What is style? Who has it and how did he get it? Is it even important? These are just some of the topics that we want to delve into, as we use this platform to help us evolve and become better person. How does a man develop his own sense of style? What one wears is but one component. It is an important component, but just one essential element that when combined with others, will paint a complete picture of who he is and what he represents. How a man thinketh, what a man sayeth, what a man readeth (yes, they are real words) are also important.

Let’s tackle some of these questions. First, every man has style! How did he get it? He was born with it! Where we are born and the era that we grow up in influences what we wear. For example, those men who grew up in colder climates learn early on how to layer, more than their brethren from warmer climes. There also seems to be a renewed interest in men’s fashion, thanks in part to popular culture with shows like Mad Men and Downton Abbey.

As a child of the 60’s, I remember my parents and grandparents taking me shopping for “Back to School” clothes and more importantly, buying a suit every Easter. I had that wardrobe essential, “the Trench coat” and three piece suits as early as seven or eight years old. We even wore galoshes (a better name for those who don’t know is Totes). Desert boots or Chukka boots are even making a comeback. Back then we looked like miniature versions of our fathers and grandfathers.

What is style? Who has it and how did he get it? Is it even important? These are just some of the topics that we want to delve into, as we use this platform to help us evolve and become better people. How does a man develop his own sense of style? What one wears is but one component. It is an important component, but just one essential element that when combined with others, will paint a complete picture of who he is and what he represents. How a man thinketh, what a man sayeth, what a man readeth (yes, they are real words) are also important.

As the 70’s was drawing to a close a turning point in men’s fashion occurred, when the film The American Gigolo helped to launch the careers of Richard Gere and Giorgio Armani, as style icons. Around that same time, a trip to Barney’s in New York at the age of 15 was all it took for me.

This begs the question; does one have to be trendy to have style? No, quite the opposite! Look at the exquisite craftsmanship that comes out of London’s Savile Row from tailors like, Henry Poole & Co., Norton & Sons, and Gieves & Hawkes just to name a few. Their meticulous bespoke process, which begins with taking exacting measurements, to pattern making and cloth selection, cutting and final fitting has remained virtually unchanged for generations. It is safe to say that most of us, can’t afford a bespoke suit from Savile Row that cost as much as a down payment on a Hyundai, but I think we can all agree that a man can if he so chooses, define his own sense of style at a price point that he is comfortable with. However the best advice one can give regarding style and fashion is to remember that you wear the clothes, and not let the clothes wear you!

Jason Wrenn