Great quotes on men’s style

Posted on April 27, 2022

So, if you’ve subscribed for a while to “A Seasoned Life,” you’ve probably noticed that I write a mixture of content. Some of it is observations and perspectives on positive aging and life in general. Some of it is about how midlife men can re-brand and present themselves for success and influence. And some of this, naturally, speaks to our style, our clothing, grooming, and what I call our overall “Ethos.” In Aristotelian rhetoric, Ethos refers to a speaker’s presentation of him or herself, and why an audience should trust and assign them authority.

Most of us want to have a positive influence on those around us. That’s true whether at work, with family or relationships, friends, or even just people you meet in daily life.

I’ve made the point before that people will often make a judgment about us, their assumptions and what they think of us, within seconds of meeting. We may only have minutes or seconds to make the “first impression” that we want to make. To control the narrative by how we present ourselves to the world.

We create this first impression, this Ethos, in many ways. Our demeanor, confidence, the way we speak and greet others, the words we choose, the sound of our voice, the way we listen to others, our grooming, style, and clothing. Our attention to detail. These are things that give others a sense of confidence and trust in us.

In this post, I’m going to focus just on style and clothing. You may have noticed that I tend to be circumspect about giving a lot of specific style advice. I don’t consider myself an expert or authority on that. I’ve had a number of requests to do more of that, and maybe I will as time goes by.

My main emphasis so far is less on giving specific advice and more on simply the importance of paying attention to our style and how we present ourselves. To convince men that it is OK to care about this, and to give a comparable amount of attention and effort to our style as we do to some of our other interests. Style is a personal thing. Every man needs to figure out his own style, what he likes and what helps him best accomplish his goals. I’m here to help inspire you on that journey. And yes, maybe provide a bit of advice here and there.

With that in mind, I’ve culled some selected quotes on style from various mostly well-known men that may be an inspiration to you. I’ll present them here with a bit of my own commentary.

Here goes…

“I don’t follow fashion so much as I try to find clothes that make me look good. Because that never goes out of style.” ~~ Muhammad Ali (Simple wisdom from “The Greatest.” Would anyone dispute that Muhammad Ali was one of the most stylish, confident men ever? I think not!)

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” ~~ Oscar Wilde (If you know much about Oscar Wilde, you might differ on the “overdressed” part. But I appreciate the general idea)

“Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.” ~~ Arthur Ashe (Indeed)

“It is both delusional and stupid to think that clothes don’t really matter and we should all wear whatever we want. Most people don’t take clothing seriously enough, but whether we should or not, clothes do talk to us and we make decisions based on people’s appearances.” ~~ G. Bruce Boyer, men’s style editor (“Delusional and stupid” is putting it a bit strongly. But he’s a style editor, so I guess it’s his thing)

“Dress like you own the bank. Not like you need a loan from it.” ~~ Louis Raphael (Sometimes, anyhow, when the occasion calls for it)

“Know first who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.” ~~ Epictetus (When given style advice from someone who was probably wearing a toga, take heed!)

“You don’t find a style. A style finds you.” ~~ Keith Richards (From Epictetus to the Rolling Stones, what can I say? They’re saying pretty much the same thing!)

“Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.” ~~ Oscar de la Renta (That’s why you’ll hardly ever see me using the word “fashion”)

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” ~~ Mark Twain (You wanna have a positive influence? Put on some clothes!)

“A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.” ~~ Oscar Wilde (Wilde again, overstating as usual, but if you’re going to wear a tie, at least learn to tie it well!)

“There is one other reason for dressing well, namely that dogs respect it, and will not attack you in good clothes.” ~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (Tongue in cheek advice from someone who was normally a pretty serious guy. Or is it tongue in cheek? Maybe he’s serious, but I don’t want to find out!)

“A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.” ~~ Tom Ford (Hmm. Some of you won’t like that one, but Tom Ford is a style expert, so I had to include it)

“Men’s fashions all start as sports clothes and progress to the great occasions of state. The tailcoat, which started out as a hunting coat, is just finishing such a journey. The tracksuit is just beginning one.” ~~ Angus McGill, English journalist (We’ll see about that one. Leisure suits in the 70s never made it to the great occasions of state. But anyone with a name like Angus McGill deserves to be quoted)

“The well-dressed man is he whose clothes you never notice.” ~~ William Somerset Maugham (Google docs tried to auto-correct William Somerset Maugham to read, “…the one whose clothes…” How dare they!)

“All it takes are a few simple outfits. And there’s one secret – the simpler the better.” ~~ Cary Grant (When it came to style, that man knew what he was talking about)

“My father used to say, ‘Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary.’” ~~ Cary Grant (Another good one from Mr. Grant)

“A man should dress in a way that you don’t notice. He looks good and you don’t know why. But it’s the tailoring, the materials, and the clothes.” ~~ Michael Caine (Wise words from another Hollywood legend. I would add that it’s not just the clothes, it is the man they’re on)

Wrap up…

Well, I hope that gives you something to think about. We all need a little inspiration to be our best selves!

https://cliffordberger.com/what-do-i-mean-by-life-and-style/