The European Approach to Menswear
I have been meaning to devote more time to menswear for a while now, and Richard’s style on our trip to Italy this spring feels like the perfect way to start.
My husband, Richard, is half Cuban-Spanish, half French-German. Needless to say, appearance-wise he is always a natural fit in Europe. He also naturally gravitates more to European menswear styles - for as long as I have known him he has had fantastic taste, preferred rich colors, good tailoring, and lifelong materials in his wardrobe. It’s one of my favorite things about Richard, he has standards for himself and the quiet confidence that naturally follows good taste.
When I first met him, he had a real need for a personal shopper (someone who knows the brands, and fashion marketplace) and generally someone to explain the finer points of how to dress his particular physical frame. He had great taste, but didn’t know how to acquire the wardrobe he wanted. He had suits that didn’t fit him, and he never wanted to wear because they were poorer quality and he knew it, but couldn’t understand why they still cost him several hundred dollars. I helped him start buying better, introduced him to brands he is still loyal to to this day, and we started building a really fantastic, quality, and affordable wardrobe for him, together. Today, Richard’s closet is a beautiful array of chinos, woven button-downs, blazers, and sweaters in all the colors of a nature-themed color chart. A distinctly European wardrobe, for a very American man.
So what’s so special about European menswear style?
The Europeans, particularly the European men, never truly transitioned to the casualization of clothing that has taken over the Americas. You say you need durable, they’ll hand you a top grain leather hand-stitched boot; you say you need something practical to wear, they’ll hand you either a linen or wool blazer/jacket. European men still truly walk everywhere, and central air is a luxury, so they never trivialized (or costumed) functional clothing - they just kept wearing it. An older, more durable way of dressing, that is almost extinct in America.
In the US, we have been deeply influenced by fast-fashion marketing for generations, telling us that cheep/low quality is good for our bank account, and expensive/high quality is for people who have money to burn. This marketing played right into the American blue-collar psyche, regardless of the fact that our cheep clothing actually costs us 3-4x in total what our great-grandfathers spent on clothing. This is due to the fact that cheep/low quality clothing wears out faster and never fit well in the first place, resulting in us buying more and spending more than if we had just bought well to begin with. The reality is that a quality materials, properly tailored piece will last you a very long time, and you don’t need as many because what you do own fits your needs perfectly. The Europeans never bought into this fast-fashion lie on a cultural level, making it a microcosm for good taste and quality fashion at every price point. Something that I think American men especially, are craving a return to.
the blazer
The blazer started out as a practical, lightweight jacket. The kind of item a man threw on every day, to get him through whatever the weather threw at him, but still tailored so he looked polished as he went about his business.
Today, blazers have taken on an air of the theatric - something we wear to look better than others, giving the impression of pretense. No wonder the younger generation rejects the blazer, a symbol of corporate goons.
But the need for lightweight, stylish jackets still exists in modern menswear, spawning every iteration on the theme “lightweight” in modern fashion retail - anything to keep from acknowledging the real answer to the satorial need, the blazer jacket. Richard is pictured here wearing his linen blazer from MANGO (Linked below in current colors) - the perfect lightweight jacket for temperate-warm climates.
The Leather Shoe
Richard owns exactly 5 pairs of leather shoes & 4 pairs of canvas upper shoes - 9 pairs of shoes total.
Oxford Dress Boot - waxed leather
Chelsea Boot - waxed leather
Venetian Loafer - waxed leather
Venetian Loafer - suede leather
Dress Espadrille - suede leather
Along with 4 pairs of canvas espadrilles he wears all spring/summer/ and early fall with shorts or chinos for a more casual look
All of these shoes are quality shoes that will last him a very long time, and are able to be repaired as they age, due to the durable nature of their materials & construction. Unfortunately, at least in the USA, quality mens shoes are genuinely pricey, but not so much that you can’t slowly invest in a pair at a time, the great news is that you don’t need much to cover your lifestyle needs, a couple of pairs is more than enough for most men. Saving up and buying quality fashion items, is an investment in your own future that will reap dividends as time goes on.
Hopefully I’ve pitched you some ideas for answering some of the challenges in your own wardrobe, and reintroduced you to some classics that could enhance your own life today. Below are few options I recommend or have bought for Richard, myself.
