Thursday, July 28, 2011

What to take from Pitti Uomo

Holy cow, I'm actually updating this blog! And I'm doing it with a post I wrote months ago. It may be late, but it's better than never, right? That's what "they" say anyway. Here's my take on what to come away with from Pitti:

1. Don't wear a costume.

This looks absolutely ridiculous. Surely, you'd never wear mint green pants with a lavender jacket, right? How can this apply? Well, a "preppy" or supposedly "classic" look can fall into costume territory very quickly (see: the 1980's).

If you want to do something fun or go-to-hell, keep it to a single item. I'd consider a madras shirt, at least traditional, plaid madras, to fall into this category. In the picture below I kept my look pretty low key, with the exception of the bright shirt.


2. Some color combinations just work, and always will.
Color combinations are, in my opinion, the best reason to go through pictures from an event like Pitti. For example, Tommy Ton's photos can give endless inspiration. These pictures can give you an easy way to see what different colors and patterns look like when matched. This year's biggest trend appears to have been blue on blue, specifically a very light blue shirt paired with a navy tie; it works, in fact it looks amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't save pictures when I planned this post a couple months back, and this is the best picture I can find now.


3. Do have fun with your clothes.
There's no reason to take yourself overly seriously at any point, really, and dress can be a great way to add some whimsy to life. Why not throw on some of those GTH pants or a fun shirt. If you like it, go with it. Just keep the rest of your outfit fairly neutral, as mentioned.


4. A trend to take
Finally, there's one trend that may truly turn out to be trendy, but is still well worth stealing: high lapel notches. Some of the current jackets have taken the lapel notch and moved it up about an inch. It's subtle, but it creates an updated look that wont make you feel absurd when you go back and look at a picture in 15 years (lookin' at you, Thom Browne).


Alright, if you're actually reading this, thanks for sticking with me through months of non-updates. I have some posts written out that I need to get typed up and posted, hopefully I'll do it in a timely manner.