Read the intro to the series, the Rugged Man, and the Refined Man.

The Rake is a man who is socially masculine. He influences individual people to his will by means of his attitude, his charisma, and his disdain for following the rules of society and being beholden to another man. While he is capable of using direct elements to accomplish his goals, he lives largely in a subtle world and is always thinking two or three steps ahead of the people around him. He is constantly adapting to new situations and thrives in his ability to do so. He is the playboy, the rock star, the outlaw, and the vigilante.

Of all the lifestyles young men who are newly aware of their masculinity aspire to, the Rake is the most common. Also known as the player, the international playboy, and the Cassanova, the Rake is the irreverent son of the refined man. He has no concern for money, nature, or other men unless they hamper or improve his ability to travel where he wants, bed whom he wants, or experience what he wants. He is not competitive with other men directly so much as he is competitive with the indirect ideals of masculinity and how he personally gauges his success.

A Rake can be a starving artist, a rock star, a freelance writer, a construction worker, a trust-fund baby, or even unemployed. His status and influence doesn’t come from his influence on other men but from his influence on women. He is the man who has taken the time to learn what makes women tick and how to use that to his and her mutual benefit – most of the time.

As Western society continues to decay, as movement in any direction is heralded as progress, as the bonds that created civilization continue to be hacked at, more and more men will embrace the selfishness and nihilism of the Rake and find themselves sitting poolside while the rest of the world reverts to chaos. Sadly, as men and masculinity are more and more maligned in media, schools, and work environments, the number of men who will forgo the Rugged and Refined archetypes in favor of the relative ease and freedom of the Rake will continue to increase.

In a thriving civilization the number of Rakes who can fully embrace this archetype are few and far between. However, they thrive and multiply when societies start the slow march to ruin. Therefore, a good indicator of the health of a given society is the degree of allowance, tolerance, or adoration given to the Rakes.

This is not to say that Rakes are inherently bad or evil. They are simply men who can only thrive under a certain set of circumstances. And even if a man is not a full-on Rake, we would do well to embrace a bit of the social disregard and irreverence they epitomize.

The Style

A Rakish style is all about attention and peacocking. From a Danger and Play perspective, it is almost entirely Play. A Rake’s clothing may sacrifice function for the sake of form because he knows that form has a function in and of itself. It is a style that is on top of trends without being trendy and is not concerned about the origins of the clothing. A rake will buy something that is lavishly expensive or insanely cheap for the very same reason – he likes the way it looks. His clothing:

• Is always blurring the lines. It is either a bit too skinny or a bit too baggy without ever going into extremes.
• Is a constant mix of High/Low, not because there is concern for being able to fit in, but because the Rake wears what he likes, regardless of how formal or casual it is.
• Is a constant mix of different eras, genres, origins, and patterns for the same reason he embraces casual and formal clothing.
• Shows more skin than the Rugged or Refined man. Rake style is epitomized by the exposed chest and can also be seen in higher shorts, sandals, or tank tops.
• Utilizes pieces or materials that are considered to be more feminine. Things like jewelry, silk, and even lace can all be used effectively to curate a wardrobe that accomplishes the Rake’s desired ends.
• Embraces loud colors, bold patterns, and irreverent details.

The Tricks

Focus on both quality and quantity with a deference to quantity. Everything you own should have a story. If it doesn’t, make one up. Each ring on your finger should have an adventure behind it; each patch in your pants should be the result of a fight or an escape; each material should come from a different part of the world that you (claim to) have personally visited.

Younger Rakes can tweak with fits and cuts. Wear your pants cuffed too high and too tight. Have jackets and coats that barely come past your waist instead of all the way to the bottom of your cheeks. Throw on the occasional pair of too-baggy pants. The key is knowing what looks good and then tweaking the rules. You can’t look like a Rake if you don’t understand the principles of fit.

Older men should focus on classic fits but play with pattern and color. If an older man looks too bohemian, his masculine credibility is compromised and so is his ability to accomplish his goals. Older men should focus on classic fits but embrace colors, patterns, and materials that are outside the norm.

Learn to wear jewelry. You don’t have to adorn yourself with stacked bracelets, multiple necklaces, and a ring on each finger, but embracing jewelry and the masculinity it expresses in non-Western cultures will make you appear well-travelled, slightly rebellious, and nebulously masculine.

Show some skin. Ditch all of your crewneck T’s for deep V-necks and henleys. I normally advocate leaving two buttons undone on button-up shirts but Rakes can get away with three or more.

Repair instead of replacing old and worn out clothing. Clothing scars are almost as interesting and compelling as those on your skin. They will imply stories of adventures and conquests that other people will want you to tell them.

Look to famous Rakes like Johnny Depp for style cues and inspiration. Avoid going to the costumed-extremes of Pick-Up Artists like Mystery. They take this principle to its logical extreme.

While there is a Bohemian aspect to world-travelled Rakes, there are other methods of this as well. The classic Americana preppy with loud colors and lobster-printed pants is a Rake in his own right.

The Risks

Because Rake style embraces masculine queues from other cultures, you will risking looking effeminate, androgynous, or gay to those who are steeped in and embrace Western culture. A Bohemian Rake will not fair well at a country bar in Texas or at a beach party in the Hamptons. The Rake’s style has the most limited audience of the three archetypes and will polarize you from your audience.

To the above point, both the Rugged and Refined styles will earn you the respect of men and women. The Rakish style will only build your success with women. Yes other impressionable men and boys will want to emulate you and your success, but well-established, masculine men will you see you as a symptom of their failing efforts. If you exist and are successful in your existence, it is because the world they have created is starting to decay. Expect resentment, ostracizing, and outright hatred from men who will see you as their enemies.

Many people will not take you seriously, as a result the normal script of going to college, getting a job, getting married, and starting a family won’t work for you – which is fine for most men who aspire to be Rake’s anyway. You will have to get creative when it comes to making money or establishing any semblance of permanency in the world.

Like the other two archetypes, there needs to be consistency between your attitude, your self perception, and the way you dress. If you really do want to settle down with a wife and kids, embracing too much Rake will hurt your ability to do so. If you can’t walk into a room and command it with complete disregard for the comfort of others, you will be a disingenuous mannequin, not a Rake who can back up the social risks he takes by wearing such attention-getting clothing.

The Rewards

If your attitude and clothing are consistent you will have license to experience parts of the world Rugged and Refined men will never know. The largest reward for the Rake is variety. Variety in food, variety in culture, variety in women, and variety in experience. You will have more freedom to go and do what you will than most men ever imagine. You will see cities, experience danger, and participate in activities that the rest of the Western world only reads about it books or sees on TV.

Below is a gallery of photos showcasing different elements of Rakish Style. Not every man in every shot is going to epitomize masculinity but all of them have elements of a Rakish Style.

For the rest of the series see:

Rugged Man

Refined Man

Conclusion

PS – Whenever you’re ready, I have three different ways I can help you improve your style.

If you want the easiest approach that tells you exactly what you should be wearing, check out my Effortless Style program.

If you want to better understand how to use your appearance to better communicate with others and build your own confidence and mindset, pick up my book The Appearance of Power.

And lastly, if you really want to get this dialed in without going through a ton of trial and error, you may be a great fit for my 1-on-1 coaching and can schedule a call with me to learn more about it HERE.

One of the more difficult aspects of dressing well is learning to balance timeless style with current trends. You have to incorporate both in order for your clothing to be as effective as you want it to be. For the most part, other men will respond favorably to your timelessness while women will take note of your currency.

The beauty of men’s clothing is that – even when it’s on trend – it still draws from classic elements and stylish cues of decades past. For example, let’s look at the one article of clothing that will be the biggest, most-current trend this summer – the double-breasted jacket.

The first thing you need to know about the modern DB is how different it is from what was popular in the 80’s and 90’s. Unlike single-breasted jackets, you can’t just pick up a DB from the thrift store and have it tailored to have a current look and fit; there are just too many differences.

Compare the two images above.

The most obvious is that the jacket length overall is much shorter. This is even more true if you are purchasing the jacket by itself as a sport coat and want to ensure it doesn’t look like you left the second half of your suit at home. On top of that, an obvious improvement is the trimness of the fit. Everything including the torso proportions, arm holes, and sleeve circumferences are all slimmer throughout the the jacket to better show off the natural shape of the man wearing it.

From there we can move onto the finer details. The button stance on the lower jacket is much higher and of a different configuration. While there are the same amount of buttons, the lower four function in the updated version (he still leaves the last one undone) whereas only the bottom two work in the upper jacket. Raising the stance makes the legs appear longer and helps the chest appear broader.

The lapels are still wide and peaked but notice how much higher the gorge (where the collar meets the lapel and forms the peak) is on the chest in the second picture. This helps elongate the chest (to balance out the higher button stance) and visually broaden the shoulders.

By default a double-breasted suit is both more traditional and more formal. As a way to balance that its inherent formality and make it more wearable as a sport coat, there are a number of different details to dress it down.

The first is to start with a more casual, light-weight material. Things like tropical-weight wools, linen, cotton and any mixes of those three are all going to breathe much better and wear more casually. They are also more appropriate materials for spring and summer.

Next, a properly casual DB jacket has no structure or lining whatsoever. This means no shoulder padding, no canvassed construction, and no interior linings at all. Essentially you want this to be as formless and minimal as a shirt. Not only does it make it appear more casual, this lack of structure also allows the garment to breath, making it even easier to wear in the warm months approaching.

Add patch pockets on the breast and hip. These were used in sporting coats to allow more space, easier access, and more garment durability when men carried things like shotgun shells in their pockets. You may not put anything in them now, but their shape and appearance are more casual and sporting than formal.

Embrace louder colors and bolder patterns. There is nothing subtle about a DB jacket – especially now when they are just starting to make a comeback. While they may be popular and ubiquitous five years from now, wearing one today makes a statement. So embrace that statement by choosing an attention-getting color or pattern. The social risk will pay off.

Smaller details like lightly-colored buttons (more casual), elbow patches (more sporting), and contrast threads in buttonholes (more garish) all help modernize a DB and keep it looking current.

By buying or building a jacket with all the details above you’ll be able to throw it on with a pair of jeans, dress trousers, or your favorite chinos. It becomes the ultimate High/Low jacket with enough go-to-hell attitude to push you out of your comfort zone and make you stand out. So do your homework, shop around, and get on the ball before every other man in your social circle, in the club, or at the park is wearing one of these.

PS. For updates and insights follow me on Twitter.

Read the intro to the series here and the Rugged post here.

The Refined Man is one who is financially and influentially masculine. He bends the world of men to his will by means of his connections, his money, and his political/social power. He is capable of mixing both direct and subtle elements to accomplish his ends and has so much clout that he very rarely has to adapt to situations going out of his control (because they never do). He is the titan of industry, the politician, the hedge fund manager, and the 1%.

Regardless of a man’s station in life, he is able to develop himself into a Rugged man. This archetype is determined by a man’s relation to nature. The Refined man, on the other hand, is defined by his relation to other men. Refinement is relative. It takes all the core elements of a Rugged man, distills them down to their essence, and applies them to society itself. Refined men are those who have influenced other men so completely that they are able to avoid the hardships of nature and only pursue rugged activities out of desire, not necessity.

For Refined men money is no object. The real pursuit of more is based on their competitive drive with each other. These are the men who can afford to act like chivalrous gentlemen and still have women fall for them, for their status amongst men is so high that they are required to take themselves off of their self-made pedestals to avoid creating discomfort while in the company of others.

To this point, the Refined man is one who is aware of rules, traditions, and etiquette. He knows – while they appear foolish and even foppish to the layman – these rituals are a code and means of communication amongst the refined class and are a way to ferret out imposters.

Unfortunately the Refined man is becoming less and less apparent in our society. Before the cultural revolution of the 60’s, the majority of men in Western civilization aspired to at least act like a Refined man. Even the poorest, most base wretches of earlier times understood that living according to the rules and principles of refinement are what created Western society and that their situation was one to be grown out of, not gluttonously reveled in. Since the Revolution we have been on a crash course towards the lowest common denominator where even the wealthiest 1% would rather act and be perceived as “an ordinary guy” than set a standard to which the rest of the world could only hope to be held accountable.

The Style

A refined style is all about luxury. From a Danger and Play perspective it incorporates both while skewing a bit towards Play. A Refined Man’s clothing never sacrifices form for function, even if that means spending lavish amounts of money and time finding clothing that will fulfill a purpose while maintaining that proper form. His clothing:

• Always assumes the highest level of formality within any given situation and appears accordingly.
• Shows off the details of quality workmanship, expensive material, and costly customizations. Even when it is understated and simple, there is nothing cheap nor commonplace about his attire.
• Is still functional and indicative of a traditionally masculine form – even if this is secondary to other aspects.
• Has acute attention to detail, indicating the same level of detail in the rest of the man’s life.

The Tricks

Focus on quality over quantity. In a consumer-based materialistic society it is easy to believe that more is always better. While the paragons of refinement from years past had vast wardrobes, they never included an item that wasn’t up to their strict standards of quality. Better and less is far superior to worse and more.

Learn the difference between formality and refinement. In our current world we tend to confuse formality and refinement. Men now are blown away by the idea that there is a large difference between a casual suit and a formal one. Imagine a scale of 1 to 10 where one is sweatpants and grease stains with ten being white tie. The majority of Western men will spend their teens and early 20’s between three and five. After they start their careers and get married they will venture between five and seven. A refined man should be living daily between six and nine. A refined dressed down is better than dressed up for the average man. Learn what can class up a rugged outfit and make a refined garment appear more casual, then apply those rules throughout your entire wardrobe.

Be extremely vigilant about daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance of your clothing. Learn how to take care of suits, shoes, shirts, etc. and do so more often than the “normal” man would think is necessary. We all know the stereotype of the suburban dad who is out washing and waxing his car every day of the summer. That same principle applies to a Refined wardrobe. This means constant shoe shines, proper seasonal storage, daily brushings, and an ever-vigilant eye for frays and stray threads.

Engage in the oxymoron of subtle flashiness. This means things like expensive watches, pinky rings, pick stitching, surgeon cuffs, split yokes, and other embellishments that are only noticed upon close inspection.

Learn who Alexander Kraft is and pay attention to the details of how he dresses, carries himself, and interacts with people around him. The man is the pinnacle of refined masculinity.

Shop custom and look for companies with longevity and heritage. You will be tempted to buy from brands like Gucci and Prada. However, the kind of unabashed embellishment is in the realm of the Rake. You will want to avoid any branding or logos and have your own personal signature on as much of your clothing as you can. Monograms are your best friend.

The Risks

More than any other type of clothing, the Refined wardrobe can appear affected and costumey. Items like the above-mentioned pinky rings, pocket watches, fur collars, and others are so foreign in our day and age that they will often wear the man instead of being worn by him. If you start to become a caricature of refinement in the place of displaying true class no one will take you seriously.

Refined style arguably requires the most consistency between the clothing and the man wearing it. Just like a scrawny man appears inconsistent when trying to look too rugged, anything but actual refinement is obviously false when dressed in a Refined style. This means you actually have to be a man among man; have the money to afford these items; be consistently in your own frame, never conceding to the frame of those around you; have a near-perfect understanding of the near-dead rules of propriety and execute them so consistently that it’s muscle memory. If you can’t do this there will be too much inconsistency and your body language/self perception will make your clothing the liar.

The Reward

You will be a polarizing force. People will love you or hate you but they will all act as if they adore you. Your enemies will be hidden and will still respectfully resent you. You will have fiercely loyal friends and followers who are anxious and happy to be a part of your world. You will be able find more success than ever in influencing people, building businesses, and approaching women. You will be socially imposing. People will joke with you, seek your approval and advice, and aspire to be like you.

Below is a gallery of photos showcasing different elements of Refine Style. Not every man in every shot is going to epitomize masculinity but all of them have elements of a Refined Style. There are also images of refinement in a man’s surroundings to give proper inspiration for allowing that refinement to influence all aesthetic aspects of your life.

For the rest of the series see:

Rugged Man

Rakish Man

Conclusion

PS – Whenever you’re ready, I have three different ways I can help you improve your style.

If you want the easiest approach that tells you exactly what you should be wearing, check out my Effortless Style program.

If you want to better understand how to use your appearance to better communicate with others and build your own confidence and mindset, pick up my book The Appearance of Power.

And lastly, if you really want to get this dialed in without going through a ton of trial and error, you may be a great fit for my 1-on-1 coaching and can schedule a call with me to learn more about it HERE.

As trustworthy, neutral, and classic as solid materials are, men like to embrace a bit of pattern in our wardrobe. From something as humble as a striped t-shirt to a gun-club sport coat, patterns span the spectrum of formality of men’s clothing and have been with us almost since the beginning.

But did you know that different patterns can have distinct visual effects on the man wearing them? A pinstriped suit will look very different on a man who’s five feet tall than one with half again his height. Because of the distinct visual effects each pattern can have on a man, there are guidelines to maximizing your overall appearance with patterned clothing.

While there are myriad pattern variations, for the sake of simplicity I’m going to conveniently place them all into three distinct categories: vertical stripes, boxes and checks, and horizontal stripes.

Vertical stripes add visual height, making the wearer look both taller and leaner. Boxes and checks add visual heft, making the wearer appear broader and stronger. Horizontal stripes add visual weight, making the wearer seem both wider and shorter.

Pretty simple right?

Well not so fast, on top of the three pattern types, the size of each pattern alters its effect. As a result, a man needs to know his overall size and proportions to take full advantage of what a good pattern can do for him. Almost just as important, these rules will also help a man know what to avoid. For the same sake of simplicity we can break up pattern sizes into three separate categories: small, medium, and large.

Small patterns should be worn by men who are small in both their proportions (size and weight). Medium sized patterns can be worn by men of all sizes. Large patterns should be worn by men who are larger in either or both of their proportions.

So now that we have our three categories, we can break them up into an understanding of what patterns should be worn by which man.

Pattern Effects

You’ll notice the effect of the pattern size is reversed with horizontal stripes. This is because the ideal shape for a man is taller than he is wide, creating an inverse relationship with horizontal stripes.

Having a good understanding of the visual effects of each pattern type and its size arms men with the ability to accomplish more visually. Are you always teased for looking scrawny? Throw on something with a box or check and add some visual heft. Feel like you’re a little short? Get some vertical stripes and stand up straight. Get called a lurp behind your back? You know what to do now.

Obviously these rules can be used to help your proportions appear “ideally masculine” but some men like the fact that they’re skinny, or fat, or short, or bulky. You can use these patterns to emphasize body peculiarities just as much as you can to minimize them.

From a scene in the movie.

PS. For updates and insights follow me on Twitter.