Fit your Body, Fit your Face

When I'm out in public dressed in my best Hulk Hoagan wife beater (complete with red sauce stains), Daisy Duke shorts and bright green flip flops with knee high black socks, the X-rated meer hanging from my asymmetric mug, commands ALL the attention. I get so much respect that usually, everyone crosses the street just so I can have the sidewalk all to myself!!

I definitely lack to funding necessary to dress as well as I would like, but this is an interesting read. As an optician, I totally understand the importance of balancing one's face shape with facial accessories, which would of course include the pipe. It would be interesting to delve into this further- in eyeglass fitting, you either try to repeat or contrast facial characteristics depending on the desired effect. I would think this not only applies to pipe size and shape, but also color, texture, etc.

Not to be mean about my fellow males, but as a group, we are notoriously oblivious to how we look.

Guys put a cowboy hat with a sports jersey with plaid shorts and hippie sandals and figure they're

pretty dapper. I THINK I'm sort of aware of my clothing, but then I see some fool reflected in a store

window and start to laugh and realize ... it's ME. When men stood on the commuter train platform in

their suits and fedoras, smoking pipes, the pipes really were a fashion accessory and carefully considered

as such. Today, with smoking so restricted, it's harder to think that way. But in a moment of honesty,

I have to confess, I have never owned a pipe that I didn't check out myself smoking in the mirror. A

cob looks good with jeans and a plaid shirt or t-shirt. A briar with a metal band goes well with a sports

jacket and tie. I have a Peterson ebony Killarney high gloss black B11 brand that is actually

described as a dress pipe. Somehow, I have never had occasion to smoke it dressed up, though I have

been know to wear a suit or my tux which would go with it admirably -- just nowhere that smoking is

permitted. I'm waiting for the day. Meantime, I enjoy the pipe in my bathrobe, etc. When you get it right,

and appear before others with the right pipe and outfit, it's a good image for pipe smokers everywhere.

For guys who want to "put on the dog" (that means dress well) and are on a budget, you can pick up some

pretty good suits at Goodwill and other thrift shops; just have them dry cleaned, then probably adjusted

for a few bucks by a storefront tailor, and you can dress as well as most. Don't neglect to consult your

wife or girlfriend (or both? just kidding) to put together the suit, shirt, tie and shoes. Women do this

well, most men not so much. The old joke: "I'll wear any damned thing I want! Honey, what do I want

to wear?" Solid color suits -- blue, gray, or black usually -- go with a lot of different shirts and ties.

Steer clear of patterns if you only keep one or two suits. And keep one pair of dress shoes; black is

most versatile.

Joking aside I'd have to agree with HPD. Eyeglasses can alter the appearence greatly and it's one choice I really take my time with. Being a typical American male who hates to shop, especially for clothes and such, I do spend quite a bit of time trying different frames until I'm comfortable with at least 3 selections. At that point I let my wife assist in the final selection. Glasses can be percieved in the same vein as body language in my opinion. Some frames worn by others lead me to pass judgement on their political leanings and other persuasions. Whether or not I'm right or wrong in doing this there are signals that one can broadcast simply by the choices they make in eyeglass frames. No reason to think otherwise in pipe selection at least what's viewed publically. If you go out on the town with a Cavalier hanging from your face, your bound to draw some snide remarks.

I think I copied and submitted my post. I don't see it coming up with the article, but I hope it's

there. If not, I'll submit it again.

After the last column I should've known to have just keep scrolling. This one just confirmed it.

I'm pretty much a slob: plaid flannel shirts, blue jeans, and comfy tennis shoes; but they go well with my Ser Jac's and Rinaldos. :lol:

Wow!! That is a great article. I haven't read an article like that is men's fashion is a while. I bought a book on how to dress that was the only guide I had for a while. Details and GQ usually don't have that quality of advice. Usually they just put together some outfits with some price tags and call it a day. Looking forward to reading more. It makes sense that pipes and style go together. Well, atleast I think they do.

I prefer to wear plaid shirts, denim dungarees and either loggers or cowboy boots. Occasionally I'll class it up with a flat cap, but usually it's either my Stetson or my *gasp* camo ballcap.

briarblues- Well I am almost 40, and still want to dress somewhat current. But, my problem is that most magazines don't really tell you how to look good. They would rather be advertisements for various labels. To me, style is about individual expression. Everybody has a different sense of "style." I try to stay trim and fit, but it is still hard to find things that fit really well. Personally, I would love an article on how mix and match with various textures, colors, etc. to create looks that appeal to well....women like my wife.