The Fundamentals of Style: An illustrated guide to dressing well

125 Pages·2012·3.23 MB·English

by  James Gallichio

The Fundamentals of Style: How to be a well-dressed man
By James Gallichio
Copyright 2012 James Gallichio

Kindle Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be
re-sold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not
purchase it, I’m not one to judge. However, if you enjoyed this book and found it
useful, please recommend it to a friend.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author
PREFACE
PART 1: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF STYLE
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: How do you want to look?
Finding your measurements
CHAPTER 2: Common Style Mistakes
Style Mistake #1: Wearing clothes that don’t fit
Style Mistake #2: Wearing clothes that don’t suit your body type
Style Mistake #3: Wearing worn out clothes
Style Mistake #4: Wearing bad dress shoes
Style Mistake #5: Wearing colours that don’t match your complexion
Style Mistake #6: Not matching colour to the occasion
Style Mistake #7: Wearing overly complicated clothes
Style Mistake #8: Wearing fad clothes
Style Mistake #9: Wearing clothes that don’t match your age
Chapter 3: How to shop
Before you leave the house
Choosing the right store
Once you’re inside
Talking to sales assistants
PART 2: THE BASIC WARDROBE
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: Jackets
Different formal jacket styles
How to tell if a formal jacket fits
Different ways to wear a formal jacket
Different elements in a formal jacket
An introduction to casual jackets
Different Casual Jacket Styles
How to tell if a casual jacket fits
Different ways to wear a casual jacket
CHAPTER 2: Coats
Different Coat Styles
How to tell if a coat fits
Different ways to wear coats
CHAPTER 3: Pants
Different Pant Cuts
Different Pant Styles
How to tell if pants fit
Different ways to wear pants
CHAPTER 4: Jumpers
Different knit types
Different jumper styles
How to tell if a jumper fits
Different ways to wear a jumper
CHAPTER 5: Shoes
Shoes, Part 1: Dress
Shoes, Part 2: Casual
Chapter 6: Boots
Good vs bad boots
Different boot styles
CHAPTER 7: Shirts
Dress shirts
TShirts
Chapter 8: What to do from here
MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR:
Preface
There are many books on the market about men’s style. You can go to any
bookstore and be greeted by 5 or so, all virtually identical, all promising a
definitive guide to dressing well.
What they don’t tell you, however, is that they mean to dress you in a very
specific way; the kind of style that looks great in the office or at a dinner party,
but little elsewhere.
What book is there that tells you how to have a cool, casual street style? What
book shows you how to roll the sleeves on a blazer, or how to layer a casual
jacket beneath a formal coat? For those who want a guide that skews away from
a very broad assertion of “how a man should look”, there is very little on offer.
Conservative styles have been developed over hundreds of years to effortlessly
flatter a man’s body. As such, men’s style books tend to believe that every man
who is learning about style should begin by dressing conservatively.
I agree wholeheartedly, with one simple caveat: aside from simply knowing the
rules, you should also know how to break them.
Once a man understands the fundamentals of style, he’ll often begin to feel quite
restricted. He’ll begin to crave deviation; to experiment with clothes in a way
that truly makes a statement. For some, this means honing a keen appreciation
for suits, ties, pocket squares and fine tailoring; for others, it means ditching a
corporate style and crafting something entirely unique.
This book is for men who want to find a style that suits them, rather than the
author. It addresses all of the same things as the aforementioned one-size-fits-all
books do – how to tell if things fit, how to discern between good and bad
clothes, how to put outfits together – but it is also non-judgemental. It focuses on
a wardrobe based around versatility. It focuses on the way you wear clothes and
how they affect the way you look. And above all, it focuses on helping you
choose clothes that can be worn in many different outfits as your style develops
over time.
There are no clear-cut rules on what the right clothes are for any specific man.
But this book aims to give you all the necessary tools to build a style that is,
above all else, yours.
Part 1: The Fundamentals of Style
Introduction
My day job is personal styling. That is, I work with men of all ages, shapes, sizes
and budgets and help them find clothes that fit their body, their lifestyle and their
personality.
During these consultations, I need to learn as much about my clients as possible;
what they do for fun, what kind of clothes they currently wear, even things as
seemingly-innocuous as the kind of books they read or the kind of music they’re
drawn to. All of this helps to narrow down the best direction to take their style.
The easiest way to do this is to simply visit the client’s house – not only to
assess their current wardrobe, but also to get a sense of their possessions and
surroundings.
Often, I’m caught off-guard – like the time I visited a client who dressed quite
conservatively, only to find that his house was a quasi-bondage-chamber.
Another surprising house call was for a client in his late-teens – a 6-figure-a-year
poker champion living in a penthouse apartment – who owned no furniture, no
cutlery and no clothes save for a baggy pair of jeans and an old green t-shirt.
Enter “John” (name changed for confidentiality purposes). John was a young
guy, 21, who wanted a dapper, suave and mature style. When he walked into a
room, he wanted people to think “This guy’s in control”.
As soon as he said this, I knew I was in for a challenge. Not only did he have a
young and chubby face, but he was also socially awkward and unaware of social
propriety. Far removed from “dapper, suave and mature”.
But I’m always up for a challenge, and I had some great things planned for John
that I thought would help him look great and become more confident.
When I visited his room I was shocked. A single bed, adorned with racing car
bed sheets; bikini-clad “Ralph” and “Maxim” posters all over the walls; a fine
layer of dust coating everything in sight.
This is the gent who wanted to be suave, cool and mature.
I had an honest talk with him and relayed a sentiment that I now share with
every one of my clients:
Dressing well, being charming, having confidence, having a strong sense of style
– none of this is about the clothes you wear. Nice clothes don’t automatically
make you better than anyone else, nor do they suddenly give you something that
you didn’t have before. Being a well-dressed, modern man is not a mask that you
put on in the morning and take off at night; it has to envelop every part of you.
I asked John to imagine Sean Connery’s James Bond, a character who
exemplified his ‘ideal John’. Imagine him, all suave and cool, charming people
wherever he goes. Now imagine him coming home to a bedroom with FHM
posters on the wall and racing car bed sheets. It would simply never happen.
Being a modern man requires confidence, self-control, respect and charm. These
aren’t attributes that this book can magically provide for you; you have to learn
them for yourself.
But I can sure as hell make you look good while you do it.

CHAPTER 1:
How do you want to look?
Believe it or not, this is a question that very few men ever ask themselves. “I just
want to look like me!” they say – but what does that really mean?
Every man should dress in a way that suits his job, his body type and his tastes.
Very few high-flying corporate superstars want to dress in a relaxed urban
streetwear style, and very few heavy metal-loving men want to dress in
conservative business suits. The goal is to find a style that compliments your
personality and lifestyle.
Here are some simple questions to get you started:

Do I have to dress a particular way for work?
What do I want to my clothes to say about me?
When I walk into a room, how do I want people to feel about me?
Are there any styles that I plainly don’t like?
What men (if any) do I want to model myself on?
Your answers are entirely personal; everyone is different, and everyone has
unique characteristics that they want to present to the world. I suggest that you
write them down – or at the very least, keep them in mind as you read this book.
The next step is to decide on a style that fits the answers you’ve given above.
These are generic styles, and you may find that a combination of styles fits you
better than just one. A few examples of different styles include:
· Formal

· Business casual

· Preppy

· Dapper

· Schoolboy

· Mod

· Outdoor Adventurer

· Casual streetwear

· Dark and drapey

· Metal

· Punk

· Fashion-forward

· Goth Ninja

Most men aren’t defined by one particular style. This is why versatility is key; a
man’s wardrobe should be full of clothes that can be worn in a variety of styles,
rather than forcing him to dress one way for the rest of his life.
Aside from looking introspectively, there are two simple questions that we can