American-Made

Having just come back from visiting family in Barcelona, I noticed some interesting things about the way Spaniards dress for work. They dress up much more than their American counterparts, as far as I could tell, with three-piece suits instead of America's standard two pieces, or with a sweater over a shirt and tie instead of rolled-up shirt sleeves. Some of this might be for weather reasons, since Barcelona was a good ten degrees cooler than New York City and the humidity was far less intense, but I perhaps it also has to do with the fact that Americans are entrenched in the standard style, comfortable only with navy blue, gray, and black with pinstripes suits. A generalization, probably, but Americans don't allow for a lot of creativity with suits.

The other thing I noticed: Spaniards tie their ties incredibly sloppily. Tons of men walked around with the skinny end hanging below the fat end, or with the knot tightened strangely. As with all things, it may just be a matter of preference, the equivalent of styling your hair to look like you have bed-head. But really, to the outside observer, it looks like you were running five minutes late when you got up in the morning.

"¡La corbata! ¡Aprétela!" I would yell at them as I went past (I would yell at them in my mind, my Spanish embarrasses me).

Among those Spaniards whose ties didn't look disheveled was an interesting detail that made them contrast to Americans. They knot their ties in a much looser, more casual looking fashion than Americans. I'll demonstrate it below. Maybe you'll be inspired to add the style to your own repertoire.

The knot shown is a half-Windsor, with the American style on the left and the style I saw in Spain on the right.


























The Spanish style looks bigger and fuller, but you're wearing a tie for a reason, shouldn't you want it to look like a tie?

Tailor your Suits like Pep Guardiola

To begin, a word on tailored, or bespoke, suits.

Most of the focus of men's fashion these days centers on the fact that menswear is finally getting it right in terms of fit. Searching around, you will see tons of posts about how the best dressed men wear shirts and jackets that are tailored so they fit the body and the arms of a man correctly. Read the blogs where women swoon over Jon Hamm (Don Draper), Stephen Colbert, and yes, our own Pep Guardiola, you will see what I am saying.

There are three main ways to get a suit that fits your body size and shape: you can go to a store, such as Men's Wearhouse or Brooks Brothers, select a suit and have the suit tailored to fit by one of their in-house tailors; you can purchase a designer suit and bring this to a tailor that you trust to have it fitted; or you can purchase a "bespoke" suit that is custom-designed to fit you. (As a note some stores, such as Brooks Brothers, though they carry many off-the-rack suits, also offer the custom-made option).

As a matter of fact, Pep Guardiola has his suits, as well as his shirts, tailor made (see: Brandish TV Style Profile on Guardiola). Look at the picture above, and notice the small text on the lower section of the shirt. The monogram of the wearers name is one touch some tailors will add to their clothing.

Though it might seem a more expensive option, often a bespoke suit can run you less than an off-the-rack number depending on where you purchase it. If you are in New York City, you have a wealth of options open to you. Other major cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston also have trusted tailors making bespoke suits. If you have your measurements handy (ask for them from the last tailor you went to, if you abandon your loyalty) the well-reviewed atailoredsuit website offers custom-made suits delivered to your door for $799 and up and shirts for $99 and up.

Dress Yourself Like Pep Guardiola

Let's make this short. I am a Catalan-American with a love of FC Barcelona and a love of dressing well. Naturally, the young, smiling, well-dressed (barring some experimentation) Pep Guardiola is an icon to me. So, the theme of the blog.

But really, that is just the jumping point. I want to take back the spotlight from the rock stars in tattered shirts and the athletes with no fashion sense, and put it back on men who reflect the grace and sense of a gentleman, without the stodginess of generations past.

With every post that features something I like stylistically, I will try to (do my best!) elect the pieces one would need to own to build it, and I will try to do it as moderately priced as possible. After all, I am just a broke post-graduate myself.

But lack of money does not really limit you too much if you are thrifty and creative. Also, keep in mind that the big chain, off-the-rack stores are often your worst option. At the $100 dollar or more price tag for the shirts you buy at some of these stores, you could have had a tailor custom fit you for a dress shirt made of much higher quality material and with much better craftsmanship.

Enough talk.