Mars in furs. Be realistic. A man in furs is a pop-star habit. It’s not strange if they’re worn by Elton John. Or if it’s an artist, or an actor, that shows off an animalier blazer. The fur on a man passes by (almost) unnoticed when we see it worn by show-business men, artists, trendsetters or eccentrics intellectuals. In the 70s it was in fashion, and was worn by “common” (meaning unknown) men. But they dared, at most, to wear lined shearling or coats with fur lapels. Today it’s an “aesthetic challenge that’s worth trying” (as written by the colleague Michele Ciavarella on Style). Is it right? Maybe. My point of view: if we’re talking about eco-fur, ok, let’s try. Or rather: you try. If it’s real fur, of any kind of animal, I choose the Facebook option for those who don’t want to join those annoying group chats: “Leave the conversation”. Rock Hudson on the set of the movie Lover Come Back by Delbert Mann, 1961.

Nothing under the sweater. It seems that the Schema Libero of some weeks ago has been really appreciated – I’ve made a list of the behaviours and the garments that make us sexy in women’s eyes. Leafing through an old issue of Slurp magazine, I found this picture of David Gandy – one of the most desired men in the world – wearing the classic braided pullover on the bare skin. I realized that I had to add this in the hit of the men’s sexiest behaviours in accordance with women’s tastes. And not only women’s. And I don’t mean Gandy, but the image and the feeling of the fabric on skin. If you wear neither a shirt nor a T-shirt, the hand slides under the sweater and the contact with the body is immediate: it suggests also – if I can dare – a rather explicit fantasy. You take off the sweater and you’re (almost) ready for…Okay, I won’t go beyond. The model David Gandy in a picture of Massimo Pamparana (2010)

Comfort Code. The “conservatives” of classic clothing wrinkle their nose. I visualize their horrified expression looking at this outfit by John Varvatos worn in 2006 by Iggy Pop for his adv campaign. Pop wears actually a shirt and a tie. But the leather waistcoat, the sleeveless studded jacket, breaks the codes of formal wear. For fashionistas this is neither new nor shocking. For all the other customers – the main part, I think – this matching is justified by the personality, but it’s not appropriate. But wearing a leather waistcoat under a wool jacket we can even avoid wearing a coat in midwinter. And here a very captivating feature for men comes into play: the practicality. Especially if you don’t love long coats (a must-have for this season) and you usually drive a motorcycle. Think about it. Comfort and fashion together. Why not? The singer Iggy Pop in the adv campaign of the american designer John Varvatos, 2006 (detail).

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.