So, you can imagine how pleased we were after receiving the following email...
If you can't read the above screengrab...here it is...
Best,
Julian
ps - the entry about Modern Gentlemen. LOOOL. i'll start typing comments soon."
The email sits in nicely with our 'Save the tie' campaign. The word foulard comes from the French world for silk handkerchief and to be honest with you I didn't know that much else about them other than Fred Astaire used to buy 50 a time from Brooks Brothers. if you want to learn more about them, I found this information courtesy of wisegeek. When men are wearing ties these days most like me are drawn to the skinny tie but why not opt for some traditional style?
Julian mentions within his email one of the best examples of a modern day foulard wearer: Stefano Pilati. When it comes to fashion, Stefano Pilati (see his feature on men.style) is certainly not afraid to lead by example. He embodies the louche elegance of YSL and of course the foulard is a key accessory for doing so. Pilati identifies with the forgotten glamour of tuxedos and scarves, a era where the foulard can complete an outfit...so why not revisit it today? It is all about style with a natural and relaxed elegance and looking back further than Pilati we of course have the wonderful Fred Astaire - "Astaire had the talent to construct a new model for men based on the democratic ideal of the classless aristocrat. He was a hero whose weapon was style, and that style was a distinctive casualness" (Quote from thesartorialist)
Here is Julian modelling the foulard extremely well - does he even need our advice?
Of course there is a danger of looking over dressed with any neck wear. I recently came across this informative article on asuitablewardrobe which offers some great advice. We suggest wearing the foulard with relaxed finishes - the folded cuff, the unbuttoned collar, Of course there is always the Fred Astaire way... teaming it up with a casual tweed jacket and wearing the foulard as a belt - again, effortless style. We suggest a great deal of experimentation. The above image demonstrates that Julian knows how to wear the foulard well already - he's just showing of to us all. I have tried searching for 'how to tie' instructions but to no avail. If Julian lived in the UK, he probably wouldn't be wearing shorts, instead I would suggest relaxed suit trousers. Jeans should be avoided but that's only my opinion. I recently found Lucas Ossendrijver's 10 rules of style and true style is all about making the clothes your own and ultimately dressing should be fun! Our main suggestion to Julian is build your confidence with the foulard by wearing it with a white shirt, as you become more comfortable you can be more adventurous...and of course you can always wear it as a belt!
Can you help Julian out better than we can? Are you an expert when it comes to everything foulard? Let us and Julian know your suggestions.
5 comments:
Thanks guys for honoring my style query and for giving me such valuable advice and feedback. And no i'm not showing off LOL, that's acutally the only way the salesman at the store taught me how to wear it. So please, keep them coming.
hey Julian! I will keep looking into the Foulard possibilites and hopefully our readers will come up with a few awesome ideas as well...Thomas I'm looking at you.
I believe Julian is doing just fine with his foulard. What a lovely word that is as well.
I do agree with the issue on men's magazines that's why I find myself more drawn to publications like AnOtherMan and Arena Homme + par example.
but then again I have the same sentiment as Dame Vivienne Westwood when she mentioned in an interview with Arena Homme + that magazines aren't usually meant to be read. You just merely browse through them. Perhaps that's induced by the tons of visual imagery available. I just end up not reading them from cover to cover.
GQ in particular seems to hold on to too many gender norms. I could say at one point it's conservative.
As for editorials, GQ France seems to have interesting ones but I still need to have my hands on an actual issue and not just scans posted on forums. haha
Just picked up a foulard yesterday at a thrift store in Chicago, and am very glad you have given me directions on how to wear it and pair it.
I look forward to reading more of your blog...
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