Mens Dress: The Look of Nonchalance

[Gene]

Also, take into account very few people were "immaculate" back in the days. We have the luxury of modern detergents, dry cleaning, ironing, and basic hygiene products they didn't have!

 

[1961MJS]

i'm also more of a "sprezzaturist" than an immaculately neat chap. i don't think i could even be immaculately neat if i tried. any of my 40s shirts that had celluloid collar stays have had them removed.
i favour the four in hand over the windsor. i roll my shirt sleeves up over the elbow and usually have stubble. i like to mix rugged with elegant.

Hi, you comment about stubble reminded my of a Chicago Greek named Nick that I went to college with. He pretty much got 5 o'clock shadow on the left side after he finished shaving it and moved to the right side. I too, wear the four in hand, I don't roll my sleeves up except to eat... I try to dress such that I don't appear to be the pig that I am. [huh] It was BBQ day, and I wore a red shirt, any guesses why??

Later

 

[Edward]

Case in point:

I recently watched a short film about a gentleman who was portrayed as having reached enlightenment (in a vaguely Zen Buddhist sense), and he was dressed like this:

I think they were going for this idea of nonchalance, that someone who had reached enlightenment would dress well, but carefree.

However, consider another character who seems (much more subtly) to be portrayed as having reached enlightenment; namely, Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks. He dresses like this:

Note that Agent Cooper looks just as nonchalant--this is even more obvious when you watch the show. It's all about attitude.


EDIT: Changed picture for the first reference for a medium shot, to mirror the second.

Dale Cooper wore a suit and tie so well he looked absurd in those episodes in which he was out of them while suspended from duty. Of course, I believe this was deliberate: his identity was so bound up in his job that he really was not himself without it. I like to believe he had to buy his casual wardrobe in Twin Peaks to mark himself out as off duty, as he quite possibly owned nothing other than suits and such.

 

[samtemporary]

...Fussing with your tie or pocket handkerchief all the time betrays a lack of confidence.

This. I typically keep my barrel cuffs undone on my shirt, top collar button undone - but still "kinda" closed with the help of my tie, and my pocket square done in the most casual way possible. The look is easily tightened up if necessary without looking like I tried too much.

 

[GBREAL]

I still don't get it. [huh] I guess its one of those things I'll have to put on the shelf and take it out later.

 

[sproily]

i'm also more of a "sprezzaturist" than an immaculately neat chap. i don't think i could even be immaculately neat if i tried. any of my 40s shirts that had celluloid collar stays have had them removed.
i favour the four in hand over the windsor. i roll my shirt sleeves up over the elbow and usually have stubble. i like to mix rugged with elegant.

My sentiments exactly.

I never do a straight fold with my pocket hanky.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

:eusa_clap Yesss. The best of Sproily. Thanks for the cameo

 

[sproily]

You're welcome

 

[herringbonekid]

excellent outfits Sproily !

 

[dnjan]

I wanted to get some opinions of the idea that when dressing a man should arrange his outfit to give the appearance of nonchalance, that he spent no time thinking about his dress regardless of the actual time he spent getting dressed.

When I first read this, I immediately thought of the majority of the boys I see around a public high school. They have definitely achieved the "appearance of nonchalance".

 

[Annixter]

I still don't get it. [huh] I guess its one of those things I'll have to put on the shelf and take it out later.

It comes down to philosophy and psychology, I think, in that there is nothing to "get." One cannot fake comfortableness and confidence which is the essence of nonchalance. You are either confident in how you look and feel or you are trying to be so which shows in many ways. Dress the way you want to dress, do it often, and you won't even notice that you are nonchalant because you are naturally nonchalant. No matter what you do and how you feel, people will have differing opinions on your style, thus differing opinions on whether or not you look nonchalant, sloppy, weird, dapper, etc. Some people associate pleats and suspenders with funny old men, others fedoras with corny detective stories, others wide lapels with Disco. For the sake of your happiness and sanity, dress to please yourself (within reason) and forget about anything else (I say this not intending for you to wear pajamas to a formal event because I still believe it is good to follow etiquette, though slightly modified for taste, in situations).

Take sproily's black-tie photo for instance. That exploding pocket square makes all the difference, in my opinion, because it says "Yeh, so I had to pull out this here handkerchief for some reason and don't have the ability or desire to stand in front of a mirror to repack it all nice and dainty like one expects for black-tie. What's it to you buddy?" That is nonchalance and uniqueness. It might not suit some people, but it apparently suits him (and me too).

If there's one thing I would like to stop doing is constantly having to adjust the cuffs on my shirt, so that they don't stick out too much or too little from my jacket sleeves. I think a bit of shirt tailoring would fix it though.

I've often wondered about this predicament and have come to the conclusion that no active and practical wearer of suit jackets or sports jackets with long-sleeve shirts is able to maintain an equal and adequate amount of visible cuff. All of my shirt sleeves have bee tailored for me and my jacket sleeves have adequate wiggle room, but one or both of the cuffs still either disappear or sneak out too far during normal activities like opening doors, getting into a car and fasten a safety belt, reaching for something, digging into my jacket for my wallet, etc. French cuffs seem to be the most problematic for creeping up or out of the sleeve and finding a natural riding position with the wider cuff and cufflink to catch. So in essence, I think all the vintage movies, advertisements, and the like that we see with men in immaculately even visible cuffs involved time fussing with the cuffs. I suppose if one were to never move his arms much and never reach he could maintain that look, but I cannot seem to. Then again, maybe there is something wrong with my jacket and shirt sleeves?