BeSpeak | Off the Cuff

A Night of BeSpeaking With Alan Flusser

On July 16, 2010, By OTC

On Wednesday evening the inaugural BeSpeak Sartorial Summit was held at Alan Flusser’s Custom shop in NYC. It was a unique opportunity for some of the top menswear, trad and fashion bloggers to meet and mingle with Alan Flusser and some seriously well connected insiders.

Equally important was the chance to learn all about Flusser’s amazing iPhone application from the man himself. Nearly 30 bloggers, publishers, style leaders and a couple of well-known names spent the evening with the BeSpeak team, learning about this innovative tool and chatting with the legendary Alan Flusser about the art and science of dressing well.

Michael Drake, the founder of Drakes-London and style legend in his own right, was in town and joined us as well. Michael’s ties and other luxurious accessories are some the finest available and he’s even made ties, pocket squares and scarves for Alan’s shop over the years.

Robert Bryan, the founder of one of the most iconic men’s style magazines, “M”, was also in attendance. For those seriously interested in classic style and menswear, “M” – published in the late 1980s through early 1990s – is still considered one of the forerunners to today’s men’s lifestyle magazines. As you might suspect, he was impeccably attired.

We were also honored to have the editor and men’s fashion editor from RalphLauren.com, some heavy hitters from Brooks Brothers and the publisher of the forthcoming, and rabidly expected, Take Ivy reprint. On that note, a head’s up – the entire first printing is already sold out and it hasn’t even hit the shelves yet!

Equally important are the outstanding blogs that showed up, including Rugby, Street Etiquette, The Trad, Alex Grant, Image Granted, The Mod Revival and Made To Measure. Thanks for spending the evening with us guys!

For more information on BeSpeak, make sure to visit www.BeSpeak.com or stop by our home on Facebook. You can also check out OTC’s own dedicated BeSpeak page.

Here are some more pictures from the event:

BeSpeak app from Alan Flusser Profiled on Luxist

On June 7, 2010, By OTC

We are thrilled to announce that today Luxist, the web’s leading luxury lifestyle magazine, decided to profile the new BeSpeak app. Luxist’s writers scour the world for the best of the best and with nearly four million unique visitors every day, its influence is undeniable.

As Luxist writer Jonathon Ramsey notes, “Never again will you have someone examine your shirt, tie and pocket square with that silent look of, ‘What happened there?’” Find out for yourself how great it is to have the skill, insight and style of Alan Flusser right in the palm of your hand.

Please click here to view the full article.

Alan Flusser on Your iPhone: The Killer-Look App

On May 23, 2010, By OTC

For some time I have been alluding to a big project of which OTC is part; well it’s now live and ready to go. I am working with legendary clothier and menswear authority Alan Flusser on an amazing new free iPhone application called BeSpeak.

I am BeSpeak’s online and social media brand ambassador. This means that I will be telling the BeSpeak story to anyone who will listen and helping our BeSpeak team look for new and innovative opportunities to show men how the app works, what it can do for their sartorial lives and help continue to grow the BeSpeak brand.

Does this mean that Off The Cuff will fall by the wayside? Quite the opposite, actually. OTC is about to receive a long overdue aesthetic and technical upgrade to help it be an even better resource for the 20,000 plus readers from more than 43 countries who look to OTC for help on making classic style work for today’s gentleman.

What is BeSpeak? It’s is nothing less than a virtual Alan Flusser sitting on your shoulder advising you about what clothing works for you and only you. In fact, it took the development team more than a year to translate Alan’s exceptional taste and knowledge into a mobile application.

In terms of the kinds of applications submitted to Apple for consideration, BeSpeak is up there as one heck of a complex app. And while this is a pretty amazing starting point, it’s only the beginning. You can learn more at BeSpeak.com.

Alan Flusser has sold more books on men’s fashion and style than anyone else and with BeSpeak, he now provides invaluable skill-improving, individual-specific, dressing advice directly to you.

What does it do? BeSpeak provides guidance for men’s business formal outfits (suit, dress shirt, tie, and pocket square). Dressing well is easier than you probably think; in fact, it’s a skill that can be taught and used every day. The difference between looking presentable and looking incredible lies in having a style personalized for you and you alone. And that’s exactly what the BeSpeak app does – it provides personal recommendations and fashion evaluations based on your unique physical characteristics.

To ensure that every suggestion is right for you, BeSpeak lets you create a detailed personal profile based on your hair color, skin tone, eye color, face shape and body shape. Once your profile is active, you get specific profile-driven outfit recommendations, you can coordinate and evaluate clothes from your own wardrobe and instantly evaluate new clothes or potential outfits on-the-go.

BeSpeak is perfect for your friends, family and loved ones too, because you can simply input a profile and take the guesswork out of gift giving. In fact, you can build the ultimate closet by storing profile-perfect clothes. And BeSpeak is not only for men but also for women shopping for the men in their lives; it’s like having the ultimate personal stylist at your fingertips.

We are beginning with business formal dressing style and will soon add business casual and weekend casual style guides, as well as links to profile-perfect clothes sold online. All in all, I am thrilled that the app has launched and that I get to work with this amazing team as we move on to the next phase of BeSpeak.

Please take a moment to download the BeSpeak app and remember to comment on and rate it. We want your feedback, good and bad! Here is the link for the free download to your iPhone and iPodTouch: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bespeak/id372284641?mt=8

Who Is Alan Flusser?
Mr. Flusser attracted national attention for designing Michael Douglas’ wardrobe in the movie “Wall Street,” as well as acclaim for his work on the films “Barbarians at the Gate” and “Scent of a Woman” with Al Pacino.

Alan Flusser

Alan is the president of A.Flusser Designs founded in 1979. He received the Coty Award for Top Menswear Designer in 1985 and the Cutty Sark Award in 1987 for his first two books’ “unique contribution to the literature of menswear.”

The author of four books, his “Dressing The Man: Mastering The Art of Permanent Fashion,” published by Harper Collins in 2002, is considered the most definitive work on the subject of men’s style. Just released is an updated edition of his 1996 classic “Style and the Man.” In 1988, Alan was placed on the International Best-Dressed List as a permanent member.

Tagged with: Alan Flusser • BeSpeak

Review: Style & The Man

On May 14, 2010, By OTC

I was recently in New York City, meeting with Alan Flusser, with whom I will be working on an exciting and significant project, and was given an advance copy of Style & The Man. The book, which is an updated and trimmed down re-release of the seminal sartorial guide, hit the shelves this week and I have to say, it’s good to have Mr. Flusser back.

It’s an excellent guide for anyone looking to get a better understanding about the sometimes intimidating world of tailored menswear. More so, it’s also an invaluable resource when it comes to explaining what to look for in your clothes, how they should look on you and how you should feel in them.

The book is a fresh take on the first half of the original Style & The Man – an outstanding tome in its own right. He’s dispensed with the extensive shopping guide that comprised the original’s second half, but in reality nothing is lost. What we are left with is a straightforward guide on dressing well, fully updated for life in 2010. It’s a trim, easily portable volume of 137 pages that’s packed with great advice.

As Alan told me, “this book is one resource that men can go to and get a reasonably logical and fact based perspective on dressing well. In this era of designer and opinion driven fashion, the world is not, at the moment, overstocked in materials or academia devoted to the style aspiring consumer.”

Alan Flusser

That “Alan Flusser” is the byword for sartorial exceptionalism is really not a surprise once you spend some time with him. More than any other menswear authority, he understands the mechanics of personal style. Skin tone, hair color, eye color, face shape, body type and even your neck height, all play a significant role in finding the right colors, patterns and styles that work for you. What about your physique – are you short or tall, heavy or trim?

Once you understand your own profile, you know what to look for when you hit the mall, or, you know, the bespoke tailor should you be feeling flush. Alan has spent his life studying the unique role that color and proportion play in how clothing affects the wearer. There is a reason Ralph Lauren says he’s one of the most knowledgeable experts on men’s fashion.

Classic Flusser

“Much like golf or tennis, dressing is a skill that can be taught and learned,” says Alan. In Style & The Man he discusses things like what to look for in shirts, shoes and neck wear, and explains the importance of fit and the keystone role of your shoulders. He illuminates the reader about seemingly obscure topics like why lapel width matters and clarifies larger issues such as the long-term value of a bespoke suit.

Did you know that good foot wear and a hand rolled pocket square can make any outfit look better; do you know why? This is the practical yet elusive advice that makes a real difference. This book probably belongs in every man’s library, even if he thinks he doesn’t need it. Especially if he thinks he doesn’t need it!

A Night of BeSpeaking With Alan Flusser

BeSpeak app from Alan Flusser Profiled on Luxist

Alan Flusser on Your iPhone: The Killer-Look App

Review: Style & The Man

True Prep

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