WHO HAS MORE STYLE: MALCOLM, OR MUMIA? STYLE CHALLENGE #1!

6:18 PM 10/29/2023 Sun

NOTE: This is a follow-up to my previous post, "ARE MODERN FEMINISTS IN DENIAL ABOUT "WATER SEEKING ITS OWN LEVEL"?" https://black-manosphere.org/blogs/news/are-modern-feminists-in-denial-about-water-seeking-its-own-level, & "THIS IS WHAT DEBATING A MODERN FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE - SMH" https://black-manosphere.org/blogs/news/this-is-what-debating-a-modern-feminist-looks-like-smh. For more on the Italian sartorial concept of "Spezzato", I strongly encourage you to checkout the Gentleman's Gazette channel's excellent video, "Spezzato: Breaking Up Suits for Casual Menswear Looks" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ax503QRTWI

In a previous post, I made the case that Little Ms. Modern Feminist's man, one Mr. Malcolm Toussaint, had an "amateurish" fashion sense at best. Since it's Sunday and we're all enjoying the weekend, and since in this dojo one of the three pillars is "Style", I thought to illustrate how and why Kimberly's guy simply doesn't live up to the hype - and explains how and why she kinda kept him out of the limelight for as long as she has.

Before we begin, we have to appreciate that a man's style and presentation to the world says a lot about who and what he is - what he thinks about himself, and how others will regard him. In addition, and this is very important when it comes to matters of mating and affairs of the heart, one's Plus One can and will communicate a message about oneself - you can make or break one's impression that they make on others. It is with these and other ideas in mind, that we proceed.

First up, is our man Malcolm - there he is, celebrating his 40th birthday - happy belated, bro! And there he is, dressed for the occasion, sort of. Let's begin with the mismatched suit separates, something many off the rack retailers like Express and Men's Warehouse have begun to offer to its clientele. While one CAN do this - uh, the proper term Malcolm is "Spezzato", which is an Italian term meaning "Broken" and is the sartorial practice of taking parts of one suit and mixing it with parts from another suit. There are is an excellent tutorial on the matter that I would recommend young Malcolm to consider for his review, which is noted above.

The first problem we note here is that Malcolm's attempt here looks more like merely taking some trousers and slapping another jacket with it - it looks haphazard, and not hanging together, especially when considering the brown oxford shoes he's wearing along with it. The color scheme here is rather jarring, especially given that we're now heading into the fall season, where brighter colors, like his jacket, should be put aside in favor of more appropriate colors for the season. What he has on here is more in line with what you'd expect a well-dressed gentleman to wear in the spring and summer months.

Second, is fit, which is extremely important for short kings like Malcolm and myself - indeed, I strongly advise shorter statured men to, above all else, take extra pains to assure the proper fit of whatever they're going to step out in. This is because unlike our Big & Tall brethren, EVERYTHING tends to show up on us little guys, for better or for worse. Note how Malcolm's jacket is rather poorly tailored - he appears to have shorter length arms, so his jacket needs to reflect that fact, with about a quarter of an inch of his shirt cuff peeking out from under his jacket sleeves when he's standing straight up like he is in his birthday photo.

A major no-no for any man of any size, but especially for a short king.

Another major faux pas Malcolm makes here is that he does both a boutonniere, something meant for more formal occasions like weddings and the like; some bros have taken to wearing them for more semi-formal affairs like birthday parties and the like, but here's the problem with that: You're not supposed to work a boutonniere AND a pocket square. It's giving "try hard", and another no-no. Plus, the color of the boutonniere is itself jarring against the overall palette of the ensemble Malcolm's working here; it looks out of place.

Speaking of pocket squares, Malcolm's matches his trousers and is markedly different from his necktie, another monstrosity, I must say. Neckties, boutonnieres and pocket squares are supposed to enhance your suit, not overwhelm it; it's supposed to make it "pop", not burst all over the place. Putting all this together with the shirt color choice Malcolm goes for here, and the whole thing hits one like the proverbial Mack truck. Now you see why I said Malcolm's fashion sense comes off as "amateurish" - it evokes Charlie Brown going to the school dance or something like that, definitely not what you would expect of an educated, professional and successful "high value man" - and definitely NOT what you would expect of a Nupe, I must say.

Finally, there's the fact that the jacket is quite wrinkly, giving a cheaply made vibe; your suits, trousers, blazers and sportcoats should ideally be made of finer types of wool, appropriate for the season in which you intend to wear it. Your jacket in particular, should not have excessive amounts of wrinkles in them as it gives an overall sloppy look. And, going back to the shoes, rocking brown ones work IF you know how to work them; in this case, I would have gone for some black loafers, since this is a more dressed down affair.

Overall, I give the birthday boy a charitable 5 out of 10 - hey, at least the boy tried, right?

Now, let's compare and contrast that to yours truly, shall we? This photo was snapped in candid profile form by my good friend and partner of the Black Manosphere Conclave, Jason "JB" Brown, who himself has a sixth sense when it comes to all things sartorial; this was a year ago at the "Mumia Obsidian Ali Experience" here in the summer of last year.

Let's take it from the top, shall we?

Accessories for men in the modern era are few and far between - for most guys, it means a nice watch, maybe a ring or two, and for "try hard" guys like Malcolm, going for a boutonniere and pocket square at the same time, something like that. It's the accessories that really brings what you're wearing all together - it completes the polishes the look, and communicates that you take yourself seriously, with much care about your appearance and presentation. You "show up" "well put together" so to speak - and the ladies most definitely WILL notice, let me tell you. The MOAE was held on Rittenhouse Square in downtown Philly at the Sonesta hotel, and from my suite near the penthouse to the Apple store and back around the corner, I had to have gotten stopped something like a dozen times by all manner of ladies complimenting me. The old adage is oh so true, gentlemen: "Clothes maketh the man". I'm a witness.

So, with that said, my hat is a pure fur wool Italian mid-brim fedora, in a darker brown to compliment my darker brown wingtip oxford shoes, which isn't shown in the picture here. Going back to the brown shoes Malcolm wore on his birthday, you can really work brown in a lot of ways; one of those ways is in working it with similar shades of earthier tones, like tan, beige, cream or lighter brown. If you're not going for the classic blue suit/brown shoes combo, then go for the approach I'm working with here. Another thing about brown is that it's perfect if you're aiming for a more "professorial" vibe, and I do consider myself something of a teacher, scholar and instructor to the guys in my dojo - and so brown works wonders, because people associate the browns with professors (as they associate men wearing glasses to be "smarter" than guys without them - note the frames I have on in this photo, for example).

(On a side note, isn't interesting how the Jedi of Star Wars fame, typically wear shades of brown? Something to think about...)

Since this is a summertime event, June to be exact last year, I wanted to go with a suit that was lighter in color, so it's a light brown plaid, with hints of green in it. That brings us to the vest or waistcoat, which itself is green, and back to the Italian concept of Spezzato - see how I worked mine in comparison to Malcolm's ill-fated attempt? The green vest flows right WITH the light brown plaid suit with hints of green in it - giving it a nice, enhancing look. My shirt is a nice cream colored French cuff number, and I've always preferred that style of cuffed shirts to go along with my suits, as it gives a more polished and gentlemanly look. Here, you can clearly see the cuffs of my shirt peeking out from my tailored sleeves of my jacket, roughly a quarter of an inch or so. Note how my jacket isn't too tight, either (compare and contrast with Malcolm), giving instead a more relaxed, yet correct look. I'm wearing the suit; it isn't "wearing me". Also, if you look really hard, you can just make out my ascot cravat tie, which is a rich emerald green with little white polka dots, which really makes my outfit "pop".

Finally, and going back to my point about accessories, one of the great things about carrying a cane is that you can make it an accessory. Here, I'm carrying a richly colored Katalox wood cane, shaped in the form of a Japanese bokken, or wooden training sword, with a dragon motif - the dragon's head forms the knob end of the cane, and his tail wraps around the shaft of the cane throughout. I had this bespoke for me by my canemaster, who is a master craftsman - the perfect joining of "style, study and self-defense" as is our dojo's motto. Kevin used to tell me that he envied my carrying a cane, because he felt himself way too tall and ungainly at 6'4" to pull it off, LOL. Far from seeing it as an impediment, I made my cane part of my signature style - and without fail everywhere I go in the real world, I'm told that I'm "dapper" - and easily one of, if not best dressed, man in the room.

So, how about it fellas? Who's get the better style here? Let me know in the comments below!

My name is Mumia Obsidian Ali, and I approved this message! ;)