Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we'll discuss the ten
things in my own wardrobe on which I regularly receive the most compliments
and the lessons I've learned as a result.
Loyal viewers of the channel may recall that Raphael has previously published a
video on his own most complimented items. Now that I'm increasingly more settled
into my role here at the Gentleman's Gazette, we thought it might be fun for
me to compile my own list. It's always nice to receive a compliment, of course,
and if you're wondering how best to accept one, you can find our video on
that subject here. But for today's video, enlisting my 10 things, some of which are
individual items and others of which are collections,
I'll also be offering some reasons as to why I think those items have gotten so
much praise. We'll start today with my collection of vintage hats. As has been
noted here on the channel and also on our website, I'm almost never out of
doors without a hat on and I've built up a collection of hats over the last 10
years or so. My regular three season rotation consists principally of three
vintage fedoras; one in a sort of mustardy brown color, one in charcoal
gray, and one in medium gray. I've also got a vintage black fedora but I don't
wear it as often. By the way, you can find our video on why black is the most
overrated color in men's wear here. In the summer, I most often wear a coconut
straw pork pie and I wear a boater for more formal occasions. I used to own a
conventional Panama hat but it got too worn out to wear. Still, I hope to acquire
another one soon. Using online resources, I've learned how to reblock the crowns
of my felt hats all by myself at home. Perhaps, this could be a future topic for
a video, if you viewers show interest. And for our full playlist on different hat
styles, etiquette, and more, you can go here. Next up is my collection of
cufflinks. When I started seriously investing in dress shirts in my college
years, I became immediately fascinated by French cuffs and cufflinks as they're a
subtle but distinct way to accent an outfit. My current collection
incorporates everything from simple black links that are typically worn
under sweater sleeves to more casual fabric inlays to designs incorporating
colors and patterns to vintage models that I've found online and in secondhand
stores. And of course, I would be remiss not to mention our various Fort
Belvedere models in both monkey's fist and eagle claw designs which you can
find here. And if you'd like to learn more about French cuffs in general, we've
also got a video on that topic. Speaking of my French cuff shirts, they're my
number 3 pick as several of them have also gotten many compliments including
my blue and white gingham model and several of my other grid patterned shirts,
as well as my pastel colors, in particular, pink, probably because it's
good for my complexion. My lavender puppytooth and violet Glen check models
almost fit in both of these camps since the patterns are so small that they read
as solids from a distance and my blue and yellow Prince of Wales check model,
my first shirt from Charles Tyrwhitt, is a favorite of mine. I've been
collecting these shirts for the better part of five years now, all of them in
the same fit but since joining the Gentleman's Gazette, I do now realize
that they are largely too big on me. So stay tuned for future content as I
continue on my style journey zeroing in on the fits of all of my garments. On
that note, I'll touch on two of my odd jackets next, both of which fit me
reasonably well or at least better than some of the other jackets in my closet.
These would be my double breasted navy blazer and my camel hair sport coat, both
of which are vintage. In addition to liking the fit of these jackets, I also
appreciate the smaller details like the blazer's gold buttons and the sport coat's
wide rounded lapels and if you're curious
about the differences between blazers, sport coats, and suit jackets, we cover
everything you need to know in this video. Mentioning camel hair also reminds
me that I do receive a number of compliments on my camel hair overcoat
which is probably my favorite piece of winter outerwear. This is another vintage
piece and one that pairs well with my brown Fedora as well as with many
different colors of gloves and scarves. By the way, we do also have a video on
pairing gloves and scarves with overcoats which you can find here. The
color stands out well from the more typical black, navy, and charcoal
overcoats you are going to see and the genuine camel hair does keep me quite
warm in the winter. My overcoat collection isn't nearly as extensive as
Raphael's though and this video should prove that. I don't happen to have too
many full suits in my wardrobe at the moment but two that do get compliments
and are, therefore, my number 6 pick are my royal blue suit and my charcoal grey
suit. The blue is two pieces and the charcoal is three. Again, while neither of
these suits have a perfect fit, I do like the way that each of them makes me feel.
Also, the charcoal suit has a slight texture and pattern to its weave and the
blue suit is brighter than a traditional Navy so it stands out of it. I appreciate
having the option to wear the charcoal suit as either two pieces or three and
with either of these, I do sometimes also engage in the spezzato technique of
breaking them up and pairing them with odd trousers as I'm doing here today
with the blue jacket. And as long as we're on the topic of choosing layers to
wear underneath jackets or indeed on their own, I'll mention my sweater
collection next. You've seen a number of my sweaters on the channel already
including my cardigans in navy, blue gray, and black, and my oatmeal color that's good for more casual outfits. My favorites though and
the ones that get the most compliments are my wine colored cardigan and my
berry colored cashmere v-neck. Both of these sweaters can be worn well
under jackets, as you are seeing here, or of course, on their own.
Cardigans tend to give the wearer a more professorial vibe which I don't
necessarily mind, whereas v-necks are more sporty and preppy. Both styles
though are quite versatile. Let's return to accessories for a moment to cover
another small piece that can make a big difference,
collar clips. These are designed to make the knot of one's tie more pronounced
and also to hold the collar together in a neat and tidy way. They were
particularly popular in the early 20th century but they fell out of favor
somewhat as larger tie knots and wider spread collars came into fashion. I have
a few vintage models in my collection, some of which are more ornate than
others. They don't always get noticed because they are small but when they do,
onlookers are generally very complimentary. Of course, Fort Belvedere
does offer collar clips in yellow gold, rose gold, and silver, and you can
experiment with those in your own outfits as well. My number 9 pick is
another accessory, boutonnieres. As with collar clips, they
were a popular accessory in the early 20th century but they too fell out of
favor somewhat. Probably because real flowers could wilt or might get pollen
on a lapel and having to often buy fresh flowers wasn't exactly cheap. Fort
Belvedere has solved this problem too though with our extensive collection of
silk boutonnieres. My Edelweiss and corn flowers in different colors are good for
sport coats and my carnations are good for black-tie ensembles which brings us
nicely into my final selection for today, my black-tie wardrobe. As a jazz singer
who specializes in early 20th century standards, I often wear black tie when
performing and as a result, I have a few different ensembles in my collection.
You've seen both my black single breasted and midnight blue
double-breasted tuxedos on the channel, as well as my double breasted ivory
shawl collar dinner jacket. I've got a single breasted ivory model as well, also
with a shawl collar. Some of these ensembles are vintage and others are new
and the same can be said for my black bow ties as well. You can find a wide
variety of black tie as well as white tie accessories in the Fort Belvedere
shop and for anything you'd like to know about these formal dress codes, our
comprehensive black tie guide on the website has you covered. To wrap up today,
let's consider a number 11 bonus pick that echoes Raphael's own list.
This would be my overall look or demeanor when wearing any of these items
as well as other pieces in my collection. No matter whether you're a menswear
expert or just starting on your own style journey, wearing your clothes with
confidence is a key step in wearing them well. Of course, fit is important as we've
covered many times here and you should always try to look for quality
craftsmanship but equally key is being able to wear your garments in a way that
feels comfortable and natural to you. If you can do this, you should be no
stranger to getting compliments from those around you. In today's video, I'm
wearing a sporty combination that does feature at least a few of the items I've
discussed here today. Chief among them would be the jacket from my royal blue
suit which, as I said, I'm wearing in a broken up spezzato style with some grey
odd trousers that feature a small pattern in their weave. Harmonizing with
both the jacket and the trousers is my shirt which features a micro check in
dark grey and blue. It isn't one of my French cuff models from Charles Tyrwhitt
but it provides a bit of variety in my closet as I don't have too many barrel
cuffed shirts. To add some brighter pops of color to the outfit today, I've chosen
a madder silk tie with a geometric micro pattern in a lavender color that
harmonizes well with the light purple cornflower boutonniere from Fort
Belvedere. The blue corn flower is the most standard and classic choice but
we've introduced a number of other cornflower colors in the shop so you
should take a look. My socks are from Fort Belvedere too, they are grey
with light blue shadow stripes. These go well with the trousers as well as with
my shoes which are gray suede derbies from Heinrich Dinkelacker. The other
piece in the outfit today is a vintage magenta colored pocket square from
Hermes which features a sort of chain-link design in yellow and bluish
tones