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Style advice for the would-be Alpha male

Sunday, 10th June 2007

Invited to a lunch at the Spectator the other day, I duly arrived in Old Queen Street in white tie and tails, cummerbund and campaign medals, only to discover that the editor wasn't even wearing a tie, while the man from the Guardian looked resplendent in a sarong. I obviously should have read the Wall Street Journal's piece on men's fashion. Wearing a suit without a tie is now dubbed "The Obama Look":

...This seemingly effortless style takes work to get right. Try it with a formal pinstripe suit and you could look like you simply forgot your necktie. Choose the wrong collar -- button-down instead of spread -- and the resulting casual effect might say middle management, not corner office... For the office, unbutton only the top button, and for evenings out, stop at two. Anything more and you risk looking like Wayne Newton....

I'm no fashion expert - as I've said before, the only tie I own came from Oxfam and cost a couple of quid - but I think tie-lessness really only works with small, button-down collars. But we seem to be going through a phase where ugly, big collars are the new shoulder-pads. I have no idea why. And when was the last time you saw a tie that was less than four inches wide at the base?