Hello Fashionistas…here is your Indianapolis Men’s Stylist. This blog, I am going to focus on men. I do work with men who have some of the same style images and doubts that women, do. Of course, some things are different.
When I took my Men’s Stylist course a few years ago in New York City, I realized how much I did not know about men’s clothes, style and fashion. Yes, I grew up with three brothers, but in rural Indiana we didn’t know very much about style, and Google wasn’t even available. Yes, I know the pre-historic times. LOL. So…How do most children learn about style–I believe first their parents and then later their peers. My dad was an okay dresser. He worked in manufacturing, so he did to wear a suit to work each day, but on Sunday, he wore his best to church, as we all did. He could be quite dapper with a Fedora hat, wool coat and navy suit and white shirt. This is how he dressed sometimes and more laid back for church at night. He was a good style icon in our family.
Getting back to men’s style — it’s steeped in tradition, head to toe, For instance, some men’s blazers have a ticket pocket on the front–this dates back to when people rode trains and needed to store their ticket. Men’s suit types, shoes, hats, etc., are literally unchanged from long ago. Certain styles come in and out, as do certain colors and fabrics that are a play on the traditional. Many men–most in fact–that I meet want to look traditional. This means, as my hubs says, men want to blend in. They don’t want to stand out — with some exceptions, I would have to agree with them.
Work Attire Ideas From Your Men’s Stylist
As we’ve already discussed, work wear has changed. Very few people wear a suit and a tie to work each day. However, I do think every man needs a good suit in his wardrobe — for weddings, funerals, dress up occasions (dates), church if your church is more formal as mine is.
If a client asks me what is the best suit to wear or buy–I always say for a basic suit in your closet buy a medium charcoal grey suit or a very dark navy suit. They will look fabulous on everyone. Try to buy a pure fabric that will breathe–100 percent wool, 100 percent silk. Some blends are okay and are much better than they used to be. However they will not breathe.
A pet peeve of mine is when I see a man in a good looking suit wearing a high fashion or out of style color such as orange, bright yellow, brown or green–rule of thumb–if a shirt is so bright it makes your eyes water, put it back on the rack. They do not flatter anyone. To look classic and timeless — wear a white, mostly cotton shirt, or a pale blue solid or tiny stripe. If you are a larger man, you can wear the bigger stripe, but keep in mind large stripes, even if they are horizontal, will make you look wider.
I like a black leather oxford or even brown with a suit.
The place to show your individuality is your tie! Traditional style guys might like a subtle paisley or a solid in a neutral or beautiful light blue or even lilac. Guys who want to be more fashion forward might like a small print in lime green, red, blue, pink fuchsia, or even grey/black. Keep the print in your tie to scale. If you are slim, never wear a huge print. Larger guys can wear larger prints, etc. Scale is important!
More on men’s style…next week! Keep it sassy.
Beth Divine,
Men’s Stylist
