Personal Style

I spoke recently about the issues I have with advising people to apply sprezzatura to their work outfits and feel it is only correct that I now explain the times in which I feel "sprezzatura" is right and advisable. First off let me say that I don't really believe that any man should be advised to use sprezzatura specifically, the idea of sprezzatura has become so widespread that anybody seen adopting it now will be immediately spotted by anybody who has ever read a mens style blog and the overriding opinion will be that you are trying too hard. However, in terms of nonchalant style, dressing in your own manner and not caring about how "put together" your look is, are the bedrocks of personal style. If you have a tendency to throw things together in a sprezzatura fashion and leave the house without a glance at the mirror and yet still find people complimenting your style, go with that. If you need two hours and several differently angled mirrors to get your look absolutely perfect, go with that, that's you. For myself, I do not like any look to appear contrived, by which I mean I don't ever wish to appear that I am trying to look a certain way. I don't wish to be pidgeonholed. Whenever you see somebody walking down the street who has gravitated towards any trend (be it old or new) it takes away from the look. If someone is dressed in leather jacket and torn jeans with converse trainers, they look like a Ramones fan who has tried hard to copy their look, if they are wearing a grey t shirt with lots of necklaces and bracelets in leather and silver and wearing black spectacles with long hair, they have attempted the Bohemian look.

   The only person who should dress like 

Johnny Depp, is Johnny Depp

I believe that whenever you see somebody who has clearly attempted these styles, it takes away from the look itself. No matter how cool the look itself is, the fact that the person has flat out copied somebody elses style takes away from the whole aspect. Here then, is my point, when you dress in the morning, dress for yourself. Wear only what you think looks good and what you feel comfortable in. Do not try to dress like somebody else, try to dress like yourself. If you have to be told to dress in a sprezzatura style, then that look is not for you. The fellows who have made that look their own, are the ones who did it naturally, without being told to.

  I promise you no-one told Gianna Agnelli to 

wear hiking boots with a suit.

That is all him.

For me, it took a long time to come to an idea of my own personal style and unless you are already there, it won't happen overnight for you either. I grew up following fashions and trends like most teenage boys but my Father always had a great eye for style and it was he who first introduced me to the concept of personal style. He followed a very classic look of English style suits but added his personal twist by using very heavy wool fabrics pinstriped in bright, unusual colours. One of his favourite suits is a beautiful brown wool with a bright red pinstripe worn with a white shirt and red silk tie. The look is very striking and yet looks perfectly smart and traditional, my Father had used his own sense of style and he looks great for it. From there he moved onto a more casual look as he got older and retired, he was the first person I saw wear jeans with a tweed jacket and white shirt (in England anyway) and his only change since then is to add bespoke waistcoats underneath the tweed jackets, in the same material. It is another striking look and utterly personal to him. He never dresses like anybody else but instead forges his own path. He gets many compliments on his great style and has been photographed several times walking about london for fashion blogs. My own style has been much influenced by my Father and perhaps the only real difference is that I will wear far bolder colours than he will. At the office my tendency is to wear subdued suits with brightly coloured shirts and a subdued tie, wearing the shirt in bright colours with other subdued items allows the shirt to be the focal point of my look, rather than being an overbearing mix of patterns and colours. Perhaps the closest look I have seen in the celebrity world is worn by Ozwald Boateng on occasion.

A similar visual structure to the way I dress, though I tend towards knit ties rather than the skinny variety, of which I am not a fan.

I have also gravitated towards a rather old fashioned style of jacket, in that my preferred cut is a three button with a very high closing, leaving only a small part of the shirt and tie left visible when closed. A call back to my early teen years in which I was a huge fan of Mods and their music. I like to play with colours but for the most part my style is fairly traditional, my only particularly outgoing characteristics are my brightly coloured shirts and I have a tendency towards brightly coloured shoes (when dressed casually). As far as I am concerned it is important to stay true to yourself, only make quirks to your clothing if they feel natural and feel personally correct. If you naturally like to have your clothes in pristine order with not a cord out of place, forcing yourself into an unstructured look because it appears fashionable or you are told it is stylish is wrong, for you and for anybody looking at your clothes. Confidence is key in all things and especially in clothes, if you aren't confident, your embarrassment or discomfort will shine like a beacon expsoing you to all who look upon you. If you dress naturally, wear the things you like in the manner that you like them, your comfort and confidence will shine just as bright. Dress for you, not for someone you have never met who told you how to dress on the internet or in a magazine.

You better believe Andreas Kronthaler does not consider your opionion

when he gets dressed in the morning.