“For me, a tuxedo is a way of life. When an invitation says black tie optional, it is always safer to wear black tie. My basic rules are to have shirt cuffs extended half an inch from the jacket sleeve. Trousers should break just above the shoe. Try not to sit down because it wrinkles the pants. If you have to sit, don’t cross your legs. Pocket handkerchiefs are optional, but I always wear one, usually orange, since orange is my favorite color. Shine your Mary Janes on the underside of a couch cushion.”
THE RULES
1. It takes two hands to put on a hat the right way: Back brim curled up, front tugged down to a couple of inches above the right brow.
2. Never wear brown at night. Never.
3. There’s no excuse for brown shoes past sundown.... Or white shoes. Or anything gray, unless it’s deep charcoal. Or blue, unless it’s midnight blue. In fact, let’s keep it simple: after dark, men should wear black.
4. Ties should be silk. And conservative.
5. Cuff links always. But leave the fancy jewelry to Sammy.
6. When dressing formally, a vest is better than a cummerbund.
7. Don’t wear a tuxedo on Sunday.
8. Having messy closets is like putting on clean clothes over dirty underwear.
9. The shower is a great place to steam out the wrinkles in your dinner jacket.
10. Orange is the happiest color.
11. Don’t hide your scars. They make you who you are.
12. When it comes to pockets, everything should have its own place.
13. A pocket handkerchief is essential, but it needs to be perfectly folded.
14. Shine your shoes.
15. Trim. Buff. Clean.
16. Take your hand off the suit, creep.
Adapted by Sinatra from The Way You Wear Your Hat, by Bill Zehme
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sinatra's Rules
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13 comments:
My favorite is #11. Don’t hide your scars. They make you who you are.
Sinatra was always well-turned out, but in my opinion does not rise to the level of style icon because his dress was too predictable and frankly boring.
At the same time, he is still one of my favorites because of his immense range: Musical theater like Guys and Dolls, serious acting like the Manchurian Candidate to New York New York lounge singer. His command of phrasing is yet to be matched... sigh.
Excellent! The brown shoe thing, I think it was George Gobel used to say something about the whole world was a tuxedo and he was a brown shoe. So right. You aren't getting away with anything by not learning to dress. Style counts. Made me miss barbershop shaves though--that was a part of the whole mystique!
Never a fan of his singing or his personal life, I can nonetheless appreciate Sinatra for his impeccable dress. His rules are a great place to start for our own guidelines.
#12 and #14? Absolutely. #10? Sorry, not a fan. I prefer pink.
In an informal environment, such as most of San Francisco, day or night, wherever you go, the rules about wearing black at night are just rules. Black often is exceedingly boring and if I don't need to wear it, I don't, damn the rules. I want to look good, not proper. There is so much sartorial fussiness happening on the internet now. Feh.
I appreciate and totally respect Sanatra and his personal (more classic rules)but I feel since jeans have become a acceptable, even suitable aspect of night wear - why can't brown be more acceptable. By no means do I encourage a brown suit or solid brown anything, but a pair of brown shoes (wingtips, oxfords, etc)or hints of brown in clothes is no problem in my opinion - as long as it looks, flows, and feels great (casual occasions only).
"Try not to sit down because it wrinkles the pants?" What was that? And all that stuff about brown... I don't think there's much practical use for those rules...
No.3 ?
Indeed: never trust a man who wears grey shoes.
I simply can't agree with #13. It doesn't have to be so complex. Most handkerchiefs look great when you just put the whole thing, unfolded, in your hand, and - with your thumb and index finger - just lift it up, give it a shake, fix it with your hand and just put it in your pocket.
Thanks for posting this list; its such a great snapshot of fashion at the time. I do agree with most of the rules as well.
Indeeed.
Sinatra was and impeccable singer and dresser and every bit the style icon. Truly, one of the masters of the Twentieth century. Predictable? hardly. He was a class act that will not come along again in a hundred lifetimes.
Spot on. Unless possibly in very rural and remote environs, which Sinatra usually did not inhabit, brown at night is still not acceptable for the well-dressed man. F.S. definitely was such a man.
I am sending this to every guy I know and I'll be sending it twice to the unfashionable ones.
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