Men’s Style Icons: David Gandy

David Gandy

The gentleman that I have chosen to feature this week in the Style Icon series here at FashionBeans is Mr Dolce & Gabbana Essex boy David Gandy. Thinking that he was Italian when I first saw him, I watched his interview on the ‘Friday Night with Jonathan Ross’ show, and couldn’t have been more wrong.

Ranked as the UK’s number one male model, David has been modelling for a good eight years now. It’s in this time that he has really become a household name in the world of male modelling. He has risen above any of his competitors and has featured in 15 ad campaigns, appeared on the front cover of 20 magazines, and has been the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s menswear range over the past five years. Not bad for a guy from Essex.

David really hit the nail on the head in his interview with Jonathan Ross, saying that ‘Shopping for men is such a chore. All you really need is a few style tips to get you on your way’. That’s what we at Fashionbeans are here for.

I have selected him to feature in this style icon series, because I see his style as impeccable, but also very simple. The thing that David Gandy really gets right in his outfits? Tailoring. Now some will probably say – like the feedback from a controversial article on Chace Crawford some weeks back – that David looks so good because he has the means to buy expensive suits and get the tailoring exactly right. And yes, I’m not denying this at all, as having Dolce & Gabbana a phone call away is definitely a good way to get your tailoring right. But once again I am emphasising to you budding fashionistas that getting the fit right is the most important thing when it comes to tailoring. You don’t need Dolce & Gabbana for that. Finding the right cut suit and using a local tailor in order to get personal adjustments is a massive step in getting the right fitting suit.

David Gandy wears a mix of tailoring on a day-to-day basis. From his look book (below) we can see that David wears the standard two-piece suit, but almost always adds a waistcoat to this tailored look in order to take it to the next level. He certainly knows how to wear tailored blazers and waistcoats, and can often be seen using these suit separates with jeans, different colour trousers or even a simple t-shirt. David definitely knows his own body type and gets the fit PERFECT – it is almost like each item he wears was made exactly for him. This is imperative if you are going to wear tailoring or formal items, because they are supposed to have clean lines and produce a sharp silhouette which means business. There is nothing worse than an ill fitting suit, shirt or tailored jacket – but you should all know this by now.

Like David, Why not venture away from the wool suit and use tweed that we have seen feature heavily this Autumn/Winter season. I LOVE tweed and think it adds a quirky touch to any outfit, whether you just use a blazer and waistcoat combination with some dark trousers/jeans OR go for a full suit. The Heritage trend is going to be big news this A/W so you can take inspiration from that and pair your tweed items with other traditional English clothing.

For casual days David still keeps his whole look smart and very fitted. There is nothing too outlandish, just basic v-neck and scoop neck tees, dark plain knitwear and slim fitting shirts. You do not often see this man in printed or graphic clothing, and it always fits him perfectly. He often goes without a belt if wearing jeans which just proves that he picks the right waist size in order to keep them up naturally – remember a belt should be an accessory in order to provide an individual touch to an outfit, not something you HAVE to use in order to stop your oversized trousers falling down! On the subject of accessories, David uses key gentlemen accessories such as pocket squares and lightweight scarves in order to really round out his tailored look.

The Look Book

Here is the David Gandy look book:

Get The Look

Now it’s time to get the David Gandy look. The key items you need in your wardrobe to get the look are:

• Two-piece tailored suit (black/blue/grey).
• Tailored jacket (Herringbone or Tweed).
• Tailored tweed waistcoat.
• Light wash jeans.
• Slim fitting shirt / deep v-neck t-shirt.
• Key accessories and footwear: Pocket square, skinny tie, lightweight scarves, smart black/brown leather shoes.

I hope you like my choice of style icon for this week. Remember all the guys in the style icon series are forming the list for Fashionbeans Man of the Year award 2010. So leave all your opinions below…

Matthew