Real men do wear color
By Sharon Mosley
Copley News Service

Will real men really wear pink this fall? Well, there may be a few - or rather quite a few - who aren't tickled about wearing pink, according to fashion experts at Sears, Roebuck and Co., who recently delved into the male fashion psyche when they conducted a national survey in conjunction with the launch of the new Structure line of clothing. However, while the majority of men are not thinking pink, (97 percent according to the poll by Harris Interactive) retailers, trend experts and key fashion magazines are all urging men to get comfortable with their feminine side.

"I think many men are a little reluctant to wear color," says Sarah Shirley, a fashion stylist from New York and a consultant to Sears, who is introducing the hip, new Structure brand (acquired from Limited Brands Inc. last year) this fall in key markets.

But Shirley does see the fashion tide turning for men who, thanks to more and more media attention (such as "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," "The Apprentice," network makeover shows, etc.) think spiffing up their wardrobe can't be all that bad, and may be a little fun, too - even if it means adding a little color.

"You don't have to wear a shirt with big, bold stripes," says Shirley. "Now there are more washed-out, subtle colors in stylish blues, indigos, pinks, plums and purples to update a man's wardrobe."

With most men typically spending only two minutes a day picking out what they're going to wear, according to the Sears survey, it seems like a good time for all good retailers to come to the aid of this new "metrosexual" male who may be on the verge of breaking through the color barrier and out of the khakis-plus-golf-shirt mode.

Here are some other ways Shirley suggests men make a fashion breakthrough this fall and holiday season:

- Don't be afraid to experiment with color. "Traditionally ties were where men would get their fashion color," says Shirley, "but now there are plenty of dress shirts for every taste in both bold and subtle color palettes. Bright, bold colors, the right pastels and patterned woven shirts look great on men and will get you noticed in a sea of blue shirts."

- Pick one trendy item to dress up your wardrobe. "The argyle sweater is huge this season," says Shirley. "It adds some pattern and interest, rather than the typical solid sweater. It also looks great with jeans, cords or dress pants, under a jacket or even teamed with a suit."

- Layer, layer, layer. "Layering is huge," admits Shirley. "Stylish men are really mixing it all up," she adds, "layering a woven shirt underneath a dressier sweater or wearing a logo T-shirt under a suede jacket or wearing charcoal dress pants with a woven patterned shirt."

- Break up the suit. While there is always a place for the suit in a working man's wardrobe, more and more retailers are offering suit separates that can easily be mixed and matched with other, more casual wardrobe pieces. "Take one suit jacket and wear it with five or six different styles of shirts and pants," says Shirley. "You don't always need to wear a traditional suit and tie anymore."

- Dress up casual clothes. While jeans and T-shirts or khakis and golf shirts have been the standard attire for many men for years, there's definitely a break in this fashion pattern on the horizon. Men are not only wearing their suit jackets with jeans, but zipping themselves into ribbed sweaters paired with dress pants, easing into leather jackets with silk ties and corduroy pants, or pulling on flat-front pants and dress shirts with a French cuff or two.

"I definitely have seen a change in the way men dress in the last few years," says the New York-based stylist. "Everyone's catching on to this new trend. When men look better they get a positive response from everyone around them." And that's a great reason to think pink.

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