This week I borrowed a De la Soul double CD from my local library and listened to preview snippets of Mos Def songs from the i-Tunes store. My foray into rap and hip hop was prompted by a read of Know What I Mean?: Reflections on Hip Hop by Michael Eric Dyson.

It’s been a long time since I had a chance to take in De la Soul’s wit and charm. Revelations from Mos Def’s album The Ecstatic was brilliant (at least the 30 second segment I heard) and I think I may purchase it.

Onwards from Michael Eric Dyson, I found Born in The Bronx, a coffee table compendium of photographs and rare flyers documenting the birth of hip hop in the 1970s Bronx. there’s some great style on display in the book and I suggest you check it out if you have any inclination for an Old School Rap look or want to know more about the beginnings of a ground breaking and hugely influential musical movement.

In one photo I noticed a guy onstage in a short sleeved ribbed polo neck sweater with high waisted formal trousers and trainers. It’s a strong combination. Try the Full Circle Kruder black high neck sweater, brand new to Davicore. Cut the sleeves or just wear them long. You could add a thin gold chain too, over the polo neck.

Also try baggy white jeans or these flattering Mish Mash loose fit jeans , with grafitti-esque detailing on the back pocket, tucked into cowboy boots if you feel bold, with a buttoned up shirt under a V-neck sweater. I love this Voi Jeans striped V-neck sweater , also just in. Finish off with a shiny leather jacket and, as an alternative to cowboy boots, high top trainers.

Many of the characters documented in Born in the Bronx combine a lightweight windcheater worn a quarter zipped up over a shirt with formal trousers, trainers and a cap. Davicore has a wide selection of zip up jackets in an array of styles and materials to suit all budgets. A good zip-up windcheater is one of those staple items that never dates. I love this Pepe Jeans version and this electric blue offering from Voi Jeans which has the added advantage of being machine washable. Take a leaf out of the old schoolers’ book and add a funky belt buckle with your horoscope sign, name or another word spelled out in brass. Subtle or flamboyant, it’s up to you.

Finally, don’t forget Davicore’s accessories department for a Do Denim trucker cap to complete these looks.

All together now: Yes Yes, Y’all, to the Beat Y’all…

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If you can, get your hands on a copy of The Gentleman’s Guide by Bernhard Roetzel  It’s a veritable styling treasure trove crammed with everything you need to know about effective dressing from the right length of shirt sleeve to which shoes to wear with which outfits and for what occasion. The Gentleman’s Guide also contains tonnes of history and other useful and interesting information including detailed accounts of men’s hat styles from the Trilby to the Borsalino.

A timeless and versatile classic

A navy blue blazer is a brilliant investment that never dates and can be worn in many different ways. According to Roetzel, classic blazers come with gilt or brass buttons and go with straight cut jeans, beige chinos, corduroy trousers and gray flannels. You could pair one with blue straight leg jeans and loafers for a strolling around in summer look. 

Red trousers aren’t just for yachts

The Gentleman’s Guide also has a great section on sporting life. OK, so you may not want to be seen in a full tweed shooting outfit but you can incorporate sporty details into your wardrobe to very good effect. For example, although Roetzel insists that red cotton trousers may only be worn by individuals who have crossed the Atlantic on a yacht, a pair of red straight leg jeans or trousers with this brand new addition to the Davicore catalogue will take you anywhere.

The golf look can be adapted

Don’t forget the traditional golf garb, which you can customise and adapt to suit your purposes. The Gentleman’s Guide handily breaks it down into key components including a polo shirt, tartan or checked trousers and a V-necked cardigan. Pick up a rainbow selection of polo shirts like this one by Voi jeans that comes in a brilliant range of colours. It’s on sale at the moment so you can get one in every shade. It goes really well with a V-neck cardigan and baggy or wide leg jeans.

And the winner is…

My favourite outfit in The Gentleman’s Guide is probably Le Look Anglais, a Gallic interpretation of English leisure wear. To look like an immaculately rumpled professor in a French film wear soft, turned up corduroy trousers with a round neck sweater. Under the sweater add a subtly patterned shirt. Finish off the look with brown lace up shoes and good quality wool socks.

Research, research, research

The Gentleman’s Guide is proof that doing your research and memorising traditional guidelines about what looks good with what and why will give you an edge. Once you know the basics you can break the rules and innovate. Remember last week’s suggestion that a passionate interest in something will imbue you with automatic style? How about becoming an expert on men’s shirt collars or different variations of formal shoes? The more you learn the more you’ll be able to pass on by modelling an immaculate dress sense that other people will want to know about.

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Paul Newman

Last weekend I watched Torn Curtain by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. It’s a lesser Hitchcock effort in my opinion albeit with strong moments like the scene in a theatre where a pirouetting ballerina spots physicist Michael Armstrong (Newman) and his fiancée Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews) in the audience as they’re making their escape from East Berlin.

I never paid Newman much attention as I always preferred Marlon Brando and James Dean. Researching this post though, I found myself impressed by his long record of humanitarian and philanthropic work and and his easy, all-American chic.

Reading about Paul Newman’s life and achievements confirmed to me that true panache requires commitment to values of some sort, a position, a moral code. Paul Newman and James Dean may have had wildly different passions and preoccupations but they both lived them to the full. And both men were, in their own ways, style icons.

I’m not suggesting you donate your entire pay check to charity but doing something you love to help others will dramatically up your chances of exuding flair and magnetism. Maybe you could channel your love of seventies police dramas into a fund-raising film-a-thon in your front room. Or become passionate about hyaenas and sponsor one. Use your natural talents and interests. Could your late night internet surfing habit translate into setting up a blog to inform and educate people about a particular issue, or to make them laugh? What about that sausage obsession? How about typing up your favourite sausage recipes and stapling them into handmade books to give out to strangers? You could document your efforts on video and become a You Tube star too. Rest assured that your enthusiasm and generosity will give you charisma that can’t be bought.

If you’re not up for any of that you could do a lot worse than copying Paul Newman’s pared down style. You can do your own research for ideas or check out this GQ shoot that recreated some of his best known images with a younger actor.

To get started try the following:

1. A short sleeved shirt with chinos or loose black jeans and loafers with ribbed white socks.

2. Fitted jeans with a denim shirt.

3. A wool V-neck sweater with a buttoned up shirt paired with chinos and plimsolls.

4. A plain, open-necked white shirt and fitted trousers

5. A cowboy hat and aviator sunglasses

To help you bring out your inner Butch Cassidy check out Davicore’s catalogue for most of the above items. Share your gifts with the world too if you can, and help make it a kinder place. Style excellence will follow naturally.

Aline

DISCLAIMER

Images are used for entertainment purposes only. If you own an image that appears on this blog and wish to have it removed please contact me at aline@aduriaud.com and I will do so immediately.

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This week, in between scouring the internet for inspiration, I read The Beautiful Fall by Alicia Drake, a dense but accessible account of the parallel careers and personal lives of legendary designers Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld.  Drake tracks Laurent’s and Lagerfeld’s immense contributions to fashion and style from the sixties to the present day, providing a rich account of the heady and often unforgiving Paris haute couture universe they helped to shape.

While I was well aware of Yves Saint Laurent’s talent I had no idea how innovative Karl Lagerfeld was, and is. According to Drake his working methods prefigured the use of mood boards  and melting pot influences from street wear to history to fine art to celebrity culture. He also meticulously created and recreated his public persona and brand through clothes, accessories and attitude. Love him or hate him he was a forerunner and architect of the mix and match, high low attitude to fashion, styling and celebrity image most of us take for granted today.

Full of compelling anecdotes and studded with larger than life style personages from muses to models to photographers to impressarios, The Beautiful Fall is a must-read for style junkies with a scholarly bent.

I also browsed through Modern Menswear by Hywel Davies, which profiles some of my favourite menswear designers including Rick Owens  and Bernhard Willhelm .  It’s a great resource for anyone who wants to get clued up on the aesthetics of contemporary male clothing without breaking the bank.

Inspired by my reading material and research I decided to present the Casual Dandy, one of my preferred looks for Spring. As building blocks I used some some favourite pieces from Davicore’s catalogue. Add or subtract as you wish.

 1. Start with a V-Neck cardigan.

I am a big fan of Nanny State’s clothes. I chose this simple and elegant black cardigan with sleeve detailing.  Or, keep it simple with their plain black cardigan.   The cardigan needs to be fitted and immaculately pressed.

 2. Add a jacket.

You want something with a Mod feel and a contemporary finish. Try this fantastic Firetrap Skylar jacket .  Its comfy shape and sophisticated wet look sheen give it a designer sportswear vibe that’s clever but not smug. It will carry you from the supermarket to an evening out and you can wear it with practically anything.

 3. Stir in some colour

Underneath the cardigan I recommend a crisp shirt in a bright shade like lemon yellow or citrus green.  Now add a neck scarf in a clashing shade. Try burgundy  with a yellow shirt or burnt orange (www.scarfworld.com) with a green one. A pattern will also work. Invent your own combinations. 

Or you could wear fingerless leather driving gloves .  Get rid of the scarf if you do as too many accessories will make it seem as though you’re trying too hard. You want this to look effortlessly eccentric, as though you just threw it together without thinking. 

 4. A pinch of luxury never hurts

Pull on a pair of excellent quality socks  for warmth and detail.

 5. And finally…

Finish the outfit with a pair of fitted new or vintage jeans, black for a pared down, sober statement and white or another pale shade if you want to stand out.

 To complete this look I recommend vintage style trainers, art school winklepickers or, for the ultimate contemporary dandy statement, tasselled preppie loafers or even monogrammed slip-on shoes. Check here (www.dandyism.com) for ideas. Each one will navigate the outfit into a particular direction so choose with care.

 If you’re crafty you could also customise a pair of plain slip on shoes or loafers  with studs, tassels or anything else.

I want to hear about your ideas too. Send ideas for your favourite unique looks incorporating items in the Davicore Store to aline@aduriaud.com

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