The Return of the Man's Man

[psugrad98]

Found this interesting story about the return of men's men. It mentions the change in fashion of men, including the 'Mad Men" suit.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/lifestyles/fashion/s_682185.html

 

[Richard Warren]

The Pittsburgh paper is making an effort, and the notion that a bunch of tv actors are "manly" is admittedly pretty funny, but still not in the same league as the NYTimes or Monty Python's lumberjack bit for out and out belly laughs.

 

[kowalskt63]

Bravo

If anything, I applaud this paper for trying to jump start the squashing of the metrosexual. Horrible period for men in general. Thank goodness I never fell into that trap...

 

[Geesie]

Yeah. I can't imagine what would possess a bunch of "men" to be so concerned with fashion and grooming...

 

[Yeps]

Yeah. I can't imagine what would possess a bunch of "men" to be so concerned with fashion and grooming...

I applaud you for pointing out the elephant in the room. I was recently called metrosexual in a very matter of fact and not at all insulting way, on account of my fondness for dressing well and wearing distinctive hats.

Addendum: The ascots might have more to do with it.

 

[skyvue]

That story was all over the map, with no real point made, but then, labels like metrosexual and retrosexual are, to be blunt, ridiculous on their face. One would be hard-pressed to find a person who is aptly described by them; most folks are far to complicated to be tied up so neatly with a ribbon.

The men on MAD MEN, a show I very enjoy, are not manly by any sense of the word that I wish to adhere to. Almost to a man, they're sexist, self-centered, devious people. Don Draper has his moments, but he has just as many moments that do not reflect well on him. Those contradictions are interesting in a TV character, but he's hardly anyone to be emulated in real life.

And there's nothing "manly" about buying a Brooks Brothers suit styled after a popular TV show, that's just effective marketing. And you can rest assured that plenty of men some would pronounce metrosexual purchased those suits.

I don't know what could be more metrosexual or, perhaps, dandy-ish than many of the threads that are active here (and I say that as a willing participant in many of them). Many here (again, me among them) fuss over every little detail, whether it's hats, suits, ties, sock garters, and on and on.

If the writer had taken the time to truly define what he means by a "manly man" and to detail exactly how those key traits ever went out of style, it'd be different, but he was all over the map.

My idea of manliness is having the courage of your convictions, an inherent decency, a gentle and generous heart, intelligence, an open and curious mind, and a sense of fairness and tolerance.

Any man who possesses those qualities is plenty man enough to deserve my respect, and I couldn't care less about how many hair products he has in his bathroom cabinet, whether he carries a shoulder bag, or whom he spends his personal or even intimate time with.

 

[DBLIII]

My idea of manliness is having the courage of your convictions, an inherent decency, a gentle and generous heart, intelligence, an open and curious mind, and a sense of fairness and tolerance.

Any man who possesses those qualities is plenty man enough to deserve my respect, and I couldn't care less about how many hair products he has in his bathroom cabinet, whether he carries a shoulder bag, or whom he spends his personal or even intimate time with.

Very well said.

I do my own sewing, "fuss" (for lack of a better word) over my clothing, like to be well-groomed, etc. Not sure what that makes me but any one person is a larger puzzle than what some writer can attempt to categorize - though I do agree that if the writer had written a definition, then there would be a baseline in the article.
Over at deathvalleymag dot com, those guys are doing the same kind of article, but all in fun. They define the real man so well that everybody knows (or should know) that "he" doesn't exist. But, fun to read anyway. Now I'd better go back to drilling for oil with a stick and chewing on nails.......

 

[jamespowers]

If anything, I applaud this paper for trying to jump start the squashing of the metrosexual. Horrible period for men in general. Thank goodness I never fell into that trap...

My thoughts exactly! Waxing your chest and having more skin and hair products than your wife or girlfriend is ridiculous. :eusa_doh:

Good grooming and smelling decent are one set of things but waering women's pants and spending more time in the bathroom than three women is too much. I am also glad the whining music is gone.
We might be a site dedicated to clothing and grooming but not to excess of either. Think your grandfather not Paul Lynn.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Pathological self-absorption is never manly, no matter how nice the clothes.

 

[jamespowers]

Pathological self-absorption is never manly, no matter how nice the clothes.

lol lol lol True that. I don't think our grandfathers had quite that much interest in themselves. They had to worry about other things like earning a living and raising a family.

 

[Talbot]

My idea of manliness is having the courage of your convictions, an inherent decency, a gentle and generous heart, intelligence, an open and curious mind, and a sense of fairness and tolerance.

Any man who possesses those qualities is plenty man enough to deserve my respect, and I couldn't care less about how many hair products he has in his bathroom cabinet, whether he carries a shoulder bag, or whom he spends his personal or even intimate time with.

Well said.

I'd like to shout you a beer...

 

[Talbot]

lol lol lol True that. I don't think our grandfathers had quite that much interest in themselves. They had to worry about other things like earning a living and raising a family.

And defending democracy.

 

[jamespowers]

And defending democracy.

That too.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"Together with, Diphtheria and Hitler!"

 

[Tiller]

Well their was a whole thread about what we would be called, it seems that retrosexual is what the culture at large is going to start calling us of the male gender anyways.

Think Don Draper, the dapper, jut-jawed executive played by Jon Hamm in the AMC series "Mad Men." He may be a philanderer, but you won't find a pink shirt in his wardrobe. Like the dark hero characters of ex-spy Michael Westen in "Burn Notice" and U.S. Marshal Raylon Givens in "Justified," "Mad Men" presents alpha males who live unapologetically by their own code.

Although some people may not like the fact that tv shows, and pop culture in general define "fashion" their is no doubt that their is s Renaissance of a kind of the James Arness/John Wayne character in pop culture. He hasn't been seen for awhile. Justified specifically is about a guy who is very much like Matt Dillon (he's even a US Marshal). The show (and the books it's based on) has been described as "updating the old west story", which includes the old "cowboy code" of an era gone by, exhibited by Marshal Raylon Givens. In one episode Given's was in a bar fight with two larger men. The reason? One was talking about having sex with a married woman, and was insulting her character, and he refused to stop when Given's asked him to. Given's was also interested in the insulter to stop, because he was meeting his ex wife there, and didn't want her to hear such a conversation.

As with almost everything else in the lounge, their are going to be many who are annoyed by this trend, but it's none the less a part of pop culture today. I wonder how long it will last.

 

[jamespowers]

I wonder how long it will last.

Not long enough. [huh]

 

[swinggal]

Here here! The modern man these days takes more time to look like 'crap' it seems than ever before! Takes 3 hours to get those jeans, thongs, crazy hair and t-shirts right....pleeeease. I love a man who dresses with style and aplomb. You cant beat it.

I could not BELEIVE what I saw men wearing out to dinner etc in LA in when out with my dapper vintage loving male friends. Guys wearing scabby T-shirts, baseball caps on inside. They were chuckling at us for being so well dressed - but they were the ones who looked truly ridiculous. Imagine them coming to Cicada...they would feel VERY out of place for once in thier lives.

Style is classic and lasts decades. I feel proud to step out with men who dress well.

 

[Fletch]

If anything, I applaud this paper for trying to jump start the squashing of the metrosexual. Horrible period for men in general.

But once you got past the style and the consumerism, was it really that different from the dandyfied Everyman role model of the 20s and 30s? That was more of a subversive, individualist kind of masculinity than we remember today - because the militarization of WW2 and the corporatization of the boom years crushed out all traces of it in straight society.

 

[jamespowers]

Here here! The modern man these days takes more time to look like 'crap' it seems than ever before! Takes 3 hours to get those jeans, thongs, crazy hair and t-shirts right....pleeeease. I love a man who dresses with style and aplomb. You cant beat it.

I could not BELEIVE what I saw men wearing out to dinner etc in LA in when out with my dapper vintage loving male friends. Guys wearing scabby T-shirts, baseball caps on inside. They were chuckling at us for being so well dressed - but they were the ones who looked truly ridiculous. Imagine them coming to Cicada...they would feel VERY out of place for once in thier lives.

Style is classic and lasts decades. I feel proud to step out with men who dress well.

lol lol lol lol :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I've always thought the metrosexual thing was just wrong. No offense to anybody who appreciates that style, it's just not for me. I beleive today's style stinks, and I dress well (in my own opinion).

All a man needs is Brylcreem, Vitalis, (or whatever pomade, etc, you use)soap, Barbasol, and Old Spice. When I worked in retail, there was dyes, waxes, skin creams, etc. I just don't see the point.

Now, I'm very outdated. I work in a factory, I drink Pabst Blue Ribbon, while sitting on a wood-trimmed couch, next to a gone with the wind lamp, watching a console TV to paint a pictur. I guess I am Archie Bunker without the bigotry, and a little more style.

I guess that's what I've figured a man should be. Not a pretty boy type.

Sorry to go on a rant.