Your Personality, Your Watch(es)

This represents a portion of my collection; I must say that a watch can make an otherwise mediocre outfit. Those who have been tuning into my blog know of my penchant for Italian style. Italian men are the style world's pre-eminent watch accessorizers. Adding a big, bulky Swiss-Made watch to an outfit adds a powerful punch and catches the eyes of onlookers, regardless of shortcomings in other aspects of your ensemble.

Italians set the standard of a "watch wardrobe" by owning a daytime, evening, and weekend watch to dress-up (or down) other aspects of an outfit. One thing about watches is that they represent one of the more acceptable types of male jewelry, and can make for a powerful accessory for those who are not interested in rings, bracelets and necklaces.

Ideally, those who appear at varied social venues actually need different watches in their wardrobe. I love James Bond, but a diving or sport watch is really not fit to wear at a black-tie event. Poor James wears the same gadget-laden watch on every occasion, and we forgive him on account of the fact that... well... he's James Bond. For those who are not suave secret super-agents, a slimmer, dressier watch is required for evening wear just as one wouldn't wear a wafer-thin platinum watch with crocodile band to the beach.

The best and most desired watches have historically been Swiss or German-made, and can get quite expensive. Those on a budget can find excellent Swiss made watches by Zodiac (see bottom photo) for much less coin than other Swiss watches, but still full of aesthetic appeal (most Zodiacs, including this "Sea Dragon" chronograph, are under $300).

Remember: don't be afraid to go big and chunky, as long as the watch is HOT!

Until next time... Cheers!

-Paul

Standing in for a Necktie

This look is a staple for any man, and I implore you to get comfortable with this look so that you can pull it off with finesse. The look is a cornerstone to minimalism and looks great on any man of style. Let your pocket square stand in for your tie. There are a number of reasons for going sans-necktie; one is the season, and this is a winning spring look. Also, when going to cocktail parties that require a smidgeon of elegance, this look works great. After work dinners (or drinks), casual Fridays... the list goes on. It works.

Try it with jeans, khakis, a suit, odd pants... a navy blazer is a great building block (the navy blazer alone is a wardrobe staple) for this look. Choose a pocket square that compliments your shirt: is this case, both the blue and pink stripes in this shirt are echoed in the pocket square. With a suit, let the pocket square grab the color of a pinstripe or pattern in the suit fabric.

A crisp collar that stands well on its own delivers the appropriate heir of formality to the look. There's really not much needed in the way of instruction: only experimentation, which I will leave to you, my friends. Until next time,

Cheers!

Paul

Suede Shoes trancend Season

Hello again! Today we'll be talking about suede shoes. These used to be referred to as "reverse-calf", which means pretty much what it sounds like: calf leather turned around backwards. Today we call it suede, which sounds oh so much nicer.

The break away from polished leather being the only acceptable measure of shoe decorum in the United States occurred in 1924 during the International Polo matches at Long Island's Meadowbrook Country Club, worn by the beloved rule-breaker, the Prince of Wales.

After much hesitation from retailers and style scouts, not to mention ridicule, fashion arbiters pushed the shoe and by 1932, no well-dressed Brit could finish off a wardrobe without a pair of suede brogues.

The versatility of a suede shoe reigns supreme, being perfectly suited for lighter-shade spring attire and the texture being perfectly complimentary to heavier worsted wool and flannel suits during the winter. Go out and grab yourself a pair!

Cheers,

Paul

Moc Croc Rocks!

Pardon the slightly campy use of titling. It just worked. There is a growing population of sartorial enthusiasts that enjoy "breaking the rules" a bit when it comes to style. I've spoken before about my appreciation of the disheveled elegance so prominent in the Italian principle of sprezzatura, where thowing a little quirk into one's wardrobe by leaving something slightly askew adds to the overall effect of the ensemble.

The slightly "wrong" tie-length, for example, where the skinny blade of the necktie is slightly longer than the front blade... the unbuttoned collars on a button-down shirt... you get my drift. Well here, my friends, is one element of style, one rule that should not be broken. Your belt needs to match (or very closely match) your shoes. This is not really a negotiable rule.

I am a big fan of the clothing of Italian designer Domenico Vacca (http://www.domenicovacca.com/) and his penchant for crocodile (Aligator, actually, but the effect is the same) belts. For those of us without the means to stock our closets with crocodile skin, faux or "moc-croc" works just as well. Pictured is a belt by Trafalgar in cognac, which I wear with my Allen Edmonds Sanfords shown in an earlier post. I love the sophistication of this belt, and the light color is a nice attention grabber.

I have been slowly building upon my belt collection, but I wouldn't be surprised if more and more of them began to resemble the style of this one. I hope this helps. Keep the belts a-matchin'!

Cheers,

Paul