Most all the menswear blogs, magazines, and videos that I digest focus all their time on the “wear” part of menswear and not enough on the man.
A well-dressed man in our present day and age brings looks of curiosity from passersby:
“Why is he so dressed up?”
“How could I be that confident?”
“I wonder if he works in fashion?”
“Maybe he’s single?”
All valid questions I guess, but to quickly appease your curiosity: because I like to, by reading this newsletter, nope, and nope.
All in all, I would like to talk more about the why than the how. Why do I choose to present myself the way I do? Why do you choose to present yourself the way you do? I won't be talking so much about specific brands of clothing themselves, because with proper tailoring (highly recommended) a man can look good in sackcloth. Clothing and accessories are important, but having your head and heart in the right place is ultimately the most important part of style. If you feel comfortable, it doesn’t matter what the tag on your shirt says or whether your watch says Timex Indiglo or Rolex Submariner.
I think a lot of us wear these things because we don’t feel comfortable without them. How do you feel naked, in your own skin, when you look in the mirror just out of the shower? It starts there. Every so often, I find myself treating the leather on my favorite pair of loafers better than I treat my own slowly leathering skin. In terms of body appearance, it’s also good to remember that a glass of whisky for dessert has fewer calories than the crème brûlée at the bottom of the menu. Though if you're walking, and you most certainly should if whisky is your dessert of choice, why not order both and take the long way home to burn off those extra few bites. My proofreader says I should mention I am certainly not a doctor or nutritionist.
Another thing I should mention is that I have always been a rule follower. For example, I will wait at a crosswalk for the red hand to switch over to the walking guy. I also won't go dine at the fancy downtown steak house on days like today when the weather is in the mid-nineties because I am wearing shorts. Yes, I look fine in these shorts, but not shrimp cocktail, two martinis, and a medium rare New York strip fine. The bartenders there wear jackets, and if the bartender at a restaurant looks more put together than you, then you are underdressed. I think I’ll grill that exact meal tonight instead, and keep my shorts on. Though I’ll be taking the martinis over ice from a thermos (see, I can break a rule here and there) due to the heat and precarious nature of stemmed glassware in a backyard owned by two curious Standard Poodles, one with a drinking problem.
I guess what I am saying is one day you will be laying there in your favorite suit, with makeup on your face and formaldehyde sitting in your veins, and you don’t want the only remarks to be about your clothing— “he sure was a snappy dresser.” No, you want to be remembered as a good man, and there is far more to that than your outfit.
So, if you’re curious what my martini ratio is, how tall I cut the grass, whether I wear socks with loafers, and what my watch face says (currently 10:36), and why baseball sounds so much better on the radio, read on. I would honestly recommend you take a walk and formulate your own opinions instead of reading someone else’s, but again, it's hot out and inspiration can come from anywhere, even a silly newsletter like this one. If you want another recommendation, it would be to print out these posts and take them with you on your daily commute or to the pub or your favorite coffeeshop to read instead of scrolling on your phone.
One thing I’d like to do differently involves comments and correspondence. I will only respond to letters sent through the mail.
Caveman in Khakis
224 Nickels Arc.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
I don’t care for any extra notifications on my devices, and it's much easier to carry a few stamps and an envelope tucked in the book I am reading rather than carrying my phone around. Letters are good for you, and they keep my letter carrier (talk about a man with style) employed. I also like stamps. Letters will be scanned and posted anonymously when I respond, unless the sender requests otherwise. That being said, I will always respond.
Good luck out there today,
Luke