Mambo Italiano

As you probably know if you follow me on Facebook (and if you don't, you should! It's as easy as CLICKING HERE), I'm in Florence for a couple of days, covering the Pitti Uomo fair, and I'm having a ball. Italy is pretty much the perfect country: the food (I'll admit I'm even more enthusiastic about it than about the fashion), the architecture, the sun... and the Italian men! How do they do it? I mean it, how on earth do they do it? The amount of obnoxiously attractive men per square meter here exceeds the craziest expectations.

Here's the thing: I'm starting to suspect Italians are made differenty to all of us poor humans. Just observe the way chino trousers fit on the ragazzi in these pictures and compare it to the rest of the mortals. The trousers are the same, but the legs look longer, the thighs look sculptural and the buttocks... well, exactly. Many Spanish boys wear chinos: at best, they look like total yawnfest squares, at worst like short-legged chimps. As for the French who wear chinos... they all look the same: imagine Serge Gainsbourg in a pair of those trousers. That's it. 

We are actually so fascinated with the whole thing that it has become one of our favourite conversation subjects since we got here. I say they are simply superior creatures, but most of my friends have pointed out that it's not only about the trouser's fit, but about the whole styling. And it's true.

 

Think about it: who else tucks a silk handkerchief into their breast pockets and wears shirts with ties and cufflinks nowadays? Well, English gentlemen dressed by Savile Row, yes. But the Italians have taken it to the next level, by playing with modernity and baroque clins d'oeil to create a perfectly sleek, modern-day dandy look.

After careful consideration (and very keen observation field work), I have come to think their secret really lies in something as Italian as a Dolce Vita state of mind. These men are not only dressing smartly, they are actually enjoying dressing smartly, as much as they might enjoy a glass of Chianti or the view of a young olive-skin ragazza. It's probably just as simple as that. What do you think? In any case, Viva Italia!

All the pictures here are by Tommy Ton, I think he has the most fantastic take on menswear detail!