Sinatra style

[punkrunner]

Alright guys listen up heres the deal. I am an 18 year old college student with little money. Books are way to expensive. Anyway I dress well, far above most guys my age. Its amazing how just matching an American Eagle shirt to pants can put you so far ahead of most other guys. Anyway I want to change my style a little. I was wondering how I could dress more like Frank Sinatra. Should I just buy a fedora? Keep in mind I have little money, but I would appreciate any comments you gentlemen might have. Thanks alot.

 

[PeterMetro]

When I think sinatra, I think tuxedo - or at least a suit and tie. Making the jump from American Eagle shirts to this level is pretty drastic. I might recommend a more subtle approach. Also, Sinatra was a pretty small guy, it'd be hard to pull off his look if you're much bigger.

Books are way to expensive.

Funny on so many levels.

 

[Thracozaag]

Now THAT'S funny.

 

[mr. magoo]

Okay punk, you're getting a little newbie hazing here, but I'll start the ball rolling with some simple tips.

First, wear white, straight collar, broadcloth shirts. No button downs, no oxfords. You could spend from $2 at a thrift store to $500 at a boutique. But it's a simple solution so you lose the t-shirts and the flannels or whatever else you kids put on these days. You might also consider getting a white shirt as described above in french cuff. The shirt should be narrowly cut for you, by the way. Big and blousy is not the look you want.

Second, graduate from jeans or other cotton pants to wool trousers, either with flat fronts or small pleats. The pants should be narrowly cut and possibly even have a little pegging towards the bottom. To step it up a notch, get them on the short side so that the cuff just brushes the tops of your shoes without breaking (i.e., hanging straight down with no bagging). Again, you could go thrifting or spend oodles -- depends on how much time you have (if your college time is like mine was, you can spare it) and how authetically Sinatra you want to look. You might try a relatively cheap place like Benetton during sale season as their stuff might fit the bill while being up to date.

Third, wear long, thin black shoes. Loafers or lace-ups. Consider white dress socks underneath to accentuate the short, pegged trousers.

Fourth, either start wearing a jacket or a cardigan. Back in the 50s, cardigans weren't old-man wear. After all, how do you think they got to be old-man wear? Men who wore them when they were young and stylish got old. Jacket should have thin lapels, little padding, narrow cut.

Fifth, start smoking and drinking apple juice (old legend that he used to drink apple juice and tell people it was whisky while forcing them to try and keep up). Wear your hair short. Use a toothpick.

Now as to the why? Only you can answer that. We all have to find our own style icons and run with it. By the way tips were for the general '60s swinger look, rather than his 40s tweedy, big-tie look.

 

[j]

Good tips. I think it was Dean Martin who drank apple juice. Either way, it's a good idea to keep your liver somewhat healthy. Much cheaper too. Find the book The Way You Wear Your Hat which is a biography of Sinatra. I was a big fan of him when I started getting into style and this book goes into detail about his clothes and style. Watch "Come Blow Your Horn" (movie) and look at the stuff he wears in it. Some parts are really annoying (Lee J. Cobb yelling at his wife for example) and it is sort of a "musical" but there is a lot of Frank looking like a pimp and teaching his (movie) little brother how to do the same. It's pretty funny and cheesy like Ocean's Eleven. The other thing I can say is orange, orange, orange. Sinatra fans will catch the orange if you wear it in the look, as long as it looks good on you.

 

[Mike]

I'm a huge fan of Sinatra and I have to second picking up "The Way You Wear Your Hat." Not only good style advice but good life advice as well. Other recommendations are to just check out the album covers. Emulate that. I recommend the look from "Swing Easy." Nice, black or dark gray suit and hat, light pink shirt and pink spotted black tie.

I have a fedora myself, but it took me a while to feel very comfortable wearing it. Just take your time and get used to it. And wear it straight, we don't need anymore Ashton Kutcher look-a-likes out there. The whole deal with Sinatra, the reason he was so cool was because he was comfortable in what he wore.

Just ease into it. I try to have a throwback, swinger style and it took me a few months to totally get into it, and for all my family and friends to get used to it as well. In fact, all I got was complements about how nice I looked, and I was standing out from all the other Abercrombie and American Eagle tools out there.

 

[Brian SD]

ROFL

 

[matadorpoeta]

i'll add one thing i noticed about sinatra, dean martin, et al... they wore their collars much looser than what you generally see today. if you want their look add 1/2" to your 'real' collar size.

 

[punkrunner]

Thanks for the all tips guys. I appreciate them.