Okay, right up front, today’s video is brought to you by Gagliardi and personally, I just gotta say, I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to talk about Gagliardi. Because I’ve been a fan, from afar, for quite a while. I’ve seen other YouTubers talk about them. I’ve looked at their website and they’ve been on my radar for a while. I absolutely love so much of what they manufacture, and I feel they’re the perfect brand to help illustrate this video. But, more about them in just a little bit.
Most men avoid bold patterns like the plague
I feel that most men avoid bold patterns like the plague, or patterns in general because they’re not sure what to pair it up with or how to mix patterns and prints together. So, here’s a few suggestions; If you want to incorporate a statement piece or pattern, keep everything else simple and subdued. Let the statement piece make the statement. Next, if you’re afraid that your statement piece might be too bold, avoid strong contrast with the rest of your outfit. Here’s what I mean.
How to pair bold patterns
If the pattern piece is mostly dark tones, wear it with dark tones. And on the other side, if the statement item is a lighter tone, wear it with lighter items. Make sense? Having a strong contrast, like for example, a light tone bold jacket with dark pants, will bring a lot more attention to the bold piece. However, the more comfortable you get wearing bolder items, the more comfortable you’ll get with contrast. But, if you’re thinking about incorporating some bolder pieces this fall and winter, I’d encourage you to start with a more subtle pattern.
Here’s another example. I wear a lot of blue, black, gray and white. If I’m looking to add a pattern jacket, yellow might not be the best option for me. However, different shades of blue with variations of color and pattern mixed in would be simple to pair with what I already have. If it’s too complicated to find something that works from your own wardrobe, you’ll get frustrated and you’ll never wear it.
Buy to match what you already wear
Also, if say for example, you got the yellow jacket, a few things might happen. One, you can’t wear it in a regular rotation because it only goes with so much. That means every time you wear it you’ll wear it with the same one or two other pieces, and it’ll look more like a uniform than your regular outfit. Also, it’s so bold that it’s easily remembered. So if you try to wear it more often, everyone will notice and it’s like; ‘Oh, here comes Jim in his yellow jacket again.’ Now, to be clear though, I’m not saying a yellow jacket is a bad thing, because it can look awesome.
Gagliardi menswear
Now, I still have a lot more to show you, but I want to bring it back to Gagliardi for a minute because most all of the photos I’ve been showing you are from their website. Which is amazing by the way, because if you’re not quite sure how to style something, they have a lot of examples. Gagliardi is a small, family owned manufacturing company located in Malta. They’re true experts and manufacturing specialists in the market of menswear and have been for over 50 years. An advantage of being a smaller family run business is they can be nimble and always adapt with the times. That’s actually more important than it sounds because too many menswear manufacturers get stuck trying to keep designs the same way they’ve always been. They never progress and move with the times… so they get out dated.
That’s really important because if there’s anything this crazy year has taught us about where fashion is going, it’s accelerated a trend that was already taking place in menswear – more casual, less formal, with an emphasis on comfort. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t look smart and stylish. Gagliardi offers outerwear, trousers, accessories, shirts and shoes, and yes, I have some shirts and shoes to show you coming up next. So if you’re looking to spice up your wardrobe with pieces from the heart of the Mediterranean where this version of smart casual has always been strong, go check out Gagliardi right here.
Shirts with extreme cut-away collars
Another thing you can do, if a jacket is too bold for you right now, try making a statement with a shirt with an extreme cut-away collar. This type of collar is a lot less common than the traditional point collar and will definitely make a statement, especially if you wear a tie. I recently made a video talking about a few ways to tie a tie and I showed how larger tie knots take up space between the collar points. But I think the extreme cut-away can be worn with both a large tie knot and a small knot. I like seeing some of the tie coming through because it’s a more casual, nonchalant way to incorporate a tie while not being too stuffy or serious.
Mixing patterns
If you’re worried about mixing patterns, here’s a simple tip that I’ve mentioned in other videos. For example, if you’re wearing a jacket with pinstripes or chalk stripes like this, you can absolutely wear a stripe shirt. Just make sure the stripes are a different size and scale and you’re good. One thing I might also suggest about mixing patterns, is to keep the entire outfit to two or three patterns max. Otherwise, it gets to be way too much.
Make a statement with your shoes
Another easy way to make a statement is with your shoes. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you want to start dressing better but you’re not sure where to start, just start wearing nicer shoes. If you’re a sneaker guy, wear a nicer sneaker. There’s beautiful and elegant leather sneakers that look amazing. Or if you’re derby guy, wear nicer oxfords or monk straps. Incorporate other colors and materials like suede. Go with suede loafers or suede monk straps. I’ve talked about driving mocks before and bringing in some color is a nice easy and safe way to make a statement with your footwear.
But something like these shoes. They’re from Gagliardi and I don’t own anything quite like this and I’m actually kind of obsessed with ‘em right now. I wore these out a couple times already and I’m amazed at how comfortable they are right out of the box. Yes, they do make a statement. But if you keep the rest of your wardrobe subdued, they blend in perfectly and look right at home just like any other shoe.
Making a statement isn’t for everyone
Let me say this before you go… dressing bold and making a statement with your clothes isn’t for everyone. People will notice. They’ll give you compliments and most likely come up and ask you about what you’re wearing. Also, if you’re afraid that you might look like a clown, you won’t, trust me. Start small and subtle. Don’t go crazy all at once with something super bold especially if it’s something you normally don’t do. But, if the idea of doing something different piques your interest, I would encourage you to explore some options like this. And, if you need to bounce some style ideas off someone, feel free to book a one-on-one Zoom call with me, the link is right here.
