It is 6AM. I do not have a post written. Protests continue in Egypt. England is telling me that the neckties they have sent me are the wrong size and, according to my calendar, the highlight of the current waking cycle will be meeting some fellow Style Forum habitués for cocktails later. I find myself considering just starting with the cocktails and forgetting the rest of it.
Being the kind of day that it already is, I thought we might as well share this photo of one of the visiting dignitaries at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin wearing what appears to be a dark red dinner suit with belted trousers that, presumeably not coincidentally, matches the palette of the the woman by his side. I am not certain whether the trousers are the largest sin in this context though they are definitely in the running but if ever a photo has demonstrated the folly of attempting to dress to coordinate with the clothing of your date this one does.
Dressing to match your date is a no-no. 'Nuff said. Where are we meeting today anyway?
Photo: Brauer Photos fuer Mercedes-Benz
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21 comments:
That is all kinds of awful.
VB
Who are these people?
The guy looks as if he bought the suit from a thrift store.
Well that certainly is rough. How will you make it through, Will? Shall I tell you what my day will be like?
Just an opinion, but I think they should both go back home and start over.
His right sleeve - is it unbuttoned or are two buttons missing (sham buttonholes)?
Either way, Will, start with a double.
Question: I sometimes try to have an accent piece on my outfit match my date, most often the tie. For example, if my date is wearing a teal dress, is it so bad for me to wear a traditional black suit, white shirt, and have some amount of teal in the tie?
How about his lipstick?
Phillip, the trouble with that is that you obviously ould have had to plan it with here in advance, and that goes against the concept of not obviously thinking too much about your dress.
Compliment her by giving her a flower or other small gift rather than wearing a matching necktie.
Given the focus on Egypt you could have featured Anthony Eden again! Too soon?
Ghastly. Hideous. The best that can be said for his outfit is that it provides an example of how not to dress.
But at least he's taking his mother out someplace nice.
Remember Will, just have the barkeep hold the vermouth bottle near, but not too close, to the gin for 19 seconds.
As for the red outfitters, whoa.
Ah well..at least he's not wearing jogging pants and a tie. Some marks at least for having a bit of flair.
all i can say is that it could be worse...her hat could be yellow/lime green and his suit would be matching that...yep it could be worse..
Only real problem with the outfit the way I see it is the trousers. They are too low, too slim and, of course, "too" belted to be formal. If the trousers had a higher rise and were accompanied by a waistcoat to hide the braces, I wouldn't find any fault with the gentleman's outfit at all. (Maybe the shirt collar could be more formal, but that's nitpicking.) It's bold, sure, but when it works, bold needn't necessarily be a bad thing. This is a fashion week event after all, the man didn't wear this to the pub...
Quite right, but on the other hand: it's a *fashion* week, not a *style* week.
And as with most fashions, it is best forgotten.
I think this kind of thing makes life interesting. If everybody dressed like me or dressed like Will life would be pretty boring.
Let's all not look down our noses so easily at people who don't share our rarefied style standards. These folks look happy and they're not slobs. She obviously put on a hat to match him; he didn't match her. I don't know them but they might be the most engaging or clever or ethical people in Berlin right now for all we know. We should save criticism, even ad hominem, for matters really important to others, like politics!
How NOT to do the Bozo the clown look. I'm not a fan of these ultra short tight pants, jackets etc. but I will concede it looks quite stylish on certain folks that appear at venues like The Sartorialist but this is totally unredeemed by any hint of style, sprezzatura, je ne sais quoi, or anything else you care to name. It's Waldo in an ill fitting suit in an awful color
Interestingly, at least to me, is the fact that I have two DB tuxedos from the end of the 40's and the other from the beginning of the 60's (it is British built). Both have flat front (full-cut) trousers with belt loops. I wear braces with them, but I find it interesting that they were made that way. I wonder if the Duke of Windsor had them built similarly?
"It's Waldo in an ill fitting suit in an awful color"
Joe, that's what we needed!
And elegance, Sifis, is never boring. It's subtle. It's sober. You look at the man's face first, and think "wow, he looks good". Elegance is not about the clothes, or the matching, or even the rules for that matter. It's about the thought you put into your appearance, and the harmony you achieve.
Frankly, "bold" is boring. I'm bored to tears with bold. Show me some real boldness, and I'll bet he's wearing a charcoal gray suit and brown shoes.
I find most of the combinations Will, and others post actually rather exciting. But I don't own a red tux, so what do I know.
Well, the man looks very confident with what he is wearing. If you look confident and at ease in, say, some of the crazy stuff Tommy Nutter cut in 70s, then by all means you are to be congratulated. The more exotic the outfit the more difficult it is to maintain an elegant bearing, of course. But the gentleman of the picture has been treated very unfairly by most commenters in my humble opinion.
What I have had enough of, quite frankly, is sloppiness. If people were to walk out their doors every morning trying "to do the BOZO the clown look," I would tip my hat to them because at least they're dressing up, not walking around town in sweatpants and flip-flops (which should be criminalized by the way). The Internet is full of criticisms on people's outfits, and not just celebrities, the Sartorialist leading the way, real people are championed as sartorial models (and this is one such blog). It ranges from "oh, the overcheck of his Glenurquhart check tie could be better coordinated with the rest of his outfit" to "What the heck is this clown doing walking around looking like that?" And it's all wrong. I think we should reserve our criticism for the Crocs-wearing slovenly crowd, the people who walk around in their underwear (for that is precisely what a T-Shirt and shorts ensemble is).
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