Faggoting:
Debonair Style From 12 American Designers

Discard any conception you have of old world charm; bicycling through Paris with a bottle of wine and crusty bread in your basket, a gondola ride through venetian canals, slurping that last string of pasta with your lover ending in an unexpected kiss. There’s a kind of romance that can only be had this side of the Atlantic. You’ll find it in the literature of Cooper, Emerson, and Twain, in the fantastic and wildly lush landscapes of the Hudson River School, or maybe hear it in the triumphant yet melancholy music of Philip Glass. It’s a romance that springs from a uniquely American perspective.

And this kind of romance can inform your style and even, if you let it, transform you. You don’t need a French label with a name you can’t pronounce sewn in under your jacket’s breast to feel fancy. Why, instead you can throw on a simple tweed jacket, classic, understated, the kind that Polo does so well. Wear it casually with raw dark jeans or perhaps matching trousers, a crisp oxford, chili brown Allen Edmonds, and an eccentric tie - Ivy League style of course with an animal jacquard motif. The American way is not sultry and lacks the sophistication a Euro accent provides (no rolled r’s, froggish throat speaking, or mispronouncing s-h-e-d-u-l-e here). Instead it’s rugged, it’s slouchy, and it’s got all the bravado and swagger than can inspire the most insatiable libido.

What is it about the American look that makes it so appealing at this moment? Perhaps we’re sick of Tom Ford (ironically enough from Texas) and his Europeanisms. Or maybe the Slimane slim attitude, in a petit noir suit, has become a bit drab. Maybe as the U.S. takes a step down from the world stage there’s some new found nobility in our humility. Fashion swings as does our idea of romanticism, dress accordingly.

Explore For Yourself:

www.polo.com

www.jcrew.com

www.brooksbrothers.com

www.allenedmonds.com

www.fieldandstream.com

www.americanhistory.si.edu

www.hudsonriverlandscape.com

www.eamesgallery.com

www.americanliterature.com

all images from style.com