Skip to main content

Post-Berlin Thoughts on Style. . .

The old East German TV tower in downtown Berlin.

Well, we arrived home a few days ago from our almost seven weeks in Berlin, and I have a number of style thoughts to share based on my own experience and just looking around at the people around me.  Ready Freddy?  Here we go!


1) The citizens of Berlin, many of them at least, dress very colorfully.  The men as well as the women.  I could have easily gotten away with my mossy green and Nantucket red shorts and pants.  Sadly, I left these in my dresser at home, opting instead for khakis and olive drab.

2) Many young guys and even a few older ones seemed to be sporting a modified version of the northeastern beachside/bayside look., i.e. khaki shorts, a short-sleeved knit polo or madras shirt, and either leather deck shoes or rubber soled shoes with canvas uppers not unlike Keds.  Hey, you cannot argue or go wrong with a classic look like this during the summer months.

3) The weather was so warm for much of our stay, that I wore my usual variation of this look most of the time except for two brief chilly and rainy spells, when I could get away with Levis 501s and Converse Chuck Taylor high-tops, and I did get to wear a blazer, khakis, and loafers to dinner once with a few of my wife's colleagues from The Free Univerrsity.  I was more "dressed" than any other man present.  However, it is better to arrive somewhere a bit overdressed than underdressed.

4) You do still see quite a few men in suits and the less formal mix of a sports jacket with odd pants in the German capital.  But, for the love of Pete, if you are going to wear suit, wear a necktie with it, and make sure the knot is cinched up enough to cover the top button on your shirt.  Needless to say, that button should be buttoned, and the knot on your tie small and elegant.  It ain't 1975 anymore, gents!

5) Over-sized t-shirts that say things like "Low Rent Boy," hiphop-inspired backwards baseball caps displaying equally witty sayings/putdowns, and lots of cheap bling look good on no boy/man regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or nationality.  You succeed only in looking like some kind of cheap mondo dismo who knows no better when you present yourself that way.

6) Same thing with earplugs, nose rings, lip rings, studs in the face, or any other kind of visible body modification.  How is that kind of thing going to look when you are 50 years old or more?  Find some other way to express yourself and just don't.  Besides, it makes our eyes water when we are forced to look at you.

7) As I, and a few other bloggers here and there, have mentioned so often before, personal habits and manners (or the lack thereof) will instantly betray you regardless of how expensive your clothes, car, home, and various toys are.  As I read somewhere online these last few months, money cannot buy manners, taste, or class.  A person must make the effort to learn if he has not been brought up with certain habits instilled in him by parents or parental figures.

8) Guys, say it with me: daily showers, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, and deodorant.  Certainly this is not a problem for everyone, but from what I noticed using the S-bahn and U-bahn quite a bit, there are still some members of the male gender who were clearly out of the office when that particular memo was circulated.

9) The five-day growth thing that you see everywhere has been done to death by this point in history, so SHAVE guys!  It might have (might have) looked cool on Don Johnson in 1984 when Miami Vice premiered on TV, but that was more than 30 years ago.  Come on.

10) Don't be afraid to have your hair cut if the need arises when visiting another country.  Often, the results will be to your liking even if language is an issue.

11) "Mandals" worn with socks just look goofy whatever your age.  Some Germans even joke about this.  If you absolutely MUST wear a pair of Tevas or Birckenstocks, do so only at the beach or poolside, and make sure the day is warm enough that socks aren't necessary.  Otherwise, opt for some other shoes that cover your foot.  The male foot ain't that attractive anyway, men, even when clean with clipped toenails.  Frankly, more of us ought to keep our icky feet out of sight.

12) Less is more when it comes to style.  Many of the people I observed while in Berlin seem to be trying too hard to show the world how with it, trendy, and/or "bad" they are judging by the sheer amount of paraphernalia on display at any one time: toe rings, bracelets, earrings, tattoos, t-shirts with ironic sayings on the front, sunglasses, expensive haircuts that you work very hard to wear in such a way that they look like you've just rolled out of bed, messenger bags, animal prints, etc., etc. ad infinitum.  

Once more, and as I have said many times here already at Classic Style for the Average Guy, it is really preferable to limit the number of accessories on display with any one ensemble.  There used to be an old adage for women that is applicable for men too.  It goes something like this: Before you leave the house, look at yourself one more time in the mirror and remove one accessory before heading out the door.


There we are.  Certainly, the points I mention above do not apply to everyone whose path I crossed, and there are quite a few very stylish Berliners of various ages.  However, there are also lots of 20-something "boys" and men on the loose who could use a bit help.  Or at least learn to exercise a bit of restraint when it comes to how they present themselves to the world.

-- Heinz-Ulrich


Comments

Popular Posts

Avoid Careless Chatter. . .

    E specially about the personal details of our lives.  There is a lot that OUGHT to be kept more private in 2022 than has become the accepted norm for many.  With the conscious and intentional cultivation of classic style in mind, however, we want to avoid oversharing and keep a bit more of ourselves to ourselves.  Exactly what personal information and how much of it to keep private seems to be a slippery concept though.  Here’s my take based on what I was told and observed as a child and young person at home.  Basically, one should keep oneself to oneself in all respects (finances, personal worth, accomplishments, politics, sex, dirty laundry, etc.).  As my late father used to advise when we were very small, and I am talking preschool and kindergarten, there were particular subjects that were not discussed outside the immediate family.  There is a time and place for sharing certain details of one’s life, but most of the time, those should be played very close to the chest,

Chilly Late April Wednesday Attire. . .

    Y ou know, if it is going to remain this cold and blustery, I need about eight inches of snow for some more cross-country skiing.  But since the white stuff is long gone, it was time to fish through the cedar closet down in Zum Stollenkeller and pull out some cold weather attire for a seasonal reboot.   But I decided to forgo the usual gray herringbone jacket from J.  Press (my go-to tweed  sports jacket) and instead opted for this number from Hart, Schaffner, and Marx plus the tan cords that hang on the same hanger, so strenuous mental effort was not required.  Pressed the shirt after tucking in the Young Master last night at 8:30, grabbed these shoes, and socks, and Bob is your mother's brother as they say.   Occasionally gazing through the large library window to my immediate left this morning, and I keep hearing that old Jobim tune drift through my mind this morning (aided by the windmills), as sung by Astrud Gilberto ( together with Leonard Cohen and Paolo Conte, the musi

The Pleasaures of a Well-trained Dog. . .

  A few final photographs from my visit to my sister in Washington, D.C. last week.  These include  one of 'Mr. Beau,' my sister's meticulously trained and truly wonderful Doberman, another of my sister, second cousin, step-father, and yours truly on the steps of the church outside Lexington, North Carolina just after our late mother's interment service, two of me solo at the National Cathedral, and a final one of my sister and me hamming it up during a long evening walk the day before I returned to Michigan. My sister routinely walks to the cathedral, about three blocks from her place, to enjoy the grounds and gardens.  The Bishop's Garden, in particular, is a place she likes to sit for quiet contemplation and internal dialogues with our late maternal grandparents and mother, very much in keeping with the Episcopal side of things.  Our grandfather, who was raised Methodist, became an Episcopalian when he married our grandmother.   Before you ask, I am not sure tha