Sexy situation. The gestures of male sensuality are much less than those made, on purpose or not, by women. Our sexy-situations can be counted on one hand, let’s use them! First situation, the business meeting: the way we cross the legs. Of course we can’t twist them à la Parietti style; so let’s put the ankle on the knee (but pay attention not to show the sole to the person sitting beside you, especially if she’s a lady), with the hand on the calf.  Freetime situation, for example on the beach: many women think we’re more attractive bare-chested wearing a pair of jeans, than wearing a swimming suit. And don’t mind if the legs remain white. Home situations: we have two of them. The shaving: it seems that seeing us with the face full of foam, focused in front of the mirror, drives them crazy. Last but not least: the tie, wearing a tie, knotting a tie. In several movies it is done before wearing the trousers, but the risk is to have a too short, or too long, tie. Man-to-man: wear the trousers before, and then knot the tie. Ph. from the website themenissue.com

Divergent thinking. Wide trousers with turn-up, maybe intentionally turned on a leg for this picture, pullover with a wide oval neckline worn on the bare skin, watch with a round clock face, penny loafers and…white, short socks. The etiquette of menswear has very strict rules, and one of them is about socks: they mustn’t be white nor short. But history of fashion and style icons prove just the opposite. The picture we are talking about is from 1951. More than sixty years have passed by, but this is here, flawless, to show us that the charm of some men and of a certain movie iconography is timeless. Is breaking the rules a luxury allowed only to movie, literature and art stars? Maybe. But the temptation to revalue that casual-chic look, which is so “imperfect” in its elegance, is really strong: try to add some garments, to set the tone of the outfit, and see if it works. Gene Kelly in 1951, picture by Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Functioning chic. “You have to suffer to be beautiful”. True? False? The truth lies in the middle. This slogan was coined by the USA clothing company Clipper Craft in 1960. It was surely incisive, but menswear, then, was so far to adopt fabrics and treatments apt to make classic wear practical and comfortable. Today this is possible, but we must distinguish between comfort and sloppiness: with sweatshirt and oversized jackets – unless you are under 18 – you’ll look like homeless. In hyper-traditional clothing, the sartorial one, it’s difficult (but not impossible) to find a match point between elegance and practicality. As an alternative, there’s a world too much hastily described as “casual” that, on the contrary, is chic and functioning at the same time. Look at the outfits I suggest you. They’re only one thousandth of what you can find in stores and represent a synthesis between classic, newness and comfort. Advertising of the USA clothing company Clipper Craft (1960).

(Revisited) Icons. Is there a way to update an iconic style? It’s difficult, because the icon has a precise symbolic meaning, which is “untouchable”. The English poet Thom Gunn (1929-2004) chose to move to San Francisco to come out. In those years, the Sixties, even in the States this matter was a taboo (it doesn’t mean that now it’s a bed of roses…). In the picture on the right we see Gunn in a biker-casual outfit: checked shirt, gun belt and jeans. An iconic attire, in fact, adopted by many Hollywood stars, from Steve McQueen to Jude Law (when he’s far from the red carpet, of course). It reminds us the costumes of Brokeback Mountain, just to stay on the topic. Well, this week I throw down the guantlet: I try to “debunk” that old-fashioned image with a base close to the original, but with a modern styling. Look at the pictures, and tell me if I’m wrong. The English poet Thom Gunn