The Picture of Gentleman Gray

If you'll recall, a few weeks ago, I pondered the evolution of the modern gentleman. More specifically, the modern American gentleman.

It's a tricky area of discussion, sartorially speaking. Take the CBS show, How I Met Your Mother and Neil Patrick Harris's bro of a character Barney Stinson, who always, always suits up. There's even an occasional tuxedo night.

This is done in order to set him apart from the rest of the t-shirt wearing generation, but Barney Stinson - though he may enjoy his Scotch and fine haberdashery - is no gentleman. Britney Spears might even name him Womanizer.

The suit, it would seem, does not the gentleman make. Clothes do not make the man, but a man must possess style to make them more than clothes.

No, and though while I would love to return to a day and age in which everyman suited up and never left home without a hat, the truth is, these days, a gentleman of style is more sartorially complicated than coat and tie. It's about as being as effortlessly stylish in a henley and denim, as in fedora and gabardine.

There is a certain level of respect these days for the American-made tradition.

Take Made-In-America brand Rag and Bone. Started by English gentlemen Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, the designing pair began their creation with a trip to the land of high cotton, the Southern United States, to discover for themselves the tradition of of denim making:

Founded in 2002, rag & bone had one very clear vision in mind: to make clothes that they and their friends would love to wear every day. With no formal fashion training, Marcus Wainwright & David Neville set about learning how to make jeans. They believed that denim represented the history, authenticity and fundamentals of classic work wear that they would strive to reflect in their designs.

Beginning in Kentucky, rag & bone surrounded themselves with people who had been making patterns, cutting fabric and sewing their whole lives. Working with these kinds of craftsmen taught them the importance of quality, craftsman-ship and attention to detail early on.

These principles soon became the keystones of the rag & bone philosophy, the definition of what clothing can and should be. With these principles in mind, whenever possible rag & bone produces the majority of their garments in U.S. factories that still sew clothes the same way they did 50 years ago.

Which is why they partner with craftsmen and established businesses such as Martin Greenfield Tailors of Brooklyn, Norton and Sons of Saville Row, and Waterbury Button, "the oldest button manufacturer in US."

Which is why they're something of experts when it comes to a gentleman's aesthetic.

The fashion world is having something more than the normal fall and winter love affair with plaid   moment; it started with a hum as preppy went mainstream, grew with a low boom as hipsters collected the buffalo plaid woodsman look, and has all of a sudden become something you simply cannot miss; whether it's in lowly blogs such as this, in the pages of shelter mags such as Lonny, or in the pages of every fashion glossy from Nylon to Town and Country.

And, as the New York Times noted this week, the preppy plaid spread a widespread panic among moody chromophobes everywhere.

Rag & Bone's David Neville included.

“This is a gentler interpretation of plaid,” said David Neville, one of the partners behind Rag & Bone, who himself confessed to a certain aversion toward color. “Today I am wearing a combination of light gray, dark gray and black, so I guess I fit into that mold. But I can be a bit more adventurous — perhaps around the holidays. I wouldn’t wear a bold, bright plaid, but I would wear a shadow plaid. Subtle is good, you know?”

Shadow plaids. Gentle, subtle, yes, the colors allow a gentleman to remain distinguished, and un-dandified, yet the plaids add a pop, and betray him as a man of style and modernity.

“Shadow plaids are the new solids,” said Eric Jennings, the men’s fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue. “They’re ideal for men’s suiting. From far away they read as a solid color, and up close the texture and fabric come to life. And they’re the perfect background for a pop of color.”

It is worth noting that “shadow plaid,” like many men’s-wear terms, has taken on different meanings. Mr. Jennings uses it to describe understated tone-on-tone plaids, like dark brown on medium brown. Others use it to describe gray-scale plaids. Still others use it to describe the ombré plaids popular in Western shirts in which two colors gradate from one to the other.

But there is no question that plaids in plain gray, black and white combinations are the ones that have come in this season."

Chromophobia, indeed.

If a gentleman is all class and polish, what does it mean for color?

David Neville may have an aversion to color, but as a gentleman of style, he has come to recognize this as his personal style (bravery, be damned) and owns it, and up to it. I've never seen Chuck Bass turn away from a purple, or a double-breasted suit, which is a personal style he holds true to season after season, trend after trend.

As I began work on this article this morning, I had the low hum of the television in the background and as I was re-reading the Times article, what should come on but Dolce & Gabbana's ad for their cologne, "The One," as in, the One True Gentleman.

Italian brand. American spokesman. Black and white. Miles Davis in the forefront. Take a look:



Interesting isn't it, how the mere absence of color renders a concept timeless? Yet, in the end, he is still a man, and the colors of his complexion are reflected in the cognacs and coffees of the cologne.

The classic trappings of gentleman-hood, are, in fact, often without color: Scotch, cigars, leather. Cliche though they may be,are they not what you picture when you call up Humphrey Bogart to memory? Or perhaps you see him in the silver time freeze of Casablanca, as I often do.

For now, though,

“It’s a part of the Americana vibe we’ve seen,” Nick Sullivan, the fashion director of Esquire, explained...This is a little step forward to something more sophisticated, and at the same time a step back to something more normal.”

But don’t go thinking that the emergence of shadow plaid is a sign that men’s wear is headed back to the Italianate ’90s, when Prada and Gucci put entire ZIP codes into sleek gray suiting with all the warmth of a charcoal briquette. As the retro-volutionary style of the gentleman continues to grow, its adherents are ready and willing to ferret out its less obvious manifestations. Kick it up a notch? A gentleman would just as soon kick it down.

It gives me pause: is it the gentleman's distinguished duty to leave the color to the ladies - and the dandies? Is the art of gentlemanly dressing in the power of restraint, in balancing sharp sartorial style while letting the lady grace the chromatic scale? Is it the art of modern gentlemanly dressing to do so?

I wonder.

Every other inch a gentleman

I'd venture to say that I of the men I know, see, and meet, but a few are true gentlemen, despite the fact that so many fraternities proclaim themselves houses of "True Gentlemen." Has the gentleman - and his aesthetic - become a thing of endangerment, or worse, headed towards extinction? No, I think not, but instead like to muse that perhaps the creation of casual Friday, and casual Monday, and casual Sunday, has instead made the true gentleman stand out from his previously disguised counterparts.

Perhaps.

It's a fine line of judging a book by it's cover to say that, because of course, a gentleman can be found in any clothes, and his enemy, found in tie and coat. The men of Mad Men come to mind... But in my perfect world, a gentleman possesses style in its truest essence: not an imitation, or a uniform, but a true personal style that only a confident man can carry, dandy or not.

This is, coincidentally, the case in Lesley M. M. Blume's new book, Let's Bring Back, a collection of writings from her column of the same name on Huffington Post. Of course, her wish list includes everything from "Hats on Men" (yes, please!) to "Crudite platters," but in general it reflects items, behaviors, manners, and ways of living that should be forever classically stylish, and universally held. Style, after all, both transforms and transcends trends.

[Mother, Father - I know you're reading (you're my biggest fans) - this book is definitely on my Christmas / Birthday wish list].

What is it that makes a gentleman, though? A man of style? It seems that everywhere I look lately, somebody is offering their professional opinion (an excellent sign of optimism for this breed), so I thought I'd put together a summary of my recent readings on the subject.

If anyone can help us out, surely it's 192-year-old outfitter of gentlemen, Brooks Brothers. What's their latest take on the modern man of style? If their foray into Twitter this week is any indication, it's one who is social. I became an official follower yesterday, and thus received a DM, with instructions to follow a link this this image, which describes, in succinct style, what tweets to expect from the Brooks Brothers aesthetic:



Take this tweet, as exemplary of their expertise:

Theodore Roosevelt wore a Brooks Brothers military uniform in his famous march up San Juan
Hill. http://bit.ly/d5PWJy.

Brooks Brothers is also on Facebook, where they hold polls meant for sparking "sartorial debate," pose customer style questions to their followers, and of course, share style tips for the gentleman and gentlewoman. They're in good company too; brands such as Southern Proper and Southern Tide regularly tweet and share "American Gentleman Lessons" and the like:

Southern Tide: American Gentleman Lesson No. 69:

The American Gentleman - Lesson No. 69: A Gentleman Always Dresses to Impress

americangentleman.tumblr.com

Lesson No. 69: A Gentleman Always Dresses to Impress - “The clothes don’t make the man, but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.” - Henry Ward Beecher, US Congressional Minister

Let's revisit the Mad Men topic; as I wrote about a year ago, Brooks Brothers is hip with the Mad Men, recruiting costume designer Janie Bryant to create a limited-edition Mad Men suit. And as we return full circle, one, Lesley M. M. Blume, possesses in her arsenal a Mad-Men edition column, a list which includes hats for men, hats for women, and of course, the three martini lunch - noting, that in those golden days, if you worked in advertising or journalism, a four martini lunch was the minimum.

Perhaps my affinity for men of this nature can be tied back to Cary Grant in the classic newspaper film, His Girl Friday.

The newspaper man was the hard-working, hard-drinking, man's man of the intelligentsia (re-call also Brad Pitt's character in A River Runs Through It, the hardened Montana counterpart to his "softer" Dartmouth educated brother, nicknamed "the Professor"). This behavior always brings to mind male friends of mine from college - "Gentleman and Scholars," they called themselves - who used to have evenings in which they indulged in suits, Scotch, cigars, and philosophical debate. As I tend to romanticize a lot, film's such as His Girl Friday both resonate with me and develop in me a nostalgia for an age of journalism I never knew, and never will (as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has developed a certain yearning for more filibusters). But, as my own father, and a true Southern gentleman of style raised me on the classics, it's my personal opinion that the modern gentleman will have studied style icons the likes of Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and other such classic film stars.

But with shows such as Mad Men, and recent developments such as Janie Bryant being commissioned to design her own vintage-inspired line, will the growing affinity for the look - a major trend in Fall 2010 runway, as evidenced most clearly by Louis Vuitton's collection - and the nostalgia for the past bring back the behavior as well? Certainly as a culture we've moved forward in many, many positive ways, but if Blume's column and book - and their popularity - are evidence, we miss certain trappings of the lifestyle, even if - like myself - we were too young to have ever lived in such an era.

The Wall Street Journal referenced both Grant, Bogart, Clark Gable and the men of Mad Men in their article the other week on the return of the three-piece suit to menswear:

"The three-piece, a suit with a matching waistcoat (aka vest), is the most formal type of suit, long the provenance of dandies, 1930s film stars like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Clark Gable, and later, bankers in London and on Wall Street. It's a fussy suit, one with an extra unit, which is why it disappeared for nearly 20 years after World War II as the result of fabric rationing.

 

Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren Purple Label pinstripe three-piece suit.

It vanished again in the '90s, suffering the dual blows of minimalism and casual Friday (which spread into casual Everyday). But some men are dressing up again, thank goodness, and not necessarily just for the office; they're even adding flourishes like pocket squares and tie bars. The three-piece suit makes a statement, literally, of one-upmanship in the dressing-up arms race."

And in case you're looking for a more casual three piece look - and in further evidence that style encompasses more than one set look and is not, absolutely not, a uniform - have no fear, because corduroy's been making the waves again, also, often in the case of a three-piece ensemble: http://on.wsj.com/dhyLOV.

Also, Ralph Lauren

To quote the former article, "men are dressing up again, thank goodness," but why? What's going on in our culture that's prompting this resurgence, and is it occurring in Midwestern cities such as mine? And why are we, in a recessionista's economy, less concerned about fabric rationing than our World War II counterparts? As I believe that style encompasses so much more than fashion - involving an invested interest in culture, the arts, the happenings of the world, in exploring all facets of life, and an inner beauty (or in this case, perhaps handsomeness) that is reflected confidently through a personal style and aesthetic - I'll be searching for the answers to all of today's raised questions and more this winter. 

(If you're a male friend or acquaintance of mine - be ready for some questions!)



Oooh those sharp-dressed men of style. . .

I spend most of my time writing about women here - beauty, fashion, dating, and other girly things - so, in honor of all the men in my life, stylish and not so much, I'd thought I'd write about them for a change. And because, to me, there is nothing sexier than a man with timeless style, who's groomed but not too so, and who carries himself with the kind of confidence and ease only truly stylish men seem to. Or, because, as ZZ Top put it (ironically, really): every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

Male Style Essentials (in my book)

- a crisp white dress shirt
French cuffs, preferably. This is an essential that should not be bought carelessly, or cheaply. It works wonders, with denim, cuffs rolled up, or with a well-tailored jacket. Or, well, with anything, really. Oh and my heart melts at the sight of French blue, too. T-shirts and henleys have their days, don't get me wrong, but these are the kind of shirts man was made for.

- A tuxedo
When you think about all the weddings you might attend in a lifetime, along with various other events, it's a smart investment to own your own tuxedo. And when these fit a man well, well, man, he's never looked so good.

- Navy sportscoat / blazer
Black's sharp and all, but personally I prefer the softness of navy. The same goes for a good tweed too, you don't see them enough. Two buttons is the way to go these days. Can be dressed up or down, keeps ya warm, and sure looks good on your girl's shoulders too.

- brown leather boots
This girl loves her cowboys, so I love those cowboy boots too, but really, any kind of boot will do. Again, brown's softer than black, ages well, and a pair of boots should be every man's go-to do-anything in 'em shoes.

- loafers
Worn without socks, oooh.

- at least one bow-tie
These seem to have found their niche amongst old men, gay men, and Southerners, but I for one would like to see them more often. I don't know any lady who doesn't have a smile on her face at the sight of one, too.

- RayBans/Aviators
You know that scene in Benjamin Button when's Brad Pitt's driving his motorcycle? And the sun's hitting him just so, he has a burnished look about him?

Ooooh.

Every man needs a perfect, well-fitting pair of shades; they just add so much panache. And mystery. These two are the classic styles I just don't ever see going away. For good reason.

- a fedora
I'm not talking about your ironic hipster hat. I mean one of the kind good ol' Bogey and Cary Grant used to wear. I miss the days I never knew, when men wore hats everywhere they went, and women too. And to go along with this,

- a good topper coat
Wool, camel hair, cashmere, tweed - a good, full-length overcoat will get you anywhere and everywhere. And it just looks so classic, sophisticated, and good.

- scarves
I really think these are neglected among today's young men. But they really do look so good, add so much style in one little package, and well, they really do keep you warm! Wear them without your jacket on too, especially on those crisp fall days.

- gloves
I've got my cashemere-lined, red leather pair I couldn't go through winter without and I know men's hands get cold too. I don't know if it's memories of those puffy kid gloves your mom stuffed on you with your snow suit, or what, that steers men away, but this is another area of menswear that seems to get neglected. And who wants cold fingers? And why not make them stylish to boot?

Well, that's that for now. There's more, but let's take things slow for now. The basics - well-fitting jeans, good, soft t-shirts, tennis shoes, a supple pair of flat-front twill pants - I assume every man has. These are the essentials. Take note - there is a difference.