A friend of mine has been sending me some wonderful emails on the perils of menswear. He has written about the male mutton-dressed-as-lamb conundrum, and the difficulties of 'smart-casual' in the business environment - a sea of boring men in pressed jeans and polo shirts. Not to mention his early teenage forays into clothes buying in Swinging London.
I have invited him to come over as an occasional guest contributor. Among his long list of increasingly feeble excuses has been his contention that no-one would be interested.
So do we have any takers for a column from a well-dressed but cool Englishman of a certain age?
Record your responses below and I'll pass them on.
UPDATE
The gentleman in question has moved an inch or two, having sent me a list of possible pseudonyms, but has now pissed off abroad for a few days. I will update you when I hear more. All I can say is, it will be worth the wait.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
An appeal to my readers
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27 comments:
I'd like very much to get a man's point of view on style, being one, myself :)
Absolutely!
Ooh, yes! I'd love some tips on les hommes d'un certain age and how to put a little zing into the wardrobe without looking ridiculous.
Ding, ding, ding..we have a winner. Definitely a great idea.
Two choices in middle-to-old age for men.
1. Go impeccable silver-smart (eg Alan Hollinghurst) with the occasional fedora;
2. Go spectacular nightmare bum (Kiff Richards, see one of your earlier posts).
Failing those, join one of the armed forces for a decent uniform.
But what do I know? As I get older I would prefer choice 1 but don't have the money, so it's down to 2 or 3.
Trouble is, I will still be an old man.
I'd very much like to hear his perspective, I think it's a wonderful idea.
Hear! Hear! to all the above.
Sure, I love to hear his point of view.
Fantastic! The man I need to dress has a decent uniform courtesy of the military, but he can't wear that all of the time.
This is would be a wonderful addition to a witty blog.
In French we refer to "un vieux beau" with some of the same connotation as "mutton dressed as lamb" in English.
Lovely idea!
It sounds like a great idea. I'm increasingly of the view that actually far more exciting things are happening in men's fashion.
For me, searching for work wear that is serious, professional, flattering and will help me be taken seriously in a seriously boys-own environment, I often find men's wear far more inspirational.
In good quality men's wear, the fabrics are delicious, textures and patterns are interesting and tailoring is paramount. All this is a far cry from some of the complete craziness to be found in directional women's wear.
Unfortunately,here in America, the dress code has deteriorated toa very sad state of affairs.
Not interested ? ? ?
Bring that man over here!
I'm a man who likes to dress well, for my own enjyment, and I wonder how women respond to a well-dressed man. Is it important?
This is a great idea. I used to check out/read The Sartorialist for info on menswear, but he's now gone to mostly women's wear, so theres definitely room and interest for this. Tell him....we're interested!
anon 3:13...speaking for myself, I can say I adore a well turned out man. There's just something so great and even inspiring about that for me as a woman since I dig alot of menswear looks for myself, but also on the man! ;?) I'd say it IS very important, but as anon :03 pointed out, us Yankee girls rarely get the chance to test out the theory.
I'm sure American women most of all would just stop and drop if men just suddenly decided to be dapper....drop in a good way!
Anon@3:13, in the immortal words of ZZ Top, "Every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man."
Oh gawd yes please. My ex-academic engineer scruffy husband is now 40 and a freelance consultant and can't figure out how to dress himself. He's constantly moaning that the high street is either teen-wear or granddad-wear.
That is indeed a very feeble excuse. Would love to get the male perspective!
Believe me, I have a whole long list of e-mail recipients who will get links to the columns. If they won't listen to me, maybe they'll listen to a fellow XY-er...
Would love to see some focus on men and clothes, since men can be thoughtful dressers, too. I love this blog because, as a male, it confirms why I love clothes. I used to think myself strange getting enjoyment from clothes, but I now understand the complexity of clothes and why many people enjoy them, too.
No, not interested. Men have enough space in the newspapers without giving them any more. And there's no point passing on any fashion tips to my husband. If it's blue, navy or neutral and you can get it in M&S within a space of ten mins preferably without trying it on, he'll buy two of each.
Geri
I would love to see a few posts once in a while from a well-dressed gentleman! My husband and I have been trying to build an elegant but interesting look for him, with little success so far - men's style can be so boring sometimes. I'd love to see a fresh perspective on dressing well.
With regard to mutton dressed as lamb.. I read this in some book (can't remember which) but I'd rather be mutton. Mutton has lived and survived. Lamb gets eaten.
As to the male aesthetic. Bring it on.
God absolutely...
George S has sent me over here, I wrote the huge bestselling novel ;) Strides a few years ago, featuring a romantic lead who is obsessed with his trousers and other associated matters. But he was in his young twenties, so that was okay, after a fashion.
Here are some obvious rules and basics:
1. Don't go out without a belt. It's wrong.
2. Trainers with suits a la Paul McCartney: no.
3. Clam diggers: no. Clam diggers with thin white trainers: no encore.
4. Hair: don't copy Paul Weller or put ironmongery into it unless you are Keith. Everything else is okay except for jet black dye. You're fooling no one.
5. Buy your white shirts from Agnes B. They are the best by a good distance.
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