First thing’s first, fashion is meant to be fun! It’s the way in which we project our personalities at a moment’s notice, and one of the key factors in making a good first impression. What’s also intriguing though is that there aren’t necessarily any rules. What rules have been set in stone have also been broken and looked immensely cool while doing so. That all being said, if the menswear style world is totally foreign and intimidating to you, there’s some preliminary guidelines and investment pieces to start you off. It should be an adventure, and as such there’s never anything that’s off limits. If you can make it work then more power to you. As official fashion addicts: stylist Jerry Oco and myself are more than happy to introduce you to this new collaborative section and passion project dear to our hearts: SCHOOL OF HARD STYLE
Hoping you enjoy our write-ups and keep up to date with everything coming over the next couple of months.
D.E.C.S & Jerry Oco
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I. THE PEACOAT
There’s no go-to piece quite like a luxe peacoat. Imagine one of the bitterly freezing mornings that so often frequent Melbourne, the thought of leaving the house brings about as much of a chill as would actually doing so. There’s a soft, comfortable and sturdy wool peacoat on your closest coat hook and without a second thought you grab it, throw it on, and walk out into the day feeling warm, and confident that your level of style is above and beyond average.
Made progressively more or less formal with each new reinvention, it’s definitely a worthwhile investment so as to see you through many occasions to come. As such we’ve included below a selection of different jackets ordered from lower to higher end (each with pretty fantastic notes of quality as well) appropriate for both the winter months and also a few for the upcoming summer heat. A personal favorite is the RAF SIMONS wool and silk blend peacoat featuring neon stripes created by LA-based artist Sterling Ruby: a seriously cool way to stand out from the crowd.
OUR FAVOURITES
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II. THE LEATHER JACKET
In terms of pairing, a leather jacket can go with multiple styles, for example if you want to dress it up wear a nice collared white shirt tucked in to a black pear of jeans with a pair of brown or black boots or plain dress shoes. This can be made more casual by switching out the shoes for vans or converse and untucking the shirt. This is just one example, the opportunities are endless with this and are waiting for your own interpretation and creativity.
And so, whether you’re a more refined guy or interested in the skater look, a good leather jacket will compliment any style, and it’s a necessary garment to give every guy that King-of-Cool feel.
OUR FAVOURITES
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STYLE RULE: No. I
Helping guys find a personal style is the ultimate goal of this collaboration, and that can be a difficult thing. Even with this advice, at the end of the day it’s up to the gent in question to take it upon himself and choose what is going to separate his look from the rest of the pack. This can be a choice, or a matter of confidence. If it’s the latter, we plan to help, and one of the best steps in starting off this adventure can be simply taking a look on what’s going on around you. An excellent source of inspiration are the latest crop of Celebrity gents as well as the classic film stars. Such a large percentage of their star power is powered by the way they dress and present themselves. Take a look through and see if you can find an affinity with the way any of them dress, even just picking certain looks or garments from those looks that you like it a great first venture into identifying how you want to look.