Something bad is happening to gentlemen. With the very concept of “gentleman. It somehow faded, withered, faded and lost its marketable appearance.
The rules of a gentleman.
Something bad is happening to gentlemen. With the very concept of “gentleman. It somehow faded, withered, faded and lost its marketable form. Maybe feminism, or postfeminism, or postpostfeminism, or Sex and the City is to blame. Maybe it’s the Internet, which has brought broadcast intimacy into our lives and thus discredited the good old concepts of privacy, tact, and a sense of proportion. It is possible that some of the blame may lie with those twentieth-century people who dressed like gentlemen without actually being gentlemen. However, we end up with what we have: at the word “gentleman,” our contemporaries imagine a creature that could have been played by Nikita Mikhalkov wearing a wool plaid cardigan. In other words, past it. Bygones.
About the style
No.1
Don’t be afraid to wear a handkerchief in your breast pocket. So, you’ve got a perfectly tailored suit and some favorite ties. You know what the catch is? The other guys have it all, too. To differentiate yourself from them, we recommend the way George Clooney uses: stick a handkerchief in your jacket breast pocket. It’s easier than you think.
The easy way. Fold a handkerchief (solid color) in four and put it into a pocket, folding it down so the edge is sticking out 2 cm.
The tricky way. Take a handkerchief (colored, patterned, or of unusual texture) by the middle, tuck the dangling ends into a pocket, and then carelessly tuck the inside of the fold with your finger, so the part sticking out looks like the petals of a flower. Look in the mirror and give yourself some light corrective touches.
No.2
Shape the knot of your tie. If you wear a narrow tie, simply tie it in an even, symmetrical knot. However, a wide tie (especially a monochrome tie or one with a fine pattern) requires a little more finesse. To give your outfit a dash of glitz, tie the tie so that at the top of it under the knot formed a longitudinal fold-dent. The pluses are obvious: first, you’ll look a little like a TV presenter (we don’t mean Mikhail Leontiev – more like Larry King). Secondly, it’s just beautiful. Do it this way:
1. Tie the tie as you normally do, but before you tighten the knot, press the pad of your index finger into the fabric just under the knot.
2. As you tighten the knot, at the same time, move your finger slightly upward, inside the knot, without turning it, exactly along the center centerline of the tie. Along the course of your finger movement, an elegant longitudinal fold of about 1 cm in depth is formed. The length of the fold should not exceed 2 cm.
No.3
Get a “signature” fragrance. Is it to the gentleman’s face constancy in the choice of perfume? The arguments “against” are obvious: there is a risk to find yourself in the position of a Buridan donkey between bottles of Terre d’HermEs, Comme des Garçons 2 and, say, Fresh Cannabis Santal, not being able to give up any two of them in favor of a single third. But the pro argument is stronger: if you manage to force yourself to be consistent, people will start to subconsciously register your presence and, moreover, remember you. How they’ll remember you depends, of course, on the fragrance itself. Make a test-drive a few different perfumes during the week: “your” fragrance, first, will not irritate your own sense of smell and, secondly, probably cause compliments surrounding people who will visibly seek to be closer to you. Apply the perfume as follows: one short squirt on the upper parts of the forearms, one on the neck and one on the back, behind the collar of the shirt. The amount of concentration is chosen experimentally: the concentration of the fragrance should clearly exceed the threshold of olfactory sensitivity of people around you, but it should not seem intrusive to yourself.
No.4
In winter, you must wear an overcoat. The old kindergarten principle of cold prevention conceals an unexpected social aspect. Among your acquaintances there are probably people who flatly refuse to wear coats, preferring a cropped electrician-colored Alaska jacket, from under which the floors of the office suit look pitiful and hopeless. These people have many other shortcomings – let us try not to be like them in anything, your winter coat should only slightly reveal the knees (this is called “three-quarter length”). Coats below the knees – the destiny of bohemian freaks and God-seekers, the silhouette should be straight and fitted, and the width at the shoulders – exactly the width that easily accommodates a jacket, but not wider. And finally, the last rule: if your companion is cold, you should take off your coat and offer it to her-no matter how emancipated she is.
No.5
Wear cufflinks. Attending all kinds of festive occasions, be it a wedding, a presentation, a funeral or a diplomatic reception, you have probably noticed that some characters, dressed up according to the dress code, look like a crude boor even more than they really are. The mystery of this phenomenon is revealed simply: as a rule, it is all about the unfortunate selection of accessories. In particular, to a shirt with French cuffs it is best to wear simple gold or silver cufflinks. Something in the form of dragon heads with emerald eyes is not forbidden in principle, but it requires such a deep penetration into the subtleties of style and the nuances of aesthetic stating that in practice it is better not to risk. The fact that you have put on cufflinks already sufficiently distinguishes you from the millions of mere mortals, who live these moments of life in clothes of casual style.
No.6
Get a personal hairdresser. Hairdressers are sometimes called “stylists,” and that’s because a comb and scissors can affect your personal style in a very noticeable way. People around you will notice a change in your appearance and they will stare at you a little longer than usual. Any man who lacks self-confidence will conclude from this that he looks like an idiot after a haircut. That’s why some gentlemen try to cut their hair as little as possible, motivated by the fact that they prefer a romantic, elongated hairstyle. Yes, yes, as well as an unshaven neck and nose hair. Meanwhile, the solution to the problem lies on a different plane. Not less often, but more often! Get a personal hairdresser and visit him once a week. During the week the hair does not have time to grow, and from the point of view of others you will always look exactly the same. The vegetation on your neck, ears and nose will be under your absolute control. As a bonus, once a week you get one hour of blissful relaxation with the hairdresser’s unobliging chatter.
No.7
On the subject of underwear. Underpants are serious. There’s nothing funny about underwear. Underpants should not amuse or amuse anyone – unlike outerwear, which in principle can sometimes carry out such a function. Therefore, underpants should not depict flying piglets, naked women, bunnies, pierced hearts or superman logos. Carefully go through the underwear drawers of your closet and throw out everything that does not satisfy this rule. You’ll feel better immediately. In a maddening world, where a decently dressed person is suspected of the worst of sins – lack of a sense of humor – your underwear remains the last bastion of restraint and elegance. No matter how thick the armor of irony that covers you, inside you can be sincere and true to yourself. You are entitled to assume that no one will see it. And those who will let you see it will get to appreciate your conservative taste.
No.8
On the subject of jeans. Undeniable fact number one: A man in jeans looks sexually appealing to women. The favorite pair of jeans that you wear every day and never wash is the same fact-off to the face of the world that Martin Sheen so spectacularly demonstrated in “Badlands.” His Levi’s looked as if he had been born in them. Indisputable fact number two: in this movie the Sheen character never once went to the office to work, did not visit his girlfriend’s parents and did not listen to a concert in the philharmonic hall – meanwhile all this can be done these days in jeans. The solution to the paradox: get yourself a whole line of jeans in different stages of decay and degradation. For respectable places choose respectable pants. Paired with a jacket – nothing skinny, washed and ripped, quality denim and a simple cut. Evening out in the city? Designer’s fantasy and a degree of cleanliness are allowed here. As for our favorite 501s, they are comfortable for saving the world from disasters, chasing scoundrels and going to the woods for mushrooms, but nothing more.
