Dandy, Dandified, Dandification



Nick Cannon, a modern-day dandy.  Notice the three-piece suit.



Matt Lauer, a daily fashion must-see.  Light-blue shirt, and very simple, understated cufflinks.


The Colored Man loves fashion and stylish people.  My father gave me a great example to follow, and to this day, he always turns out very nicely dressed.  In the 50+ years that I have known him, I have never seen him wear jeans, shorts, sweatpants or athletic-type pants, sneakers, baseball caps, or anything else that might not be considered stylish.  My father comes from a time period when men dressed in the manner that they wanted to be perceived in.  His generation of colored men dressed elegantly in an effort to shield themselves from the wolves that they had to face when they went out into the world.  They viewed dressing as a way of representing the greater African-American race, and perhaps it's a mind-set that we need to revisit.

Clothes truly do make the man, or at the least, announce the man to the world.  The past few weeks I have been searching for a pair of brown dress shoes.  It seems impossible to find them.  Brown is not a big color in men's suiting, and went out of style when some presidental candidate made the comment "beware of the man in the brown suit," about 70 years ago.  Ronald Reagan brought the brown suit back into vogue during his reign in the White House.  Much to every fashion follower's disappointment, Barack Obama has not proven to be a fashion-setter like his wife, but he has brought flip-flops to the attention of people.  But please be aware, flip-flops are a podiatrists' nightmare, or maybe I should say dream, because if you wear them often, eventually you will end up in their office with foot or bone damage.   The President looks good in his clothes, but imagine what a little tailoring, and a different suit cut could do for someone with his height and leanness?

I did find some brown Ferragamo's, but as with alot of men's fashion, they are made with a European slant; men with long, narrow feet.  The Colored Man has low-arches, so the Ferragamo's look good on my foot when I am sitting down, but the minute that I stand up, the spread out around the ankles like butter on hot bread.  Of course, I have found a few pair of brown shoes, but the price point is a little bit out of my range, but I have been known to suffer for the sake of fashion, and purchasing them will put the Colored Man on a whole nutha' level of fashion.

Recently, I attended an event with some friends.  I wore a grey flannel suit with side-vents, a purple checked shirt which I had shipped overnight(and believe me getting that shirt is a story unto itself), brown suede shoes, and a pocket square that picked up the purple, grey and brown.  I thought that I was looking sharp, but it's always good to hear it from someone else's lips.  This particular suit must be a winner, because the first time that I wore it, a male business colleague told me that I looked sexy!!!  The whole scene was interesting, and the Colored Man never turns down a compliment, but it would have been better if it came from someone that I would've wanted that particular compliment to come from.

I love mixing colors and patterns, and putting stuff together simply because I think that it looks good.  I am a gender-bender, and have purchased ladies socks because I liked the pattern, and it is extremely hard to find exciting men's socks.  Sometimes a pop of color at the foot, just gives an outfit that added bump.  I get excited thinking about my outfit before an event, and will lay everything out on the bed to make sure it's worthy of the Colored Man.  Shoes have to be polished, and top hat ready to go.

Now, there are rules that I follow when dressing, and advise others to follow.  Here we go.....

1.  T-shirts underneath shirts during the summer.  Especially dress shirts-nothing looks worse than a shirt plastered to someone's sweaty back.
2.  No socks with sandals.
3.  Use an iron - you should not step out of your house with clothes that are wrinkled.  There is no excuse for this faux pas.  It looks down-right tacky and "bamaly".
4.  Buy quality.  Don't be afraid to purchase items at high-end stores and boutiques.  Particularly when they have a sale.  Mix price-points.
5.  Set the trend.  Don't follow the trend.
6.  Wear all black occasionally.
7.  Black, brown, navy blue, red, orange shirts do not look good with suits, however, white, lite blue, pale pink look great, and preferably with French cuffs.
8.  Sweaters - cashmere, cashmere, cashmere!!!!!!!
9.  Get rid of stuff - if it is not couture and possibly vintage and collectible, it is not worth anything, so take it to Goodwill and free up space in your closet for new items.
10.  Read men's fashion magazines and blogs for information and inspiration.  Use the internet to shop.
11.  Know what looks good on you and what doesn't.  The same idea goes for colors-know which ones work, and which ones don't.
12.  Shop with a keen eye at discount stores.  There is a reason that they exist and the buyer has to always be aware.
13. Have at least one dark suit in your closet, and one summer fabric suit in your closet.
14.  Wear evening shoes with a tuxedo.

Before I end, I feel that it is my duty to give you a heads up on the trends for Men Spring 2011.  Look for flared jeans-no more of those skinny jeans where you need an ass about as wide as a pencil to wear, and another trend to be on the lookout for is motorcycle jackets crafted in very lightweight, buttery leather.  Now, while you are looking out for these trends, I will continue to search for a pair of brown dress shoes, and we will meet somewhere in the aisle of a good men's clothing store.

The Colored Man
Thecoloredman@gmail.com
coloredm@yahoo.com