Gentleman's Playbook

The red carpet was laid out in New York City last night to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Jay-Z’s upscale sports bar and lounge, 40/40 club. As expected, some of the biggest names in music, sports and fashion came out to celebrate. Topping our best-dressed list were Victor Cruz and Robinson Cano - two recent signees to Roc Nation Sports, the sports management division of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company.

Victor Cruz has been no stranger to the red carpet in 2013, from his killer teal Lanvin dinner jacket at the MET Gala, to this ensemble which exemplifies less is more. Cruz paired a two-button navy suit with a navy floral patterned shirt, and no tie. The use of tone on tone really transforms this suit, which is more commonly seen as part of business attire, into the ideal choice for red carpet nightlife. 

The subtle punch of color in the orange and brown floral print of the shirt is just the right added touch of style, which if you look closely, perfectly complements his gold Rolex watch. One final touch to take notice of is the satin waistband trousers, which provides a clean and more formal finish. Sometimes the little things make the biggest difference, especially when you are attending an event hosted by the one and only Jay-Z.

Pictures courtesy of Bossip.com

- GentsPlaybook

With all of the time and hard-earned money that goes into purchasing your suits, it’s important that similar effort goes into taking care of and preserving them.

The number of times a suit is dry cleaned should be limited to 2-3 times per year. Why? Dry cleaners use chemicals that can damage the fabric of a suit, its buttons, and may cause the fabric to appear dull over time. If you do stain a jacket or pants, be sure to try and spot clean the garment yourself first using a damp white cloth towel - not a paper towel. Dye from a colored towel may run when wet, so make sure it’s white. For any type of oil-based stain (or red wine), add a little soap to the damp cloth and rub it to create foam suds; do not add soap directly on the suit. This will prevent an oil/wine based stain from setting, but will likely still need to go to the cleaners. If there’s a lovely lady in your household, she’s probably better at this than you, so kindly ask for her help. 

If the suit is not stained and the only issue is wrinkles, avoid ironing the jacket yourself and have your cleaners “press only” which does not use any chemicals and usually costs no more than $8 for a two-piece suit; a few dollars more if there is a vest/waistcoat. There is no limit on the number of times this can be done and is often necessary after one or two wears, depending on the durability and quality of the fabric. A steam pressing often lifts smaller stains you may not have even noticed and leaves garments fresh smelling.

Gents tip: as soon as you return home in a suit, hang both your jacket and trousers right away on a wooden suit hanger like the below. Wrinkles in high quality fabrics often times will come out on their own while hanging.

An alternative to the cleaners is purchasing a garment steamer for your home so that you can press all of your clothing, not just suits, at your leisure. Always remember that it’s important to take care of your nice things.

- GentsPlaybook

Big thanks to our friends at The Sneaker Museum for sending over their recently launched t-shirt in a nicely trim fit, soft cotton blend.

I’m a big fan of the 23 embedded in the logo and the simplicity of the shirt - a perfect match with my beloved Air Jordan XI Concords.

- GentsPlaybook

A crisp white dress shirt will always accentuate the colors in a patterned jacket. Even if white does not appear in the jacket, the shirt acts as a launching pad for all other colors in the jacket and pocket square to pop.

An advantage to owning a jacket with multiple colors in the pattern is the ability to wear a variety of shirts in similar hues of each color. The interlocking windowpane pattern in this jacket is comprised of periwinkle, eggplant and orange rust, so aside from white, I pair it with solid, textured, and even bengal striped shirts in light blue, lavender, orange, and peach.

One last thing - don’t forget the pocket square.

Featured:

• Two-button jacket custom made by Cort Custom Designs
• White dress shirt custom made by Cort Custom Designs
• Two-tone silk pocket square from boutique in Venice, Italy
• Cufflinks by Nautica
• Watch by Cartier