How to get dressed in 5 minutes in the morning… and with style!

That's it.

You're late for work.

And yet, you're still sitting on your bed, the bath towel almost dry around your waist, wondering what outfit you're going to wear today.

You consider every item of clothing in your closet. On your bed, a huge pile is piling up. And, next to this magnificent mess, there is you, still sitting and still naked too.

There's nothing to do, nothing's going well.

At some point, it's so late that you drop everything, throw on some random clothes, and run out of your house like a house on fire.

And there, you come across your reflection: you have as much allure as a wooden bow tie.

End of the story.

Let me guess: has this happened to you recently?

What you would really like is to be able to get dressed in 5 minutes flat in the morning and still have style.

I am wrong ?

Well, come closer and listen because I have something to tell you...

It's possible.

Moreover, Bruce Pask, in the excellent podcast Blamo! , explains that he builds his outfits “without even thinking about it”.

So how do you build outfits “without even thinking about it”?

I say it like I mean it, I'm not even afraid:

Bruce Pask boasts a little when he says he doesn't even think about it.

So.

However, what he means is nonetheless very true: spontaneity enhances style.

It's easy to be spontaneous, you'll tell me, when we have carloads of clothes, each one more incredible than the last! (I think Squarzi has a 500m2 hangar filled to the brim. And I'm not kidding. Neither does he apparently.)

However, eye to eye, I want to ask you a question:

If you owned The Great Gatsby's shirt collection, a Squarzi's vintage finds, a Wooster's most fashionable clothes, a Fred Astaire's chicest clothes, would you do just as well? ?

Do you still find yourself, some mornings, fumbling in front of your gigantic wardrobe?

Well, there's a chance, don't you think?

You could very well put a Ducasse hat on my head, shove exceptionally precise utensils into my hands, in front of the most appetizing ingredients in the world and all this in the kitchen of the Ritz and I would still miserably fail my omelettes.

So why, why and what is happening?

But then what's the problem?

I'm going to be brutal.

You trust your natural talent too much when putting together outfits. And you lack method.

Your enthusiasm is necessary but not sufficient.

Stop thinking that every morning you're going to be able to pull out the outfit that's killing the streetstyle game, that the late Bill Cunningham is going to come back from the dead just so he can take your photo, which will be his posthumous masterpiece, and make you gain millions of followers on Instagram.

No, that won't happen.

I tell you this because I have been in this illusion myself for a long time.

And I crashed in style! Trying on ultra-creative outfits, taking myself for Gauthier, for Picasso sometimes, even though I can't draw a man correctly.

Before you end up in the style pantheon, you need to start by knowing how to dress even on those mornings when you don't know how to dress, right?

Come on, I'll tell you the secret.

It’s quite simply about developing sartorial survival outfits.

Hiroshima in your heads!

No ?

Not yet ?

Don't leave, it's more powerful than it seems!

Um... sartor-what outfits?

Sartorial survival outfits (TSS!).

Sartorial means: “which concerns the art of wearing clothes well; knowledge of clothing standards, fabrics, cuts, etc. » as linguist Jean Szlamowicz comments on the Parisian Gentleman blog.

So, the concept of “sartorial survival” is to ensure a vital minimum of style when you are not at 100% of your abilities.

Let me explain a little: it's about consciously developing outfits constructed by habit and composed using one or more stylistic techniques that you repeat over and over again for those days when you lack inspiration.

So much so that, when your brain is still in PLS, you still have the necessary resources to come out on top!

Standing ovation in the office.

Promotion in the pocket.

Checkmate.

How to build your own TSS?

I'll tell you everything. Promised.

And even a little more.

But first, know that the interest of these outfits lies in the fact that they are more inventive than a simple jeans-sneaker-t-shirt-cardigan combination. Because it’s about having style, I remind you! We said “survival”, but we also said “sartoriale”, the name of selvedge jeans!

If you manage to choose at least three TSSs, you can save yourself pneumonia caused by long periods of waiting, naked on your bed.

What do you mean I'm dramatizing on purpose?!

Step 1: Do you know what really suits you?

Undress !

Come on, don't be shy.

Just get naked. In front of your mirror. And, no, I'm not crazy!

Those who dress poorly generally have an incorrect view of their body shape. They tend to underestimate some of their physical traits and overestimate others.

It happens even to the best.

We all have that person in our circle who wears their shirts so slim that we squint in front of them as if in front of a gun at point, for fear that the buttons will fly into our face.

Your body should tell you what cuts to wear, not fashion. Fashion will fill your wardrobe with clothes that look good on others.

If you want to build personal TSS adapted to your figure: undress and observe your body!

I'm sure you'll make discoveries.

Come on, no one is looking at you.

What are your particularities?

Okay, to ease your mind, I'll start:

• I have good thighs
• Rather short legs
• A fairly long trunk (that’s okay, I’m not Johnny Bravo either!)
• A little shoulder, without being a Norman wardrobe either. A Norman buffet in a pinch. But not a Norman bedside table eh. But let's continue instead.
• A long neck
• A little bit of belly (I'm signing up for the gym tomorrow!)

What suits me best, then:

• Trousers with room in the thighs (carrot fit, tapered or regular) cut rather short and worn high waisted (to lengthen my legs) and structure my silhouette in two better balanced blocks (top/bottom).
• Jackets that are a little long to cover the buttocks, shoulders without too much padding (padding)
• Shirts that are not too fitted with a collar that goes up a little on the neck to shorten it or an Italian collar whose points point to the shoulders (to accentuate the horizontality rather than the verticality)

And you ? What does that give?

What do you mean you're still not naked?

Do the exercise, it changes absolutely everything! Compare yourself to the Vitruvian man and then, consult again our articles on how to dress well according to your body type .

Listen to the compliments that people give you!

Remember.

When was the last time you were complimented on your appearance? And what were you wearing that day?

Spontaneous and sincere reactions like compliments generate self-confidence. The clothes that are the subject of these compliments give you peace of mind because they have been socially approved .

And you know what ? Once you have identified the clothes that flatter you: measure them and write them down in an excel spreadsheet.

The next time you buy an item of clothing remotely, these measurements will be very useful to you.

And it also concerns color!

Choose colors that get compliments. Using and abusing said colors will be the best idea you have ever had in your entire life.

And if no one has ever complimented you on this, start by wearing the color closest to your eye color.

Works every time.

OK, what next?

Step 2: Have you really gathered the essential basics?

Come on, confess.

Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't cheat.

That you haven't tried to skip ahead. That you didn't fall for an original piece, worthy of David Bowie in his wildest periods, which would "boost your style", when you had not yet collected all the essential basics.

Yes, but here it is:

The original piece in question quickly deteriorated under the disapproving gaze of others. You know, the feeling of being watched from all sides. Like Tom Cruise in “Eyes Wide Shut”.

And so, quite quickly, you were no longer so sure of why you had bought this piece. In the end, it seemed as unlikely on you as a Davy Crockett headdress.

That's right ?

I know because I've done the same thing. And after I made that mistake, I made it again.

And even.

As a result, you have thousands of clothes slumbering in the dark corners of your locker room.

And that's ugly.

The result is the one we know: faced with the enormous offer that your wardrobe offers you, some mornings, you say to yourself: “I have nothing to wear! ". It's called a paradox.

We can only wear strong pieces, those that assert our style, if we first have the basics to frame them, calm them and highlight them.

It's like in football, wanting to do a roulette before knowing how to dribble.

Men's wardrobe basics are the glue that holds the walls of your stylistic home together. They make your outfits authentic, coherent and harmonious.

So, I solemnly ask you: do you own these eight men's wardrobe essentials?

If not, it's high time to bring them together once and for all. And to finally truly begin your journey on the path of style.

Step 3: Are you inspired by mentors?

There are some gifted people of style.

Guys who come from other planets just to taunt us with new ways to wear our clothes.

Looking at them, we realize that they use stylistic gimmicks.

Gimmicks are creative ways to combine certain items of clothing or a new way to wear an item of clothing .

Examples that we know: the backwards cap, the sweater tied around the waist, worn on the shoulders, the scarf worn like a belt, or wearing a t-shirt with a suit for example...

And now, will you let yourself be tempted by a very little anecdote?

Once, during a picnic in summer, I showed up like a flower with a vintage scarf as a belt. Hilarity among my friends. There are some who point at me with laughing eyes. Others who choke on their rosé.

Crack in my little heart.

Still others, more diplomatic, respectfully asked me how I came up with this original idea.

Well, I lied. I said it came to me like that. A flash of genius in short. I saw the loops on my chinos, I saw the scarf, I used it as a belt. Inspiration falling from the sky.

The truth is that it didn't come to me like that at all: I had seen a photograph of a guy going to a fashion show and his new use of the scarf had caught my attention.

After the painful experience of judgment without trial, the scarf as a belt became a personal gimmick.

And it gives:

• a white t-shirt tucked into…
• ...beige or navy or green or brown chinos worn with…
• ...minimalist espadrilles, moccasins or sneakers
• and of course, the famous scarf

So it became a summer sartorial survival outfit for me.

That's it, do you understand?

Basics + stylistic gimmick = TSS.

So, when you're not inspired, instead of simply putting your white t-shirt over beige chinos in summer (which isn't bad, but just stylistically a bit poor), you think of the scarf gimmick /belt and it gives you a more interesting and stylish outfit.

But here’s the thing: gimmicks are hard to create from scratch. From scratch as the Americans say.

So, you need to find mentors to imitate . This is vital to be able to build TSSs that really look good and give a new perspective to your basics.

There's nothing wrong with imitating!

Do you think a good writer only ever reads his own lines?

Do you think that a good musician only ever listens to what he plays?

And I don't want to attract the wrath of Panini card collectors, but even Zidane was inspired.

To be inspired is to admire, imitate and then make it your own. And that's exactly what you should do with style.

On a personal, almost intimate level!, I really began to develop my own style when I discovered those of Yasuto Kamoshita, John Wrazej, Jason Jules, Nick Wooster, Shuhei Nishiguchi, Alessandro Squarzi, Mr Slowboy and Drake's AW16 and Beams Plus lookbooks.

And you ?

Who are your mentors? Who are those who excite you? Who reinvent the way you see your clothes, make you want to wear other colors? Do you learn more from a photograph than an article or a book?

Please note, this is extremely personal and does not need to be justified.

Today, nothing is easier than finding your style dads: Google Images, Pinterest and Instagram are your friends.

And I have a few names to suggest: Carlos Castillo, Haruo Suzuki, Anthony Madsen-Sylvester, Tom Wolfe, Robert Rabensteiner, Hirofumi Kurino, Lino Ieluzzi, Justin Doss, Fabio Attanasio, Bruce Pask, David Gandy, Johannes Huebl, Joe Ottoway , George Cortina, Edward Sexton, Sam Lambert, Shaka Maidoh, Matteo Gioli, Beppe Modenese, Takahiro Kinoshita, Angelo Flaccavento, Byron and Dexter Peart and the indescribable Doug Bihlmaier.

And many more. Which ones inspire you the most?

I'm less streetwear savvy, but if you have names, I'm curious to see what they're capable of.

Step 4: Admire, imitate and take ownership

As you look again and again at the style virtuosos that you like the most, ask yourself a question:

What are the most easily imitable gimmicks with my means?

Don't fantasize about improbable pieces they could wear. The simpler the gimmick, the more likely the TSS generated will become part of your habits and will become a reflex on mornings when you lack creativity.

Here are 6 examples of personal gimmicks that I have adopted on a daily basis:

1. The “Weekend in Rome” gimmick
   

Stylistic gimmick to imitate : the bandana worn around the neck under a t-shirt, sweatshirt, shirt.

The TSS I get from it : jeans (white to become a disciple of Squarzi) + a sweatshirt + moccasins (because I like the style, but it can be sneakers or desert boots for example) + a jacket or overcoat + the famous bandana.

I simply went to a thrift store (Kiliwatch in Paris in this case) where I bought four bandanas of different colors for a total of €20.

We can see other gimmicks there:

1. The combination of white + military green + light gray mottled
2. The integration of military pieces into a basic wardrobe (jeans + round-neck sweatshirt).

2. The “Too Cool for School” gimmick

Stylistic gimmick to imitate : wear a cap with tailoring.

The TSS I get from it : jeans + a white Oxford shirt + Vans or Converse style sneakers or moccasins + a tailored piece (straight or double-breasted blazer or trench or mac + logo cap.

3. The “Adult but not too much” gimmick

Stylistic gimmick to imitate : wear a t-shirt with a suit.

The TSS that I get from it : well, to wear a t-shirt with a suit and I accompany everything with sneakers like Nike Internationalist or minimalist or slip-ons or simple derbies. For this to work well, the costume must already have something a little casual about it. Here, it's cotton, the color is green and the cut of the pants is a little loose.

That’s a big yes!

4. The “camaieu of colors” gimmick

Stylistic gimmick to imitate : Matching your coffee and your pocket square... No, of course, I'm kidding! The gimmick is to use shades of gray to white. Anthracite, medium gray, light gray and white.

The TSS that I draw from it : Typically, like Pierre Mahéo, the creator of Officine Générale. With white sneakers for example.

Fast, right?

It works with other colors of course: I would like to try with brown available in camel and beige (with a touch of yellow perhaps). Or otherwise, see the Officine Générale Spring/Summer 2018 lookbook:

5. The “Denimhead” gimmick

Stylish gimmick to imitate : Use a denim jacket as a midlayer.

The TSS I get from it : It works well with tailoring pieces. So like here, a double-breasted jacket, light or not, depending on the season, which can be worn open (while in theory it should be worn closed). The bottom layer can be a shirt or t-shirt or henley. For the bottom, pants matching the jacket are a good option. Otherwise, a good basic like beige, ecru chinos or white jeans for example.

6. The “Dress down or up” gimmick

Stylistic gimmick to imitate : Mixing “dressy” and “casual” registers

The TSS I get from it : You can get dozens and dozens of TSS with this. For example, I have a simple navy blue suit bought at COS that I wear like the photo, with a shirt (patterned, but of course it's not necessary at all!) open halfway over a white t-shirt. below. And I finish it all off with white sneakers.

But it also works the other way: when I wear jeans and a t-shirt, I make sure to wear leather shoes, such as double-buckle shoes or moccasins just to make it more interesting.

This is a somewhat general gimmick that you have already learned on BonneGueule, but which, I think, gives TSS perfectly adapted to the degree of elegance required on a daily basis by our current society.

Step 5: Print out the photos of these gimmicks and tape them where you can see them

Oh yes, that’s not very eco-friendly.

Good. I agree with that.

Instead of printing them, you can also use Instagram. As soon as I see a photograph that severely ruffles my brain, I save it using the “flag” button on the far right at the bottom of the photo.

This is what it can give:

The final word...

No one is capable of creating inspiring and unique outfits from scratch every morning!

Fortunately, you can count on sartorial survival outfits.

You understand, you need to know your body perfectly, have the basics that really suit you and be inspired by mentors.

Spend time scouring Google Images and Instagram for your mentors' style gimmicks. Inspiration is everywhere...

And above all, experiment ! Try things you've never tried before.

Over time, you will play with these gimmicks without even realizing it and build outfits in the morning “without even thinking about it”, like Bruce Pask.

Something to change your life.

And, incidentally, don't get fired for repeated lateness!