Cover credit: Canali lookbook
I get questions from time to time about clothing and age which can be summarized into two categories:
- On the one hand, “ can I wear clothes with a rather youthful connotation like a hoodie or sneakers after 40 or 50? ". In which case, you will find our opinion and advice on this subject in Benoît’s great article “ how to have style after 40? » : part 1 , part 2 .
- And on the other: “ I am young
, I'm starting to be interested in clothing and I like formal outfits such as a suit, tie, double-breasted jacket: can I wear them? »
It is the second question that I will answer here. Above all, it is to your credit to have these desires, and I understand your question because I myself began to be interested in clothing around the age of 18 and before my 20s I already owned a suit navy blue and a double-breasted blazer.
The suit takes on a strong imagination of elegance and presence, even more so when it is crossed. It is therefore not surprising that this kind of photo makes a young man in search of style dream:
Here are my food for thought and my advice for dressing elegantly when you're young.
Estimate social pressure
Above all, at BonneGueule we advise you to dress according to your style and your tastes .
That being said, I invite you to think about the social pressure that could be exerted on you if you change your style to a fairly dressy style.
I'm thinking, for example, of the recurring remark: " do you have an interview/date this evening?" » which I heard a lot as soon as I put on a blazer around my 20s, even in professional environments
Even in simple, unadorned outfits, the blazer tends to create a reaction. ABCL Garments outfit
- Do you think that the pressure you might experience in your environment (colleagues, classmates, friends, etc.) would be low, moderate or high?
- Are you ready to take on this stylistic shift in front of others, to face comments?
Here is my experience on this:
- Changing your style always appeals to those around you, at the beginning , for good or for bad: your change will polarize.
- If you persist in your change of style, after a certain period which I estimate to be a few months, those around you will end up getting used to your new image.
- Over time, people may even end up coming to you for style advice.
because in their minds you will be “ the person who knows about fashion” .
Think about context
You have strong and assertive stylistic desires, that's very good.
Now think about the compatibility of these desires with your context : does your personal or professional environment (including being a student) allow you to sufficiently carry out these new acquisitions?
If not, you risk ending up with clothes that you wear too little. And if there is also a good chance that you have a limited budget, that would be even more of a shame.
“ But yes, this yellow jacket is very easy to wear!” » -Suitsupply
To return to the reader's question at the beginning of the article: does a double-breasted suit make sense in your wardrobe? Is a double-breasted suit the most relevant option for going to an internship interview, for example?
You love this accessory that is the tie : how many times a month do you plan to wear it? From there, what do you think is the right number of ties to own?
The compromise: be elegant without overdoing it
There are many ways to be stylish: it doesn't necessarily have to be about being extravagant or sporting a full two or three piece suit .
If you want to reduce social pressure, I can advise you to adapt your looks so that they reflect your tastes while making them easier for others to understand, so that your style does not appear too formal or too out of touch with others.
This is particularly where the interest lies:
- The so-called casual chic style, which consists of mixing more formal clothes with more casual ones. I invite you to look at the many silhouettes offered by the Mr. Porter eshop which transcribe this spirit very well:
Here's an interesting way to relax a navy blue double-breasted jacket .
If we take off the jacket but keep nice pants, here is an outfit that inspires me with its accuracy and simplicity:
- From the so-called soft tailoring style, the principle of which is to take traditionally fairly dressy clothes and twist them by making them relaxed. For example by making a jacket more flexible, or adding an elastic drawstring to wool pants.
A vision of the casual suit at Officine Générale , very far from the office suit, and easier to incorporate into everyday outfits.
You will find such clothes at , Man1924 or Suitsupply , for example. For a more accessible offering, look at Silbon , COS or Massimo Dutti .
This is also the kind of silhouette that we regularly explore in the BonneGueule collection, like with our airy suit for example.
For the case of the blazer, I suggest you read this article which explains how to determine the degree of formality of any blazer jacket that you are interested in or in your possession.
Adopt a new style... with style
Here's another point that may seem obvious but is important: simply wearing elegant clothes like a suit or a white shirt does not necessarily convey style.
Being elegant is not the same as “ wanting to look classy ”.
Costumes from fast-fashion brands, for example, regularly fall into this pitfall. Quality of cuts, materials or harmony of the silhouette take a back seat in favor of a more ephemeral and sometimes questionable statement of style:
When I see this type of creation, I find that there is sometimes a form of originality which does not serve the style and which tends towards disguise .
What makes elegance possible is, first of all, dressing to your size, choosing materials that hold up, combining colors well, etc.
Be demanding about the cut and fit of your clothes, and go through the alterations box if necessary, for minor adjustments.
I also invite you to seek inspiration:
- From brands with an aesthetic you like.
- With people who wear styles you like. As such, I find that Instagram is a good source for finding multiple inspirations. You can read this article for a list of editorially recommended Instagram accounts.
Even if you will not be able to buy from these brands that you have identified because the prices are beyond your budget, or that you will not be able to do as well as the people you follow, these inspirations are important to give direction to your approach : “ that’s my style goal .”
Three pieces that I don't recommend wearing, and their alternatives
Let's practice with three fake friends if you're building a wardrobe and include dressy clothes.
I realize that these elements represent the idea that we tend to choose them because we think they “ look classy ” .
1. The black suit
A false good idea, even if the jacket is the right size for the model here. Jules
Why I don't recommend it
Benoît had the opportunity to speak twice about the color black in the men's wardrobe:
I would stick to the following arguments here:
- Black, in a formal outfit, is rather reserved for evening wear (tuxedo)
- The majority of black suits are found in entry-level or low-end brands and made from low-quality fabrics.
- Black is not a particularly easy color to wear.
Here is an evening outfit, a setting where a black ensemble makes sense. Suitsupply
The alternative
If you want a sober, all-purpose color for a suit, opt for anthracite gray or navy blue , colors that are a little more lively, classic and easy to wear.
A charcoal gray of this style for a classic look will be very good. Anthony Garcon
2. Pointed shoes
I'm thinking of exactly this type of shape. Found here.
Why do I advise against
Yes I know, it's tempting.
You are used to wearing sneakers, with a rather round shape.
You are about to purchase dress shoes, and it must be obvious that your shoes are elegant. So, you choose a very slender shape.
Except no.
The very pointed shoes that you may see many men wearing are often poorly balanced and harm the figure more than they serve it. I have already had the opportunity to raise the subject of “ the big feet effect ”.
The alternative
As with the previous point, the solution here lies in the right measure: favor a slightly slender shape, but not too much .
Here is what it looks like:
The classic shape is correctly proportioned .
3. Shirts with fancy details or floral patterns
Izac models.
Why do I advise against
Because here, the base of the shirt is an ordinary fabric that we try to enhance using a more or less discreet pattern which is often original and offbeat .
There is no particular work on what matters most and what gives a shirt its charm: the fabric, the collar, the details.
The alternative
A simple oxford shirt.
Sober as it should be, it also stands out from the smooth poplin shirt.
It's a piece of clothing that I really like.
This simple-looking garment whose Gitman Vintage story
The final word
What emerges from this subject in my opinion is to find the right balance between your desires, your environment and your confidence in your clothing choices while avoiding the main mistakes that could stand in your quest for a new style.
Imagine small sliders where moving one will mechanically activate another.
For example, if you have little confidence in your ability to adopt a more pronounced style, then it is probably wiser to initially move towards looks that are simpler in their composition and colors.
Do not hesitate to comment on this subject, whether you are young and recognize yourself here, or to tell us your anecdotes about the evolution of your style over the years and the way others see it, for example .
