Styling Him

THE EVOLUTION OF MENSWEAR IN MALAYSIA

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A good jacket is a must-have for every man.

ONCE upon a time, our men — our grandfathers and fathers — used to make the effort to dress up and look good no matter how formal or casual an event was. If you go through old photo albums, you will likely see them looking sharp and tidy with an impressive sense of style.

And if you listen to their stories, you would learn of the trouble they took to starch their trousers (or keep them overnight under a mattress for that “ironed” look) be it for election day or something less formal like the school sports day. These men were known and remembered for their sartorial elegance.

Fast-forward to present: Some men still care about how they look or what they wear, but more are becoming careless or indifferent towards fashion or dressing up.

Some men used to be very original and fashionable when they were teenagers and would follow trends dictated by the movies or music icons they followed. But, it becomes a different story once they reach adulthood.

They give in or bow to the look or style that society dictates — hence, the tracksuits or slacks matched with collared T-shirts, the uniforms of fatherhood.

Unfortunately, it has become common (and even acceptable) for men to wear sloppy outfits and flip-flops to settle official matters, wear rock band T-shirts or football jerseys to weddings, and the sarong pelikat to the supermarket. And with more companies allowing a relaxed, “everydayis-Friday” dress code for employees, some men have lost the art of dressing up.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE

As one of the pioneers of menswear in Malaysia, Bon Zainal Harun says the fashion sense of men today is the result of a lack of knowledge.

“The lack of understanding and knowledge about clothes and what is suitable to be worn has created fashion victims.