Some Interesting Articles On Fashion
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I love Stevie Wonder.
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It was his birthday recently.
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I'm an incredibly big fan.
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You may be too.
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He is one of the performers of the soundtrack of my life.
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I remember first hearing his 1960s Motown era stuff when I was a little kid.
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βFingertips.β
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Damn. I love Motown.
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He was a child prodigy.
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Some say his best album is βSongs in the Key of Life.β
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I saw a video about the making of it.
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Some English production.
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And I broke down crying because I saw him play the drums.
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For some reason, I thought the piano...
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Well, maybe you could kind of figure that out if you're blind.
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But seeing him play the drums blind blew my mind.
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But I'm really here to talk about his fashion.
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Since he was a child
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Up till now
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If you think about it.
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Stevie Wonder has had some incredible looks.
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From the clean cut, dark shades with the harmonica evoking Ray Charles
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To the applejack hat in the '70s
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To his braids and beads in the '80s and '90s.
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And even up till now.
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You love him for his music.
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You can also admire him for his fashion.
Wardrobe Wisdom Sale of the Week
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A SINGULAR TAKE ON FASHION |
Going Tie-Less with a Suit
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By Eric Langlois
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I am a huge proponent of wearing tailoring casually, particularly during the summer.
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Changing dress codes mean that neckties are no longer required in most offices and restaurants, but suits or sport
coats are still worn.
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In hot weather, I like wearing a summer-weight jacket, both for style reasons and because it can be nice to have an additional layer in air-conditioned locations.
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While the necktie will probably never go away in my lifetime, itβs a lot less ubiquitous than it once was.
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When I worked in menswear, the turnover on our stock of ties was pretty limited, largely confined to older men who habitually wore ties, younger men who actually enjoyed wearing ties, and new graduates who discovered that they didnβt own a single tie and needed one for job interviews.
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Besides the courtroom, the job interview is one of the last places that ties are expected, but when youβve actually got the job most workplaces donβt require ties at all. Iβve worked with college deans and corporate executives who still wear suits or sport coats, but reserve neckties for the most important occasions.
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Suit purists will tell you that you should never wear a suit without a tie, and while theyβre entitled to their opinion, I disagree completely.
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At the same time, there are details to keep in mind beyond just tossing aside your necktie and opening a top button (or two).
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Suiting Details
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Wearing a suit without a tie is a casual look, which should be reflected by the type of suit youβre
wearing.
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Many suit-wearing corporate executives and politicians wear their shirt collars open with the same dark, tightly-woven worsted business suits that they would wear with a necktie.
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The idea might be to convey a hard-working or relatable image, but an open shirt collar with a conservative suit can make it look like they just took off their tie in the car on their way home from the office.
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For a no-tie look, youβd be better served wearing suits in casual colors like khaki, brown, light grey, or green.
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Suits in wool materials like tweed, fresco, or solaro can convey a relaxed image in an intentional way, at work or not.
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Cotton and linen suits are great warm-weather wear in settings where the inevitable wrinkles arenβt a
problem, and can add to a tie-free outfitβs devil-may-care feel.
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In my opinion, the traditional stiff-collared dress shirt is the other place where suddenly going tie-less can go wrong.
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These shirts are intended to be worn with a necktie, and donβt look as good without one.
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The habitual tie-less suit wearer would be better off reserving dress shirts for necktie occasions and choosing a different option for daily wear.
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Button Down Shirt
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The button-down collar is perfect for wearing open with a jacket, which has helped support its longevity even as neckties become less and less common in daily wear. The self-supporting structure of the button-down shirt, where the buttons keep the collar points in place, keeps the wearer looking put- together while still appearing relaxed.
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The button down was made to be worn with a jacket, and looks just as home without a tie as it does with one.
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For a more casual look in the summer months, I like to wear button-downs in a half-placket popover design.
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These can be found in oxford cloth, madras, and seersucker which accentuate the summery feel of the outfit.
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Open Collar Shirt
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Open collar shirts are constructed without a collar band so that the collar can lie open in a relaxed fashion.
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Now commonly known as the βcamp collar,β it has been called a βconvertible collarβ because it can still be buttoned closed and worn with a necktie, although this is rare today.
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You can wear an open collar shirt with a jacket one of two ways: with the collar outside the jacket or inside it.
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Outside the jacket, the collar folds over the top of the jacket collar in what is called a βrunaway collarβ look.
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This is a flashier look, reminiscent of 1940s/50s resortwear. It also kind of requires you to keep your jacket on, as youβll have to fix your collar back into position if you take off your jacket and then put it back on.
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Wearing an open collar shirt with the collar inside the jacket is simpler and more understated, but your jacket can crush the natural roll of the collar and hide it from view, meaning that you might have been better off just wearing a button-down instead.
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Knit Shirts
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The polo shirt in traditional cotton pique is a summer classic which can pair nicely with a casual sport coat. The relatively stiff cotton collar gives it some structure which allows it to sit comfortably under a jacket. Polos in more luxurious kits are a dressier alternative, although softer knit collars may not sit as well under or on top of a jacket collar.
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The turtleneck and suit combination was a popular one in the 1960s and 70s, when the necktieβs popularity began its downward trajectory.
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The turtleneck or mock-neck collar covers the throat in a way that appears put-together while still looking more relaxed than a collar and tie.
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While turtlenecks are not ideal for the height of summer, they come in so many weights and materials that they are a fine option for the other three quarters of the year. Thick submariner sweaters in the dead of winter can be rotated out for short sleeve cotton mock-necks in late spring.
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The final, and least formal, shirt to wear with a suit or sport coat is the t-shirt, in a high-quality knit or sturdy jersey depending on the setting.
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One of my icons for summer wear is Walter Matthau in The Odd Couple, who wears a grey t-shirt under a cotton sport coat and shows that a t-shirt in a solid color under a jacket can look classic and relaxed.
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Do You Need My Help?
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- Have you ever found yourself staring at the closet not knowing what to wear?
- Do you need help with coordinating pieces?
- Do you constantly struggle putting an outfit together and want to turn that confusion into confidence?
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Then let's talk about how we can improve your look.
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