[0:00:00] Hi.
I’m Antonio Centeno.
I’m the founder of Real Men Real Style.
Today, gentlemen I'm going to be talking to you about gray flannel trousers.
Why I think every man should have a pair of grey flannel trousers in his wardrobe.
I'm going to give you five reasons why you should consider them and I'm also going to
let you guys know about a project I've been working on.
So, I have what I consider to be the perfect pair of grey flannel trousers.
About eight years ago, I designed these had them made by a custom tailor, used really
high-end fabric and literally they are just now starting to fall apart after about 200,
250 wears.
I can tell you though that the – I am sad to see these things falling apart, but I have
got my money's worth.
I paid quite a bit of money, they were custom bespoke made, measured out, I used really
high-end Loro Piana fabric.
But, what I come to -- what I figured out is that these were the trousers I want to
grab every time I'm traveling, every time I’m going to be giving a presentation.
Anytime I need something that I just feel great about wearing them made me feel like
a million bucks.
So, gray flannel trousers, they used to be really popular used to be something that all
men had in their wardrobe, and then something came long called jeans.
And, because of the low cost, all of a sudden a lot of gray flannel started -- fell to the
wayside it was World War II.
Also, you know, basically flannel was used a lot more in uniforms, they had a lot of
great properties.
Wool was a luxury fabric, so it costs a lot more.
Men came back, they’ll start -- denim started fitting more into our wardrobe and gray flannel
slowly fell to the wayside which is a shame because there were so many great things about
them.
So, first off, what is flannel?
Flannel is a material made usually from wool and it’s going to have a nap surface.
What do I mean by nap surface?
So, if you can imagine a third dimension has been added to the surface where it's basically
been picked over afterwards and so we've got some of the fabric that came up.
This gives it a very smooth very soft texture.
Okay.
So, let's get into the five reasons why you should have great flannels in your wardrobe.
Ready?
Number one is they’re classic.
I talked about how they used to be in every man's wardrobe.
These types of trousers have been around for over a hundred years.
What that tells me and what that should tell you is that, hey if you buy a pair even if
you spend quite a bit of money on them you can at least know, hey, it’s going to be
around for 5 to 10 to 15 years before it goes out of style.
To be honest, these things I don't think are ever going to go out of style, they have become
less popular and that is to your advantage which will get into in a later point.
So, point number two, gray flannels are versatile.
What do I mean by versatile?
I mean they are easy to match and they are incredibly easy to dress down dress up.
So, gray is a great color.
Why?
Because it is a non-color.
Gray falls between white and black on the scale, so you got black add a bit of white
to it, gray is in there.
What that does is if you got lavender, if you have orange, if you have yellow, if you
have any – you have olive jacket, guess what?
Gray flannels works perfectly with them because it defers in a sense attention to this especially
nice pocket square olive green jacket with a blue shirt, wear a pair of gray of flannels,
I just fully described one of my favorite outfits.
And, all of a sudden, it looks great and people can’t even place their finger on why this
man looks so good.
Again, you can match it with any of the colors any of the patterns because it's a non-patterned.
Gray flannel most the time is not going to have any type of pattern to it.
So, it's going to, again, allow other things in your -- in your outfit to really grab the
attention and you can dress it up, you can dress it down, you can wear it with a sports
jacket wear it with a blazer.
You can simply wear it with a casual shirt like what I’m wearing right here.
Okay.
So, point number three is it's comfortable.
I talked about the nap surface.
So chinos and there -- there's a wide range of other trousers out there that kind of fit
the range between jeans and dress slacks, but I would say none of them are as comfortable
especially in the fall, the winter, and the spring.
Whenever you've got those cool breezes going around, then a pair of gray flannels, that
nap surface does a better job of retaining heat.
It feels good rubbing up against your body.
I can tell you when I travel, the reason I love this is they’re just comfortable.
I almost feel like I’m in a pair of pajamas.
They fit me well and because of the fit because of the surface of the material, I just feel
great.
When I’m sitting in that airline seat, it’s really nice when you can travel and look good.
So, point number four is texture.
So, I was talking about the nap surface, but another advantage of texture is it allows
you and this kind of goes back to the matching.
But, texture is something that draws attention and it almost like people almost want to touch
it.
So, if you're a single guy or you're married, hey, you may not be surprised whenever a woman
comes up as she starts touching your trousers not necessarily a bad thing kind of breaks
that barrier.
But, it is something that texture, again, makes it much more versatile.
[0:04:54] Number five we’re going to talk about durability.
So, this is something I think a lot of people are concerned about with gray flannel is is
this going to last?
Yes, gray flannel like I said I've had my pair for 250 wears at least.
I have worn this over the last eight years and I can tell you that it is just now starting
to show wear.
It depends on the quality of the fabric, so I do recommend if you’re going to go out
there, you know, that’s why Brooks Brothers and a lot of these other companies out there
they've got and they sell the trousers at a relatively high price.
The reason being is they're using a very high-end Italian usually woven or English-made type
of fabric that just is expensive, but what that tells me is it's going to last.
You want to be careful of recycled wool, usually the fiber is going to be a bit shorter and
the -- the trousers actually may eventually develop some small holes on them.
So, this is bonus number six.
If you have a pair of gray flannels in your wardrobe, you're going to stand out.
They are not very popular, they fell out of popularity because of jeans and I think I
noticed whenever I'm walking around everyone else is wearing dress slacks or they’re
wearing jeans.
If I have a pair of gray flannels, I am the one in a hundred men.
Now, I think every man should have a pair.
The point is is they are something that helps you stand out in a good way.
So, I’ve talked about my favorite pair of trousers here and let me – let me share
a few details about them.
They have no -- what it is?
Belt loops.
The reason being is I don't ever want to wear a pair of a belt with this.
Why?
It actually gives a more streamlined look.
Now, some of you guys may want to go, Antonio, how do you keep - how do you keep it from
falling down?
I have side tabs.
So, the side tabs have an adjustable in the back that allows me basically to tighten them
or to loosen them depending on how I feel that day or how much I've been eating.
In addition, they have a three fastening front.
What this does is it better distributes in the front.
Usually, on a pair of jeans, you know, you have one button right there or a cheaper pairs
of trousers.
On the higher-end ones, you're going to see actually three fastens in the front.
This helps to distribute the tension and actually gives a much nicer look in the front area.
In addition, this have a hidden pocket because I have no back pockets, I have no back pockets
I like the streamlined look I don't want to add this big bulge, you know.
I don't usually want to have the temptation of putting a wallet in the back.
What happens here though I still want a pocket where I can carry things and I don't want
to carry in my front pocket necessarily, so I’ve got this hidden pocket over on the
right side.
It's actually inside the trousers a bit and it opens up.
I don’t know if you guys can see that right here and then opens up.
It allows me to keep credit cards and money in there, so pickpockets no one is ever going
to find this.
Whenever I am wearing just a shirt with these trousers and I've got my -- my shirt stays
in, I have a very streamlined look and I get compliments all the time.
People can’t place their finger on it, but they know I look great there’s something
different about how I'm presenting myself.
So, some of guys who are okay, you can go get these custom made and I can tell you this
pair I had custom made with high-end fabric.
It cost me almost $400.
Yes, it was expensive.
Now, I can tell you I'm working on a project where I'm going to make these actually affordable
and a lot more accessible.
I'm going to link to it down below.
I’ve got a form that you can fill up.
Tell me a little bit about what you want to see in the trousers, how you would fit these
in your wardrobe, and you know give me your e-mail address so I can notify you as soon
as these become available.
We're looking to make about a hundred pairs for a hundred men that are interested in having
a pair of gray flannels at an affordable price.
And go out there look Brooks Brothers has them for like $350.
There are other companies they have them for well over $200 and they're oftentimes not
even using the best fabrics.
So the design is not going to be something we're going to be able to change up, but we
are going to customize the waist to the individuals because I want them to fit you perfectly there.
And if someone is fun having fun with let me know in the comments if this sounds interesting
and more importantly go over and fill out the form.
Let me know that way -- that way I can e-mail you and you can be notified when this becomes
available.
I also support this with an article over at Real Men Real Style where I go into more detail.
Gentlemen, take care.
See in the next video.
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