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Currently, we have a discussion board topic on your favorite Spring Styles.  We would enjoy hearing from you, having you post pictures and show everyone how stylish you are.

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Style versus Fashion

Style and Fashion are not interchangeable words, as is the missperception.  In fact there is a stark difference between style and fashion. John Fairchild is quoted as saying: "Style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. Fashion is something that comes after style." I have always seen Fashion as an ever changing ebb and flow of clothes, cuts and colors driven by high paid designers with a new jacket, shirt, shoe, fabric or color to push onto consumers each and every season. Fashion is the devil popularizes a style turning it mainstream, profitable and a caricature of its origin.

Style, when done properly, is timeless, genuine and borderless, essentially the polar opposite of Fashion. Style is often a personal expression of clothes, accessories and demeanor. It can not be emphasized enough, style is deeper than just the clothes, it embodies one's personality, attitude and characteristics. Style is about how a man wears his clothes, letting his inner self define the clothes rather than the clothes define the man.

Fashion is about wearing a new trend, a hot designer or a popular outfit because the people around will see you in a certain way. A perception that by wearing the same Gucci designer jacket that is all the rage, the world will think you're cool, smart and hip.

Style on the other hand is about owning and personalizing the clothes. It is about how you feel in the clothes find a personal voice and expressing it with the overall look. Style is more than just one trendy outfit or popular pair of jeans, but instead the overall look, day in and day out. A personal style is expressed in the moments of casual relaxation as well as the formal attire.

 
This concept is crucial to understanding style and defining your own personal style. Style is as much about how you wear your jeans as it is about how you wear your suit, or don't wear your suit. Style is an expression of self.

Think of Steve McQueen, a man that exudes style, he had his own look that was timeless and classic, yet quite personal.  He wore a suit with the best of them, classically fitted and tailored, but with his own twists, like a pocket watch with the vest and blue tinted sunglasses. Not everyman can own these choices with the confidence that McQueen does, because for him, they are genuine choices. When McQueen is seen riding his motorcycle it is often with khakis and a sweatshirt, not your typical bikers wardrobe. Yet, at no point does it look incongruous, because it fit his style, his personality and his demeanor.

To look at the other end of the spectrum, Kurt Cobain was the leader of plaid wearing teens. Kurt Cobain exuded style while being as far from fashion as possible. Cobain didn't set out to create the grunge movement and the fashionable assault that followed, he was instead just expressing his personality, wearing what he felt comfortable with. Due to his genuine and immense charisma, style and attitude others emulated him with considerably less aptitude.  Sticking with his personal style Cobain never wore a suit, a tuxedo or anything nearly that formal. It was not him and doing so would have compromised who he was. His style would not allow for it.

Learn from the best: Be stylish, not fashionable.

Benjamin Bixby

Andre Benjamin, aka Andre 3000, has his own clothing line that he designs.  Said clothing like is named Benjamin Bixby, sold in Bloomingdales & at the flagship store in Atlanta.  It would make the most sense that the ATL would be home of the flagship store, since it is Andre Benjamin's home town.

Benjamin Bixby is a line with it roots in Southern Gentlemen style mixed with old fashioned classics.  The Bixby line has beautiful Linen suits, cardigans, and polos.  Some of the other pieces are more inspirational, but it certainly is a well thought out line of clothing.  It has a very unique and definite voice.  The clothing channels Andre Benjamin's own personal style.

I look forward to the release of the Fall 2009 line of clothing.  I would like to see how the line progresses.  I hope the line continues to look good.

Big Black Book - Fall 2009

It is finally out!  Esquire has released the Big Black Book Style Guide for Fall 2009, you can pick it up on newsstands at select locations or you can pick it up online.  It is the best style magazine that is released in the US.  They release one every season, which makes you just want more.  The articles and pictures are inspirational, providing ideas and styles that are worth copying and owning.

The articles in the Spring 2009 Big Black Book on Sprezzatura are amazing.  They encapsulate the idea perfectly and with immense style.  Like these inspirational styles.

Order the fall edition, it will be worth the $9.99. 

Wardrobe Essentials

The Top 10 Wardrobe Essentials for any man's closet:

• Gray Suit – The most versatile dress wear in the closet, the gray suit.  Make it a medium to dark 100% worsted wool suit from a top brand (Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Ben Silver, Brooks Brothers, J Crew), you will get the most use out of this suit.  This is the workhorse suit in the wardrobe as it is the most formal suit and the only suit appropriate for weddings, funerals and interviews.  This suit can be worn for business, a dinner party or a date.  Spend the money on this suit and it will benefit you tremendously.  Ideally, get this suit hand made and tailored specifically to you, if only one suit can be bespoke, this is one.

• Navy Blazer – A navy blazer is the uniform of the American male.  It can dressed up with a pair of slacks or dressed down with jeans and it will never look out of place.  A navy blazer may be most at home with a pair of khakis and a button down shirt, few outfits have more classical appeal.  The blazer is as American as apple pie and Pabst Blue Ribbon.  Buy one with a modern slim fit, add some gold or brass buttons and you will look like an updated and hip Northeasterner who attended Warton or Harvard.  The blue blazer is the best jacket to wear with a dress shirt and tie during the day and a simple t-shirt at night.  Make sure it is well made, because you will be wearing it a lot.

• Blue Oxford Shirt – Another quintessential piece of the American wardrobe.  The blue oxford shirt has been worn by the best dressed in America for as long as anyone can remember.  The Oxford shirt comes in many types, and while I would recommend one of each, at least have a nice one ready when you need it.  Dressed up or dressed down the Oxford is shirt for all occasions, except the most formal and somber.

• White Pin-Point Collar Shirt – If the Gray suit is the workhorse of the suits then the white dress shirt is the workhorse of the shirts.  This shirt is the most formal of all the dress shirts, appropriate for every occasion, with a tie or not a white dress shirt is never a bad choice.  It looks stunning under any suit or alone with jeans during the summer.  Many a great wardrobe was compiled with the idiom: “You can never have too many good white shirts”.

• Dark Denim Jeans – Straight or Slim cut clean, simple, dark denim jeans.  They are simple, versatile, classic and always popular.  Every wardrobe needs one pair of clean dark jeans.  Avoid the fancy stitching, flashy pockets or complicated designs, the simpler the jeans the better, in this case minimalism goes a long way.  Your closet should have multiple types of jeans, but these should be the first pair you buy.

• Chinos – Every man should own a few pairs of these pants.  Whether fixing the car in the garage or worn to work on a more casual day, chinos always look sharp.  They are great for a casual coffee date and are the uniform of weekend trips.  Chinos are easy to wear, last forever, always look good and are never out of place.  They can be worn with a t-shirt, a polo, a button down or a blazer.  Match them with dress shoes or Chuck Taylors, chinos always look good.  Make sure they are a modern slim fit and a durable material, cause they will be worn until they are frayed and stained and then worn some more.

• Gray V-Neck Sweater – Stick with a light gray V-Neck Sweater, at first, since it is the most universal and will go with any color.  The V-Neck can be worn over a shirt and tie for cold days in the winter or over a t-shirt and jeans for a night out.  It can be thrown on with shorts for a night at the beach or chinos and a polo for a Sunday brunch.  As you expand the wardrobe continue to add more colors of the V-Neck Sweater, but keep them plain to start.  Plain sweaters are more useful as they can be matched with anything in the closet, only have you have every color and in cable knit version should you expand to limiting designs like argyle & striped.

• Black Cap-Toe Oxfords – This is most formal shoe you can own.  It works with every suit made and is the only option for somber events, interviews and weddings.  Keep them polished and in good condition because you will be in these shoes more than your car.  Make sure the shoes are Oxfords, not bluchers, have a simple, clean and sleek design.  These shoes must have wooden soles that can be replaced and simple laces.  These are serious shoes worn with serious suits and should look the part.  Also, for the sake of all things stylish make sure they have a rounded toe and are made from real leather.  With as wear as these shoes will get, paying a little bit more for them is certainly worth the money.

• Brown Leather Boots – Good quality leather boots will keep your feet dry and be the perfect solution for situations that the shoes make take some wear and tear.  Boots only get better with age and become more personalized as they take on wear and care.

• Timepiece – A man needs a timepiece beyond his cell phone.  Keep the watch simple, basic and well made.  Stick to silver band watches that can be worn with anything from a suit to jeans and a t-shirt.

• Solid Color Neckties – At first only a few solid color ties are all that are needed in the wardrobe, expansion from this point is certainly nice but is not needed until later.  One solid blue gabardine tie, one solid dark red wool or silk knit tie and one silk solid black or charcoal gray tie.