'The boor covers himself, the rich man or the fool adorns himself, and the elegant man gets dressed', so states the acclaimed French novelist and playwright Honore de Balzac. It is a sentiment that appears to be vindicated when one looks towards the more 'elegant' men in history - the gentlemen; the suave, sophisticated chaps, dotted throughout our culture like polka dots on the tie of stylish society.
No boor, Honore de Balzac
These are the go-getters dressing in bespoke garments. They are the enterprising, engaging, and exemplary figures in our society. This is where the title for our post derives. It is a simple statement, but a provable one nonetheless: he who dresses well, does well. Dress well, and you will feel more comfortable in yourself, more able to approach the day's challenges, and more suited to 'doing well'.
What we wear, and how we wear it, also dramatically affects how we see ourselves.
As riskology.co state in their article on the psychology of dressing well, there are 'many preconceived notions and stereotypes' built into our approach to people based on their appearance. It is more likely that one will willingly take advice from a man in a sharp suit than a man in a stained Motorhead hoodie and ripped jeans. However, it's not just as simple as what we wear in how others perceive us, what we wear, and how we wear it, also dramatically affects how we see ourselves.
Brian Lewis: wearing it well
When we wear a well-tailored suit, we feel exactly as sharp as we look. We approach our day with an air of confidence. We feel like a gentleman. We can find many examples from history of men dressing well and doing well. Below, we've chosen three exemplary figures to illustrate our point.
Cary Grant
Hollywood legend, Cary Grant
To start, let's take the quintessential gentleman, the darling of the silver screen, and one of the most iconic leading men in Hollywood history, Cary Grant. His debonair manner, comedic understanding, and classy, reserved sense of style combined to create a suave, iconic figurehead of gentlemanly fashion. Hardly a single photograph of him shows him not wearing anything but a classic suit. Chances are, if you think of a perfect gentleman of English style, our Bristol-born Cary Grant will appear in all his understated glory.
Gianni Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli, second from right
Next, let's take a look at a figurehead of a completely different stylistic school - the eccentric Gianni Agnelli. Agnelli was the head of Fiat for thirty years and was a man with a keen mind for business. His style had an oft-imitated charm to it. While wearing only the most elegant suits, Agnelli would tie his tie a little to the side, or wear his watch over his shirt cuff. It was this calculated nonchalance about style that has made him one of the most prominent figures in the craft of sprezzatura - the art of making the difficult look easy. He would dress in this manner to detract attention from business meetings, resulting in him being the only person in the room who was focused on the matter in hand. Due precisely to how Agnelli dressed, he was able to approach the room knowing that he was immediately at an advantage. This, to us, is a perfect example of dressing well in order to do well.
Beau Brummell
The father of dandy, Beau Brummell
However, perhaps the greatest example of all is that most revered Dandy, Beau Brummell. The man who was the bastion of men's fashion and elegance, and the arbiter of London style in the early 1800s. Read about Brummell's impact on today's style with here in History of the Suit Part 1.
Beau Brummell is the single best example of a man who did well due almost entirely to his impeccable sense of style. Here was a man who lived and breathed the clothes that he wore.
Brummell with his tailor
Brummell would spend hours every morning engaging in his fastidious routine. He would spend a considerable amount of time shaving, and an even greater amount of time plucking the hairs that survived the shave from the root. He would pay attention to the clothes he wore above anything else, however, and was once quoted as suggesting that a man may be kept in fine clothes for £800, at a time when most labouring men would take home an annual earning of around £50. However, he wasn't about dressing in overly lavish clothes; Brummell stated that for a gentleman 'to be truly elegant, one should not be noticed'. It seems he would share Honore de Balzac's belief that to adorn oneself unnecessarily is foolish.
'Fashions come and go; bad taste is timeless'
To him is attributed, perhaps one of the greatest quotes on dressing well in history - 'fashions come and go; bad taste is timeless' - and we agree. Bad taste and, indeed, good taste, are both traits that pass the test of time. With good taste comes style, and with good style comes confidence.
We have sadly come to the end of our short enquiry. We hope with further illuminated the symbiotic relationship between dressing well and one's outlook on life. So, the next time you tie your tie, fold your pocket square or polish your shoes, remember - he who dresses well, does well.
M&M