Gentleman by Tom Ford

Tom Ford is such an influential figure that you can find a lot of his interviews and a lot of advices he gives to men on how to be a gentleman. Below a collection of those.

All over internet you have these 5 bullet points:

1. You should put on the best version of yourself when you go out in the world because that is a show of respect to the other people around you.

2. A gentleman today has to work. People who do not work are so boring and are usually bored. You have to be passionate, you have to be engaged and you have to be contributing to the world.

3. Manners are very important and actually knowing when things are appropriate. I always open doors for women, I carry their coat, I make sure that they're walking on the inside of the street. Stand up when people arrive at and leave the dinner table.

4. Don't be pretentious or racist or sexist or judge people by their background.

5. 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.

Additionally, 15 things every man should have:

1. To Laugh - 'A sense of humour.'

2. Starting The Day - 'A daily read of the newspaper.'

3. Fancy A Game? - 'A sport that you love and are good at.'

4. Grooming Essential - 'Tweezers.'

5. A Signature - 'A good cologne that becomes a signature.'

6. The Right Suit - 'A well cut dark suit.'

7. Style Classics - 'A pair of classic black lace-up shoes.'

8. Tailoring - 'A smart blazer.'

9. Denim - 'The perfect pair of dark denim jeans.'

10. Wardrobe Staples - 'Lots of crisp white cotton shirts.'

11. Good Underwear - 'Always new socks and underwear (throw away the old ones every six months).'

12. Something Smart - 'A classic tuxedo.'

13. Efficient Accessories - 'A beautiful day watch with a metal band.'

14. Cool Accessories - 'The perfect sunglasses.'

15. A Great Smile - 'Perfect teeth - if you don't have them, save up and have them fixed.'

Then – last but not least - 10 Rules of style from Tom Ford. I don't agree with the details of the last one, but the point it represents is valid.

1. I don’t believe in playing around much with suit cuts. I like a fairly classic shape that gives a man strong shoulders, a fitted waist, and long legs. Classic simplicity always works.

2. Someone who is secure enough to be very present when relating to another person is sexy. In other words, a good listener always lands who he wants.

3. When mixing patterns, don’t think about it too much—just throw it together.

4. I hate the trend of short suit jackets. When a man’s butt is showing below the bottom of his jacket, I think it makes him look like a female flight attendant from the back—not my idea of sexy.

5. With jewellery, I actually like bracelets more than anything else, but they have to be small and simple. Cary Grant always wore a simple gold bracelet with his watch, and I think that was very chic.

6. If you’re careful not to overuse Botox, then yes, why shouldn’t you use it? A little bit of it between the brows can make you look less stern and more approachable. Who needs to frown, anyway?

7. Just like girls need to learn to be comfortable in heels before they go out in them for the first time, a man should try wearing a suit throughout a normal day. I do most things in a suit—and sometimes even in a tuxedo—and so I’m really comfortable in one.

8. When it comes to grooming, keep earwax out of the ears and keep stray hairs and flakes of skin in check and you should be good to go. In the morning, I put ice cubes on my eyes and use lots of Visine.

9. Time and silence are the most luxurious things today.

10. There’s one indulgence every man should try in his lifetime: If you’re straight, sleep with a man at least once, and if you’re gay, don’t go through life without sleeping with a woman. Either way, you might be surprised at how natural it will feel if you can get past the mind-fuck of stereotypes. In the end, it’s just another person that you are relating to in a physical way.

Be better than the Gap!

>

Source: http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201107/crazy-stupid-love-costume-designer-dayna-pink-makeover-scene-steve-carell-ryan-gosling

Style Reconnaissance: Crazy, Stupid, Love

The new Ryan Gosling-Steve Carell comedy features a classic trope: The makeover scene. Only this time, the designer duds are high-end and stylish, and on a man. We talked to Dayna Pink, the costume designer behind the style transformation

By Lauren Bans

Juli 29, 2011 

Female-driven romantic comedies are infamous for the makeover scene. You know the ones, where a "frumpy" woman suddenly transforms into a ravishing fashion plate after a cinch here and blouse there. Think Brittany Murphy in Clueless. Well, in this week's Crazy, Stupid, Love, it's finally a dude's turn to transmogrify, from a hideous, pleated-infected Dad to a dashing bro on the make. To find out how they did it, we chatted with celebrated costume designer Dayna Pink.

···

GQ: I can't think of another movie that's more camera-ogling of men's clothes. How did you go about picking out Ryan and Steve's wardrobe?  

Dayna Pink: You know, you read the script, you get your ideas together, talk to directors, of course, and then you talk to your actors and it sort of all happens and comes together.

GQ: It's rare you get a movie where the male clothes outshine the females'. Not that the female clothes weren't great, but the camera was obsessed with the way the guys looked.
 

Dayna Pink: I love it. We're used to women's clothes being spectacular. And there are less options with men. What are you going to do? You're going to do a suit, you're going to not do a suit. Those are your choices. So making that interesting, and layering on that, and sort of playing with the fit, and playing with the details of cuff and collars, and different types of silhouettes: that's the challenge of men's clothes, and that's what I love. That's my obsession.

GQ: There's a long makeover montage in the movie...did you immediately know what sort of designers you wanted to use for that?  

Dayna Pink: Certain designers came to mind, and different silhouettes came to mind, because the two of them—even though they both end up having to look great—they're in a different age range. They're different people. So we wouldn't put them in the same designers. We did a more sophisticated thing for Cal, which is Steve's character. And then Ryan was a lothario. So he's going to be edgier and hipper, without being a hipster. I never thought he was a hipster. He was just cool, you know?

GQ: How would you characterize both of the resulting styles of the two guys in the film? I mean, Ryan's character obviously stays pretty steady, but Steve's character goes through this momentous transformation.
 

Dayna Pink: Actually I think they both kind of transform, because they learn from each other in their lives. So Ryan starts out very super-modern. And of course Cal, Steve's character, starts out as a schlub, and even after Ryan gives him a makeover, and he's got all the pieces in place, but he still walks out of the dressing room like, "I'm uncomfortable! This is hot!" He says to Marissa [Tomei] in the scene, "My sweater's too tight, and I'm wearing this," even though he looks good. He isn't yet comfortable in everything that he's doing. And then at the end of the movie, of course, you see him in this amazing suit, no tie, open shirt, just looking so comfortable and yet fashionable and current and modern. So he's sort of loosened up. And in the very last scene of the movie Ryan doesn't have one of the shrunken tubes on. Ryan's got a more traditional, sort of classic suit on, and Ryan's wearing a tie. So he's sort of come around and learned from Cal, and Cal's learned from Jacob. It's subtle.

GQ: So they kind of meet in the middle.  

Dayna Pink: Yeah, totally.

GQ: Who were some of the designers that they wore?  

Dayna Pink: Ryan was a lot of more modern designers. I did this great shirt maker in France called Gossuin I found them while I was in Paris doing shows, for some reason, going to shows, and they just—it's a company that's owned by an ex-male model. He understands fashion and fit, and they make these amazing shirts. They made the most incredible shirts for Ryan. A little bit sheer so you could see through it, but not so crazy see-through, and beautifully tailored, the detail in the cuffs are amazing. So Gossuin, and for him I did Albert Hammond, Jr. for Confederacy shoes, he had some Alexander McQueen, he's got some Lanvin, he's got some Versace shoes. In one scene he wears this great plain black V-neck sweater, a little bit shear. It's beautifully fit on him, and it's just plain. So it isn't like everything has to have so much going on; for that character, it's all about the fit. He doesn't wear much that's complicated. He has some vintage stuff, as well.

GQ: What was harder—dressing Steve Carell up or as his pre-makeover Joe Schmo?  

Dayna Pink: I love putting Steve in great suits. I love it. When we put him in a great suit, and I see that smile on his face, it's great. He looks great in clothes. Really, the challenge was making him schlubby in the beginning. Putting a great suit on him is so easy, but it was harder to put that big, oversized, horizontal-stripe polo—you put that on and go, "Oh god." We looked in the mirror and we're like, "Oh, that's it. That's it."

GQ: If you had to pick a favorite outfit from the movie, which one would it be?  

Dayna Pink: The last suit that Steve wears. It was custom made by Ermenegildo Zegna. Really special. Just that fabric—it's like watching your child on television or something, where you're like, "Oh my god, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" There aren't all the layers, but to me, where this character eventually goes sartorially is so simple and so right in its simplicity. It's just so sort of easy, and it shows that he becomes comfortable with himself. When he walked out of the trailer wearing that suit, my jaw dropped. I said, "We've done it." I was really happy.

GQ: There's a line in the movie Ryan Gosling's character says: "You are better than the Gap." What is wrong with the Gap?  

Dayna Pink: That's not really where he was headed. Is there anything wrong with the Gap? No, of course not. The Gap has some great basics. But are we going to do a makeover at the Gap? No. Under no circumstances. Are you going to go, like, "Dude, I'm making you over, we are going to the Gap! And from there, we are going to Target! And you are going to be amazing!" That's just doesn't work. I think what he was saying was that it isn't simple, you know? You're better than basic. Let's do something special here.

GQ: Totally unrelated to the movie—you've worked with Marilyn Manson. How was that?  

Dayna Pink: It was totally fun, because Manson's a guy where you can be like, "Oh, I think I'm going to take a horse head and make a hat out of it," and he's like, "Okay!" He's totally down for anything. So as far as being creative, and being able to do fun things, it was great. Anything you think of, you can create, and he will support you in. That was really inspiring and fun for me. He's open to everything, and willing to try anything, and he also loves men's fashion. Gaultier. Galliano. Dior.

GQ: Do you have any advice for a Joe Schmo type who gets inspired by Crazy, Stupid, Love and wants to do a makeover but doesn't have the funds to buy out a Hugo Boss store?  

Dayna Pink: I always say that the most important thing is fit. If you buy a great suit and it doesn't fit you, it's not going to be great. So I think no matter where you shop, or what you buy, it's all about the fit. There was a part of this movie that was like: there's 16 simple things you can buy and redo your whole wardrobe. Well, if you do have some basics, and you only get a few things, get a suit and make sure that a tailor looks at it so the shoulders are right and the sleeves fit you properly and the pants are hemmed properly. Also, many designers have lines that are a lower price point, like Ermenegildo Zegna has a younger line called Z Zegna. Those places have more reasonably priced lines. And if you go and you get a few pieces and they fit you, then you've done it. That's the key. If you see someone walking down the street in a perfectly tailored suit, it looks good. It doesn't really matter. Of course if you have money and you can get a beautiful suit like Canali, then that's amazing. But if you can't do that, just make sure it fits, and you're going to look great, and you're going to feel great. And it's all about how you feel when you put your clothes on.