Taking Inspiration From Style Icons

When it comes to defining our own personal style, it’s hugely important that we continue to reinvent the way we look. Of course, by changing the way you dress too much, you’re going to confuse a lot of people who know you, along with confusing yourself. Taking influence from popular style icons, and implementing key elements into your own look is a great way to reinvent your style subtly, and it’s what we’re going to be discussing here today at MFM.

The Importance Of The Word “Influence”

Influence really is the key word within this article, as imitation shouldn’t be considered by the stylish gent. It’s the same with trends, if you completely imitate a trend or the way a style icon dresses, you’re simply copying something which you haven’t put any thought into. It lacks individuality, and without adding your own personal touch you’ll find quickly that you look like a clone of others.

To start with, take a style icon you’re fond of and start defining some key features of their look. It could be a statement piece they always seem to wear, their hairstyle, colour combinations, presentation or simply the way they carry themselves. There’s no real style icon I can highlight, as we all have our own personal style icons to take influence from. Think about their height, weight, body shape, lifestyle and of course the way you like to dress. I’m personally a huge fan of the way Ryan Gosling styles himself, but I simply do not imitate EVERYTHING that Ryan wears. I simply carry through his effortless elegance into my own personal style, and like Ryan, I sometimes prefer the ungroomed look to the clean shaven approach. These are two key features which i’ve highlighted from the way Ryan styles himself, and I try to take influence from them in my daily style.

So who might you take inspiration from?

James Dean

James Dean is one of those gents that the majority of men are envious about. The fact he seemed to pull off anything he wore, isn’t something which is easy to replicate. Therefore you may want to look towards the way he never wore anything distracting, the fact he thought more about how he wore something rather than what he wore, his statement jackets or of course the rough grooming James Dean always seemed to carry. There’s a variety of key elements we can take from the way James Dean dressed, without completely imitating his style.

Here’s some product picks:

JFK (John F Kennedy)

JFK is one of my favourite style icons, and someone I personally take a lot of inspiration from. I love the fact even with being president, he still managed to pull off looks which looked effortless. He knew the importance of a buttoned down shirt, and the importance of a blazer, but he always seemed to dress effortlessly almost like he hadn’t tried each morning. He took huge influence from Preppy fashion, and again this is something I personally am fond of. So you may want to take influence from the fact JFK knew how to establish effortless elegance, his statement buttoned down shirt and sweater combination, the way he took influence from Preppy fashion or simply the way he wasn’t afraid to go ungroomed even as President of the United States. Maybe you have a job with high authority, and can take influence from JFK to still look elegant but still making it look effortless.

Here’s some product picks:

There’s a variety of style icons you can choose from, and take a look through our men’s style icon series for inspiration. Remember the key word here is influence, and you don’t want to compeltely imitate the way they dress. Let us know who you take inspiration from…