The Gentlemen’s Expo: Notes from the Style Panel

Image Courtesy of viewthevibe.com

This past weekend, November 22-24, marked the very first Gentlemen’s Expo, an all-things-men experience that took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. The slogan? “Be more interesting.” The event, hosted by Todd Shapiro, was “designed to provide today’s modern urban man a show to call his own” and showcased pavilions dedicated to technology, style, food and liquor. The expo also featured experts in the fields of entrepreneurship, sports, cooking, relationships, interior design and automotive restoration – experts included industry heavyweights such as Dragon’s Den vets Jim Treliving, Bruce Croxon and W. Brett Wilson, chefs Chuck Hughes, Tom Filippou and Rob Rainford, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, UFC Central on Sportsnet host Joe Ferraro, retired NFL player Mike Krushelnyski, former Canadian muay thai champion Firas Zahabi, Playboy TV host Jessica O’Reilly, and ETALK anchor Ben Mulroney.

I was personally most excited about Friday afternoon’s style panel, which included GotStyle’s Melissa Austria, Christopher Turner of AmongMen.com, Bustle Clothing’s Creative Director Shawn Hewson, Hugo Boss Canada President Leslie Minion and Sharp Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Freed. From Freed’s perfectly-tailored blue suit to each man’s undeniably cool socks, it was a chic panel to say the least.

The style panelists at the Gentlemen’s Expo

Here are some insights about men’s fashion in Canada from the experts:

Melissa Austria on the importance of mastering menswear ASAP: “There’s a big divide between guys who get fashion and want to dress well and guys who don’t. The guys who don’t are really starting to fall behind and almost get outdated in their style.”

Leslie Minion’s advice to men: “My one word of advice is to find a good retail store where [you] feel comfortable and [you’re] going to be able to go in and ask those embarrassing questions.”

Melissa Austria on men’s sportswear: “I think when men stopped wearing suits… that’s what sort of killed menswear. And then we had casual Fridays, and guys didn’t understand what casual meant. If you’re used to wearing your suit to work, and then you’re told you don’t have to anymore, what do you wear next? Jeans and a t-shirt. A lot of guys don’t understand the concept of sportswear dressing like women do.”

Leslie Minion on casual Fridays: “I met an employer yesterday who works in media in my building. He told me that in his company he is instituting a dress-up Friday. I gave the guy a hug.”

Jeremy Freed on the first steps to becoming a stylish man: “The information is out there. I think guys to some extent have a problem taking that first step. The worst thing [a girl] can do is to tell her boyfriend she’s going to give him a makeover, because then he’s going to go back two steps. First of all, you need to be interested – you need to want to change. You need to find someone who is going to take you in the right direction without pushing you too far. Guys see a man in a super-slim suit and think ‘That’s not me!’ Fashion has gone too far now. You’ve got to take baby steps. If you canvas all the trends out there, there’s going to be one that works for you. But you have to be comfortable. If skinny jeans are in and you’re a big guy, don’t wear skinny jeans. You have to wear something that’s suitable for your body type and your personality. You can’t just slap on whatever trend someone tells you is happening because if you’re not comfortable in it, that’s going to show. You have to find that thing that works for you.”

Leslie Minion on the divide between stylish and unstylish men: “We were standing in front of our showroom downtown one day last summer and there were three men on one side of the street, walking towards Bloor, and two men on the other side of the street. They were all carrying briefcases and wearing suits. The guys on one side were maybe a little older and were wearing very high-quality garments and they may have had the sense that they had invested in good clothing that was going to last them for a long time. The fellows that were on our side were wearing a more modern look. The group of us couldn’t help but remark that the people wearing the more modern look appeared a little more dynamic. They were moving a little faster… it’s really a question of perception. The world is wearing a silhouette that has bypassed our generation. It’s sad, really.”

Christopher Turner on the trendy item he wants for Christmas: “I’m not done with camo yet, so I want a pair of camo sneakers.”

Melissa Austria on the current popularity of vests: “Everything old is new again. Guys don’t want to emulate their dads, they want to emulate their grandfathers. Vests are great: they’re the girdle for guys! You want to eat well and drink well – a vest is a great way to keep it all tucked in.”

Leslie Minion on how men’s style concerns haven’t really changed over the years: “I was in New York last week and the only thing that I brought back with me was this little book called ‘Why a man should be well-dressed’ [by Aldof Loos] and this book was the only book that was for sale in a delightful little clothing company called Carson Street Clothiers – on Crosby Street of course – only New York would get the address wrong. What’s fascinating about the book is that it was published in 1929. Flipping through it proves that a lot of things haven’t changed – a lot of the concerns that they had then are the same concerns we have today for appropriate business apparel and dressing properly for occasions. I think it’s a question of communication. It’s a learning process, but the information is out there.”

Jeremy Freed on shopping for stylish clothes in Canada without breaking the bank: “I’m a big fan of Topman, I’m a big fan of J. Crew, there’s lots of great stuff at The Bay… if you’re a man and you want to up your style game a bit, the best thing you can do is to have someone take you shopping who you trust and who is well-dressed themselves.”

Leslie Minion on the life cycle of clothing: “If you haven’t worn something for a season, you should retire it. My wife and I have a rule in the house: every time you buy something new it has to go on the hanger of something you already own. That means you get rid of a piece. This keeps you current and forces you to be wearing something frequently – if you’re going to put money into something, get the use out of it. Rather than buying an expensive piece of clothing and hanging it in your closet because you’re afraid to wear it, wear the hell out of it!”

Christopher Turner on writing for men: “I started around 2002 and I was primarily covering womenswear and obviously as a guy I was always interested in menswear, but there was never really the opportunity [to write about it]. Now there’s so much more interesting menswear than there has ever been – there are so many more men’s blogs and men’s magazines and websites… it was an easy switch to make.”

Jeremy Freed on the need for a Canadian men’s magazine: “The Canadian man is not the American man. You can’t get a lot of the stuff in Canada that you see in Esquire and GQ. There was definitely a need for something like Sharp to exist and the last seven years have shown that men are really responding well to it.”

The panelists on Canadian men’s fashion:

Jeremy Freed: “Canadian men are diverse and more European-influenced than American men.”

Melissa Austria: “I think Canadian men adopt trends a lot more quickly than U. S. guys do. In Canada we can see the trends that are happening and we know when to move on from them.”

Leslie Minion: “The Canadian male is built better, you know? He can wear things that are a little more body-conscious.”

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Do you have any insights to share about men’s fashion in Canada? Give us your two cents in the comments!