Straight Eye for The Straight Guy

One of my favorite readers Ken Pierce posed an interesting question, following yesterday's post ‘ ‘A Cut Above’ The Chief Justice Roberts Look’. He says "....[he] will have to give some thought to the question of how well [his] wardrobe communicates integrity, which is pretty much the controlling virtue in [his] own ethical system "

The Integrity lies in standing by what you choose to wear. And what you choose to wear, is who you are. Like the famous designer Coco Chanel said once: "I don't do fashion, I am fashion".

You therefore make your own style, which you feel conveys clearly what you stand for, and allows you to remain true to yourself.

The ‘Integrity’ litmus test, essentially relies on what your wardrobe communicates to you about yourself. You don’t do integrity, you are integrity. Therefore there must never be a gap between what you say and what you wear.

Humility is an important balance to confidence in the integrity of your style, and wearing your heart on your well cut sleeve is The Chief Justice Roberts' Look of Integrity’ trademark,  that is so in vogue right now in men's fashion in America.

Now, that was a nuclear device I just detonated! This goes against just about everything the ‘old guard’ intellectual stands for. The ‘new guard' intellectual, as I think you may be Ken, is however  open to change, he has Manolo for Men on his very short and exclusive Blogroll, right next to Instapundit and The Volokh Conspiracy. He may dress one way for the sake of convenience, but secretly wishes a Fairy Godmother would come and exchange his entire wardrobe, he may even opt out for the 'Einstein' look in the interim to compensate for his frustration.  He aspires to come out of the closet (not in that sense LOL), and re-vamp his wardrobe with stylish, classical yet unique and modern articles, which he will wear with integrity for the next 20 years.

Translated in the terms of my message in my previous post ‘ ‘A Cut Above’ The Chief Justice Roberts Look’ I believe it is important to take pride in what you wear. I know that most intellectuals are allergic to being concerned with their wardrobe, and think it is only the dim witted 'Fashionistas' who fuss with their outward appearance. Therefore they get dressed, with the end result resembling 'The Battle of Waterloo' look or 'I reached into the dark cupboard and picked whatever accidentally slid into my hand' look or 'The Einstein' look, which consists of identical clothes being multiplied, with the end result looking identical every day (BTW there is a lot of 'integrity' in that option).

Example A) If you feel your wardrobe is scruffy, do you feel it communicates: how you feel generally, how you do business, how you behave towards others, your reliability, steadfastedness, moral standing, respect for your surroundings; 

Example B) If you feel your wardrobe is rather Bohemian in style (with flair, not a mess), do you feel it communicates: That you are a non-conformist in your thinking, that you don't wish others to think you have spent time on getting the Bohemian look together,(whereas the truth is that you are quite careful in how you put colors together, and it does matter to you how you are seen from the outside), that you feel it conveys confidence in your own sense of style, that may not be in line with the opinion of the crowd; that you are an intellectual and an avid supporter of the Arts; that colors to you represent moods and feelings, and possibly a spiritual connection of sorts.

Example C) If you feel your wardrobe is classical and stylish, do you feel you communicate: Elegance, integrity, strong moral principles, strength of character, standing upright for your beliefs, commanding respect, being prudent, reliable, solid in your background of principles .

Example D) If you feel your wardrobe is the typical 'Fashionista' wardrobe, do you feel you communicate: Style, beauty, self-awareness, elegance, confidence, recognition (ultimate concern whether your so called 'peers' will recognize that the hand made saddle you own has a five year waiting list @Hermes in Paris)

Now, as you have quite rightly guessed Ken  -  I hate being pigeonholed, and one of my least favorite words in the English language is - 'stereotype'. I love people who see me as a representation of a square peg, and then in an attempt to classify me, find that I actually fit into a round hole (although be careful there, because when I doodle I draw an infinite number of squares). Inherently, I believe that a person can be both concerned with their wardrobe, and outward appearance, as well as their intellect (in my case definitely the non-conformist type)

Just to put a specially 'heavy spanner in the works' as the English would say, I believe that you can include in the above, the inward spiritual awareness, and the unity with God, giving the skin that special glow that no cream can achieve, so guys,  quit stealing your wife's favorite pot of La Creme from Creme de La Mer, (La Creme from Cle de Peau, La Creme from Kanebo, or Future Solution from Shiseido), and go to Church tomorrow instead.

Comments

[Lilly]

I totally agree with Alexandra when she said that she believes "that a person can be both concerned with their wardrobe, and outward appearance, as well as their intellect". It is so pleasing to see somebody well dressed. America has been loosing that care for the outward appearance steadily over the years, and Driscoll is right in the previous article, the architecture is nurtured and cared for.