Go ahead. Match the color of your belt with that of your shoes. Button-up your cuffs. Make sure your tie knot is perfectly symmetrical; perfectly centered; and the tip of your tie perfectly reaches the middle of your belt buckle. And while you’re at it, make sure your shoes are perfectly strapped-up/laced-up too. With all the work you put into making sure you look absolutely flawless, you just may have achieved the opposite. Sure, you may end up looking like one of the models in an Esquire. But therein lies the problem. You look like you are supposed to – the way people expect a well dressed person to look. At that point, the clothes are wearing you – not the other way around. And that should never be the case.
Go ahead. Match the color of your belt with that of your shoes. Button-up your cuffs. Make sure your tie knot is perfectly symmetrical; perfectly centered; and the tip of your tie perfectly reaches the middle of your belt buckle. And while you’re at it, make sure your shoes are perfectly strapped-up/laced-up too. With all the work you put into making sure you look absolutely flawless, you just may have achieved the opposite. Sure, you may end up looking like one of the models in an Esquire. But therein lies the problem. You look like you are supposed to – the way people expect a well dressed person to look. At that point, the clothes are wearing you – not the other way around. And that should never be the case.
While fashion may seem predetermined and flashy at times, style is anything but. Style should exemplify effortlessness and subtlety. Sartorialists throughout include both virtues in their dressing. The best dressed always find ways to rebel against the pretentiousness of fashion, and project their dissent with confidence and ease. Style icon, actor, and Richmond native Warren Beatty (see: Siegel, Bugsy) was a master of such unaffected style. Long before it was cool to mix up the casual and quasi-formal, Beatty was wearing well tailored dress shirts under his hip-length leather jackets. Although such a mash-up could be considered a faux-pas, he took people’s focus off the clothes and put it on how well he was wearing them. So well, his flawless style and laissez-faire attitude landed him on Esquire’s list of the 75 best dressed people of all time (and more sex than a barrel of sexy monkeys).
Using the art of sprezzatura, great dressers make the unintentional seem intentional. And the imperfections seem perfect. It was Introduced to America (and most of the world) by Gianni Agnell – an italian industrialist considered by many to be the best dressed man of all time. He was often spotted with his necktie slightly off to the left, and his wrist watch worn over his shirt cuffs. Confident and unapologetic in his approach, Agnelli’s stylish peculiarities were his signature. He knew the etiquettes of neckwear. He just didn’t give a shit. And as long as the overall aesthetics of his impeccably tailored suit weren’t being compromised, he didn’t have to. Simply defined, sprezzatura is the art of nonchalance – of not caring by caring.
For those of you, like Agnelli, who believe in the tiniest details having the largest impact, that certain nonchalance must be everything at the core, and yet nothing on the surface. The art is to make all the calculated peculiarities of one’s style seem as less affected and uncontrived as possible. This sense of style isn’t incumbent on extreme fame and wealth. Carlos Ossandon, donning his signature pig tail and business-cool look can often be seen lecturing in the halls at J. Sarge. “I’ve always enjoyed experimenting and evolving with what I choose to wear”. Coupled with effortlessness and subtlety, evolving and experimenting is crucial to developing a good sense of style. Carlos doesn’t shop often – but he makes sure never to miss a good sale.
Carlos Ossandon. T-shirt sleeves rolled over the flannel shirt. Pig-tail. And a use of the breast pocket.
Fortunately for you, Richmond has some gold mines that can help cultivate your sense of style. Rumors on Harrison st. has an amazing selection of pieces bursting with personality. Mixing unique and casual articles of clothing into a conventional attire is a great way to experiment and evolve. The vintage stores in Carytown are also a good resource for finding interesting accessories to project your personality without trying too hard. Their selection of hats, ties and cufflinks, and leather can be used to dress-up or dress-down any look.
Keep in mind that there exists a fine line between nonchalance and sloppiness. One shouldn’t force subtleties to an extent that they become the focus of your image. A disheveled appearance should never substitute effortlessness – nor should seeming effortless take too much effort. Experiment. Evolve. Enjoy what you wear, by complimenting it with how you wear it. The beauty of such organized chaos depends on the balance between caring, and not caring. If the scale tips in either direction, the art is lost – along with any chance you had of landing a second date.
