Sydney’s first men’s fashion seminar focused on guiding gentlemen onto the dapper path.
From a picturesque idea between The Filtered Fit six months ago Johnny Li, founder of Dappertude, launched Sydney’s first gentlemen’s fashion seminar. The premiere Dappertude Seminar commenced on the 16th of July at the Hotel CBD on York Street, with a quick leg workout followed by an immediate reward of our goodie bags, and then straight to the bar to grab a drink.
What was the aim of the day? It could have been anything; meeting and talking to some of Australia’s top men’s fashion Instagrammers, winning the grand prize of a free tailored suit from Institchu, or simply making the use of the open bar. But for Dappertude, it was all about guiding men onto the dapper path.
The venue allowed for an excellent opportunity for attendees to meet and network with not only Instagram influencers but also local Australian brands and the broader Australian online dapper community. With real-time Instagram uploads being shared on-screen, everyone was keen to show their dapper way.
Aside from networking, the outline for the day was to educate gentlemen by giving them the tools to be able to best express themselves in their everyday dapper styling. There were three core areas for the seminar: suiting, grooming, and accessorising.
Two dapper gentlemen Timothy Aquino and Mayowa Adeniyi of Institchu gave the first presentation on the subject of suiting. The colour of a suit is key; each colour can present a different mood. For the businessman navy and charcoal is all you need, simply rotate between the two for an easy yet professional look. Black suits are not for the office; black tie events only.
The most common error that men make is that they dry clean their suits too often. Aquino and Adeniyi advised that a suit should only be dry cleaned two or three times a year. Instead of frequent dry cleaning, air your suit out by hanging it in the bathroom while you are showering.
If a suit does not fit well, it will almost never look good. The fit of a suit should always give the illusion of the ideal body shape. Some key tips to remember when purchasing non-tailored suits are:
- Add an additional 3cm on your chest measurement, an additional 4cm for the stomach, and 3cm of extra room at the hips
- Your sleeve jacket should meet your wrist
- Your jacket length should succeed your crotch and back pocket
- Your trouser length should be about an inch off the ground with shoes on
Along with this set of guidelines do not forget that you are wearing the suit. Make sure to represent yourself through your attire; you will be more likely to wear it with confidence.
Our next presentation was on the subject of grooming, given by the founder of GentSac Shira O’Sullivan. Given that men often neglect to groom, the knowledge and advice given by O’Sullivan were invaluable. Her overall advice is that men should cleanse and moisturise their skin daily, and try to exfoliate once a week. For men with beards, be sure to use beard oil to moisturise the skin underneath your beard. No one product will work for everyone so make sure the product you are using works with your skin type.
Following our first two presentations, the panel was opened up for our Instagram influencers. Stevetillystyle gave great advice about he juggled his Instagram with his full-time employment and his family life. He also gave insight into his extravagant watch collection; let’s just say he likes to wear a different watch every hour.
Shaun Birley, currently residing in the sunshine state, gave great advice on how to pull off your dapper look comfortably in hot weather.
The Filtered Fit spoke a lot about his ethos when it comes to his own branding, saying that he wants his style to represent who he is, a working university student. The international model Sam Wines gave insight into his life as a model and how he sees his Instagram as a creative outlet in his otherwise structured life.
It was easy to see the attendees were lapping up the advice and insight offered by the influencers not only about styling tips but also about everyday struggles.
Our very own founder, Johnny Li led the last presentation of the day. He spoke about the importance of accessorising the dapper gentleman’s suit. He even gave a tutorial demonstration on how to best fold a pocket square. His personal favourites are the triangle fold for working days, the puff fold for when you’re at events, and lastly the reverse puff for when you’re trying to be extra dapper. Li’s main tips for the dapper gentleman are:
- The tie pin should be around the chest area
- A pocket square should never match the tie
- A pocket square should compliment the suit
- The tip of the tie should just touch the belt buckle
Li’s big tip was to never leave the house, in a suit, without a pocket square. The pocket square is the greatest way for a dapper gentleman to distinguish himself from the rest and therefore is the best suiting accessory.
Upon the culmination of the seminar, it became apparent that your appearance isn’t simply how good you look. Instead, it is being comfortable and confident with what you are wearing. And on that note, all guests and attendees were invited to form the largest dapper squad in Sydney. We headed down to Martin Place for a professional photo shoot with our photographers. It was easy to see that everyone around wanted to be a part of the dapper squad.
Being a dapper gentleman is not about being fancy or looking like a model, it is about you walking down the path and having the dapper attitude – the Dappertude.
Photo credits to Shot by Joe Chan & Alice Sciberras
