Hello, male. How changes the perception of “beauty” over time! And with many contraddictions. The fans of the last androgynous skinny trend are usually the same that regret the “real males”, all muscles, moustaches and suntan? The menswear samples are made only for very thin build by now. Size 46, at most 48. Obviously, those so lucky (but is it a real value?) to have this kind of build can consider a purchase in this direction, if they can afford it. The hunks are excluded. How much longer? Will the 80s’ sense of beauty come back? Many hope so. I don’t feel the difference: due to age matters I’ll be ridiculous dressed like David Bowie as well as Burt Reynolds.

The exception to the rule. Timeless beauty. When elegance and charisma coexist, there’s not much to talk about, the picture talks for itself. Mr Irons, on the set for Style Magazine december 2015, was dressed really…normally: pullover, a scarf, dark jeans. The only almost clashing detail, but typical of the american taste, that belongs to the clichè of a great and a bit capricious actor: pointed boots. It’s ok. They’re ok. But you have to be tall. When I was a boy I often dressed like this, I liked it: a pullover, five-pockets in bleached denim and the above-menioned “camperos”. At eighteen you can wear almost everything. And then I was in perfect harmony with the trends. Jeremy Irons can wear almost everything because he’s a global star! Today the boots under the jeans are honestly outdated. But Irons doesn’t make fashion, he makes movies, he does it well and we like him. Total respect. But if you aren’t him, please, wear a pair of desert boots. Jeremy Irons in a picture by Brigitte Lacombe for Style Magazine.

The choice of the socks. In the last years socks have become a very important accessories in menswear, so much so that women often wear “men’s” crew socks. The reason could be that they’re the cheaper fashion accessories, or that designers have understood that the right choice of the socks is trendy, mainly if they have very peculiar colours, prints and textures. In Italy this is a very recent trend, while American, French and especially British care about the choice of the socks as they care about choosing shoes. It is not by chance that the British designer Paul Smith has been one of the first to propose and value coloured and printed socks, matching them in contrast with the trousers, or in the same shades. For example: plain coloured trousers with optical-checked socks, or beige glencheck trousers with darker glencheck socks. Picture taken from “A gentleman’s guide to Dress and Style” by Nick Clemens (Goodwood).

Deep Red. Its title should have been The saber-toothed tiger. We don’t know if Dario Argento changed his mind in the last second or if he declared a false title to divert the expectations of press and audience. Regardless, it came out with the title Deep Red. It was march 7th 1975. So, the most successful movie by Dario Argento is 40 years old but it looks more recent. The director used advanced shooting techniques, from the Snorkel microcamera to the Dolly Champman camera for tracking shots. Obviously, it has nothing to do with the modern special effects. But the great thing about Deep red is that, although it was shot with means now obsolete, it is frightful just like the actual The Ring saga. The final flashback, that reveals that the murderer’s identity was right before our eyes since the first murder (matter of seconds, but we can see the criminal’s face), and the soundtrack by the Goblins are a milestone of the italian filmmaking. Above, Dario Argento with David Hemmings, the protagonist of Deep Red. 

Master of style. John Cassavetes: a rare mix of beauty and talent. Between the 50s and the 80s he acted in about thirty movies and directed a dozen of independent movies. They were “special” movies, often filmed in interiors, like theatrical pieces. Conceptual films and intellectual scripts. Cassavetes, indeed, is not so famous, mainly among young people. The only movie that reached the public approval and made him popular as an actor at the end of the 70s was Rosemary’s Baby, by Roman Polanski. And the only well-known one he directed was Gloria. A summer night, interpreted by his wife Gena Rowlands. She had the same destiny. she is little known even if she’s as talented and beautiful as others more famous colleagues. Cassavetes has always been in the shadows, like all the greats of the show business and he was (in my opinion) unconsciously sensual. He had an innate and discreet style, he was confident wearing a suit as well as a classic/informal outfit. John Cassavetes (on the right) with Peter Falk. Picture from the book John Cassavetes by Jim Healy and Emanuela Martini (Il Castoro Publishing)