"Let's stop trying to be "cool" and dress like men - NOT boys!" - Mr. Darkwah
Men, let's not think that just because we're wearing a wide-scoop t-shirt with chinos and boat shoes of (for the younger ones) high-top white air force ones from Nike, that we're dressed up or doing well for "style".
Just because it's the one look that's been shoved down our throats, irrespective of the season and weather conditions does not mean it is how we should dress. There are too many things one can do with items they already have in their wardrobe and more so, without buying outrageously priced ripped t-shirts that if you set a rabid dog on, you'd achieve the same look and for free (albeit a bit wet).
Here, let's go through a few things we won't do that will surely help us in the long run to looking like "cool" (if one can use that word without sounding patronising) and well-turned-out men, young and old.
Let's not forget our age:
It's always nice to feel young and "fresh" in what you're wearing and we're all for freedom of expression here at La Clique but we cannot and will not condone the dressing up like teenage delinquents done by men clearly over the age of 21! What's more - we do not encourage such dressing amongst teenagers. Wearing your trousers well below your posterior is not a good look unless you are in a state penitentiary and the guards fear you may hang yourself. Do not do it! Too many times you will see a well-dressed man and as soon as he takes off his jacket or cardigan you discover his trousers (which, by the way are formal and belted) are halfway down his backside and creating an unsightly sag in the legs. I cannot stress how atrocious this manner of dressing is so if you have a merciful bone in your body, spare me and wear your trousers properly!
If you insist on having that "saggin' cos I'm packin'" look, try arc pants or pantalounes (more commonly known as drop-crotches). They keep you looking clean and yet maintain an air of "street mean" .
You bathe - make sure people know it! :
There seems to be an obsession amongst all men who are trying to be "trendy" to see who can look the least bathed and most bacteria-infected. If you are looking in the mirror at a man in a ripped t-shirt teamed with ripped jeans, scuffed shoes or, even worse, torn trainers with a cardigan that looks like it survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a beanie hat with scraggly bits of thread on it - stop and think very hard about what you're doing. Why look as though you had to sleep on the underground or metro (whatever you may call it) when you can achieve the same look without that "homeless edge" about it?
Simply team a pair of skinny jeans with a large sweater (cowl or crew neck - your choice) and a beanie hat. Fingerless gloves can be used to add more of the "grungy" feeling to the outfit. Combine these with worker boots or, my personal favourites, Doc Marten's and a large duffle bag (similarly coloured for that urban, city-android feel) and you're all set! No mention of ripping, tearing, going at clothes with a cheese grater - it's all don't and everything is still intact! For such an outfit to work to its best effect, let the base of your outfit (the t-shirt) be a crisp white and the rest of it varying shades of grey with splashes of black.
Ad Campaigns and runways are just that! Leave them be! :
We often forget that seeing an advertisement or a runway show that were we to dress in such a fashion in actuality, more than just a scene would be caused. The runway is a model for us to go on and water down with our own personal style - our flair. Please do not fall into the trap of feeling that lest you have the whole outfit from the runway, you cannot be seen out. If the runway shows and ad campaigns were the be all, end all, surely clothes would be free and we would all wear exactly the same thing in the same way and live as uniformed androids in a city run by high fashion? (A little farfetched, I know but I had to put across my point, didn't I?) Always mix up a look. The last thing you want to do is look like a double of the H&M poster at the bus stop when waiting for your bus to arrive.
I don't expect you to wear the outfits I suggested exactly as I did, I just wanted you all to know that there are many ways of wearing one thing or achieving a look! Try it for yourself, you might be surprised at the results!
Until next time!
Ciao Belissimi!
Mr. Darkwah
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