
EJ — Oh, wow! Ha! I wasn’t copying you, honest! Your blog looks cool — another one to add to my Google Reader, I suspect! Oh, & just so you know, when I told my boyfriend that you wanted to see his style, he laughed so hard he fell over onto the bed! I don’t think he’s keen to be on display :D
Lady Julianne Eternity — You need to tap that shit out! Stylish people aren’t different to anyone else… You deserve someone glorious!
I have to comment again…
Today at school, the marketing guy from the company the school/job came in…
AND HIS SLEEVES WERE ROLLED UP! =]
As SOON as he walked and I saw his sleeves I thought of this blog. Hahaha. And I couldn’t wait to get home and tell you about him and his sleeves!!
If all these guys weren’t cute in themselves they would look either dorky or boring dressed as they are. Only cute people can do style like this without just looking plain wierd (cardigan guy being a prime example).
Jamie — Awesome! Did he look good? :D
kate — I couldn’t disagree more; I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with looking “weird”. In fact, it’s to be encouraged! Do you think average-looking people should wear a burlap sack?
i remember once someone said in yr last male fashion post that the clothes on the guys were gay. and you disagreed. i think you are right but the problem does seem to be the bambi thin metro males. i see on this post to someone has willed for a different shaped male!
i do agree with you that just because i guy has style doesnt mean he is gay, but unfortunately most of these males do reek gay – i think that totally puts guys off fashion thinking its a risk to their manhood instead of embracing it like they should. there should be some stylee guy pics that embrace all guys :)
there’s nothing wrong with looking weird – I look weird quite frequently – but “weird” does not equal “stylish” unless you are cute
hayley — Well, a lot of people automatically assume that slim, well-dressed guys are gay. That doesn’t fly with me. Somebody’s sexuality has nothing to do with how good or stylish they look. & I would love to profile people of different sizes, but I’m limited by what I can find online. If you see any, flick them through to me since I would love to write them up!
kate — Of course, “cute” people have a natural advantage but that doesn’t mean they automatically dress well. I think you might be overlooking what we’re trying to achieve here, which is that it doesn’t matter HOW you look without clothes on, getting dressed should be about enhancing the positive & having fun with your appearance. Personality goes a long way — I’d pick a weird-looking person with cute socks over a gorgeous girl in a tracksuit any day!
nah i thought it was more the fact that they all looked like little boys. or something about the hair. it just looks a bit full on thats all i think. otherwise clothes are glorious. maybe thats the appropriate way to coin it.
yes ma’m he did. :]
he looked real good with those sleeves rolled up…ESPECIALLY when he gave us goodie bags full of Bed Head products.
teehee!! how i love freebies.
Gala, I am totally with you re: cute vs cool. Just went to see Hairspray the movie this weekend, and the lead of that movie, who probably wears a UK size 16, is so gorgeous, dressing (in character) with so much flair. She expressed such a sense of joy – frankly it blew me away – and just goes to show that looking average has NOTHING to do with your size. I would any day give higher props to someone with a sense of style and pizazz than someone with a cute face. One you actually earn, the other you merely inherit.
Ammu — Applause! I have yet to see Hairspray, but I’m pretty excited about it!
HAHAHA! Reading all these comments about men with rolled-up sleeves has reminded me of someone in an old issue of Disorder magazine, in the Street Style section, and I am sad enough that I actually ran to my room to get that magazine…
You will LOVE Hairspray. Tracy Turnblad – my new 16-year-old inspiration – is a PISTOL ;) Your New York post has sent me into such realms of nostalgia… I may have to book a ticket there sooooon.
wow…great post
It’s fascinating to see you break down your likes so well.
I don’t necessarily like everything you do, but it’s more interesting to hear why you like it than for me to like it. :)
hey! I’m totally stalking that last guy on flickr! no lie! He always has such interesting and inspiring outfits, and he’s french canadian, like me! (I have a thing for french canadians. :P)... yes.. ok now that I feel sufficiantly like the biggest creeper ever…