The Re-See
I was surprised that in over 100 comments, no one really mentioned the pattern mixing and color harmony , which to me, was the best part of the look. I think sometimes a post gets hijacked by people focusing on what they dislike most and that overreaction keeps them from seeing the subtle ,sometimes very small, brilliance or ,at least inspiration, of a look. I wonder what the reaction would have been if I only posted this detail shot?
When I said that he looked like he had just stepped off the runway I was thinking about the very strong Number (N)ine show that I saw in Paris. Whether you agree with the execution or not this gentleman did a great job at taking inspiration from a runway show (I'm totally guessing that he did) and finding items in his current closet that play on those concepts.
this picture was lifted from Style.com and photographer Marcio Madeira (thanks guys)
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cara said ... (6:45 PM) :
post a commentI think you are right. My initial resopnse was okay, but I was underswhelmed. Seeing the play of texture completely changed how I saw the shot. It just confirms teh maxim, it's all in the details.
You know, initially, I viewed this look and thought, "Wish more men dressed this way." After I saw your post calling attention to the "color mixing and detail" of the patterns, I was further convinced that this look could easily be one of the best alternatives to the standard, dare-I-say- trad of khakis, and jeans, that most American men favor. Do us a favor, Sarto, and show us many more of these new looks for young men. That Madeira shot is very Western and rustic. Those are drawstring cords, are they not/knot?:)
I agree sart. At first glance all I noticed were his short pants but now that you've provided us with a close-up, I see how skilled he is at mixing patterns. It's a subtle detail that we couldn't get from the overall picture. It reinforces the fact that YOU have great eye for detail :)
Thanks for the re-see (I found the look brilliant also before...). I wish I were so confident with my own style as this young guy is.
Interestingly enough, the first thing I notice in the original post was the patterning and fantastic use of complimentary colors and I liked it a lot. But I think that is also why I didn't comment on that particular shot- it looked so good/so subtle to me and so well put together, I took it for granted and basically considered nothing extraordinary (albeit deliberate) about it. I certainly still like the ensemble.
I also like his take on proportions. He is a tall thin man, and his mostly monochromatic outfit plays it up beautifully. His pants are a little short, which make him look even taller. He is an attractive man who is dressed mindfully, which says more to the world than anything else.
I saw it all on the first glance. Personally, I love the patterns, and choices the guy has put together, but I really loathe the open neck area... it's anemic within my ken. If he had a simple dress shirt collar under there he would have elevated the look above 'neatly rolled from bed' to 'smart, everyday and fashionable.'
Just my opinion.
It's still keen to me, despite the clavicle.
I saw it all on the first glance. Personally, I love the patterns, and choices the guy has put together, but I really loathe the open neck area... it's anemic within my ken. If he had a simple dress shirt collar under there he would have elevated the look above 'neatly rolled from bed' to 'smart, everyday and fashionable.'
Just my opinion.
It's still keen to me, despite the clavicle.
I understand what you're getting at but isn't the point that in spite of doing one or two little things well , he's still ended up doing one big thing (the whole outfit) badly ?
Sart, i'm quite sure he didn´t take inspiration from a runawayshow, its his own inspiration, you buy thinks you like and magicaly they fit together in your own mixture of style.
nice post sart!
i think he looks fabulous..i love the mixed patterns and colors. my eyes would def be fixed on this gentelman if he was walking down the street...
Well certainly your cropped pic would have prevented me from seeing the bare neck and the half-mast trousers. The colours are subtle, agreed, but nothing special to me i'm afraid.
I thought it was great before, the re-see only made me love the patterns even more. I wish I could pull this off but I think I would get it wrong but I love the look none the less!
I completely disagree with you, sorry. The too-short pants and big clunky boots make this outfit look bad. Since that is the first thing one can possibly see (from 100 yards!), there's no use talking about tiny details. From the waist down, he looks like a 70 year old man. A poorly dressed one (since you have some very stylish ones here).
-rdhd
I loved it the first time I saw it. I think it's hard to look so young in such grown up clothes, and I really appreciate the look. The closeup just makes me appreciate his style more.
It took me a few looks to notice the clever mix of textures and patterns but I did. I didn't want to comment again because as you say it had been hijacked with negativity and i thought my positives would just get overshadowed. I did however post about it on my own blog.
Now you gave us a really nice lesson of style.
That's why I always like to come here.
mark, hoboken : Yeah, I admit that it does work as a style, but just wanted to say I personally find that bare clavicle the one flaw. Though you can fault anyone on anything, I still recognize this guy as having charming taste for the styles and fabrics he put together to complete his arty fab look.
I have to comment: I didn't think it possible to be subtle and daring, traditional and modern, vulnerable and confident, and sophisticated and funny all at the same time, but this gentleman's got it. A perfect lesson in balance -- one should look simultaneously like one cares very much how one looks and like one doesn't give a damn. Previous ages understood studied deshabille and eccentricity to be the height of masculine elegance and beauty. We Americans have too long valued sharpness over style.
While this outfit does seem to be lifted from the runway, and I do enjoy the way the cool berry and blue tones harmonize with the faded blue checkered print of the pants, I wish he another piece closer to his face that accented the yellow that is evident on the vest and the pants. Maybe if his glasses held more of an amber hue, or the edging of a hankerchief.
Also, I enjoy the new play on proportions here. Are his legs too long? Or his pants short? But with the long overcoat, are his legs then too short for such a long coat? Makes one wonder, doesn't it?
re. "Looks Like He Just Walked Off The Runway, Paris" you are so right about the points you made in the "Re-See." i liked the look from the beginning. the detail shot makes me understand *why.*
It was difficult to notice the subtle texture/color/pattern combination because his whole look was "hijacked" by the ensemble. That and the fact that he looks like Harry Potter were distracting. And I think the reference for inspiration is far fetched.
hmm, i think he looks sexy, sort of a harry potter not giving a damn while vacationing on the french countryside look. and the fact that he is such a pro with texture and pattern makes it even better.
Disagree.
Each separate piece in the first photo makes a world of difference from that of the runway outfit. Everything just fits differently - especially the pants and the shoes.
Sorry.
Love the look except for the trousers - there is NO excuse for trousers that are too short - its one of my pet peeves and makes this outfit look ridiculous rather than stylish.
The inspiration picture has the trousers rolled up which is perfectly acceptable - they are clearly the correct length for him normally.
The rings are too important to overlook. Yeah he has short pants and a bare clavicle but he's got an array of rings on to beat Karl Lagerfeld! I might point out that the lack of other jewelery is crucial....
Each individual component is great, but the proportion of everything - the hair, the glasses, the jacket, the pants, the shoes - is off. I just feel like something has to complement the proportion of this guy's body to create enough contrast and tie the look together. Maybe that's the sweater, but I can't tell with the coat covering most of it.
The problem when you see the trousers "at length" is that they look like bad poly pants from 1970, and too short.
Note that a good deal of comments - and criticism - that appear here would remain unsaid if the look weren't put before us, often as a paradigm of some kind.
But I don't dispute your comment, Scott, that it looks straight off the runway - some of what's on the runway is pretty silly looking. Something you're hearing from a large percentage of posters is that the high-water or outgrown length of trouser is not universally appealing. I'll leave it at that for now.
As to the 100+ comments - I was reading back to March 2006 and the comments were usually in the single digits - clearly your reach has grown.
And when you have a handsome young neck, showing it is no problem, IMO!
Anonymous at 2:21 am
I think the connection is obvious. Long coat, patterned sweater, high pants, boot-like shoes. Of course the fits are different. But in both there are clear attempts to harmonize. I think the top fellow put together a subtler blend, but the general approach is the same. Some sort of shirt and snappier shoes would've cleaned Alley Boy up more, but it's not like Sart posts his pictures with a big neon sign that says "EMULATE THIS PRECISELY OR WITHER UNDER MY FASHION SCORN." What he's doing is far more interesting than that. If he offered every picture as How Things Should Be in every detail, I wouldn't visit the site every day, as I do. What he does is notice things, and I, like others, find my own way of seeing less transformed than vivified. Not having read any of his interviews, I think that's what he's after. But of course, he can speak for himself.
please don't get discouraged, sart. after reading this post i finally took a look at the comments left on the original entry. several people did comment on his immaculate color combination. Like Jingoist, i took his look for granted as well done and originally didn't read the comments or bother to put in my two cents. I don't know as much about runway inspiration as you, but he reminds me of a character from City of Lost Children or at least something Jeunet might have dreamed up. style should be a physical manifestation of your inner self. That outfit, whether ill formed or fabulous, says a lot more about his personality than something classic and safe. I bet that young man reads Murakami, don't you?
Kinda Brokeback Mountainish. Makes me want to find someone to go fishin with . . . . .
I actually saw more similarities with the Fall YSL collection than the Number (N)ine show. The cut, proportions and colours are all more indicative of the seventies, rather than the midwestern americana that the Number (N)ine show borrows from.
great look nonetheless.
hello huck finn.
if it wasn't for the length of the pants, i'd totally dig this outfit. i just haven't bought into this new trend yet. not sure i ever will.
I didn't read the comments for the first posting, but my reaction was that he looks sexy! I did notice the pattern mixing-- I enlarged the picture because I was curious if the jacket matched the pant, because the proprtions are juxtaposed. The mix is great!
Sart said, "I was surprised that in over 100 comments, no one really mentioned the pattern mixing and color harmony."
Sart, I come here because I don't see these things, and you let me look through your eyes so I can! It's therefore tremendously helpful to me when you do draw attention to a detail that you found particularly noteworthy, and that's also why I love reading the other comments, because they help me look more carefully too.
Beautiful colours and textures, I loved it in the first post also. I really like the way he's put it all together, the short pants and boots under the long coat look brilliant, and it wouldn't be the same without his glasses. Thanks for elaborating Sart.
His face is so sweet.
omg i'm in love. this looks just like the guy whos' been walking around in my dreams.
I disagree with the comments about the short pants giving the impression of height and long legs. Instead, I think it creates balance between torso length and leg length. However this is made less of a feature with the length of the coat. An ex-student who was reluctant to leave highschool so returned as a math teacher. rad.
It's all in the details and in the perspective. You make a very good case in point!
OK, you´ve got a point here!
The mix of patterns and colours is done niceley...but still the overall look is a bit to "costumesque" for my personal taste.
A (simple) shirt would help a lot, also the pants could be longer.
To me, the whole look just doesnt seem natural....
on the other hand, I didn´t see how he wears what he wears in this pic ;)
Thanks for making us think and look again!
The top picture looks great, but when you see the whole outfit, not so great. I guess I have different tastes.
Sart,
Thank you for sharing where you were coming from. I agonized over commenting last week, and choose not to do so. I agree, that sometimes the "negatves" of a look can get the better of all of us. That said, I don't really think the two looks are at all similar.
The gentleman in the show has the entire "look" pulled toghether from hat to boots. The first gentleman, I fear, has not embraced this particular style fully. I feel it truly requires BOTH the unified color palette AND the diverse fabric/weave sturctures. Without both components the first gentleman just looks flat, and poorly put together. Just my view.
Weaver in Vermont
Scott - thanks for refocusing the discussion. I did not have a chance to see the original post, but when I came across the detail image the first thing that crossed my mind was what a remarkable blending of patterns and textures.
Then I saw the long shot and knew that, had I seen it first, I probably would have missed the nuances too.
if that was the "best part of the look", then let us know! you used to write a lot of explanations about the looks or your photography, which is why i started reading this blog in the first place. as always i love the photos by themselves, but i miss your commentary.
I never saw anything bad about this other than the lenght of the pants (I know it's taken from the runway, but I really don't care I have my own opinion). But the colors and textures look great together. Even the ring seems to match!
I have a crush on guy #1...
with that haircut and those glasses, he would look great no matter what he was wearing~