New Year's Eve Checklist

New Year's Eve is upon us, so make sure you have a few fundamentals covered.

1 Your tuxedo is cleaned and pressed.

2 Shoes are shined.

3 Reservations are made.

4 Cologne. WTF? Just a little for God's sake. It's not a substitute for bathing.

5 See previous posts for tuxedo tips.

Lastly, pick a place and stay with it, use a taxi or a designated driver. Cell block D is not where you want to be wearing a tuxedo.

Have fun and Happy New Year!

The Pea Coat

The Pea Coat or "P" for pilot (as in it's original meaning for a ship's pilot) is a traditional naval garment that has thankfully not changed over the years.

It is incredibly warm and comfortable. The wide collar turned up protects you from biting cold wind on your neck and the pockets are perfectly placed for hand warming with an ergonomic angle for your elbows.

I pull mine out when we get arctic winds and sub-freezing temperatures in Colorado.

Oh yeah, it looks good, too.

Definitions

When I write about these subjects, I'm talking about style not fashion. I don't know what fashion is and I don't care. It's usually silly. If I followed fashion I'd be telling you to buy pants three sizes too big and to wear your baseball cap sideways.

Style means your style not what everyone else likes or thinks is cool.

It's not just about how you present yourself, but your comfort as well.

Presidential Style

The men who occupy the White House have always been under intense scrutiny for everything from policy to personal style. These are some guys that brought a little flair with them to the Oval Office.

JFK cool. Like having Steve McQueen as Commander in Chief. He looked loose and confident in everything he wore.

Ronald Reagan. Maybe it was his Hollywood pedigree, but he was always immaculate in his personal style. Well tailored suits, Windsor knots in his neckties. Sharp as a tack.

Much has been made of George W's boots, both positively and negatively. The truth is, that it is perfectly acceptable to bring something regional to traditional clothing. LBJ and Reagan wore them as well and nobody gave them a hard time about it. America has cultures within cultures and Bush's western roots showed his personal preference. I'm good with that.

President Obama carries off classic tailoring with his athlete's frame. He always tops it off with a killer necktie. He's a clothes hangar that suits were made for.

There are many more examples of note. FDR's hats and pince nez. Truman's white linen double breasted suit and panama.

Each inhabitant of the White House brings their own idea of how the Leader of the Free World should present himself.

Gentlemanly Behavior

Lets' talk about women.

All the style talk is fun, but the fact is, with an intelligent, witty woman by your side you can wear a $50.00 suit and look like a million bucks thanks to her. But, in order to have that woman with you in the first place you must behave in a way that she deserves.

These are some basic pieces of etiquette and they apply whether you've known her 50 minutes or 50 years.

Open doors and pull back chairs. I don't know a single woman who takes offense to this. It's not a political statement, it's just well mannered.

Pay attention to her. It's rude to look around the room when she's speaking to you and staring at other women is worse. Presumably, you want to be with this woman, so don't do it.

Dance even if you think you can't. She'll only care that you tried.

Don't talk about yourself all night. Ask her about her.

These are simple rules that someone should have already taught you but, there it is. You can spend all the money you want on clothes, but without manners you're just a thug in an expensive suit.

The Tuxedo Part III

The bow tie. As I mentioned earlier, a clip on bow tie is for kids. While the black silk necktie is acceptable with a tuxedo, the bow tie is still the standard and the real thing is not hard to tie.

Brooks Brothers carries my favorite bow tie and it's priced at $60.00. Even if you're renting your tuxedo for the night, purchase your own tie and the effect will be transformative.

Follow the simple instructions below and you'll be ready for drinks, dancing or espionage.

Do grow up, 007.

Jazz Style

Jazz musicians have always colored outside the lines a bit both musically and in respect to their personal style. While pushing the edge of the envelope, some have become icons.



Dizzy Gillespie.
His beret and overtly hipster image belied his serious attitude about his craft. Hipster wannabes all over the world began wearing berets.







With all due respect to Elvis, Bing Crosby was the first white performer to take African American music to the white audience. Bing is now remembered as a movie star and the singer of White Christmas, but he was heavily influenced by jazz and the biggest star on earth for many years. He wore traditional clothing, but the way he wore it was always loose and cool.





Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential musicians of all time. He had hip personal style traits like silk socks rolled down tightly and pocket handkerchiefs that he held in his hand while playing his horn. So beloved, his passing was the front page headline in newspapers all over the world.









The birth of the cool.
Miles Davis constantly reinvented himself, but in the early days he was a blueprint for the style of actors and musicians.


These early heroes laid the groundwork for the marriage between music and style that is still with us today.

The A-2

You've seen it on Steve McQueen, Gregory Peck, John Wayne and maybe you're father or grandfather. The A-2 flight jacket.

Adopted by the Army Air Corps in 1930, it was phased out in the 1970's. It was reintroduced to the military in 1988 and is still issued to airmen.

I bought an A-2 flight jacket when I learned to fly. It was part affectation (I don't know a pilot who doesn't have one) and part practicality. It's cold at altitude in the unheated cockpit of a small airplane.

Originally, A-2's were made from horsehide, but now they are made from goatskin. If you purchase a real one like this and care for it well, it will literally last a lifetime. The best place to buy is from a U.S. government contractor that supplies flight jackets to the USAF and the US Navy like Gibson and Barnes.

You can purchase a "civilian" A-2 that will include side hand warmer pockets, but the traditional model doesn't have them.

This jacket gets better and better with age and you'll never want to give it up.

The Blue Blazer

Yeah, I know, but you need one.

Suits are not always appropriate and a classic blue blazer goes with almost everything. Grey flannel slacks, khakis, jeans, whatever.

Make sure that you choose tropical weight wool. Cheaper fabrics won't last and won't look nearly as sharp.

It's also a great multi-purpose jacket for a trip, business or otherwise.

Remember on all jackets bought off the rack, you'll still need some tailoring, particularly the sleeves. Very few guys are perfect sizes and if the sleeves are too long you'll end up looking like you borrowed your Dad's coat. It's not costly to have some tailoring done and it's worth it.

A Rogues Gallery of Style

Okay, I'm not a kid, so my point of reference is not contemporary. Over the years my style has evolved, or should I say devolved to a very traditional ideal.

These are the guys that I grew up watching and admiring.

Sinatra. Super cool in the sharpest suits.

Robert Mitchum. Every well dressed tough guy had a trench coat.

William Holden. I never saw a movie of his I didn't like.

Sean Connery. Still my favorite Bond.

Gable. The best ever.

Nobody has ever worn a tuxedo better than Cary Grant.

The Tuxedo Part II

There are several choices of shoe to wear with a tuxedo. My least favorite is the tuxedo slipper. Essentially it's a slip on loafer style in patent leather or worse yet, velvet. Lame and not masculine.

Patent leather oxfords are more comfortable and look great. These are popular with rentals and are appropriate for very special events.

If you own your tuxedo and wear it often, such as a professional musician does, an excellent pair of black leather oxfords like Bostonians polished to a high gloss are your best bet. Leather soles only, not rubber.

Cocktails, dancing or playing your horn, your shoes say a lot about your style.

The Safari Jacket

I've owned three of these over the last 25 years. They're perfect when you don't particularly want to wear a sport coat and they're the greatest travel coat ever invented.

The jacket still looks good even after you have been on an airplane for 5 hours, after a 2-hour car ride and 3 hours waiting for your flight. Wrinkled or not, you'll still look like a million bucks. Put everything you've got with you in the pockets and airport security is piece of cake.

Oh yeah, you can take it on safari, too.

The Way You Wear Your Hat

Hats were an historically important part of a man's image, until the early 1960's. Many credit the death of the hat in popular culture to JFK, but no one knows for sure.

The most important part of wearing a hat is the comfort level of doing so. Obviously, most men don't wear hats now as in generations past. The sole contemporary exception is the Western states where some boys grow up wearing cowboy hats. Go to a regional rodeo and you'll see boys and men of all ages who know how to wear a hat. A hat should be part of the individual and he must be comfortable with it sitting atop his head. Example: Harrison Ford knows how to wear a hat, Justin Timberlake doesn't. Ironically, Ford wears it as part of a character and still looks more natural.

Choosing a hat wisely is to be aware of the shape of your face. There are plenty of good hats to be found from hat stores online, but the best scenario is to have a hat custom made. The width of the brim, the height of the crown and the style of hat for the individual are very important.

I have many hats, but a grey fedora with a high crown that was custom-made as a wedding gift from my wife is my favorite, still. Thinning hair means that I either wear a hat for warmth or sun protection, but they are very important to me. When worn well, hats can also display an incredible amount of style and individuality. Just for the record, you may wear it in the bar, but remove it at the table.

Two of my favorite hat makers are Barron's in Burbank, California and Greeley Hat Works in Colorado, both making top notch hats. If you venture in to either of these stores, the sales clerks know all about hats and are able to help a novice pick out just the right one.

Once you acquire a level of comfort with wearing a hat, it will feel like a favorite old jacket, but look even better.

The Tuxedo

Let's start from the top. Many occasions will call for you to dress formally and very few men actually own a tuxedo these days. Renting a tux for a special night is not a bad thing, but there are a few pitfalls to avoid.

Pick your 007. From 1962 to 2009, what you will not see Bond wearing is a clip-on bow tie. Even if you rent your tuxedo, spend a few bucks and buy a real tie to go with it. It's not difficult to learn how to tie it and it will set you apart from the other first timers at your event. A black tie, please. Resist the urge to wear a tie with a pattern. Plaid bow ties are fine if you are 7 years old or a 90 year old member of a yacht club. Otherwise, show a little elegance. Similar cummerbund guidelines - more on that later.

The dinner jacket you choose depends on your frame. If you are a big guy, a peaked lapel will make you look like a box. A shawl collar dinner jacket (think Sean Connery) will slim you down and streamline you. If it's summer or you are in the Caribbean, you may wear a white dinner jacket. October to May in the States calls for black.

My personal preference for a shirt is a tennis collar ( just a traditional shirt collar). You can choose a peaked collar, but keep in mind that the peaked collar will ride high on your neck. And if you're not used to the peaked collar, you'll stop turning your head like a human and look like Frankenstein's monster at the party. Not the image you were after.

Lastly, keep your coat on at the wedding or party. A few drinks and some dancing and most guys start dismantling their attire. You're all grown up now and you can stay dressed for 4 hours. At the end of the night, do you think women will notice the guy that's still put together or the drunken frat boy with his shirt tail hanging out?

There is much more to say about the tuxedo, but you have start somewhere! Have fun!