Pocket Squares - more than just hankies

First things first, yes I am calling them pocket squares...this is an Americanism but this isn't because I love all things stars and stripes, this is because they mean more than your average old hanky. On many occasions a look that involves a jacket or even a shirt can be greatly enhanced by a pocket square. When I talk about pocket squares it isn't in the strict sense of folded cloth, one can be as imaginative and interesting with filling a breast pocket as possible in my opinion. That said any dark jacket with shirt underneath looks so much better with a complimenting fold of material.

This accessory is associated most with evening wear and, yes, without one the evening look isn't quite right but it has far more use than just complimenting evening attire. There are amazing styling perks with a pocket squares which most men do not realise; any mediocre or worn out jacket can be instantly livened up with an inexpensive, casually folded pocket handkerchief.

On one of my frequent explorations of the sartorialist I came across this interesting quiz question. The common opinion would be that it is a bit over-the-top to put a pocket square in your overcoat but if you actually saw this on the street you would barely notice it and therefore this is a perfectly subtle sartorial detail. Style is all about details and this is where the pocket square can shine. There is so much more than the basic fold, there are a number of ways to fold your chosen material! The grace with which Milan men manipulate the silk or linen is represent their character more than any other element in their outfit. Remember to make the accessory your own, experiment, re-invent something you have seen and try something completely new.


Now here are some images demonstrating just some of the ways you can wear this versatile accessory.

Gary Cooper

Fred Astaire

Bandanna as pocket square courtesy of the thesartorialist

Manifesto

Style Salvage has evolved from two friends talking/obsessing/analysing about the way guys dress around us, driven by one of our favourite past times: people watching. However, our addiction has also been satisfied by images captured within all forms of popular culture. We often accept how modern figures within pop culture influence us but we want to show how icons of the past can also play a role in how we dress. One of the key themes of this blog will be to take certain ideas from what we see and evolve them into something more personal. Having spent years practising the above in private we now have the motivation to share our insights, ramblings, grievances and celebrations with you. Why now? Well, we now live apart, one in Manchester whilst the other is in London...so to avoid huge phone bills we needed to find a cheaper avenue to air our musings and Style Salvage is it. Consequently rather than just two people going mad hopefully a few more of you can join in.

We have been influenced by many of the fashion blogs out there but primarily by thesartorialist, who is everything we want to be when we grow up (yes we know we're probably meant to be grown ups by now). However, as a whole within this arena men's style is neglected but it will be neglected no more.

Overall there will be two (at times very different) opinions on the style we see around us, yet we are always united in a shared good taste. With regards to men's style we believe that there are a few simple facets to remember and sadly a huge proportion of men neglect them or just don't know about them so this blog aims to explore and discuss them.

This isn’t about laying into peoples’ clothing choices or focussing on the negative. This is about looking at what we admire and questioning that admiration: what is it that I like and how can I make that work for me?

Surely no outfit is so bad that nothing can be salvaged from it?
• The colour
• The fit
• The material
• The way the pieces go together
• An individual item of clothing
• The accessories
• The attitude
• The intention

At its very worst, the complete unsalvageable will be a lesson in how not to dress yourself.
Look at people around you: people you know, celebrities (alive and dead), look at photos of yourself. Even with the most dreadful outfits, you may be able to find something worth salvaging. It may look awful on them, but if you changed the shirt, pulled up the trousers - could it look good on you?

Above all, we believe that it's important not to carbon copy someone else’s style. Always make it your own. Don’t be ‘that guy who dresses like so and so’; make it something different. Make people guess your influences. Keep it fresh and wear it well; look good but even more importantly look like you.

Something else we hope to cover is vintage shopping for men. Given our love of past fashions and, of course, the particular style icons we will be talking about, men’s vintage is of special interest to us. This interest has been increased by our inability to (so far) find any decent, extensively stocked, well priced vintage shops for men. Certainly that is not to say we haven’t found some, but by and large the men’s sections are vastly inferior to the women’s, frequently just a rack of ill fitting suits in a dark corner. Hopefully over time we will be able to compile a directory of the best vintage shops. THIS WILL NOT BE LONDON-CENTRIC (largely because half of us live in Manchester). Any suggestions of your favourite menswear shops in your area will be welcomed and we will make an effort to check them out on our travels.

We do not claim to be experts on… well, anything, including the styles and people we write about. This is largely our way of documenting any information we find and sharing our tastes and opinions with you. Hopefully one day it will be extensive and in the meantime we hope that it is interesting and useful. Feel free to email us with any comments and suggestions, or let us know if you think that we’ve made any mistakes. Be polite though or we’ll tell your mum.

wardrobe_remix needs you!

I recently signed up to the wonderful world of wardrobe remix, well I couldn't leave Thom Wong by himself now could I? I wanted to accompany this post with a Lord Kitchener inspired poster but alas I am writing this feeling poorly and in an Internet cafe so hopefully you can forgive my lack of creativity.

There is a lack of men within the group so I urge you to start sending in your pics. If you are worried about the comments don't be, everyone is so nice...in fact they might be a little too nice, lulling me into a false sense of security and then bam, they become so bitchy I run away from my laptop one day in tears, never to venture online again. If you aren't aware of wardrobe remix - briefly it is an online 'DIY fashion community' created by Tricia in 2005, if you are aware of it, why aren't you on it?

I personally like trawling the pool of images (there are currently over 34,000) because I'm a aesthete and enjoy the variety on there, a nice mix of handmade/modified, vintage buys, high street and designer...I just wish that there were more men on there and then it would be become a great resource for inspiration for the blog. The community is so much more interesting than the exactitudes project (an ongoing exploration of the so called striking dress codes of various social groups, and the way clothing and fashion can be used to both fit into and stand-out from the crowd) which I recently saw at Selfridges but I will soon be amassing a favourites portfolio containing a similar volume of images!

Channeling his inner 1950's dad/1960's French assassin Mr Wong above is an inspiration. I seriously need to smarten up my act and most importantly invest in a few hats...I do not possess a single smart hat and this is a fact I will change very soon. In fact I think I've found the perfect one at Hurwendeki but decided against buying it just yet because I now have a clothes budget in place and I'm actually sticking to it pretty well...Anyway, enough of my consumer habit...as I said, this is a serious post, I want to see more guys sign up to wardrobe remix, so start taking lots of pics. I have to admit that I'm not the most regular of contributors to the w_r community because...well I can be a little lazy and uninspired but I am beginning to get the desire to attack my wardrobe and drawers with gusto and start taking more photos to post and I urge you to do the same.