The 2007 modern guy's guide to style

These are excerpts from an article by Daphne Guinness in the age.com.au November 15, 2007

Summary of Hardy Amies
"If a guy wants to look elegant, then long hair is problematic. Long hair can be attractive, very sexy, very bohemian, very decontracte (casual), as Hardy would say. But it's never smart. It ruins the neckline. Guys with long hair need to flick it back, or tie it, or whatever." Ian Garlant, 44, who replaced the late 93-year-old Sir Hardy Amies in 2002, not as dressmaker to the Queen but as chief designer, is adamant.

Amies's advice that "a man should look as if he'd bought clothes with intelligence and then forgotten them" should be taken seriously.

Amies recommends dinner jackets in midnight blue, not black, as "more becoming to men" even those of Latin swarthiness. Shawl collars in dull satin are still OK, though navy blue is best for parties beginning in daylight.

Amies still makes sense when it comes to details such as aftershave (clean and herby), tan only through outdoor exercise (artificial tan is caddish), and a carnation-red silk handkerchief in the evening is correct.

Fat men, Amies says, should wear clothes too large, never too tight, then they will look relaxed. As for correct dress, better to be too formal than casual. Oh, and no short sleeves (long and rolled up were preferred) and no shorts except to the water's edge. "What's happened is the natural evolution of the low garments up the scale into the wardrobe now includes shorts. Originally an item for the beach or tennis court, it's made its way into daily wear."

In other words, shorts are acceptable today, even to the office. "What's amusing is in the '60s, when Hardy started menswear shows at the Ritz, he did a stunt that was very successful. He sent guys down the catwalk wearing collar and tie and jacket and shorts. He got front pages everywhere."

"The handkerchief is tucked into the breast pocket for use, not decoration. Any use of a second handkerchief is a gesture inelegant in the extreme." Does he mean if a guy wants to blow his nose, he whips it out of his pocket - blows - then stuffs it back? "Exactly,"

Handkerchiefs should be white with white shirts, coloured with coloured. As for ties, Amies says the Windsor knot is out, skinny ties are in. "Their demise is regularly heralded but as long as men wear suits the tie will go on. Its width comes in cycles. Right now it's narrow."

And lapels? "Longer, the same length as ties. Buttons will move up again but now we're looking at three-buttons, single-breasted. Four or five are not too far away."