Shouting!

Whenever you dress casually you clearly are not bound by many rules. In fact, you should do whatever you want to do within reason. Consider practicality and pleasure. Yet, do not forget to wear one thing that shouts!

If your like any of my non-African friends your asking me what I mean. Well, Africans are not as bound by the rules of color Westerners follow. Colors don't imply orientation or sex, they are just colors. We simply wear what we like and think nothing about color matching. We also will wear any colors together yet somehow there is a harmony there. We never really ponder the colors we just work on feeling. 'Feeling' is very important to any African art. Our artwork works on two principles that contrast each other artifice and the natural. Dressing is no different. Feeling is simply a sense of harmony that a work of art has in its entirety, taken as a whole. Things without feeling are not considered art. This idea only matters because Africans tend to use high contrast in works of art. For example, loud colors, busy patterns, and the use of realistic and abstract elements all in the same body of work. For those two cousins to get along feeling must be present. Keep this in mind as we explore shouting.

Shouting, literal translation from several East African tongues, refers to the element that contrasts the most. This shouting element can be as simple as a contrasting texture, a print, a color, or a change in formality, or informal element in a formal article. Africans naturally do this. We'll combine the traditional printed cloth with a odd coat and come up with an interesting looking odd coat. I for one, take a Kente cloth and have it sewn into a pocket square. The square's pattern shouts so loudly other Africans and the cognoscenti can spot it's origin. Shouting adds style and flare to your entire look. Italians seem to have something similar and they call it sprezzatura; from what I can gather it seems to be attached to the man doing it. It also is not exactly contrast but not doing something in the normal way. Many copy each other on purpose instead of developing out of the natural. Shouting is attached to the element, the article, or the contrasting aspect. Shouting also is never affected or forced it is developed naturally. An example of this is Ozwald Boateng. His entire line is all about shouting, ignore the cut and fabrics. His ability to style is principled in shouting. If you have a chance at looking at some of his looks you'll begin to see the common thread. Now, just like in real life shouting can be done to some one in the same room or clear across an estate; it is the same sartorially. Go light or sprinkle on the seasoning heavily. Boateng shouts until your ears bleed.

To drive in my point, let's move on to some examples of shouting and I'll guide you to a better understanding:

Funky socks shout.

These boots shout.

Purple blazers shout.

Patch pockets and turnback cuffs on a suit coat shout loudly!

Photo Credits: Hart Schaffner & Marx, Leffot blog, Perry Ellis, M Magazine, don't remember the first photos owner.

Personal Style: The Signature and Eccentricities

As you further develop your personal style you will begin to see there are some things you constantly do or don't do. These are your signatures and your eccentricities. Many will develop without you consciously seeking them out. These things will make any look you put together yours.

Your signature is a beautiful thing and something unique to your person. Sometimes they are a cultural thing and many in your culture might develop it, for example Americans and OCBDs. Other times you will find that they are only your thing although others may ape you if you reach prominence.

Eccentricities have an attractive quality that influences others. Some replicate and most will duplicate. Other gentlemen will be inspired by your quirks. Also these signatures help your confidence because they come natural to you. While you may enjoy stiff starched collars, you may find that the club collared shirts are your favorites. Others will take notice and complement you on them; that is when you know that you truly own it and it is now a part of your personal styles.

Let us take a look at some examples of Signatures:

Sator, a master of the sartorial arts with a penchant for historical modes, wears historically influenced waistcoats.

Here is a waistcoat with shawl collared lapel. He fashioned it after a waistcoat ad he saw from the Edwardian era. He liked the peaking or exaggerated downward curve of the waistcoats of that era. After much research, he realized that their intent was to elongate the figure. This practice still exists but less curving is done; it can be seen in modern db waistcoats.

Here is a close-up for all the details.

While this slipped waistcoat is something not very different from what is available today it is special. The slipping is usually lighter than waistcoats and never black in contemporary examples. Also the buttons on most waistcoats are meant to blend in and not to contrast as heavily as those on Sator's waistcoat. This is an example of Sator's exuberance and eccentric study of past modes that allowed him to duplicate cues from the past and incorporate them into his dress today.

Our next example is HRH Prince Michael of Kent. He is known for several things, his command of the Russian language, his resemblance to the last Czar of Russia, his magnificent Jesus beard, and his huge tie knots.

Prince Michael's ties are quite thick all the way through but it is the huge knots that are of interest. His bespoke ties are made thicker because he likes the knots to be large and the tie to have body. It also seems that he gets long medium spread collars to accommodate his thick tie knot. A thing of his own, while not for me, it actually harmonizes with the rest of his appearance. The big beard, collar, and tie knot rest naturally near each other.This picture illustrates more evidently how the collar accommodates the tie.

So, I leave you with another song full of wisdom.

May your drums beat loud,

The Eccentric Orange Gentleman

Personal Style Development

As unique as we are we tend to develop a herd mentality. The blogosphere doesn't really help especially with all the trad, sartorial, traditional style ones available. If your new to the sartorial arts aping looks is perfectly fine. Just beware of replication, instead seek duplication.

To fully grasp my point we must discuss the difference between replication and duplication. According to Answers.com it is, "The process by which genetic material, a single-celled organism, or a virus reproduces or makes a cop of itself." Replication is an attempt at an exact copy. Duplication is a process of copying. In genes it occurs as an embryo is developing. It is not exact and leads to free mutation. This is called genetic recombination. An example of this would be the one really tall person in a family of short people.

Now let me return to the point of my post. As a new gentleman to the sartorial arts one should duplicate not replication. Duplication allows you to freely mutate, if you will, the look into something you would wear. Replication removes the very thing that makes you you; your personality. In addition to that, you've stolen another individuals personal style. I wont dwell on that very long understand that some aspects of personal style are, as the name suggests, personal. These things may have really deep meaning so, be mindful and respectful.

Personal style is the easiest to develop because you already have it. You have preferences on color, formality, and patterns. Simply use them in your duplication of the looks you see in magazines, books, and the many blogs, hopefully mine is on your list. Go ahead! You don't like blue but want to try the Atlanta College Boy look; try a pink shirt. Still not enough of you in it. How about a pink OCBD, oxford cloth button down, instead of a spread collar.

Let me make this as clear as possible. Duplicate the form but allow your personal style to shine through by integrating it in the choices you make for the look. My example of this is, I don't really like OCBDs very much so I wear spread collars. Even if the look I'm duplicating is using an OCBD, I still wont wear it.

I like to impart some practicality as well as examples. So, let us perform an exercise.

The following photo is from anaffordablewardrobe.blogspot.com

This look is composed of a green blazer worn with khakis, OCBD, & a crew neck sweater.

My Take: I don't like green blazers, crew neck sweaters, or OCBDs. Also I prefer to wear ties. To make it mine I'd wear a blue blazer, a v-neck sweater, a soft collar shirt. The rest of the colors are fine with me.

Next we have a photo from Will's Asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com.

Nicholas Antongiovanni is wearing a navy sport coat with a checked, country, button down shirt, and a yellow knit tie.

My Take: Button downs and yellow knit ties don't work with me so, I would forgo them. I would wear a spread collar with a red knit tie. Everything else is okay with me.

In the final Photo I have Mr. Sperelli taken from his blog, http://andrea-sperelli.livejournal.com/.

Mr. Sperelli is the gentleman on the left wearing a black corduroy jacket in a medium whale worn with a purple, striped, contrast collar shirt. He also is wearing a tan waistcoat and a purple pocket square.

My Take: I would change the pocket square to a patterned version, I rarely wear solid ones anymore. I like red and navy worn with purple for pocket squares. I would change the tie to a solid in a maroon. The different colors are an homage to my culture. In Africa color clashing is an art. Though, in East Africa, maroon, purple, and navy are placed together quite commonly. You'll see it in patterns everywhere. So, aside from looking well put together, it makes an inside statement of pride to other East Africans.

In conclusion, we should seek to always display our own style. Duplication of looks is acceptable; replication is not. We all know what we intuitively like and should try to include that when we duplicate looks to expand our sartorial vocabulary. Let your personality shine through in your appearance. A favorite color, a bending of a rule, or an homage to ones club or ethnicity are ways to express personal style. Like all things; when you practice this it soon becomes simply a part of your style, the epitome of personal style.