As I continue to reflect on the convergence of sustainability, finance, style, menswear and womenswear, I am increasingly led to the works of writers and commentators on classic menswear. There are fabulous blogs covering the tradition, relevance and sustainability of a classic approach to men’s style – just to name a few,
Permanent Style @permanentstylelondon
Grey Fox @greyfoxblog
Gentleman’s Gazette @gentlemansgazette
Hogtown Rake plus a great podcast, Unbuttoned @thehogtownrake
and there are wonderful books that I’ve been working my way through, both older classics found in the library and recent publications. Here are a few of note,
True Style – Bruce G. Boyer (he has a number of others all sadly out of stock online and not available through the library)
The Parisian Gentleman – Hugo Jacomet (and it’s companion The Italian Gentleman)
Dressing the Man: Mastering the art of permanent fashion – Alan Flusser
And it is the latter, Dressing the Man, where I’ve found a few solid learnings for women who may be looking to take a less traditionally feminine approach to dressing. Admittedly, this approach is not for those who might shy away from anything not viewed as traditionally female (though I might argue that the more masculine the approach, the more feminine the effect), those who love to shop and stay ‘on trend’, and certainly not for anyone for whom an overt sexiness is essential to their personal brand. Full disclosure, I’ve basically described myself as the contrarian figure here – no longer attracted to what’s currently on offer in the ever-changing world of womenswear (except in the summer where I take full advantage of the summer shirtwaist, sheath and caftan), never, and I mean never want to wear pantyhose or heels again (though will bend in a pinch to appease relatives over 80 years of age), want to spend as little time as possible shopping, and really could care less about pop culture notions of sexiness. Over and above all of that, the issue of sustainability, waste, pollution, carbon – these haunt my thoughts, and I want to play my part in not contributing to the madness.
Back to Mr. Flusser the erudite menswear writer turned tailor, and his wonderful, beautifully written compendium on the elements of classic men style, and my take on what his teachings might mean for women like me, and possibly you.
Here are a few bon mots with some reflections from me:
“Fashion should be accountable to a specific set of physical trademarks and not to some random, seasonally served-up set of fashion flashes.”
That’s a bit opaque but I think it links to a Flusser fundamental principle that your wardrobe should be built around the colours that suit your hair and complexion, and proportions that accentuate your assets and hide your less than perfect bits. For example, small collars make a large head appear larger. This is the sort of knowledge a tailor has but, unless I’ve been living under a rock, I’ve never heard this relative to men or women’s wear. I’m not sure this kind of discussion is in the realm of women’s wear because they (retailers) really just want us to buy anything that fits our fancy as opposed to what is necessarily right for our structure.
“Close-fitting clothes reveal more than they conceal. There is nothing like the look of a stuffed sausage to call attention to a man’s heft.”
Not mincing words here, but the solution is straightforward though counter-intuitive to everything we understand about the way most men wear their clothes, and certainly to the way women’s clothes are cut. Flusser adds,
“The man with a prominent middle needs trousers that hang straight from the waist.”
More of a ’40s approach where trousers were loose for both sexes. I couldn’t have articulated why this style works for me, other than for comfort, but it does explain why I lean towards wearing men’s trousers and jeans, and why I have bought multiple versions of pleated pants from Uniqlo – the first retailer in a long time that offers a variety of trouser styles for women. Add to that, trousers should sit at the natural waist because it elongates the front. Makes sense – legs appear longer.
On jackets and particularly the role of vents:
“… a man’s hand is in search of a jacket or trouser pocket, at the slightest tug the single vent pulls open like a garage door, revealing what it should be covering.” Whereas, side vents ‘allows the back flap to move away, minimizing creasing, comfortably covering the rear.”
The real issue here is that for some bizarre reason women’s jackets are cut to reveal our butts. I don’t get it but there you have it. I think the numbers of great butts are roughly the same across genders – men’s jackets almost exclusively cover theirs, and women’s almost exclusively don’t. What kind of sexist nonsense is that? I would like the same privilege in this capacity as a man – keep ’em guessing, I say.
And finally,
“Real innovation has always taken place with an awareness of, rather than ignorance of the rules.”
We really don’t have any rules in womenswear any longer. Anything goes. The choice is endless and we are sold a story of empowerment. I think we are caught up in a downward spiral of consumption and excess and beyond the waste of money, time and resources, you have to ask yourself – have we made any progress? Are we better-dressed and more comfortable? Do we worry less and spend less time on our appearance? Are we sacrificing our personal and planet resources in a race to keep pace with the expectation that staying on trend will help us stay young, relevant and even desirable?
I highly recommend Flusser’s entertaining book, and the photos are terrific. That said, if the idea of reshaping your wardrobe into something more akin to a man’s closet is just going too far, have a look at my review of The Lost Art of Dress which takes you on a journey through 20th century approaches to women’s wear when appropriate, sensible, comfortable and thrift was successfully applied to the female wardrobe.
The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish, Linda Przybyszewski
THE GREAT WOMAN 