Shortly after being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama faced his first major crisis: being criticized for not wearing a suit coat in one of his first “working” Oval Office photos. Since the criticizer was Andrew Card, George W. Bush’s former chief of staff, I’ll take his indignation with…
Tag: Wardrobe/Clothing
Time To Go Suit Shopping – You May Need One
This past Thursday, The Wall Street Journal published a great article highlighting the growing trend of once again throwing on a coat and tie before heading off to the office. The article, penned by Style columnist Christina Binkley, profiles Bickel & Brewer, a high powered law firm with offices in New York and Dallas. Perhaps…
Presidential Prerogatives: The Definition of "Tux"
The other day, a reader sent along a link for my review. It was to an article from Slate Magazine analyzing President Obama’s sartorial choice for his evening of inaugural balls. As you may have noticed, the president chose to strike out in a new direction – somewhere in between black tie and white tie….
The Fine Art of Taking Off a Sweater
Recently, a reader posed to me the following question: My husband likes to remove his crew neck sweaters (and crew neck t-shirts) by grabbing it by the neckline and pulling the sweater up over his head by holding the neckline. It seems to me this procedure tends to stretch the neckline out of shape. Please…
Suited Up For The New Year
A reader recently contacted me because as a newly graduated attorney, he wanted some specific advice on what to look for in a suit. He also wanted to hear about a few specific brands. The gentleman indicated that he is based in Chicago and his work environment is a more formal one. That is, he…
Great Resource: Dressing For Success
Check out this great BNET feature on dressing for work. It is broken down into four subsections that cover the basics of business dress, 10 easy ways to upgrade your look, how to buy a custom-made suit, a short video on dressing for business success. As a sidebar, the section on ordering a custom-made suit…
Ask Men.com Style Icons: A Great Resource
The folks over at AskMen.com recently sent me a link to their profile of industrial giant, and father of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli. This founder of the wear-your-watch-on-your-sleeve club was a consummate clothes horse. Of course his clothes were lovely hand made heirlooms so well crafted that his equally eccentric grandson Lapo Elkann still wears them….
The Virtues of Wardrobe Maintenance
Last week I wrote a rather lengthy article focusing on my belief that when times aren’t so good, people tend to go for the classics. When every cent counts, a wardrobe based on longevity and timeless style often wins out over flash and of-the-moment fashion. Focusing on the classics, like a well cut single-breasted grey…
GANT Rediscovered
When last in New York, I took some time to stroll along Fifth Avenue and wound up stopping at the GANT flagship store. While this may not sound like an overly significant event, for me it was an eye-opening experience. While an unfair characterization, my gut reaction to the GANT brand has long been something…
Investments, Cont.
Right after I posted the “Capital Investments” article below, my musings on the economy pushing men toward the classics as long-term wardrobe investments were proved right – buy Brooks Brothers, no less. Almost the very next day I received a Brooks Brothers e-mail, in which a vintage World War II era Brooks ad played center…