Source
r/malefashionadvice•
dccorona

Inspiration Album: My Personal Inspiration - Or, Sprezzy, Hold the #Menswear

A couple days ago, u/thescottster requested a Sprezzy inspiration album in this thread. I mentioned I would throw something together when I found time, so, here it is.

To many people, Sprezzy (or "Sprezzatura") is inseparable from the over-the-top #menswear craze that has been sweeping the internet, defined by guys wearing brightly-colored tailored clothing, too many different things on their wrist, and in general just going about hoping to be photographed and end up on a fashion blog.

I won't pretend that it doesn't feed that greatly, but that's not what Sprezzy is to me. Wild patterns and bright colors and a mashup of formalities is absolutely a big part of it, but there's a lot more to it than that, and there are more ways to do it than just with a giant orange checked suit.

The very first definition of the word was:

a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it

and I try to stay true to that in how I dress (in all honesty, it is rarely like what you see in this album...but, believe it or not, that is what drives it). I'm obsessed with the way in which one or more pieces that seem out of place in an outfit, or too bold to ever work with anything, come together in a way that seems so natural you're amazed you didn't think of it before.

And its for that reason that I think this album can be of use to anyone here, not just those who dress in tailored clothing and not just those looking to fully embrace the style. The big takeaway isn't any one thing you see here, nor any particular style...more importantly, it is the way in which things you hadn't expected to fit can work together. Not every image here displays that, but a number of them do.

And it is my hope that, even for those of you who don't see a single thing here you would ever wear, there is that takeaway from it: that there are ways to take styles that you do like and put them together into interesting looks that will make people shocked that they never considered before...and that is a concept that I think, at least as far as fashion goes, is universal.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I kept this intentionally S/S only because of the timeframe. There is a similar but unique aesthetic for F/W that I may do an album on at some point.

Posted Mar 26, 2014, 1:20 AM UTC · edited

6748
badgerswin•

I always thought of sprezz as the bedhead of menswear... spending an inordinate amount of time trying to look like you don't give a shit. Best examples being a tie that the "short end" is actually making its presence known by either flopping side to side or being longer than the "long" end and a pocket square that is garishly falling out of the breast pocket. Color has nothing to do with it.

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dccoronaOP•

I don't think it does either, I just felt that, thanks to #menswear (hashtag used reluctantly, simply because there unfortunately is a difference between that and menswear and it has to be signified somehow), people have that impression sometimes. They find "sprezzy" to be inexorably linked to this craze and as such, to involve bright color heavily.

5
SirKrimzon•

who is that handsome fuck

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dccoronaOP•

some model for a major designer (I'm not sure which image you're asking about)

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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dccoronaOP•

Thanks. I can totally see how the basic ideas would work really well when applied to a prep "canvas". You see a lot of elements in prep (the wild shirts, the go-to-hell pants, and many others) that can definitely seem difficult to pair at first, and that can be brought together really well into an outfit that looks simultaneously complex and effortless.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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xxxamazexxx•

To many people, Sprezzy (or "Sprezzatura") is inseparable from the over-the-top #menswear craze that has been sweeping the internet, defined by guys wearing brightly-colored tailored clothing, too many different things on their wrist, and in general just going about hoping to be photographed and end up on a fashion blog.

Wait, what?

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dccoronaOP•

Are you asking about the #menswear movement, or how they're linked to some people?

0
xxxamazexxx•

I don't know if it is a 'movement' 'defined by guys wearing brightly-colored tailored clothing, too many different things on their wrist, and in general just going about hoping to be photographed and end up on a fashion blog.' That is not what sprezzatura is, and I have never heard of sprezzy folks being described as such people. If anything, sprezzatura is about small carelessness, not an overt effort to look eccentric and hopefully 'end up on a fashion blog.' This kind of misconception is way out of line.

0
dccoronaOP•

No, that's what #menswear is viewed as by much of the community. And people sometimes associate sprezzy with #menswear way more than they should.

0
xxxamazexxx•

I don't really understand what you mean, but all I want to say is that Sprezzatura doesn't define menswear (or #menswear.) It is simply a menswear term denoting a particular style among many other styles like preppy, urban, or heritage, and as to what the Sprezzatura style is, I think you got it wrong. Putthison is one of the first people who put their finger on it. Think double monk strap with one buckle unstrapped, or 'forgetting' to button a shirt cuff. Overall, I don't understand how something that is defined as a trait (nonchalance, carelessness) has come to be understood as putting on a display of 'brightly-colored tailored clothing' and 'too many different things on their wrist.' Sprezzatura is not obsessive, or at least not apparently so. What you're thinking is Sprezzatura may be altogether a different thing; not that I know what that thing is called.

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18PercentCarbon•

Source on any of those pocket squares? They're pretty eyecatching.

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dccoronaOP•

I know the source of every image, if you want to ask for specific ones.

But everything seen is from: Kiton, Isaia, Brunello Cucinelli, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, or Eidos Napoli.

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18PercentCarbon•

The ones in 3/4 and 6 are most interesting, they have a neat, cell-shaded look.

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dccoronaOP•

Ah, it seems you're partial to Isaia Napoli...all three of those images are from Isaia.it.

I'm not sure about that first one, but the light blue one can be found here

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Novelty_This•

I really like 16, 17, 18, & some of what is in 22.

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dccoronaOP•

17 is actually the first one I chose for this album. I love the art deco inspirations behind it.

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Novelty_This•

Who is the designer for that shot?

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dccoronaOP•

Ralph Lauren Purple Label

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Flexappeal•

One of these is not like the others

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dccoronaOP•

That's Eidos Napoli...I wanted to do more from them but they're pretty new (subsidy of Isaia) and don't have much out there.

I'll be honest, I picked that one mostly for the beautiful lapel roll top left...

But it is very much in the same spirit as all the Isaia stuff that's in there.

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Flexappeal•

I kind of meant that one of them looks better than the others.

But I don't quite get this sprezzy shit. The bottom left square just seems entirely out of character from the rest of the album.

Could you define sprezzy in one sentence for me?

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dccoronaOP•

Ah, yea. When I grabbed the image, I was clicking on one in particular...turned out to be one image, not 4. But I was married to the idea at that point, so I went with it.

Its important to note that this is just sprezzy applied to one particular subset of style, and that it can be a principle that you apply to just about any type of style. Its an approach to how you put together outfits, more than anything.

Its the way in which one pulls together pieces that seem perhaps unworkable with one another, into an outfit that seems at first simply thrown together of things you own that weren't meant to be used in the same fit, but at the same time work together so well you wonder why you never thought of it before.

That's a long sentence, but I think that explains it nicely. Of course, one could argue that if you get the above effect and actually did just throw everything together randomly, its not truly sprezzy because putting a great amount of thought into looking effortless is a part of the definition...I, for one, think that if you design a wardrobe of things that all work together even though they seem like they don't, and then every day just grab whatever, then you did put all that thought in, you just did it in the buying process, not the dressing process.

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Flexappeal•

"Clothing collage"

Two words, done?

1
[deleted]•

sprezzatura

a studied carelessness.

you spend time and money putting an outfit together, only to make it seem like you just threw it together at the last minute.

it's stupid.

0
Flexappeal•

Thank you. It sounds stupid.

0
urection•

at least those are actually sprezz and not just uncommon fabrics/colours carefully co-ordinated

1
[deleted]•

Man, this is one of those days when I wonder what my family would say if they saw me reading this stuff.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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dccoronaOP•

I think you'd definitely see it under those tags, but my aim (I suppose I'm not exactly the best judge of whether or not I was successful) was to show things that aren't entirely a part of that sometimes considered self absorbed trend that is the #menswear hashtag.

I would definitely say that this shares a lot of similarities. But my hope was that whats presented here doesn't embody quite the same amount of, for lack of a better word, douchebaggery. Which is why I kept entirely away from anything other than lookbook/press images straight from designers...nothing here is the result of "dress this way to get attention to get photographed to get on the fashion blogs"

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TatdGreaser•

It's very.......Italian is the word I'm looking for! I wouldn't wear that many suits, do you have ideas for more casual outfits? I love the colors and patterns, I'm a sucker for a good pattern.

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dccoronaOP•

Yea definitely. I use a lot of these principles myself in how I dress, and I only wear sportcoats on occasion (they're damn expensive, and its hard to justify having a lot of wild ones like this...)

The pants are a good place to start, I think. Particularly in spring, white pants are a good base (as you can see in several of these images). And, really, I think working slacks into a casual outfit can be sprezzy in and of itself.

But, begin with pants in a muted/desaturated color. Something thats easier to pair with a patterned sport shirt, etc. It definitely takes time and practice to learn. As you get a better eye (part of that involves looking at a bunch of pictures!) you can move on to patterned pants as well, and start looking for ways to mix that with subtler patterns on your shirt.

There's one image in the album that I have a description on, that's a guy in white slacks with a button up and a sweater over his shoulders. That's a good basic example of a casual fit that can be done this way. The specific thing I point out in the description is "the way in which non-standard slacks can be worked into a casual outfit in a way that looks effortless" or something along those lines.

EDIT: Also, not surprised you picked up on the Italian nature of it...every image is of clothing made in Italy, and all but 1 from RLPL and a few from Tom Ford are Italian designers. After all, Sprezzatura is an Italian word!

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greggyYO•

Very good stuff mate, nicely done.

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punspinner•

Cool album, thanks for putting it together.

1
PDXTony•

Couldn't you have just done a link to just about half of everything Nick Wooster wears and call it good?

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dccoronaOP•

that'd be another approach, sure. But I figured what I'm most capable of doing is putting together something of all the stuff that I'm personally inspired by. I look to these designers more than I do to Wooster, personally.

1
urection•

first bunch of fits are very carefully co-ordinated, not very sprezz imo

1
MrSamster911•

I would hardly call pictures of men in well tailored blazers, sweaters, and suits "sprezzatura"

Better examples would appear in different contexts. Either in more casual outfits, or different styles. A good example is in some street wear, mod/skinhead, or even goth ninja outfits.

The idea of sprezzatura is to look like you did t even try to care about your appearance, despite the fact that you put so much effort into it.

0†
dccoronaOP•

yes but the initial request this was in response to was asking specifically for #menswear style sprezzy, which is what I tried to remain close to. There are a hundred different ways to go about it, true.

But I think there's more to it than looking like you didn't even try to care. You could work hard to put together a sloppy sweats-and-tshirt look, and you'd definitely look like you didn't care, but there's more to it than that.

For me, at least, the idea is to look like you've done something complicated, effortlessly (a simple example would be a tie-pocketsquare pairing that you wouldn't really think of until you saw it). To look like you've put together something just by grabbing parts of your wardrobe and throwing them on and yet came out with something very much cohesive (because you have in fact put a lot of thought and effort into how each piece works together).

Its something that's really up to interpretation, but this is the kind of stuff that fuels my version of it. Yours might be different, and that's great. But its not exactly something I personally could do an album of.

And, again...it also wouldn't answer the question this is in response to.

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ChameleonGiant•

I like your explanation a lot and this S/S I am going to try to incorporate this philosophy into my wardrobe.

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dccoronaOP•

Glad you liked it!

As you can see from the conversation between myself and the other poster...this extends quite a bit outside of what you see here. You can apply this idea to just about anything you wear, regardless of if its even close to what is seen in this album. Like I mentioned, while I do incorporate little bits of what is seen above into my personal wardrobe, I more use the images to get a feeling for how things work together, and do it in a more casual/muted fashion myself.

I find it interesting how what inspires you and what that inspiration results in can actually be so very different in the end.

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cloudsandnepenthe•

I've never heard of the term sprezz before. But after reading your definition of it, isn't sprezz just being so good at something to the point where it comes effortlessly to you/you pull it off immaculately?

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dccoronaOP•

I think there are a lot of ways to interpret that original "definition". Its certainly not a restrictive term, in the sense that "only things that seem like they fit in with this aesthetic are sprezzy"...I've presented just one take on it (a take that is close to the #menswear craze, as that is what the question I'm responding to had asked for), but you could apply it to streetwear, basic casual wear, goth ninja, anything really.

I don't think it has to be effortless for you, though that is the end goat. The idea is it has to feel effortless to those around you. It has to be something that would be hard to pull off/put together, done/worn in a way that makes it look like you didn't even think twice about it. In a sense its as much about attitude/how you carry yourself as it is about how you dress/look.

I've been told by people in the past that they can't think of anyone else who could pull off what I pull off (and I assure you, its not some outrageous level of attractiveness that lends itself to that...I possess no such good luck), or "if anyone else wore that in here I'd probably laugh them out, but its working on you", and that's when I know I'm doing it right.

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CptBigglesworth•

When I first read the definition, the first thing that came to mind was how workwear-style things are worn on this subreddit. If you look at people who actually work with metal or wood or machinery - well, it's clear that a lot of people wear clothes purely as function at a low price (and obviously it's not wrong to do that, especially when your work doesn't require it). But there's a way of wearing that workwear that wouldn't work if all the pieces were perfectly fitting and neat. And wouldn't work if you actually didn't care what pieces you put together. To do a heritage look seems to require sprezzatura the most, on reflection.

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[deleted]•

This is not sprez. It's more like mall-grade Italian fashion: those hideous colors are hurting my eyes, and I can practically feel those bad fabrics.

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dccoronaOP•

This is a collection of images from Kiton, Isaia, Brunello Cucinelli, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, and Eidos (Isaia's little brother).

Its all far from mall grade, and it all uses some of the best fabric in the world. I don't know where you buy your clothes from, but I can assure you it is impossible to find anything higher quality than this.

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