Category Archives: Wardrobe Development

Neckwear Knowledge – Tying it Together

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Ties are available in all sorts of colors, patterns, textures, and motifs. These are some spring 2009 neckwear trends I thought would be fun to share.

Think Pink
[Pictured: Armani dress shirt
Armani, XMI, Etro neckwear
Carrot & Gibbs bowtie]

Lavender Liaisons
[Pictured: Canali shirt
Robert Talbott Seven Fold, David Donahue, Canali neckwear]

“Teal Totaling”
[Pictured: Canali shirt
Robert Talbott Seven Fold, XMI, Canali neckwear]

Earth & Sky
[Pictured: Canali shirt
Robert Talbott, Robert Talbott Seven Fold, Etro neckwear]

The Total Spring 2009 Trend Package
[Dress shirts and ties available at Nordstrom]

A tie is a tailored man’s signature piece of apparel. If you are suiting up for your workweek, for a job interview, or for a special social occasion, the ties you select to complete the ensembles make much more of a statement than the suits you select.

The tie is more important than the suit
If an average person were given the opportunity to observe several men wearing various navy suits, she or he would not easily distinguish one suit’s unique qualities from another. Ask a well-to-do gentleman his reason for purchasing a featherweight, handmade garment. It won’t be because he intends to impress as much as he desires comfort. Otherwise, style is subjective based on the tastes and budget of the wearer. A savvy retail sales professional is good at pairing the appropriate suit to his customer. Theoretically, so long as the navy suit fits well, it doesn’t really matter if the maker is Kiton or DKNY to the average onlooker. The label is on the inside anyway.

The modern day tie is the piece of clothing that provides insight about its wearer.

Consider your characteristics
When selecting neckwear for yourself, consider your personality and personal coloring so the ties provide insight about their wearer. But selecting neckwear that also coordinates to your tailored clothing and dress shirt raises the bar of your selection expertise. Sharp retail sales professionals have honed their skills to make selecting and coordinating neckwear an impressive art form. This is how and where I developed the creative ability to select killer combinations that at once complimented my clients’ physical characteristics and their clothing preferences.

Consider your intended message
Then there is the matter of expressing the messages your neckwear conveys to onlookers through color, texture, and pattern. What attitudes or emotions do you wish to convey to your audience? And what actions or results do you desire, demand, or expect as a result of meeting with this audience? A well-chosen tie may act like a window into your psyche, providing such great information before you utter a word and be the last word of your message and lingering impression once your meeting has concluded.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

 

17 Again – Make an Indelible Impression at Any Age

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While it’s true that most of my clients are professional men (and some professional women, too) I was quite delighted to receive a call last week from a woman whose teenage son wants to reinvent his image. Would I work with him? After a good discussion to learn about the genesis of his desires – and his parents’ sheer willingness to support him – I determined working with him would be a mutually good fit.

Apparently this young man is inspired to take action about reinventing his image since seeing the recent hit movie, “17 Again”. It stars Zac Efron, as a 37-year old man miraculously transformed back to the age of 17 to get a second shot at life. If a movie could entertain and inspire someone to do something good for himself, I did what a good image consultant should do. I went on a bro-date with my twenty-something friend Andrew and saw the movie together.

I won’t give away the details of the movie because I think you should go see it. My friends Karl and Lindsey will read this at this point and roll their eyes; go ahead you two! It was more than just the next generation’s version of Tom Hank’s “Big”.

“17 Again” reminded me of my own high school experiences, being maligned and marginalized until a set of transformational experiences occurred. The movie had a star athlete bully character. Such a student bullied me in high school. Efron’s character, Mike O’Donnell, back in high school with his kids, rescues his son from the high school bully. I remember needing to change my defenseless mindset in order to physically defend myself against a bully three times my size and in a very public way. I was a nervous wreck and totally scared. In the movie, Mike is poised, self-assured, knows how to spin a basketball like a Harlem Globetrotter and is admittedly great looking. Oh, if only I could be 17 again…What if I could look like Zac??

Efron’s high school character, thrust back into teen life, didn’t fit into the school’s culture in his over-the-top Ed Hardy wardrobe, droopy jeans with exposed boxer shorts, and baseball cap worn sideways. It may have been very L.A., but it was just too affected and bad-boy-adult for a high school student. So he cleaned up his act by getting none other than a makeover of sorts. [Hey, Ed Hardy clothes were not around circa 1989. But that’s Hollywood.] He got a refreshed hairstyle and new clothes, and even a gorgeous car that seemed to go along with his physical style. Considering that Mike O’Donnell’s “dad” is a wealthy man, anything is possible. [Oh, Hollywood.]

The point, though, is it’s possible to make a permanent, yet dynamic, impression. In the movie, despite the apparent failing of their relationship, Mike and his high school sweetheart wife can’t escape the early impressions they once made on one another. Could they reconnect to those impressions? So often as we age, this is what life’s relationships are all about. We want to be relevant to ourselves and to others. What was surprisingly interesting, fun, and entertaining about the movie is the message that having a good self-image is a great way to create a first and multiple impressions. Once Mike got his style right, and spoke from his heart, everyone swooned over him. Even his kids, without them knowing he was their father, looked up to him, like he was the BMOC.

The hairstyle, the wardrobe, the poise, and the car – those things are the physical choices made by a person who has it together on the inside and is expressing himself outwardly. The writers portrayed this aspect authentically to the character.

In truth, I wouldn’t want to be 17 again. I’m about to turn 40 in three months and am in the best physical, emotional, and spiritual condition of my whole life. Why turn back from a good thing? But I like the premise of taking stock of your life and finding a way to do something better from this point forward. Your personal image is a gateway to your consciousness where you can live your best life.

What about you? Would you want to turn back the hands of time?

Designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Getting the Company Logo Button Down Shirt Off My Chest – and Yours!

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We’ve all seen them – and many of us have had to wear them – at trade shows: the company logoed button down shirt. These ‘every man’ shirts, worn by nearly every man and sadly nearly every woman, too, who has ever worked for a corporation attending a tradeshow. While admittedly a step up from the completely out-of-place trade show Hawaiian shirt, the company logo button down shirt, no doubt, became a secret weapon companies would rely on to manage the image employees project at trade shows. They are typically poorly tailored and hideous, boring, ugly, and waste a lot of resources to make. When I see professional men at trade shows, or on television shows or podcasts who are wearing their company logo button down shirts I just want to hurl. I expect this from a tradesman on a job site, but not from a corporate or sales executive.

When have you seen a company logo button down shirt that you really covet? “Oh, thank you boss. I will treasure this embroidered piece of cloth forever.” Yucko. As soon as a trade show is over, these rags are discarded, left behind in many a hotel room all across America.

In today’s corporate cultural climate, long-term loyalty is not rewarded as it once was. But at trade shows, it’s become, pardon the pun, conventional wisdom, to wear these doggone logoed button downs [and even worse is the short sleeve knit polo], like you are wearing your company loyalty embroidered over your heart. Companies must love corporate-sponsored clothing because it forces employees to conform to a minimal dress standard. This would be especially true of technology companies in Silicon Valley, as they tend not to have even minimal dress codes.

The problem with wearing company logo button down shirts is that the wearer becomes a talking head for the company. There’s no “you” there. What about your personal brand? Shouldn’t someone be connecting with “you”? Forming a relationship with “you”? Coming to rely on “you”? These are the foundations of doing business with someone, and in this context, I strongly believe these company logo button downs are relationship, personal brand, and business barriers.

Instead of providing promotional apparel to employees who need to create more personal, more authentic, more honest connections with customers, corporate management should provide opportunities to help employees learn how to express their own style and reflect the company brand and culture.

It’s not terribly complicated to put together a presentable look – if you know what you’re doing. The answers to some key questions provide enough direction to create successful looks for sales calls, client meetings, trade shows, or media appearances:

What message about yourself do you want to telegraph to your audience? Do you want to appear approachable, businesslike, or distinguished, for example? The goal you select affects the clothes you will wear to help you effectively communicate that message.

Does that message also appropriately represent your company? There are many ways to balance personal style with the corporate culture’s messaging. One idea is to subtly repeat the company’s corporate logo colors in an outfit without wearing any company logo-wear. Know, show, and convey the integrity of your company’s brand promise nonverbally.

Is it the right look for the occasion? You’re always better off dressing up if you’re unclear of the context of your meeting. If you are wearing a jacket and a tie, they can always be removed if they’re simply too much. But the real objective is to get the outfit right from the start by knowing who you’re meeting with, the purpose, and the place of the meeting. You want to show respect and be respected.

As your image consultant, I can help you prepare for your presentations, whether you’re going to trade shows, sales appointments, preparing a look for your headshot photo, or television and video appearances – all without ever wearing one of those dreadful company logo button down shirts.

Designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Treat an Interview Like a Special Occasion

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A terrific friend from my teenage years wrote me for some advice. His query was such a good one I thought I’d share it and the answer it provoked:

Any suggestions on how I can avoid the “interview suit” look?

Surely, there are many men who also don’t don a suit on a daily basis and wonder the same as my friend.

It can feel foreign to suit up for an interview. Thankfully, interviewing is not an everyday occurrence, unless you are a perpetual interviewee. Eventually you will be hired and the process will conclude. But until then, the key to interviewing, and dressing successfully for them, is to shift your mindset and treat an interview like a special occasion.

Interviews and special occasions have a lot in common. In both cases you want to put your best foot forward: A freshly steamed or pressed and appropriately fitting suit. Nicely styled hair. A shaved face free of nicks, cuts, and blotches. Clean, trimmed, and buffed fingernails. Shined shoes. While it sounds like preparing for a walk down the aisle, your visual interviewing goal is to give the employer a positive and memorable connection with your visual brand.

Wearing a suit to an interview is the respectable, businesslike thing to do, even if wearing a suit isn’t what you are accustomed to doing. Don’t go crazy trying to get creative or overly self-expressive when dressing for your interviews. If your clothing leaves more of an impression than you do, your clothing will have overcompensated, giving employers pause for the overstatement. You are the star of the show, and the wardrobe plays a supporting role.

Selecting the dress shirt to accompany the suit you wear is worthy of special note. Wearing a white shirt is a safe bet, but be sure to wear the appropriate white for you. Here’s a tip to determine how to do this: look for a white shirt to match the brightness of your teeth. If your white shirt overpowers your smile, the white is too bright. By neutralizing the variance between smile and shirt, you increase the focus on your personal communication center. White shirts can range from bright white to bone to ecru. Choose the one best suited to you. Solid, classic colored shirts will support you during an interview.

The tie you wear is worthy of at least the same attention, if not more. Ties are the single greatest piece of communicative clothing men have to wear. Think of them as your personal visual signature. Ties are crucial to the outfit, even though you’ll spend far more on a suit than on a tie any day. Most onlookers won’t remember details about your suit, but they can recall your tie, especially if it’s a bad one! I recommend not wearing too small a motif, nor too large for that matter. Keep the pattern professional looking; avoid wearing anything hand-painted, no matter your industry or profession. One of my favorite tips is to incorporate your eye color in your tie so it brings the interview’s attention to your communication center and keep the focus on you. Again, let the focus be on you and not so much on your clothing.

As an example if you have brown hair and hazel eyes and decide to wear a charcoal suit, I’d recommend wearing the appropriate white, most likely a bone colored shirt. And the tie I’d look for as your image consultant, either in your closet, or at a decent store within your budget, would incorporate some olive to play off your hazel eyes and some gray to play off the charcoal suit. It could also have some bone in it to play off the bone color shirt. And I’d make sure the pattern is moderately sized and classic, either a stripe or geometric pattern based on your personal style preference. For a very clean and modern approach, the tie could be a woven solid selection.

Prepare for your upcoming interviews like they’re special occasions and you’ll put the focus on your dynamic qualities and abilities.

Just yesterday I was interviewed about how men age 40 and up could improve their look for job interviews. It may be about a month before the article is published. But hopefully this helps those of you, like my good old friend, who needs help today. When the article is published, I’ll post a link to it here. Stay tuned.

Designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

About Face: Mark Zuckerberg

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This morning on NBC’s “Today” program, Matt Lauer interviewed Facebook’s CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. As an image consultant who is dedicated to improving how men connect with their audiences, I was struck by the wardrobe choices Zuckerberg or his public relations handlers made and the way he ended up appearing on “Today”.

The point of Zuckerberg’s appearance was to clear the air about Facebook’s ‘about face’ [as it were] regarding changes to its terms of service. Concerns have been mounting amongst its 175,000,000 users over who owns the content placed on each user’s profile. I’m not convinced his explanation was the clearest it could have been, however, because his appearance was distracting to his message.

So just how important is it that Mark Zuckerberg and all successful, talented men in Silicon Valley develop more of a visual personal brand? It all has to do with the attention paid to the way you are presented. But don’t misunderstand my point. It’s not about creating Hollywood glamour because you’re going to be on TV. It’s about being respected and correctly understood by your audience. To wit, Matt Lauer and the production staff queued up a tape of Zuckerberg’s 2007 appearance on “Today” just to talk about how he dressed then and how he dressed today for his appearance.

Lauer commented how Zuckerberg wore flip-flops in 2007 and actually wore a tie today. I noted he wore outerwear pieces by The North Face with The North Face embroidered logo emblazoned on the chest for both appearances. It was better branding for a company of a different face, than for his company. I took further issue with the tie. Worn with a white shirt, jeans, sneakers, The North Face activewear piece, Zuckerberg appeared as a nondescript individual rather than a company leader.

When a man with such youthful looks wears a tie in this kind of combination it never works for several reasons. The tie is out of place for an otherwise casual statement. The tie says, ‘take me seriously’ while the rest of the outfit says, ‘take me skateboarding’. Zuckerberg is known to be highly intelligent; and yet, this tie-wearing trick still challenges his sense of worldliness, and of appropriateness. There comes a time as a business leader when you have to mature your brand instead of staying rooted in the look of Ivy League collegiate youth.

So whether you’re Mark Zuckerberg, or someone else who’s got an upcoming media appearance, I welcome the opportunity to work on developing your image with you.

After all, designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

How About an Image Recovery Plan?

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Well today was the day President Obama signed into law the $787 billion stimulus plan. In honor of taking a bold step forward, today is as good as any to consider reasonable ways for an image recovery plan. Surely it can be done on a budget, if not on a dime.

Grooming is vital to looking, well, vital! However, grooming products are probably the first items men will stop buying if forced to make a choice. Or, there is a temptation to trade down to lower quality products. Imagine using less effective toothpaste, or developing dandruff because you skimped on conditioner. Or you tried an ineffective variety of deodorant instead of your trusted antiperspirant that cost a couple of bucks more and lasts a few weeks longer. The point is, don’t be penny wise and dollar foolish on grooming products. Not only do these kinds of choices not help you keep much more in your wallet in the very short term, but these kinds of choices may cost you the ability to make positive, lasting impressions that say you are a success today. So brush, floss, shampoo, condition, clean those ears, shave with good tools and products, treat your skin well, and keep your eye brows from looking like Andy Rooney’s.

When’s the last time you critiqued how your clothes are fitting? It might be a great time to set an appointment to meet with a tailor. Alterations are not only far less costly than running out and buying new duds, but whether your weight is down (hopefully) or up (woefully) you’ll actually feel better in better fitting clothes. There is a definite connection to fit and feel. If you don’t believe me, just take a pair of trousers to the tailor and have it adjusted to fit you properly. Once they are adjusted, spend a day wearing them and measure your level of comfort. You’ll feel a value beyond the cost of alterations.

The same is true of your shoes. If you’re not thinking of stocking up on new shoes for spring, this is certainly a prime opportunity to give your current inventory some TLC. Take your shoes to a reputable shoe repair business. There may not be many of these businesses in your community, but I’m willing to bet their business is booming these days. They will dress your shoes for you. If your shoes need new heels, they will repair them at a nominal cost. Don’t walk around with broken laces. Spring for some new ones. Use cedar shoe trees to remove moisture from your footwear and extend their life.

Don’t let the news commentators talk you out of moving forward with your life. If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your wardrobe, now is the time to do it, especially if you’re job hunting. Baby Boomer men are particularly vulnerable to this issue because they need to be seen as being viable in a competitive job market. But if he shows up in an outdated outfit to an interview, he’s going to convey a message that says “outdated”. If you’re a Baby Boomer – don’t let yourself do that. You may be as qualified as anyone, but you’re not just being hired for your qualifications. If you’re a young man looking for work, you can’t just get by on your youth and your technology skill set. Lots of people going for the same job have the same qualifications. If you show up not looking respectful and polished, you’re costing yourself an opportunity that goes beyond not just owning an appropriate set of clothes. You may have just cost yourself that coveted job slot.

Designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Recent Style ‘Kvetch-tions’

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A kvetch-tion, a word of my own invention devised by the conjuntion of two words, is one part Yiddish, one part English, and totally Joseph. I created this term to describe the persistent complaints I receive in the form of questions from clients and friends.

Recently I received a string of such kvetch-tions and thought I’d blog about them so everyone could benefit from the inquiries and the thoughtful answers I hoped to provide.

Question #1: A client who cannot purchase a dress shirt without significant alterations because of his slender, fit body and small neck size contemplated ordering shirts from an online supplier. He wanted to know if this is a good shopping strategy.

My answer: Sometimes shopping online for shirts is not so easy. We could order some customized shirts locally. The key is to be able to get your measurements taken accurately, and to choose fabrics that work with your color palette and are appropriate for your personal style needs and goals. It’s just hard to ensure the accuracy of any of this from an online source. Even if a Website guarantees satisfaction, it takes weeks to have something made. If you’re dissatisfied, it will take twice as long to make you happy. Who has time for that?

Question #2: An old friend from Chicago who now lives in suburban New York wrote his question on Facebook. He has a glen plaid suit that is 8-10 years old that he describes as good quality and in great condition. He hasn’t been able to wear it in years but has been losing weight and hopes to be able to wear it again. His question is if the suit is a timeless design.

My answer: Great question. It’s one I get asked a lot. Since the quality is good and the condition is fine, those are typically not the concerns when it comes to a suit’s longevity.

What we are typically concerned with are tandem issues: the garment’s age and its ability to stand up to today’s current styles. Glen plaid is a classic, timeless fabric pattern. So you should be safe there. The four most important areas of concern are: the garment’s overall fit (especially the coat’s shoulders), the coat length, the lapel width, and the button stance.

Newer suits are perhaps a touch shorter than longer, lapels a touch narrower than wider, button stance a touch higher than lower, and shoulders fitting either a touch closer or average — even for a classic fitting suit. “Classic” even seems to get redefined as “fashion” — a fluid notion if ever there was one — shifts.

So even if this particular suit hasn’t been chomped at by the moths and is in seemingly wearable condition, be sure it conveys a message that says “success”. Little things like how a suit fits and how up-to-date are its details convey such important non-verbal messages to people in-the-know. Without uttering a word, your clothes should convey more of a message of who you are than it should convey a rescue plan for a suit that may have possibly passed its prime.

Question #3: A second old Chicago chum got an earful from his wife because he was about to head out of the house in mismatching accessories. His question to me was whether this is a big fashion error.

My answer: Coordinating accessories all depends on the level of footwear. The less formal the footwear, like gym shoes, the less coordinated the belt is expected to be. Conversely, the more formal the shoes, the more coordinated the belt is expected to be. That’s a classic rule you can always count on following to maintain consistency in your look.

Got a kvetch-tion of your own? Send it along and maybe it’ll get answered right here!

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Into the Closet

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If the faltering economy is preventing you from looking fashion forward, now is the perfect time to take stock of what’s lurking in your clothes closet. Over the years of auditing clients’ closets, I have been concerned about the crazy consumption on clothing left unworn, or not worn enough to have warranted the purchase in the first place. It’s time to get back into the closet and get your wardrobe organized.

Carol Stephen, owner of Stephen Organizing Services in Sunnyvale, and I dished about the disorganization we both see in our clients’ closets, and therefore in their lives. Without naming names and outing our honored clients, we had a heart-to-heart about helping them both in the closet, and out. “Usually, I don’t see any organization,” Carol said of the spaces clients hire her to manage. “There’s stuff on the floor, on the bed, on exercise equipment. So there’s no underlying structure.” This might tempt a person to reach for the Calgon bath, but it won’t clear the clutter.

Stephen says the top mistake people make with their clothes closets is “they keep stuff because they paid a lot of money” for various clothing items but that “it doesn’t lift their spirits. Usually when they get rid of it they feel a lot better.” I couldn’t agree more. Often people buy something new to lift their spirits – call it retail therapy – but if the item wasn’t purchased to coordinate or to complete a look it tends to hang in the closet with the price tag attached as a constant reminder of buyer’s remorse. Carol, whose positive spirit is as breezy as a day at the beach, encourages clients to rid their closets of these items so “something great can come into their lives.”

Another reason for the closet chaos is that people “hold onto things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes they think – like with shoes – they’re going to break them in. I’ll just wear them a little longer and they’ll get comfortable,” she said while kindly imitating the good intentions of a client. Apparently not enough people know the rule to shop for shoes after 5:00 p.m., when feet are as swollen as they will be after being active all day. Also there’s a correlation between clutter and weight. “People whose weight vary a lot have a lot of different sized things; so it’s harder to organize,” she claims. “When they let go of things, it’s weird, but that’s when they start losing weight. When they get something that’s really gorgeous and appropriate, they can finally see the difference.”

Then there is the issue of holding onto clothing that’s not age appropriate. “They’re missing out on the beauty that is their age,” says Carol, who has lived just long enough to use herself as an example of appropriately maintaining a youthful appearance. “Accessorize at Forever 21, just don’t buy your whole wardrobe there,” she advises women clients, and says everyone needs to let go of the past. I concur with Carol and think it’s helpful to assess what your goals in life are so you can think about how you want to project yourself as you currently are rather than as you were in college.

The key to organizing the wardrobe is to develop a system. Carol warns against purchasing a closet system without first inventorying what you have. Even trying to decide between organizational systems leads to a lot of confusion, she says. Even if all you have to work with at first is a closet rod, at the very least figure out a way to group items by clothing category or color. For a more sophisticated wardrobe, try to group items by wardrobe cluster. Separate items that you won’t wear again until next spring and summer from the ones you need to wear through fall and winter. If all else fails and you’re ready to pull your hair out, seek out the services of one of us well-organized types.

Carol was known by her peers at such companies like Sun Microsystems, Hewlitt Packard, and 3Com to be quite organized. As a technical writer, “I had to be organized for my job. So I started helping my family and friends. Writing is lonely work, especially technical writing. You can get there when it’s dark, see no one all day and get home when it’s dark.” Somehow through the darkness, she saw the light and nuanced her natural talent into a viable vocation. “I’d like to encourage people to just let go of things. Most of the time, they’re not even going to remember that they owned a particular item. The closet does not need to be so stuffed.”

Organizing Tips:
1. Find items rarely or never worn and look for items in the closet to wear with them. If you don’t find good combinations, let them go.
2. Eliminate items that are not the right fit, color, or age appropriateness.
3. Create separate spaces for seasonal clothes.
4. Organize what’s left by style, color, work-related, non-work casual
5. Invest in a closet system once the wardrobe has been inventoried and you know what needs to be organized to make your ‘look’ and your life easier.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

The Third Season Trifecta: Traditions, Trends, and Trials

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With the world in such a state of monetary mystification, political perplexity, and societal shake-ups, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll be yearning for change, whether in your hand or on your body. Change is fashion’s raison d’être and this season proves to be as good as any to embody the concept. Let’s take a journey through fall’s fashion maze, a full range of mainstays and mayhem. Some will be eminently wearable, while others will be costumes beyond compare. Through the sublime and the silly, we’ll make sense of fall’s fashions for men.

Traditions, as fashion trends, are always rife with retrospection. Jean Paul Gautier, Junya Watanabe, and Lanvin each sent looks down their runways, redefining look of The Gent as rite of passage. Young men, topped off in bowler derby hats and wearing tailored coats, cravats, and chunky soled shoes, were caricatures of grown-ups from a by-gone era. Other designers, like Michael Kors, Valentino, and Paul Smith, made the vest one of their best accessories. Whether it’s a knit sleeveless cardigan worn with a tweed jacket, the third piece of a superb suit, or a contrasting colored and lapelled piece layered to foppish effect, the vest’s been treated with an attitude adjustment that should make it popular for lesbians and lads alike.

Viktor & Rolf even took a traditional tone, and reworked the white tuxedo shirt into one that could be worn in a non-traditional manner. The thought process even paid new attention to the bow tie. Burberry Prorsum went metallic, Neil Barrett did a classic black bow and white shirt with skiwear, and Ralph Lauren’s guy looked like a sexy paper delivery boy, complete with sneakers.

Designers create trends to transmit themes and entice customers to try (and buy) something new. This fall’s fads should influence men to look fearless. Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and Z Zegna showed shaggy and sheared coats in bold designs, and with broad shoulders. The sweater, nearly non-existent for numerous seasons, has made a huge reappearance in a wide array of styles: from fresh and fluffy, flamboyant fisherman looks to classic ski looks for the most fearless of downhill skiers. We could all use a dose of fearless fashion this fall.

Along with fearlessness, boldness continues with this season’s punchy plaids. Costume National showed a bold plaid coat over a somber gray outfit. D & G took the hunter’s approach with a Scottish plaid jacket with over-the-top plaid pants, while Paul Smith put his best plaid forward, toning down a plaid vest and pant with an earthy, solid, tweed jacket. Less colorful, but bold nonetheless, the edgy black-on-black look emerges from the shadows this season. Black leather, velvet, silk, wool, and cashmere have been mixed masterfully, creatively showing bright and dull, flat and textured, monochromatic effects in looks ranging from the Nancy Boy to Gangsta.

And now for trials. These would be this season’s edgiest lines for men. Trials are truly experimental, envelope-pushing fashions that shed light on what’s happening in the world. Often they belong on mannequins rather than on men. The slim styles shown by lines like D Squared have a narrow audience. Collections from Bottega Veneta and Yohji Yamamoto are going baggy, bucking the bonier styles, showing the opposing extreme. The pattern mixing shown by Etro and Dries van Noten are creative, complex, and memorable. Though not likely to be worn by many, plenty would consider sending them up a flag pole or two. Two rabble-rousing designers defied convention. Raf Simons, and particularly Muccia Prada, brought gender-bending clothes to the runway, complete with a bikini bottom peeking out of a pair of pants and a bralette!

Whatever your desire, the designers have successfully updated what modern men’s clothes should look like. The choices available this season make it easy to play it safe, take a chance, or throw all caution to the wind.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Spoke at West Valley College Today

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Today I had the pleasure of speaking to students and faculty at West Valley College in Saratoga, CA. The topic of the presentation was “Interviewing Success: It’s all About You”. During the one-hour talk, I wove together the importance of appearance, behavior, and communication during the entire interview process. Questions from participants included:

• what core items should someone just starting out make sure he owns?

• can a job candidate wear fragrance?

• can you go to a job interview without wearing a business suit?

• are there acceptable exceptions in Silicon Valley?

After the presentation I received a great compliment from a man who appreciated how the presentation showed the interconnectedness of appearance, behavior, and communication. Another appreciative comment was about how I explained how dressing better affects the bottom line of the interviewing process. Who really wants to leave money on the table?

It’s very enjoyable speaking with people who are interested in improving themselves. My feeling is that for many, it’s just about dressing a little better. But for the most engaged participants, it’s about more than clothing, a tool to help convey a strong, positive self-image. But without good business and social skills, good communication and body language, the clothes would just be surface matter. I was so happy everyone ‘got it’ today!

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men, women, and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.