I have mentioned here a few weeks ago a style very popular back in the days, sweaters tucked into pants. The social media response hasn’t been positive. To be more specific it wasn’t my intention to suggest such a look to our readers, although I was expressing my opinion about that particular outdated yet not unpleasant style from the past, which is what I usually do when I write this column. Armani and Dolce & Gabbana have been using that combination many times for advertising and fashion shows, fashion victims have been copying the style and often unfortunately with dreadful results… especially because sweaters used to be “thick” so on a full bodied figure the waistline was getting alarmingly big. We should consider that trousers used to be loose-fitting and not straight like nowadays so it was a balanced result of proportions after all. Long live to cigarette trousers! Too bad that when you stand up they stick to your socks. In conclusion, I can confirm that if the oversized trend could ever make a come back- body structure allowing- I would still appreciate the final result. In fact to tell you the truth, if my figure it’s slender enough and the sweater tight-fitting, personally, I tuck it in. In the picture, top model Greg Hansen at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show, 1992.

Women who dress up men, or rather, when the designer is a woman. They would like to see us sensitive but not soppy. Elegant but not affected and masculine without showing any sign of machismo. Donatella Versace is an exception, she has been preserving the sensuality of his brother’s collections and she has been respecting not only the way he has imprinted on them but also the public’s expectations. Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons)and Miuccia Prada instead, would like to see man changing their wardrobes every season: they are eclectic, intellectuals, futurists, they are also willing to change their idea of fashion however maintaining their personal style. To make ourselves understood, a piece of Prada is highly recognizable, even if colors and shapes keep changing through the years. Silvia Venturini Fendi really prefers an unconventional man, who’s bold enough to wear fur and who’s not afraid of considering frivolous undertones when he chooses his fabrics. Also Veronique Nichanian, creative director of Hermès’ menswear line since 1998, opts for traditional style coupled with dandy influences: silken shirts, silken scarves with peculiar patterns and shades like the sienna, mustard yellow and bluette. Brilliant references and innuendos which through the years built a kind of menswear designed by women that is most assuredly timeless. Picture by Marcus Gaab from M 2007. The model is wearing a Fendi Blazer and an Hermès shirt.

Layers, weights and patterns, they’re nice but dangerous. A men who is gifted with personality and taste, can make an attempt mixing and matching unusual combinations without neglecting composure and sense of measure. Printed and elaborated fabrics can coexist, especially during the winter time when we can get layered. There’s a wide variety of choices but that could also be confusing, so if you feel like pushing the boundaries with an unconventional look my impartial advice would be to follow your instinct being careful not to overdo it: if it doesn’t feel comfortable it’s just better to give up. There are knitted blazers with removable linings which are as worm as a paletot, it is possible to wear them on top of a suit which should be in worsted wool and not in tweed or any other “thick” fabric, because having two similar kind of wool rubbing against each other is not flattering as it makes you look bigger. However there are some tight-fitting, sleek designed fabrics (almost optical as the twill in the picture) to wear in contrast with the jacket-coat thickness. To conclude, a small geometric patterned shirt to match the micro-windowpane check fabric of the outerwear in the same nuances would work. In this cases, to soften up such an original ensamble, one should keep the accessories classic and simple in order not to pointlessly force it. Yes, very fashionable, but with balance and common sense. Picture: knitted wool blazer by Giorgio Armani; Herringbone wool suit by Zegna.