Embellished Men: Wooyoungmi RTW Fall Winter 2009 2010

It's not often that ornament finds its way into the halls of menswear. Recently I've been speaking a bit towards the effect a hat, or lapel emellishment can have on ones overall look. After the Milan and Paris shows, its patently clear that menswear designers are moving towards a decorated male image in spite of other more sobering trends, men's accessories are stretching into a territory not explored for decades. Woouyoungmi showcased all of these emergent features in beautiful hats and lapel pins in her collection which bridged Korean folk culture with modern streetwear.

Another significant trend: capes. They're all over this season,and Wooyoungmi put them center stage with a variety of militaristic capelets in leather and wool, cut in a variety of styles. They added graphic contrast and provided a clear canvas for detailing.

The show is not perfect, the first look down the runway bore no connection to what followed, but the collection has a lot to offer for a variety of settings. The designer also continued the movement towards sensible double breasted suit jackets but paired them with leggings. It wasn't a look many men will risk at the office. A pair of trousers with a elasticized ribbed knit cuff.

Hats On The Rise This Spring

The top hat was once the mark of an elegant gentleman, women carefully preserved their collections of felt, and straw hats embellished with beading, feathers, and embroidery. Outside of a few ceremonial events formal hats are rare if not extinct and in casual wear heads are covered with the graceless baseball cap. Nowadays, hardly anyone can distinguish between different hat styles. What's the difference between an opera hat and a top hat, for instance? Between a trilby and a fedora? One might as well be speaking a foreign language. This broad disuse and ignorance makes it difficult of course for those who appreciate the use of a hat. But why? A man should easily recognize the practical use of putting a beaver short-hair felt hat on during a brutal winter or a straw hat with a decent sized brim during brutal summer heat. A trained eye will observe the anatomy of a hat lends itself to a wide range of variations. The crown, and brim are the main elements and the wearer should be careful to select shapes that complement him best.


A wide brim will compliment a shorter face, those who have less a defined jaw. The severity or subtlety of the brims curve can play with facial features in interesting ways. Take the time to try on different shapes to discover what works best with your jaw line. The crown will either widen or narrow towards the top. If you have a short round jaw a crown that tapers at the top will make those features stronger, you would be better off with crown that either widens or only tapers slightly. A contrasting band will also add length to the face. Obviously if you tilt it forward you will lose even length.

The past decade has shown an increasing interest in men's headwear, but most men have felt wary of venturing past a couple of styles which soon were oversaturating the market (the fedora and the trilby especially). Now there is a surge of interest in felt bowlers but rather than be tied to trends, why not branch out? There's nothing wrong with following trends but personal style requires an original touch whether it comes from a unique shape, material, or color. The past SS09 shows have given us distressed straw panama hats with tapered crowns from Junya Watanabe, Burberry and Obedient Sons emerged with wilted bucket hats. Ute Ploier played with the classic bowler while Marjan Pejoski presented old world conical hats.

Top right and top left: Ute Ploier SS09. Bottom left and right: Marjan Pejoski SS09

Junya Watanabe SS09

Whatever decision is made the direction appears to be clearly in favor of the hat once again. And while certain styles such as a D'Orsay top hat might not work for one, and a grey felt porkpie may not suit another there is a hat out there for everyone. We spend so much time fixed upon anothers faces in discourse that it is well worth the time framing ourselves in this way, and perhaps taking our daily wardrobe to the next stage.

some guy wearing a bowler by Barbara Feinman

Mad Mensch

It seems like an eternity until Mad Men season three. Looking desperately for a sixties office drama fix I turned to The Apartment starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacClaine. According to Mad Men creator Matt Weir the film served as an a inspiration. In tone however, The Apartment is more of a drama - romantic comedy which we now know to be bad for our health.

The film centers on C.C.Baxter(Lemmon) and follows his ascension as an employee in an insurance company. We watch him fall in love with elevator attendant, Fran Kubelik, played by MacClain. The gender roles of Baxter and Rubelik clash in one particularly satisfying scene where Rubelik has just had her self-esteem steamrolled and Lemmon is reveling in his new position at work. Along with the job comes an office, and an appropriate hat.

The film correctly correlates the derby hat, or bowler, with status. It was a symbol of the gentleman and class distinction when men were still myths dressed in wool suits. Class carried expectations of character. The cynicism in The Apartment will be familiar to viewers of Mad Man but there's healthy dose of mostly successful camp humor in the mix too. Both show a dogma of masculinity that is about to fall apart. The Apartment milks the confusion for laughs.