Manual Of Style by Joshua Betancourt

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In te r Sc vie ot w tS w ch ith um Th an e S n ar

to r ia lis t:

June 30, 2021

MANUAL OF ST YLE

The Evolution of Style W

e’ve said it time and time again, menswear is ruled by history and tradition. Every person in menswear (designer, stylist, editor, etc) has taken inspiration from the past at one time or another. And no era has been overlooked.

As we moved into the 1900s men’s clothing was predominantly utilitarian and rather unimaginative. The long, lean, and athletic silhouette of the late 1890s persisted, and tall, stiff collars characterize the period. Three-piece suits consisting of a sack coat with matching waistcoat and trousers were worn, as were matching coat and waistcoat with contrasting trousers, or matching coat and trousers with contrasting waistcoat. Trousers were shorter than before, often had “turn-ups” or “cuffs“, and were creased front and back using the newly-invented trouser press.

1900

In the 1930s the American taste level was at its peak, rivaling that of any European country. It was a time when American men took pride in the clothing they wore and the image they projected. It was a time when men dressed by certain codes of conduct and etiquette. The “menswear rules”, which we often reference, were written in this period.

1930

The goal was to look “part of the club”, in a boxy sack suit, oxford shirt, rep tie, and loafers. This was another big boost for mass Ready-to-Wear manufacturers who gladly sold the same ill-fitting tweed jackets to any young man trying to look smart and employable. This period saw the introduction of mass produced ready-to-wear clothing in America, by some brands that are still selling us clothing today.

1940

1950

2010 2000 1980 1960 The 1960s were a decade of unrest and rebellion against the establishment and the conservatism that was celebrated in the 1950s. Clothing reflected this new attitude, especially with the youth who were more concerned with self-expression and individuality than classical dressing by the “rulebook”. Stores carried more variety than ever. It was approaching an “anything goes” period, where often the thing that mattered the most was not what you wore, but what you didn’t wear.

In the 1980s things got a little more serious, with broad shoulders framing power ties and suspenders. Bold colors and graphic patterns conveyed a new national confidence and businessmen took to power dressing with an emphasis on expensive clothing and gaudy accessories.

Menswear in the new millennium was influenced primarily by hip-hop culture for the youth, and European “slim fit” tailoring for the older gents. The suit finally started to slim down, as the “European cut” became highly sought after in America, to the point where eventually it became hard to find stores that didn’t carry “slim fit”. The internet also made it easier for men to learn about menswear and share their opinions with fellow style enthusiasts. We saw the birth of the first menswear blogs.

The 2010s brought us the evolution of the “fashion star”. Fashion bloggers have become mainstream. On the one hand, suddenly fashion is in the hands of the people, producing a larger variety of styles, reviews, and opinions than ever before. On the other hand, those being watched are naturally encouraged to try harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. “Peacocking” became a menswear term in the early part of the decade for “trying too hard”, although men have generally become more confortable with subtle, tasteful styling.

MANUAL OF STYLE 101 A Visual Anatomy

Philoshopy:

Hats:

Shirts:

Ties:

Be confident in the way you dress.

Going with a simpler look using staple colors, neutrals, and maybe even a monochromatic feel will free up your mental energies to making sure that your hat looks good

It is important to note that unlike other garments like jackets and pants, achieving a good fit with a dress shirt is best accomplished by purchasing the right shirt from the outset.

The fundamental principle of tying and wearing a tie is that it should look effortless. A type of elegant nonchalance that comes from practice and having the confidence to leave perfection at home.

Jackets:

Pants:

Socks:

Shoes:

Let’s start with the basics. If you need a suit but don’t know which kind of suit is right for you and your life. Buying a new suit doesn’t start in the store; it starts in your head. Is the suit for work? Date night? A buddy’s wedding? All three? Is this your first and only suit or your thirteenth suit, intended for a special occasion? Know that and you can make the right choices, starting with color.

These days, we want our suit pants to fit like our jeans, and the key to that look is a tapered leg.

When it comes to the question of color, we suggest that you mirror your sock color with another color that you’re wearing above the waistline. This color continuity ties your outfit together. If however, you’re already great at color coordination, do as you like. At the end of the day, if it looks good, it looks good.

Gentlemen, when it comes down to it, you’ve got to find the right shoe for your need. In general, I like to go simple – I like to go in darker colors and I like to stay within one color for most of my shoes. I find that those match most of what I have in my wardrobe – I can dress them up, I can dress them down. However, some of you guys are going to love the color black and if that’s your case, then make sure that all of your shoes work with each other.

An Interview with The Sartorialist: Scott Schuman Scott Schuman, better known to the rest of the world as “The Sartorialist”, possesses the kind of self-made success story we so rarely see in fashion anymore. Intelligent and witty, with a mind that is constantly roving, wondering, and exploring, Schuman is the kind of person who is quick to answer your question with a question of his own.

What’s it like being “The Sartorialist”?

I don’t really think about it. Everyday you’ve got to keep doing it because you don’t get much of a pass, or I try not to take much of a pass or surf too much on my name. At the end of the day, “The Sartorialist” is my desire to communicate, to do good work.

How has your work changed over the years?

In the beginning it was tough to be out looking for street style shots. I like doing it, but there’s so much pressure to be coming up with stuff everyday. In order to build an audience you’ve got to keep giving them content everyday. So, I’m really happy that Instagram has come along. With Instagram, I’ve been able to tweak who I’m speaking to, to have a very design-driven audience. That means I can shoot, not just street style, but an interior, a cool carpet, a thing that I see in a palazzo in Italy. It’s even allowed me to make the street style shots even better and communicate better on all things related to design.

How do people react when they see you in public? Do they ask you you to take their picture? Or to take a picture of you? Or is it a mixture of both reactions?

You know, I was in Sydney — we had just finished shooting there — and I went to a middle-of-nowhere Starbucks, and this girl, she recognized me. The look on her face was so shocked! She said, “Oh, it’s you! I’m your biggest fan!” and she asked to take a picture of me. It’s great when you hear you have a real impact on people, but the impact isn’t even me, it’s pictures I’ve taken of someone else.

What do you think of the selfie culture that we live in now?

Selfies have always been a thing, in a way. You know Van Gogh and Rembrandt were painting portraits of themselves a long time ago. But I don’t understand the drive to do it, or

at least, I don’t understand why people do so many of them.

Was there a moment that really proved to you that you were on the right track?

My big moment was having my dad see this, understand it, support me, and tell me to keep going.

What’s it like being able to see real-time reactions to your work?

It’s great. It’s totally addictive. I consider myself a photographer, but unlike photographers in the past who take an image and put it up on the wall and let other people have their individual interpretation of it, I get to put mine up and then have a real interaction with the people viewing it.

What makes a good picture? The outfit? The person wearing it?

I think a good photograph is in thirds. So, it’s one third lighting. In the right light, someone in a so-so outfit could look great. The other two thirds are the outfit and the person. The shots that make it onto the blog, or in my books, have all three things working.

Why did you choose unconventional cities, including Dubai, for your new book “The Sartorialist X”?

I always saw my work as a real mix of cultures and people. I wanted you to turn the page and not know where you were going to be or what you were going to see on the next page. I wanted to challenge people.

Schott Schuman “The Sartorialist”

The LookBook Page: The Summer Three-Piece While the summer can present a challenge in a lack of layers, we here believe that next to fit, functionality comes into play. Dress in light colors and light materials, put on a hat and some slip ons with no-show socks. The final outfit is a sophisticated and elegant summer suit. Finally, don’t forget a pair of breathable briefs and some sunglasses to keep the sun out of your eyes

LINEN CLASSIC GUAYABERA SHIRT

LINEN-BLEND JACKET

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Cubavera

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MARLON FERNANDEZ $160 Goorin Bros www.goorinbros.com

BREATHABLE BRIEFS $14.99 Pair Of Thieves www.pairofthieves.com

PERSOL MENS SUNGLASSES- ACETATE $230 Persol www.persol.com

LINEN-BLEND VEST

HERRINGBONE LINEN PANT

$27.99

$79.99

Cubavera

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COHEN LOAFERS $209 Beckett Simonon www.becketsimonon.com

NO SHOW SOCKS $14.99 Pair Of Thieves www.pairofthieves.com

Guess Th

Hint: What type of hat is the Marlon

he Theme

n Fernandez on the lookbook page?

A Personal Style Journey: Joshua Betancourt

ell, it was always experiments I would do with my clothing. It involved mixing and matching things that didn’t make sense but they were what I thought was good style. I can remember wanting to put on shoes that were the same but different colors. My Dad shut that down quick. It was a realization of boundaries, that there is a point where things get too crazy.

Now that I am older than I was at that age, seven, it is a valuable lesson. It wasn’t until high school in my senior year that I started making changes to how I dressed myself. Gone were the days of baggy cargo shorts, long socks, and bulky tennis shoes. My style in middle school was comparable to Steve Carrel in the film, “Crazy Stupid Love”. It is funny to watch that film and think that I was that guy. I now realize I am not alone in that. The motivator for me was I started watching more Youtube. I came out of myself a lot in my junior year thanks to a good friend of mine. I started exploring new things. One of those things was style. My first videos I ever watched were Aaron Marino on “alpha m.” and “Real Men Real Style” with Antonio Centeno. It was a new world for me. Your telling me I don’t know how to dress myself? The feeling felt weird but once your on it, you only go forward. It was then that I realized that I could make clothing my weapon. Of course, the introduction became very small things like the shape of a dress shoe should be round and not

boxy and bulky like the majority of menswear today. It was the beginning of a long and profound history lesson on the finer points of classic menswear and what is the standard of good style. The advice was very functional and applicable but with one problem. Quality items cost more money. At the time, I didn’t have a job so getting into this with my family made it seem like I was stuck-up or picky about what I wore. I was. The truth was I always had a hankering for things I didn’t have but wanted. It just transferred from games and electronics to specific types of clothing. I felt like a new man with new knowledge. To this day, I hate square-toed shoes. Now I am at the point in my life where a new philoshophy of dressing for the environment precedes the things I think I want. You can’t wear a $950 Schott Asymmetrical Leather Biker Jacket in the freakin’ RGV. The heat is in the high 90s mostly. But that doesn’t stop me from aspiring to get more quality footwear and other things. I want to earn my clothing. But now there is a new problem, my weight gain. Significantly I have gotten progessively fatter as the 2021 year rolled in. Another philosophy I like on style is that well built style wins. What this means is that body proportions flatter the clothes you wear. That’s why the male models with fit frames have an easier time looking good in clothing versus a chubby adult in the same outfits. It’s a wake up call to health. In a way, getting into style means getting into aesthetics. This goes beyond shirts and pants. It’s the way your body looks without clothes on.

So, this is now a problem to fix. If I gain weight, I have to buy more clothes that will only accentuate the lack of a well built frame. It is now up to me to ensure I get into shape for myself. I want to look good in a suit and be able to pull off some daring sprezzatura with confidence. But first, I have to get in shape. Coming away from this, I’ve tried to get my other male family members into the art of style. My Dad actually started to dress more formal although, he still wears a flatcap and baseball jersey, but there has been some improvement with him. Giving a gift of love is always a positive and I find getting my family nice things is a great thing to do. I overlook myself and seek only to improve other’s lives. First, it starts at home. In doing that exercise, it has made me aware of some basic principles. I don’t have to put myself together for a ridiculously long time. I just need the basics down and then I can experiment. Today’s fashion world is one of an outlandish and modern style. One need only look at what celebrities wear at the Met Gala to know that everything is up in the air creatively. An example I can think of is wanting to wear a nice panama hat I bought but being shy to really own it. I remedied that with one simple trick. I wore the hat. Surprise! Sometimes, the best advice tells you to move forward and get things in motion. You just have to do it. This is my style journey and, honestly, it has only just started. My hope for the future is that I achieve the things I want to achieve and look good doing it. That’s all, folks!