Style

(Declaration : my first suit was black.Black suits are almost everywhere in Melbourne and I’m sure that’s the case amongst most cities around the world.

You may not be aware but a lot of fierce debate has raged all over the internet (Style Forum has 600 posts) about whether they are acceptable or not. Technically, they are against the ‘rules’ but… most readers wouldn’t care about the rules, let’s get on to reasons.

There’s several reasons for the man in business to avoid buying one.

1) Firstly, it’s unimaginative. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has one. Show a little personality.

2) Black suits look cheap. Why? Black suits are generally worn by people who can only afford the one suit (in case they have go to funerals.)

3) Black suits are hot . If you’re going to be wearing a suit all day you’ll want to be wearing a suit that’s comfortable.

4) Black suits are the servants’ uniform. I feel horrible saying this, but it’s true. Think waiters, think limousine drivers, think bouncers, think butlers.

5) They look horrible in photos. They swallow up the light.

I’m overseas on Tuesday, to Hong Kong, Beijing and Mongolia

That in large part explains my disappearance from this blog.. I was having fun but realising that my travel plans were going to stop me posting regularly and building a readership, as all good bloggers are meant to do.

I’ve made a few mistakes with this blog - mostly the community I have tried to ingratiate myself with, online business, as opposed to the one I should have been communicating with, which is style and fashion.

 When I get back from O/S (in July) I hope to take this blog down a slightly more personal path (as was my initial intention) rather than try and be a blogger that .. you know.. does all that business sort of stuff, monetises posts etc. When I put up those guests posts by Pete Aldin, while they were great it really made me consider where the blog was going.

The main problem was I didn’t feel what was happening here at MatNewton.com was 100% me - as in, it didn’t reflect the way I see myself. I’m 22, and although I have one I’m not a serious businessman - yet - I have a quirky sense of humour, I like to wind people up…. you get the point. Because of that difficulty I ended up over at my MySpace page (yes, I made one… quite sad really) doing posts that were what I actually wanted to say. That’s stupid, because MatNewton.com IS my space on the web, so to speak.

I’m considering doing something like The Satorialist or Melbourne Fashion Runway, which have a picture every day of someone snapped in the street looking stylish. Except, it would focus on men interspersed with little style topics such as ‘How to button your suit.’. This is what I’m interested in. I love to see what people are wearing on the street… it’s not a shallow thing, either. I think it’s a great creative and intellectual challenge to figure out what looks good and what doesn’t.

In the mean-time I will probably put up a few posts from Hong Kong, Beijing and Mongolia. It should be good.

Regarding the competition for a free shirt

That is still available. Two people have solved it but both were ineligible to enter if you follow basic ethical rules about running competitions.

Here a couple of great resources for those interested in mens style:

www.styleforum.net

and

www.askandyaboutclothes.com

 These are the two ‘authority’ sites on mens style. There’s men on these forums with some highly particular and stringent ideas. There’s also the absolutely hopeless who need all the advice they can get!

At the very least, you’ll learn how to identify quality and value, learn about what constitutes a good fit and a whole lot more.