Style From My Own Eye

I'm not a straight-up label whore, but I'm definitely more into style than your average straight guy. My mom was a model then a clothing store owner and my grandfather was a tailor, so I guess I didn't have much of a choice. I'd like to think I have a strong filter that helps me formulate my own views on style, but I'm not impervious to the constant cultural influences around me -- nobody is.

I got to thinking about this after reading Rob's 'Cultural Impact' post which talked about how Miami Vice either created or tipped many key style trends of the 80s. This is my conclusion after reading it: If I'm going to take style cues from pop culture, I'd rather take them from a crew of laconic badasses minding their own business than from five loquacious Queers eyeing me.

Put another way, I'd rather observe style than have it templated out for me. In a pop culture context, this means I get more style ideas out of watching Vice's Tubbs or Collateral's Vincent & Max than I ever would from watching some high-concept reality show on Bravo.

For example, look at this picture from Collateral -- Vincent in a tie-less suit and Max in a hoodie with a plain t-shirt. This is a definitive picture for me because it closely approximates my two lives: Not-quite-conforming businessman and not-quite-readable regular guy. On the leisure side, I tend to pair a more urban t-shirt with my hoodies, but I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that same t-shirt under a suit jacket. On the business side, I also wouldn't ever top the tie-less suit with a pair of $400 shades.

If you mix too many ideas, it doesn't make you stylish like the magazine spreads and style shows suggest. It makes you a jackass.

It's OK for chicks to rock multiple elements in a single get-up. But for guys, you can only have one or maybe two standout things going at once. That's why I'd never wear a trendy t-shirt, or even a pair of overpriced shades, with a nice suit jacket. It's too much.

The sunglasses thing is great example. It's OK -- stupid, but OK -- for a guy to wear a pair of $400 shades, but they better be dressed like Max in every other way ... nothing else can flash besides those shades or that guy will instantly reveal himself as a slightly richer version of the lost soul he was in college.

So while my style is influenced by pop culture just like the next guy, I try not to listen too hard. And if I am listening, I am checking out movies and shows rather than taking notes from reality TV and dog-earing magazine pages.

Because I'm convinced that style can't be taught. It can only be observed. The rest, you just have to let evolve naturally around your personality.