It takes a little guts to be stylish.

I see it all the time; apprehension in the eyes of my style competitors... Fear rearing its ugly head. You wanna know the secret to being a stylish male? Grow some balls. Wear colors that you wouldn't normally try. Layer fabrics you've never layered. Try wearing a pair of dress shoes sans socks for the love of God... just DO SOMETHING.

You know who always looks like a freaking bad ass? Don Draper from the hit AMC show Mad Men. Take this rather ballsy outfit...

The man has the audacity to wear an extremely loud plaid blazer and makes it look awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I've set out to recreate the look...

Indochino recently released a fantastic new summer inspired collection which includes Linen-Wool blend suits, seersucker suits and this awesome 100% linen plaid blazer. As you can see it will do nicely to recreate my Don Draper look, and at $199 its a great price. Plus, because its made to measure, using my measurements profile saved on Indochino's site, I know the fit will be just right.

The pattern is bold and colorful and the fabric. being 100% linen, will be quite comfrotable even in the my hometown Miami heat.

The nifty crown novelty tie Don wears with his blazer was a bit trickier to find. I tried mainstay TheTieBar.com with no luck. Park and Bond probably has something similar in its tie section but it will likely cost upwards of $100 and I'm not looking to break the bank. Instead I googled 'Vintage Narrow Neck Tie' and struck gold on Ebay with this strikingly similar, actually vintage, 1960's era tie.

It's so similar in fact that it even has a small red crown embroidered design in the exact spot where Don has his.

The best part? It costs me 15 bucks! Pair the blazer and tie with a great $20 silver tie clasp like this one from The Tie Bar and this brilliant $10 light blue edged linen pocket square I found on Etsy.com and all that's left to complete an awesome under $240 summer look is pair of dark denim jeans and a crisp white shirt.

Bravo, Don. Bravo.

The Devil is in the Details.

"It's amazing how often people will stop me and fuss with my pocket square, and by 'people' I mean drunk women."

One of things that makes Men and Women different is how they approach the same panorama. Men, traditionally considered the more logical, less emotional, and, thereby, simpler sex tend to see things on a big picture level. In menswear this translates to 'what color is my suit? Does my belt match my shoes? Are my socks clean?' Rather rudimentary stuff. It's no surprise to you if you've ever been to any upscale nightclub or restaurant (or have any female friends on Facebook for that matter) that women put a lot of thought and preparation into the way they look. For them the big picture includes the little things. (It's the reason they get mad if we don't notice right away that their hair is 1/8th of an inch shorter or 1/4th of a shade lighter--because to them it makes ALL the difference in the world.)

It's no wonder then, that since I started fastidiously taking note of the DETAILS of my outfit I've seen a significant increase in compliments and attention from the farer sex. Some times the compliment is veiled. Disguised in a sarcastic inquisition, "Who taught you how to dress?" Incredulous that one of us brutes figured it out. But, more often then not, its a straight-foward "That's classy."

So I beseech you, Gentlemen and aspiring Gentlemen of the blogosphere, pay attention to the small things. It's easy enough to leave the house wearing a nice suit and matching shirt and tie combo... but what'll make you stand out... what'll make the women approach you and compliment you, is your choice of accessories, or that strange color combination or whatever other little detail sets you apart from everyone else.

A few rules to follow:

1. Learn the different ways to accentuate. Find unique pattern and color combinations that are a little out of the ordinary. Invest in some nice cufflinks, tie bars, and lapel pins. These add a little flash to your attire and some individuality to your flair. Try some different pocket squares. Get some in silk. Others in cotton. Fold some in a razor sharp line. Others just randomly stuff down the front chest pocket of your jacket (like in the picture above, at the start of this entry). Have some fun with it. Note: it's not a good idea to have your pocket square and tie match identically; meaning don't buy them cut from the same fabric. This looks lazy and uninspired--like you bought it off the display on the store mannequin.

2. Classy is always better than gaudy. Yes, the idea is to stand out, but don't be overbearing or ridiculous. I'm not a proponent of the fur hat or the doublewide tie. When in doubt subtle is better. Always. Remember gents, its the little things. I'm not saying that you shouldn't take chances just don't play the fashion equivalent of russian roulette with your accessory choices. (I'm not a big fan of novelty cufflinks either... although they may sometimes have their place; i.e. eight ball cufflinks at a billiards charity event.)

In the example to the left I'm wearing a beautiful charcoal grey shadow plaid suit from Indochino.com. The pattern is subtle and subdued. I chose to accent it by wearing black and white tightly checked gingham shirt (also from Indochino). The gingham pattern is echoed in the red cotton pocket square, and, in turn, the red silk knit tie pairs to the pocket square nicely. The pièce de résistance, however, if you ask me, is the small 1.5 inch matte red anodized aluminum tie bar. It's almost invisible, except, that is, to the detail oriented. (Tie, Pocketsquare, and Tie bar available at TheTieBar.com.)

3. Accessorize the Occasion. Just 'cause you've spent all this money procuring the western world's most perfectly complete tie collection, doesn't mean you should always be wearing one. Sometimes the night (or day) calls for a different approach.

In the example to the left, I'm gearing up for a night at a famous South Beach nightclub. In the photo I'm wearing a light grey cotton suit. The fabric is smooth and has a light sheen to it that dresses up the look a bit. The light tone of the suit pairs well with the darker navy blue chicago pinstripe shirt--darker shirts lending themselves well to nocturnal outings. The accessories this time? A brilliantly colorful silk pocket square haphazardly stuffed into the jacket chest pocket and, a new favorite of mine, a black silk carnation lapel pin from the couture experts at Lanvin. It's expensive at $170, but guaranteed to garner attention. Besides if it works for the always impeccably dressed Lebron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat (see below) it'll work for you. (Suit, Shirt, Pocket Square from Indochino.com. Lapel Pin by Lanvin.com).

I'm bespoken for.

If you're anything like me, and you care how you look and, more importantly, how you feel in your clothes then you know that there's no compromise for fit. It's more important than the luxuriousness of the fabric, or the style and cut of the garment, or even the price you paid for an article of clothing in the first place. I'll gladly take a well tailored, made-to-measure, jacket constructed out of the simplest wool blend to the most dazzling, if ill-fitting, super 180s material, major label, just-off-the-run-way sports coat. None of the glitz matters if the shoulders are too narrow, or the waist to wide, or the chest to tight.

Compounding the issue even more is that most major label suit manufacturers found in retail stores and malls across the country offer their suits in size pairings that make the suit pant waist line contigent on the size associated with any given shoulder/chest width. For instance size 40R jackets are often paired with size 34 pants. For anyone who watches their waistline, keeping the chest to waist ratio a bit more in check than the average American, this too is a detriment to purchasing Off-The-Rack. The truth is, OTR suits are also generally devoid of the individual flair and personality associated with custom offerings.

That's why every dress shirt, sports coat, suit and tuxedo I wear is strictly made-to-measure and built to my specifications. Of course, if you can afford a local master tailor to build you a suit of your liking then by all means this is a great way to go. But you can expect to pay hand over fist for these garments and although the fit may be perfect, ordering a new suit a few weeks later may result in a different fit altogether. Chalk it up to operator error (no tailor, however masterful, is that exact or precise when it comes to cutting fabrics even if the measurements haven't changed).

The best alternative? There are a few internet based companies, such as Indochino.com, iTailor.com and Suitopia.com, that offer the customer the opportunity to input there own measurements (whether taken by a professional tailor or a by friend with a tape measure in the comfort of customer's living room), pick their fabric choice, select the cut and style of the garment, and then add the final finishing touches in the form of details (like lining, button placements, etc.) before custom creating the customer's perfect desired suit and shipping it to them within a few weeks time.

As the process goes, usually, small alterations (done cheaply, quickly and locally by any tailor of good repute) can be necessary the first few times through, but this is true of just about any bespoke garment wether constructed by master tailor or internet custom clothier. The end result is the same, however. A perfect fitting suit with the ideal fabric, style and details.

Another advantage is that your patterns remain forever saved in the cloud. Ready to be used any and every time you chose to buy a new garment, regardless of style, color, fabric or details. Some vendors, like Indochino.com, even offer the perfect blend of old-world knowledge and cutting edge technology; offering digital laser fabric cutting, ensuring that the cut of your suit will be the same every time.

Of course the best and most attractive reason for venturing this route is price, as these suits are often a fraction of the cost of an OTR suit and considerably less than any master-tailor-made bespoke option.

The best internet custom clothier, in my opinion, is Indochino.com, as they offer the best user website experience with detailed instructions for taking your measurements, large and well-lit pictures of the product lines, an easy way to modify and customize orders (even after they've been placed) and, in the end, once again in my opinion, the best quality product. Look for a future post detailing the differences in the three previously mentioned web tailors.