Style Profile - Paul Newman

Paul Newman was the king of a sophisticated style.  He was able to cross from weekend casual to suit & tie and then to motorcycle and car racing without a problem.  He was always very masculine in everything he wore and looked good into his old age.  He was still looked genuine in rugged weekend wear as much as anything else he wore.  Newman's style was classic, male and based on utilizing basic building blocks to make a strong overall wardrobe.

 

He had classically tailored suits, well made boots, utilitarian peacoats and dock appropriate topsiders.  Newman wore the right stylistic elements when they were supposed to be worn.  He never looked out of place or like he tried too hard to find the right outfit.  Everything fit well together, since it was built on basic essentials that every wardrobe should be built around.  He wore white oxford shirts, navy blue ties, rugged work coats, navy double breasted suits and weekend chinos.  And he wore each item when they were supposed to be worn.  He never made the outfits work too hard to fit in.  Essentially he wore the clothes, he never let the clothes wear him.

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.

The Art of Color - What Colors Go Well Together

Picking which colors go well together is much easier than most people think. The key to choosing the right colors for the right occasions is all about the color wheel. If you imagine the color wheel when you are picking out the colors of your outfit you will have no problem making sure your outfit matches and the colors all go well together. With suits and most men’s clothes sticking to solid color ties and solid color suits makes it that much easier to play around with color matching. Color matching with a lot of patterns is very difficult to do well and something I would not recommend.

A couple of basic rules: Gray & White are neutral colors. They go with any color in the rainbow. If in doubt wear a neutral shirt (white) or neutral suit (gray). Brown shoes and Black shoes are both universal. They go with any color suit and any color combination. Personally I have my preferences with shoe color, but there is not a wrong choice. Also it must be noted that khaki pants & jeans in the fashion world are considered neutral colors, wear them with any colors and it will work well.

The most basic color match is to keep items within the same color family, but different shades. Wearing a navy blue suit a blue and gray tie and a light blue shirt will always work well. Wearing colors that are varying degrees of depth and darkness is considered a monochromatic look. This is a sophisticated and conservative look, but that is never a bad thing.

Looking at a color wheel you can see that each color has its opposite and complimentary color. Going around the circle the complimentary color is the one that is directly opposite it on the other side of the wheel. Purple is opposite yellow, blue is opposite orange, red is opposite green, etc. This is a simple complimentary color match and will always work in fashion. These color matches are often found in neck ties. Red and Green rep ties are quite common, as are blue and orange patterns. If you have a light blue shirt wear it with a dark orange tie and you will look very sharp. This also explains why light green and pink match so well.

Now looking at the color wheel, draw a balanced triangle in the color wheel and those three colors all match each other. Take for example: Blue, Yellow and Red. They form a basic color triangle that will match the colors well. This is why you can wear a navy blazer, a red pocket square and yellow tie with gray slacks or khakis and you will look great. Drawing the same triangle for any set of colors will result in an outfit that is very attractive without feeling like it was overly planned out and matchy.

Once you have mastered the color triangle you can make a two color match with any two colors at are connected by a side of the triangle. In the example above red and blue are connected with the base of the triangle. Those two colors are fantastic to match together. A blue shirt, a red knit tie and a double breasted navy jacket is one of the most classic and beautiful outfits a man can wear. I love that color combination for work and for a date. This will work with any side of the triangle as you rotate it around the color wheel. This is the reason blue and green work so well together.

Another color match is the wedge triangle, which is depicted above. In this case dark blue, maroon and yellow are all connected via the wedge. These three colors match well together and can have a great balance. As do any of the colors in a wedge triangle. Just like the basic color triangle you can match just two colors of a wedge triangle and wear those together. This is why maroon and navy blue are often found together in ties and shirts.

Martin + Osa - Another Shopping Option

I happened to stumble across a Martin + Osa store yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. From the outside looking in I expected a more expensive version of JCrew meets LL Bean, instead I found a fairly reasonably priced JCrew meets LL Bean. The prices are actually in line with JCrew and the clothes have their usefulness in the clutter that exists, some pieces were even downright affordable (like JCrew and other corporate store fronts).

I like the O-Ring Belts at Martin + Osa, a great look in a full leather belt. This would look great with chinos and jeans and a sport shirt. They often showed the look with a shirt underneath and sport shirt unbuttoned, which is a look that is great on manikins and horrible on humans, but aside from that those belts are a great addition to add some flair and uniqueness to a wardrobe.

The second items that stood out considerably was the casual jackets sold at the store. The fabrics used were not commonly seen in the colors shown and are great for odd jackets. The major bonus was the cuff buttons were working buttons, otherwise known as "surgeon cuffs" and typically only seen on really well tailored jackets. This was a nice touch and could help add sprezzatura to an outfit if left unbuttoned.

The last piece worth mentioning were the jeans, as they came in three useful cuts: Vintage Slim (preferred), Super Slim (only useful to super skinny guys) and Straight (preferred by men with extra girth). The jeans were reasonably priced $79 - $99, but aside from cut had no discernible advantages to any other pair of available jeans.

As a whole the store was nice to look at and had some bargains to be gained and unique pieces. It certainly has its place but will probably not be a favorite destination of mine, rather a way point when convenient.

Lastly, I will be out of town on business the next few days and will not be able to post. I will miss you all but promise to return with a vengeance next week, probably on Wednesday.

Navy Blue Blazer, American Made

Looking for a nice Navy Blue Blazer? Check out Anderson Little. They are an American company with an American made Navy Blazer for only $159 and free shipping. It is a classic navy blazer, with brass buttons and classic styling. Perfectly classic version of the essential blazer.

Anderson Little is an old school company with a long American history. The history is detailed on the website as:

Anderson-Little was founded in 1933 by Morris B. Anderson, and began as a manufacturer of fine men’s clothing in Fall River, Massachusetts, and pioneered the concept of “factory direct to you” following World War II, when it opened its factory showroom directly to the public, for retail sales.

Driven by the strength of this concept, by 1960 Anderson-Little had 11 retail outlets selling “factory direct to you” in Fall River, New Bedford, Providence, Hartford, Worcester, Springfield, New Haven, Bridgeport and other major markets in New England.

Stuart Anderson, Morris’ grandson, joined the management team after his graduation from the Wharton School of Finance. By 1966, this family business had grown to 40 outlets and had become one of the most recognizable brand names in New England, and the company was sold to Richman Brothers, a national chain headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

Certainly glad that we can still find well made inexpensive clothes that are made in the states. This looks like a good start.

Woolrich Buffalo Check

woolrich buffalo check by DandyFashioner

We should appreciate the American Classic buffalo check shirt from Woolrich. It is made in the US of A, makes you look tough and is beyond cool, if worn right. Wear it with some Red Wing boots, slim fit jeans (from Gap), a distressed brown belt and most importantly a long john shirt. Wear the buffalo check shirt over long sleeve long john shirt, roll up the sleeves and keep the long john sleeves pushed up but still showing. This is a great look.

You can even wear American Eagle's Buffalo Check, if you want to keep it cheap.

Hats the underrated accessory

As we have discussed, men are limited in their style accessories. Hats are completely underrated and under-utilized. At least in the well dressed crowd. Among the badly dressed hipsters, they are all too common. As a well dressed man, I encourage other well dressed men to wear hats, so we can take back the style. Make it ours again.

Wear hats, they look good come in various style and colors and designs, are truly vintage and something all the style greats wore. Find a couple you like and wear them. For the love of fashion please wear them.