Tanner

Ratty

26 July, 2012

When it comes to casual wear – especially things like T-shirts and henleys – the proper fit means you can get away with extremes in other departments, namely the overall condition of the material.

Check out how beat up this shirt and jeans are. A work shirt is supposed to be worked in so don’t be afraid of beating the crap out of your clothing. This holds even more true if you’re buying it cheap and know it can be replaced quickly and easily. This guy looks like he just wiped the grease off his hands and joined his buddies at the pool hall. If there’s a hottie there, he’s still good to approach because the fit of the shirt means its rattiness goes from being a con into a pro.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, and again, and again – Fit. Is. King.

Not-So-Masculine Style: Pajamas

25 July, 2012

For the little boy who never became a man

Wednesday Weigh In: Brooklyn Bartender

25 July, 2012

There’s one thing I need to clarify about these Wednesday-Weigh-In posts and it is that I don’t necessarily like every outfit I put up. Sometimes I’ll post something that is a clear attempt at men’s style but still falls short of the mark. This post is a perfect example of it. Everything should have been good according to the text book, but it didn’t look masculine.

The reason I post these is to give you guys an opportunity to voice both positive and negative feedback about a certain set up. I’ve found that my ability to understand and curate a good-looking wardrobe has expanded the more I write about it, and these Wednesday posts are me giving you the same opportunity.

Final takeaway – I don’t endorse everything I post.

Now, on to this week’s Weigh In:

Net Bed

24 July, 2012

Because why not?

On Bad Guys and Anti-Heroes

24 July, 2012

I was walking to work the other day and had Mad Men on my mind. It’s a show both my wife and I enjoy and the previous night we had been talking about how, contrary to most people, we actually enjoy it more with Don being happily married and leading the life of a relatively good man.

I was curious so I started to mentally sort through other shows and movies to see if I could find an example of a masculine man who could get the job done and wasn’t fatally flawed. I couldn’t think of one. It seems that all the entertainment that depicts men who are good at being men also uses men who are fatally flawed. Even a show like Breaking Bad, where the main character goes from being weak and pathetic to being a man who gets things done, is really a show about how a man can sell his soul to hell one small step at a time.

I did a post a long time ago about positive portrayals of masculinity on TV and even those are all men who have major character flaws.

It creates a false dichotomy of good men who are effeminate and wimpy or bad men who are masculine and manly. There are few examples of good men who are good at being men. The more I thought

It seems that there is an intentional starving of any masculinity. That way, when it’s presented in the form of bad men, average guys are so deprived they’ll readily drink it up and believe that’s who they need to be. It’s akin to a starving man eating a poisonous loaf of bread just to satiate his hunger.

I don’t think that’s an accident.

Author: Tanner