We can learn so much from yesterday’s fashion icons. And living in a post-Mad Men world means we can even enjoy aspects of current male fashions! Every Friday, I’d like to start your weekend off right with a little style inspiration from either then or now. Hopefully, my fellow Mod enthusiasts will find the whole or some detail of the whole to appreciate and maybe even adopt.
There's a lot we can take from fashions and styles that aren't necessarily 'MOD!' Often, I see guys out there pullin' out the works and I'm not afraid to learn from them. A lot of Moddishly-oriented guys should take some cues from other stylish looks out there as well. After all, as Kevin Pearce wrote in Something Beginning with 'O' (1993), "Mods were magpies. They took the best from wherever..."
Take a look at the dapper happening right here with this gentleman, one Theodore Crispino:
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| Photo by Sarah Slobada at http://sarahsloboda.com/.* |
Beautiful, muted browns with a waistcoat that reinforces the motif and a red/purple/orange paisley tie to complement the whole ensemble. Imagine how well you'd stick out walking around a club in a similar outfit amidst a sea of black suits and parkas. Sting would have nothin' on you! Another thing I like about this fellow's suit is the lapel peak. It just adds to the overall clean, 'sharp' vibe of the whole look. And the surgeon's cuffs... nice bespoke detailing to complete the image.
I understand many guys out there dig the simple, but classy black suit look. However, if you're going to go that route then you need to nice up the details. You can't just show up in an off-the-rack black suit, white shirt, black tie without making sure the shirt, jacket, or tie has some sharp detailing or, better yet, some bespokeness to it. Otherwise you're lookin' straight up Reservoir Mod. And a bland one at that.
My overall advice if you're going the black & white route: add a dash of color somewhere, either with the tie, a pocket square, or, heck, your socks. But even better, invest in some new suit colors!
*Sarah kindly granted me permission to use this photo so I encourage you to visit her site and blog, particularly this post for more shots of cool: http://sarahsloboda.com/2011/06/suited-up/
*Sarah kindly granted me permission to use this photo so I encourage you to visit her site and blog, particularly this post for more shots of cool: http://sarahsloboda.com/2011/06/suited-up/
A very well-dressed fellow once remarked to me that black suits were only for funerals and chauffeurs. I've heeded his words ever since.
ReplyDeleteReservoir mod! I forgot how bad those suits were, HK's balloon pants are cracking me up! Men's wearhouse-waiter-prom rental poly blend suits need to stop! Keep up the good fight dear sir!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a really young Mod and still living at home my Dad would often remark "where are you going looking like an undertaker?". Ha!
ReplyDeleteLove the undertaker/funeral comments! Too true!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ann!
In my older years I always avoided the black suit/tie white shirt thing lest I come off looking like The Jam. I always break up a black suit with either a deferent color shirt with matching socks or if it is a white shirt I make sure the tie is very loud. Once again I'm loving this blog Carlos!
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