WHO HAS MORE STYLE: MALCOLM, OR MUMIA? STYLE CHALLENGE #2!

9:52 PM 10/29/2023 Sun

Alright, now things are starting to get interesting! Here's another photo of Kimberly's man Malcolm, looking pretty good I must say - a much noted improvement over the previous disaster, LOL. Malcolm seems to favor the "Spezzato" look, and he actually pulls it off nicely this time around. The trick to doing so is to include a vest or waistcoat, and here we see Malcolm doing what looks like navy shirt and vest, along with a tan jacket. The time of year seems more appropriate too, as it appears to be well into the spring or summer, so the choice of jacket is perfect for the season. Things seem to look a bit better in terms of fit, too, and he does a much better choice in necktie selection this time around.

But once again, it's the little things that trips Malcolm up here - note that he keeps making the boutonniere mistake again? FELLAS, PICK AN ACCESSORY - BOUTONNIERE, OR POCKET SQUARE - NOT BOTH. It's "try hard", seriously.

Second, I don't get it with Malcolm's color palette choices - is he colorblind or something? If you're wearing a tan jacket over navy on navy shirt and vest, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO THROW IN HOT PINK INTO THE MIX? Gentlemen, your ties, pocket squares, etc. are like a dash of salt or other seasoning: DON'T OVERDO IT. Here, Malcolm is clearly doing just that by having a hot pink boutonniere, and hot pink in both the necktie AND pocket square - it's too much, LOL. He would have done much better off by ditching the boutonniere, and choosing between the tie or the pocket square, BUT NOT BOTH. The other thing I'm noticing about Malcolm is that he likes bright colors, and not just in terms of his accessories, but his major dress pieces tend to be brighter too, especially in terms of the jackets. The problem with that is you have to really be careful with how you work it, lest you come off looking a mess like Malcolm, here. It really takes as well-studied gentleman in the ways of all things sartorial to pull off brighter colored suits, etc. or otherwise patterned suits, etc., and do it well.

Fellas, a major rule to always remember, is when in doubt, always keep your suiting as simple as possible. This eliminates the need to go crazy properly matching up the right outfit, while at the same time streamlining your wardrobe. Antonio Centeno of the "Real Men, Real Style"(1) channel on YouTube does a heck of a job in explaining the whys and wherefores of keeping things simple and classic - all of which makes it a lot easier on your wallet, too.

In my view, and in this case, Malcolm has a very "busy" look - now, let's compare and contrast that to yours truly, back in Dec of 2021, when the first Black Manosphere Conclave went down in ATL. This photo was professionally snapped in my penthouse suite after a long day of speaking and signing LOTS of books, LOL. I was really beat and wanted to hit the sack, but TheoWAF was adamant about getting as many photos of all of the presenters and attendees as possible, so I relented for the next hour while our photographer stuck all kinds of lights in my face to snap somewhere over 100 shots of my mug. What you see is just one of those photos, LOL.

Now, notice how I play this one, fellas - it's an exercise in Simplicity. I wear a simple two-piece, navy blue suit, single breasted and notced lapel - a classic go-to option that you can dress up or dress down for just about any occasion, giving you many more options for this type of suit. Checkout the excellent YouTube channel, "Sartorial Talks" where Hugo talks about the elegant simplicity of the navy blue suit.(2) I actually picked up this suit at Atlanta's famed Lennox Mall, which was directly across from the Westin Buckhead hotel where we held the conclave; I decided to get it for my birthday, since the conclave was being held the same weekend.

Now, what I did with this suit was I paired it up with a baby blue, French cuff shirt - unless you're doing something more "businesslike" or formal, I wouldn't recommend wearing straight up white shirts with navy blue suits. Baby blues in various styles are best in my view. Notice how I add in the dash of color with the red ascot tie? AND NOTHING ELSE - note that I don't even have a pocket square. That's on purpose, as I want the red to "pop" against the blues of my shirt and suit, and not having anything else taking away from it, or overdoing it with all the other busy stuff the way Malcolm does it. As for accessories, I have on a heavy silver smartwatch, cufflinks from Suit Supply around the corner from the Westin, and I'm holding my cane, designed by Steven Seagal, since I'm seated in this photo. It's all designed to project an image of authority, gravitas, someone who is in charge - notice the navy blue and red color scheme is the go-to choice of presidents, executives and others in leadership positions? Malcolm has been on something of a tear on Elon Musk's Shea Butter Twitter trying to paint a picture of the Black Manosphere as a bunch of neckbearded losers, nothing could be further from the truth - to the onlooker, he and I are well dressed Black men. Although, I do it one better because I know the power of elegant simplicity, LOL.

One other thing I'll say before I close out: If you're a Short King, like Malcolm and I are, you have to be very, very careful with bright or loud colors, patterned suits, jackets, trousers, etc. This is because these sorts of things might not work well on a shorter statured man. I've learned that if I want to go lighter in color, and/or wear patterned suits and jackets, etc., that the smaller the patterns the better, and to offset the lighter color of the suit, etc. with darker shirts, etc.

But, you tell me: Who's got more style here, and why - Malcolm, or me? And Malcolm, your notion of what the Black Manosphere is simply could not be more wrong, bro. LOL.

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



ENDNOTES:
1. "Sports Jacket - Blazer - Suit - What's The Difference? | 3 Classic Menswear Pieces" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhFH9x1rqro

2. "One Suit, Four Occasions: The extreme versatility of the blue suit" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLvmwgeeE38