Style 101

Credit to The Sartorialist

Style, when it comes to one's overall appearance, is a very tricky thing. It’s almost like a mad scientist’s formula that, with the wrong ingredients or mixtures, can spell disaster. Wrong color pants? Dr. Frankenstein’s beast is biting off your fingers. Fugly shoes? Doc Brown has sent you back in time to make out with your mom. No swagger in your step? Dr. Jekyll and/or Mr. Hyde is violently removing your genitalia. But, if one’s keen eye can put together something respectable, something compelling, a diabolical scheme to take over the world (or at least the DM area) is concocted. Muahaha!

A friend of mine once said that fashion is something anybody can pick up, but style is timeless. Anyone can be into “fashion” if they purchase a Louis Vuitton scarf with the matching duffle or some Gucci loafers, but if they can’t put it together to make a “stylish” look, then what’s the point? Sure that is easy if you got the dough, but looking like utter shite is not what’s poppin’. Now don’t get me wrong, fashion is important, but you can tell when someone has a sense of style from a mile away WITHOUT knowing the label on the inside of their garments. Even if it is something you (i.e. straight males) don’t generally appreciate, there is an underlying understanding when someone has it down pat, like a “bro code”. Whether it’s a well-tailored suit with the perfect complimentary tie and pocket square, semi-casual workwear with a classic pair of Clarks, or just the Sunday uniform of a pair of jeans, a favorite t-shirt or flannel and some Vans, if it is well put together and the person exudes a sense of dignity in their look, it can generate enormous amounts of respect (and admirers). But, at the same time, let’s not lose focus that the overall conception of your style should be done for your own self-gratification. The effervescent and all-knowing Deion Sanders has a motto he lives by and I think everyone should do the same: “You look good, you feel good. You feel good, you play good. You play good, they pay good.” God damnit, Deion Sanders, no words could be wiser.

Over my next couple of posts, I will go into different styles and where you can look to accomplish them. I will be including everything from the classics like J. Crew, Clarks, and Ralph Lauren, to some more obscure brands (to Des Moines, at least), like Japanese powerhouse, Visvim, UK contemporary giant Garbstore, or NY skate/streetwear scene regulators, Supreme. Until then, get a headstart and learn up with a few of my favorite sites that give you the ABC’s and 123’s on fashion AND style, along with those common correlations to the industry (i.e. music, movies, designer’s backstories, etc.) because, let’s face it, style ain’t just about what you WEAR. It’s what you know, hear, see, etc…

http://www.hypebeast.com/ (everything about fashion and everything surrounding it)
http://www.inventorymagazine.com/ (good guys in Canada that know their shit)
http://www.streetetiquette.com/ (Two fashion & style-forward Yankees with great incite on what to buy without breaking the bank)
http://www.realmangojuice.com/ (D.C. stylings with a great mix of music and fashion)
http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ (the existential lookbook for style)