DOES ELEGANCE IN 2019 DEFY DEFINITION?

There he is! His gabardine blazer is exquisitely raffish; the crease in his blue serge pants could cut butter. A silken ascot wraps around his splendid neck, his perfect toes are ensconced in velvet loafers. Does one tapered finger bear a ring with a family crest? Do we spy a Hermes pocket square?

For decades, this divine, if wholly imaginary creature – I have never met him, and neither have you! – was the personification of masculine chic, the sort of guy Tony Curtis had in mind when he channelled Cary Grant in Some

Like It Hot .

But that was then. In the 21st century, the very notion of “male elegance”, the stereotypes that we have embraced since childhood, has undergone a radical transformation. What do we mean now by elegance? What do we even mean by “male”? We live in a world where the relationship between sex and gender is undergoing a profound reassessment – and from where we sit, this is a very good thing!

What is male elegance today? Maybe it’s that kid on the subway in the Supreme hoodie and the trainers, a silver backpack dangling from his skinny arm. Or maybe it’s the gentleman of a certain age, a Goth hero in layers of Rick Owens black. What about that sulky dude in tight Levis and a vintage moto, a tiny tattoo occupying the spot where his dad wore a pinkie r ing? Could it even be argued that Gertrude Stein, with her tweeds and her cropped hair, personified male elegance, though she was clearly a woman? (What is a woman, you ask? Don’t even get me started…) Think about it – who says a fellow can’t feel at his most manly when he is wearing a Gucci dress?

When we explode the categories, when we turn our backs on the old ways, a new path comes into view – one we are happy to explore in our velvet slippers, an ascot tied jauntily around our necks.