Having been born in Seattle, Washington (USA), living in Florence, Italy and then 7 years in London, UK and traveling throughout Europe and SE Asia, I was fortunate enough to see and live through a lot of different dress styles. Often times, a sense or style of dress can be tied to a demographic, particularly of location. So when getting bounced around a lot you tend to pick up a few different styles of dress. Our friend Erik Mannby, of Plaza Uomo Magazine, showed this to a T with his choice of style at the most recent Pitti Uomo which prompted this post as it reminded me a lot of how I put things together.
Erik was kind enough to feature a pair of my beloved Snoqualmie ‘modern-day city hiker’ boots during the show, on more than one occasion. And the results were very intriguing for me. The highlighted outfit reminded me of exactly how I throw things together, blending casual with dress style. Being a denim guy (I have to fight myself to wear something else) I really resonated with this look. His blend of casual attire with smart, subtle pieces mixed in is precisely how I throw my stuff together. But then Erik took it to the next level, Pitti Style and rocked the hikers with a sharp cut suit and doing so very well. Thus showing the world how one can mix styles and look good. The so-called rules simply don’t apply when one’s confidence and tailoring trumps dress conservatism’s ideology. Erik proves that. Time and Time again if you look at his Instagram account ( @erikmannby )
Another gentleman that does it well is Sabir M. Peele of Men’s Style Pro. Sabir has a few shoes of ours but I loved most when I saw him style our Snoqualmie boots in Black with ripped jeans and a smart Windowpane overcoat. Not only that but he wore the boots in a way like no other leaving the top strap undone and rocking them very East Coast style, like how they rock their Timberland boots in that NYC Urban Look. He made the casualmess of the boot come out even more so, which still looked good and gave off a different vibe altogether. But still staying smart in his dress.
Below you also find Sabir dressed in the ‘Americana’ look but with a pair of smart dress boots instead of some bulky Redwings or the like, as you might actually find most rocking that look. He blended the two styles well to creat another, unique and different look. One that for me, is far more appealing that finishing that bulky looking boots. Mixing American and European styling is actually quite interesting and if/when done right, as Sabir and Erik show, can come out with some very cool styles, unique yet still elegant.
Don’t be afraid to mix it up. Remember, all of the style greats in history did something different that helped them stand out. They mixed ideas together and created their own look that stuck. Your footwear is one avenue to start with. Change it up and see where it takes you!
