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Go careless, but carefully!

In the age of guarded fashion and style, the casual elegance known as sprezzatura has become the absolute rule for being a gentleman. But as all etiquette, sprezzatura has its rules which states that the pursuit of casual elegance cannot go too far and seem outlandish or ridiculous.

Go careless, but carefully!


Abha Chaudhary

In the age of guarded fashion and style, the casual elegance known as sprezzatura has become the absolute rule for being a gentleman. But as all etiquette, sprezzatura has its rules which states that the pursuit of casual elegance cannot go too far and seem outlandish or ridiculous.

The origin

Sprezzatura first appeared in The Book of the Courtier, a classic of Italian Renaissance literature by Castiglione (1478-1529), who penned down rules instructing noblemen on proper manners and cultivating an elegant style while appearing natural and unrehearsed, whether in dress, dance or speech. He called this “a certain nonchalance,” so as whatever one does or says appears to be without effort. But it should never be seen as an excuse for slovenliness or as a means of getting attention through over-the-top violations of stylistic rules. It is a “studied carelessness” as defined by the Oxford Dictionary. Since the time Sprezzatura was conceptualised, it has been followed by style icons like Beau Brummell, who toyed with his cravat for hours to get an unpractised and natural appearance, or the Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli, who wore his wrist watch over his shirt cuff to inject a bit of an Italian rakishness into his classic style. These men consciously cultivated this idea of imperfection, though not uncalculated, to suggest that they were too busy to be fastidious about their dress.

A sign of rebellion 

Certainly, nowadays when anything but casual clothes can be perceived as a sign of vanity, displaying the imperfections of sprezzatura is a way to declare that you reject elitist dress codes while still dressing up, especially among younger men, because it represents a sort of visual rebellion, against the monotonous business wear. Ironically, many sprezzatura converts spend a considerable amount of time and a conscious effort to look unconsciously casual. Sprezzatura is characterised by blends of casual and formal wear –rules of dressing sharp very subtly tweaked. So, we can say that chinos and jeans will generally work best with an unstructured sport coat, one that already has casual elements, like patch pockets, not flap, and a natural shoulder rather than a lot of padding. Footwear should probably tend more toward the formal–like double monks or derby shoes rather than sneakers. If you feel like sprezzatura, rely on crumpling  your pocket square instead of folding it in a too artful manner or leaving your tie knot a wee bit less prim and proper until it looks pleasing yet arranged by chance.

Minimal fuss  

A sense of sprezzaturistic nonchalance is obtained also with leaving your sport jacket unbuttoned. Formal rules of dress call for you to button up whenever you are standing, but nothing says nonchalance like ignoring this. An open jacket allows you to showcase your shirt and tie and, can disguise fits that are either too tight or too loose. A calculated carelessness that probably looks more practical in summer is to not button the shirt cuffs, as it allows you to look more relaxed. A widespread sprezzatura technique is never to use the keeper, the loop on the back of your front tie-blade that holds and hides the narrower end of your tie, so it can be seen, the tie seems less formal.

(Chaudhary is a Chandigarh-based image and style consultant).

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