The Three Archetypes were never intended to be the only thing you needed in order to figure how you should be dressing. They’re too broad, too all encompassing to help you narrow down what your own personal style should be.
This is especially the case when you factor in that most men are a mixture of at least two, if not all three Archetypes. It’s incredibly rare that someone is entirely Rugged, Refined, or Rakish.
For example, I fall primarily into the Refined category with a strong dose of Rakish and a tiny bit of Rugged. So for me to only dress according to the Refined Archetype is actually missing some of the story I want to (and should) be telling.
A bunch of you have taken that quiz multiple times and gotten different results with only a minor tweak or two to your answers. Or you’ve been surprised by the result you got because you went into it expecting something completely different. And, believe it or not, that’s a great thing. It shows that you’re well-rounded and not just all Rugged, all Refined, or all Rakish.
Think of the Archetype is a big, encompassing umbrella. It catches a lot of the elements of dressing well, but there are smaller segmentations within it.
Tribe
Tribe is the next step down. Let me show you what I mean.
Those four photos all fit within the Rugged Archetype incredibly well. But, the men who are dressed that way would all argue that they’re dressed differently and that they belong to different tribes.
There are a ton of differences between a survivalist and a cowboy or a granola and someone in the military. Yes they all interact with the world physically – but thats the last common denominator.
To argue that there’s some sort of uniform or universal approach to style for all men who fall into that Rugged Archetype is limiting and doesn’t factor in all the nuances that ultimately end up being communicated through our clothing.
Combining Archetypes
So let’s take this a step further. Imagine you fall between the Rugged and Refined Archetypes. Does that mean that the right approach for you is to where something along the lines of old British tweed hunting suits?
Because you’re more Refined than Rugged and your Tribe is one that falls within that sphere of classic menswear. Yes you enjoy doing things outdoors but you should be doing them with a nod to the way classic, distinguished, elite gentlemen used to do them?
Does it mean that you should be more of like a Bay Area/Huckberry Rugged?
That you should be wearing rugged tech gear that’s made very effectively, has good, clean lines, and in a modern, urban environment would look more Refined and dignified?
Or maybe you do something that’s more like Boyd Crowder from Justified.
He was certainly Rugged – having a background in coal mining and running a criminal gang based out of trailers and hollers in rural Kentucky.
Crowder used Rugged elements in his wardrobe to keep in touch with the men he was leading but introduced Refined articles to help set him apart as a leader and give him the opportunity to rub shoulders with others who weren’t on the bottom rungs of the social ladder.
More Than Archetype
These examples are why you can’t just think in terms of Archetype. You can’t just say I’m Rugged or I’m Rakish and believe that’s as deep as you need to go. There are so many different expressions of each of those Archetypes that you can’t believe simply knowing that is enough.
That is why Tribe matters.
If you find yourself at this plateau of knowing your Archetype but feeling like that’s not telling your story well enough – move down into tribe. Think about what the people around you wear and why. Think about how you can implement elements of each of your tribes into a look that works for you. Dive deeper than just the rules and simple Archetypes.
Sound off in the comments below and let me know if you’ve used this concept already. Are you a combination of Archetypes and struggling to find ways to combine them? Are there specific styles that work within the tribes that you belong to and do you reject or accept them? Let me know!
This post is sponsored by Anson Belts. To learn more visit their website.
Did the belt really need to be re-invented? I mean, it’s one of the simplest tools in a man’s wardrobe and its current iteration has worked great for a long time.
I know when I first heard about brands who were trying to change the way men thought of belts the first thing that came to my mind was “novelty.” I thought it was something that would be popular for a couple of years and then move back out.
But I’ve changed my tune a little bit.
I’ve known the guys from Anson for the last couple of years as they’ve been regular attendees of StyleCon. And, while we’ve talked about collaborating before, I wasn’t super anxious to pull the trigger. One because of the whole “novelty” approach and two, because I’ve spent the last 14 years wearing suits, get mine custom-made, and favor braces and side adjusters over belts.
However, with my recent move to having Masculine Style be my full-time gig, I’ve found myself in suits a whole lot less often and the need to add some good belts to my rotation arose.
So I asked the guys at Anson to send me over a couple and agreed to do a post if I liked how they worked.
Size Changes
Now the main thing that separates a belt like Anson’s from the typical notch-and-hook belt you’re used to wearing is the range of sizing. Rather than have a mere five options for how the belt can fit, these use micro notches that are spaced in very small increments.
Meaning, you put on five pounds over a couple of weeks and you don’t have to be stuck in the no-mans’-land between two holes on your belt.
That’s been a big selling point for a lot of guys, but wasn’t one that really resonated with me. My weight fluctuation apparently is a lot more dramatic and I’ll jump easily up or down one whole notch in a matter of weeks.
But, I have found that the fit of my pants changes quite a bit throughout the day.
Between exercise, eating, and all the other things my body does on a given day, what can start off as the right notch in my belt in the morning, is more often than not, way too big by the time I get to mid afternoon.
Waist & Hips
Not only do my fit needs change incrementally throughout the day, but I run into a problem with belts that a lot of men don’t experience.
You see, I like to wear my stuff with a rise that’s a little higher – much closer to my natural waist than my hips. The only problem with this is that, like most men, my hips are wider than my waist and my pants have the tendency to drop lower than where I want them simply because that’s where they meet the most resistance and hang.
In the past I’ve been frustrated with constantly having to hike up my pants because a belt or side adjusters wouldn’t keep them at my waist. Braces are a great option, but I’m only wearing those with suiting and more formal stuff – so I needed another solution with my jeans and casual wear.
This is another winning point for Anson. By being able to accommodate both the change in my waist throughout the day, and the fact that there needs to be precision in the fit in order to avoid my pants dropping too low, they’ve solved a major problem for me.
All I need to do is cinch up the belt one or two more notches and I’m good to go – still comfortable and still wearing my pants where I want them.
Variety
Another big advantage of these belts is their variety. Yes you can pick them up as one-off’s but the real aesthetic strength comes in being able to vary what you have.
Anson has a package deal in which you can pick up two buckles and three straps or three buckles and two straps for $99 – basically getting you six different belts.
I ended up going with one brown leather strap, and two canvas options – one in khaki and the other in green.
Then I chose a brushed gold buckle and another one in gun-metal grey.
These six options mean I can have a belt that works with my look whether I’m out camping, running errands, meeting with a client, or presenting on stage. The variety and versatility here are huge and take a great product and make it even better.
Conclusion
I fully expected to be underwhelmed by this product but it’s not a novelty. It’s a unique approach that can solve problems men didn’t even know they were experiencing. For me, that’s one of the big differences between novelty and true innovation.
If you find yourself on the fence but know that your current rotation of belts isn’t doing as well for you as it could, give Anson a try. You’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
The goal most of us are after is being able to establish our style and then leave it alone to focus on more important things.
It’s a great goal and is based on a very real understanding that style is not anywhere near the top of a man’s priorities – nor should it be.
But, it’s a terrible goal too, because it’s based on the belief that somehow your style doesn’t require any maintenance or effort – that once you have it well-established, you can completely remove any focus on it.
And there’s four main reasons why this approach doesn’t work.
Clothing is Destructible
Reason number one is easy – your clothing is going to wear out. It’s a fact of life and one that can’t be avoided – even if you’re buying the most durable, high-quality stuff.
At some point, you’re going to blow out a crotch, get an irremovable stain, burn through an elbow, or experience some other unrepairable problem and will need to replace your clothing.
So don’t think that your most recent trip to the store is going to be your last. At some point, that wonderful new item you just picked up is going to need to be replaced.
Your Body Changes
When you read that you probably think about bigger guys trying to shed a few pounds or skinny guys attempting to bulk up a bit. Yes, both of those are true and they are real-world scenarios for a lot of men.
In fact, one of the most common questions I get from guys is whether or not they should be investing in their wardrobe when they’re in the middle of a physical transformation (the answer is yes, just buy cheaper stuff to get you through until you land where you want to be).
But even if you love the shape you’re in, your body is going to change. It’s called aging and, even if you do it incredibly well, you won’t look the same at 45 as you do at 25, and 65 is going to be a whole different ball game.
Body changes aren’t bad, unless you give up and allow them to happen in a negative way. But, they’re a part of life and will affect the way your clothing fits.
Styles Change
Yes the suit has been around for centuries and has seen very minor changes in a hundred years. Yes most of our casual wear is still derived from WWII clothing and has changed little since then but styles change – on both a micro and a macro scale.
On a micro scale you can see why different trends and style emerge within each decade. The attitudes and priorities of Western society go through shifts and part of those changes are what we wear. Sure a powder blue suit from the 1970’s is more similar to what we wear today than something worn by George Washington, but it’s still going to look incredibly out-of-place if you show up wearing one.
Being aware of those small changes and learning how to navigate them properly – balancing fitting in with standing out and other variables are all part of being socially fluent and are status displays in any culture.
But take it out even further. Showing up in a perfectly cut toga, one that would have been the pinnacle of refinement and taste at the height of the Roman empire isn’t going to look good in a boardroom or a shared workspace. No one is going to see that as an appropriate throwback to a different time and something that should be considered as a viable choice when improving your wardrobe. You’re just going to look like an idiot.
You Should Change
The last reason timeless style is a Siren is also the most important. Once you understand that the way you look is a major component of your branding and the story of your life, you won’t want your style to remain stagnant.
You should be living your life in a way that you’re happy with and proud of who you are today. And, you should also be living your life in a way that you’ll be a different person in five years. You shouldn’t be able to look back five years from now and see the same person. You should have grown, improved, and changed over that time.
You story should be different. And, if it’s different, you’re doing yourself a disservice if your style hasn’t evolved with you.
There should be a monstrous difference between how you dress when you’re 25 and when you’re 65. You’ve accomplished things, made sacrifices, and hopefully come out on the other side of many of your ambitions from when you were younger. The story you tell the world should reflect all of those changes!
As I look over the last six years that I’ve written Masculine Style, I’ve seen huge changes in my life. I’ve been married, had kids, started and left jobs, lived in four different places, and gone through a whole lot more. As I’ve grown throughout those experiences, my style has changed – just like it should.
Aesthetic Entropy
Your style is like your physique – it will require less effort to maintain it than to get it established, but it’s still going to require some effort.
It doesn’t matter how great your body feels and looks today, if you stop sleeping well, get overly stressed out, avoid the gym, and fill your face with junk food, you’re going to lose all of your hard work. Those may be extreme examples and can read like an active act of sabotage against your body, but they’re all just a natural progression that happens without the effort and discipline to maintain your physique.
The same applies to your style. If you’re not replacing your worn clothing with new items, updating your fit as your body changes, properly responding to cultural changes, and telling a different story as your life changes, you’ll stop having great style.
In the past, I’ve called this Aesthetic Inertia, and I believe that term still applies in a lot of scenarios. But there’s a distinction here. This is Aesthetic Entropy.
Entropy is a law of science. It is the real-life scenario wherein order moves to chaos. It’s why buildings collapse, bodies decompose, and nothing in this life is permanent. The only thing that prevents entropy is a rational actor making disciplined moves to maintain order.
It’s visible in how you work, how you parent, and even how you make your bed in the morning.
Abandon the set-it-and-forget-it attitude and embrace that your style is something you’ll always be changing and updating. It will never be a neutral, so you might as well have your appearance be a positive.
I had the opportunity to spend a week in LA with some of the best men in YouTube/Blogger world who are focusing on men’s style. We’ve known each other for a few years and usually get together annually for StyleCon/Menfluential.
However, only seeing each other at the conference means we don’t get to focus on a lot of what we do best, nor do we have time to create some content together.
This video is a little vlog of some of the things we got to do while we were there. I’ll have a list below of all their sites and channels, so make sure you go check them out and see all of the stuff we made together.
Oh, and don’t think the irony of the cover is lost on me.
What is up? And welcome back to part 3 of the Dress Like a Man series!
Since 2010 I’ve helped thousands of men start or advance on their journey of overcoming mediocrity and killing complacency through the simple act of dressing intentionally.
The clothing we put on our body can either reaffirm the story we’re already used to telling ourselves or others, OR it can help us as we start to tell a new, better version of our story.
Before we go any further, you need to make sure you’ve the first two posts in this series. They not only set the tone, but some of the things I teach in those videos are the foundation for what we’ll be building off of today – so make sure you go check those out if you haven’t already.
One of the biggest tells of someone who is both new and inexperienced at dressing intentionally is the overcorrection.
You’ve probably seen what I’m talking about. It’s the guys who decide they need to be wearing ascots, furry hats, or three-piece suits in order to have their clothing work for them instead of against them.
But here’s the problem. As my friend Ed Latimore said,
“We are all beginners in the same way. It is only when we reach mastery that styles emerge. Any complex skill will always produce different styles at the top levels. This happens because there are a set of fundamental ideas that everyone participating in must understand.”
You need to be ok with being a beginner and moving up the ladder at your own pace – whether that’s quickly or slowly.
If you start trying to create your own style or emulate the masters without understanding the basic principles, you’ll fail nine times out of ten.
Think about how effortless Olympic athletes make their sports look. Think about how they each have unique styles and approaches to their respective events.
It didn’t start out like that. They spent years and years, drilling the basics over and over and over again. As they started to progress, they could adapt what they knew to their own unique circumstances, continue to practice over and over again, and eventually become masters.
Focusing on the perfection of advanced techniques without familiarity with the basics is just as misguided in developing your style as it is in sports, music, or any other fine skill.
Basically, if you don’t understand some of the science of style and own a few basic items, you’ll be making your transformation much more difficult than it needs to be.
Style is Storytelling
To take it to the next level, you need to understand that clothing is communication and your style is telling a story.
I want you to think back to last film or book that really resonated with you. Think of the story of the hero, the challenges he faced, the growth he experienced, and the man he became at the end of his journey.
Now think about that same story from the perspective of the author or the producer. These creators are incredibly compelled to tell good stories and, as part of their process, they want to ensure that everything is presented just right.
Which includes the clothing their characters wear. Whether that story is set in feudal Japan, urban New York, or a space station 500 years in the future – one of the biggest factors used in telling the story – separating the good guys from the bad, demonstrating the growth or struggle of the hero – is the clothing they wear.
No, clothes don’t make the man. But they do help set the stage. Go thumb through the first page of any novel and see if the author doesn’t take some time to describe what the characters are wearing.
Go rewatch your favorite film and see if the characters are wearing amorphous, androgynous grey pieces of clothing making everyone look the same.
The best storytellers in the world understand that the way their characters look will help audiences either identify with or reject them more strongly. Heroes look like heroes and villains look like villains. History and culture are full of men who dressed differently than we do today. And even the things people wear in the 21st century tell different stories.
Take a minute to look at what you’re wearing right now. What does it communicate to the world around you? If you were to see another man with the same clothes you have on right now, what would your assessment of him be? Is that the story you want to be telling? Does it need a complete revamp or maybe just a little editing?
Two Big Stories
To elaborate on this idea, we’re going to talk about two of the main stories men are concerned with telling other men – Mastery and Loyalty – and how your style can contribute to this communication.
Mastery is a huge component of how men interact with each other. It’s how we know if a man is worthy of our respect, admiration, maybe even our fear. It’s helped established hierarchies and organizations for millennia.
Think about the men you and others look up to. Part of the reason we admire them is because they’re masters in their own domains. The best athletes, artists, and businessmen all succeed because of their mastery.
We value those who are above average – and it’s part of the reason we want to rise above mediocrity ourselves.
Ok, so all of that is well and good, but how does that translate over to your style?
Well let me give you a concrete example in a world I’m very familiar with – suiting.
It should come as no surprise to you that not all suits are created equal. Yes it’s easy to tell the difference between a suit that fits and one that doesn’t, but mastery doesn’t end there.
Most men will immediately start to think of big, loud, obvious ways to improve their suiting. They’ll think that a demonstration of mastery requires bright colors, bold patterns, and unique fits – things that anyone who’s not into the suiting world would see and realize that it makes a suit unique.
But the real masters in the world know that those things can correlate with better suiting, but they’re not the cause of it.
For that, they look at much more subtle indicators.
Take, for example, the barchetta pocket.
This is a version of the breast pocket that curves up, rather than cutting straight across. To the uninitiated, this can look odd or even amateurish – and that’s assuming the average man will even notice it.
But those who are part of the sartorial tribe will recognize it as an indicator of both Mastery and Loyalty – Mastery because they understand that the pocket curves that way because this helps it drape across the chest better and Loyalty because they know it’s a detail that’s typically only worn by those within their tribe. Your average department store suit isn’t going to have a detail like that.
Or look at functioning buttonholes on a jackets sleeves.
Most men don’t even realize the buttons on the cuffs of the average suit don’t work. Or if they do, they just write it off as an anachronism from a time past when, for some reason, the sleeves needed buttons.
Whereas, once again, those who are in the tribe will use functioning buttonholes as a way to demonstrate Mastery and Loyalty.
Mastery because functioning buttonholes limit the adjustments that can be made to sleeve lengths – which means they’re typically only made on custom pieces. Loyalty because it once again shows that the man wearing the jacket knows enough about the more subtle components of suiting and embraces them.
Many of us in the sartorial world will leave one or two of these cuff buttons undone – not because of any improved function but because it signals both Mastery and Loyalty to those who know what they’re looking for.
Add to these other details like soft shoulders, big-bellied lapels, sweeping front-quarters, along with ways to improve the fit like adjusting for posture, shoulder slope, and sleeve pitch, and you have something that won’t ever look like a simple, basic suit – even if it’s made out of a plain navy twill.
Now, even if you’re someone who isn’t interested in fine suiting, these little details still stand out – whether you can point them out and articulate them or not.
Which brings us around to one of the biggest and most important points of dressing intentionally.
If you start with those same ten items I told you about in the last video and want to expand from there – you’re not limited to buying more and different clothes.
You can take those same ten items and purchase variations of them that are better. That navy sport coat I wore in the second look? There’s some real mastery there – both in how it fits and how it’s constructed.
If you think a piece like that is boring or lacking any personality or uniqueness, it’s because you’re assuming that the only way to be better is to be more unique.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go out and pick up more things. The vest I’m wearing in the video that accompanies this post isn’t one my 35 Staples, but don’t think the only way to tell the story you want is by wearing things no one else is wearing.
You can do the same thing, only better. After all, the best athletes aren’t playing a different sport – they’re just excelling more than others.
The Formula
So there’s the basics of it and here’s your formula.
Learn the science of style – things like fit, color, and pattern.
Pick up culturally neutral, but great-looking basics to start building a versatile, effective wardrobe.
And then get deliberate about what stories you want your style to tell and how it’s going to do so.
It’s the formula well-dressed men have used forever and it will work for you too.
So, if you’re ready to really dial this in – to stop dressing like a slob or a clown – to really start dressing in a way that leads to real-life benefits, I’m going to be releasing a course in the next couple of days.
This is the way it works.
I take the things we’ve talked about over these last three videos and dive in deeper. I give you all the science of style stuff – fit, contrast, color, pattern, and face shape. Then, you get all 35 items I recommend you have in your wardrobe. And finally, I tell you all four of the main stories men care about telling each other, along with examples of those stories can be told through your clothing.
The next post is going to have more details on what this looks like, along with a special offer for you guys who jump on early. So, if you’re not already, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter. That way you’ll know as soon as this becomes available.
In the meantime, I want to hear from you. What are some ways – subtle or stronger – that you’ve been able to dress intentionally and have it tell your story. Leave me a comment below!
This is a version of the breast pocket that curves up, rather than cutting straight across. To the uninitiated, this can look odd or even amateurish – and that’s assuming the average man will even notice it.
