Putting your own spin on it

So I know I've been talking a lot about defining "your style" and giving some nebulous tips.  So I thought I'd make this one really practical and specific.  This look was a big hit in and around Portland today, David Wood called me a man after his own heart (also, a bum in Monument Square took 15 minutes to tell me and Ashley how "awesome" we were).  In any event, after the jump I'll talk inspiration and how to tweak things to fit your personal style instead of looking like a carbon copy of a magazine/historical picture...

There was a time this image would have
 thrown me into a blind rage.

Anyone who's known me for a hot second knows I'm not a big fan of "prep."  It has to do with a lot of things (where I grew up, my high school, competition with southern New England), but suffice to say it's not really my thing (I only recently overcame my fear of wearing chinos).  Now, yesterday was a perfect, sunny, warm  spring day, so I wanted something appropriate for the season.  Now if I was into "prep" styling, this would probably have had nantucket reds, a blue blazer, and probably a madras shirt (or something to that effect).  The white bucks... maybe?  or maybe boat shoes/penny/tassel loafers, certainly no socks.

That's not really how I roll though.  It's not my style, but it doesn't mean with a few tweaks I couldn't

So I switched it up.  I swapped out the...

...nantucket reds for some ruby red, saturated color cords.

...soft shouldered blazer for a heavily shouldered, ventless sport coat (I can't wait for people to hate on this) with a blue gingham pocket square (in a much paler blue than the shirt)

...madras shirt for a butcher stripe shirt, no tie so I wore a blue undershirt to keep some color at my neck (plus it was cool enough that I definitely needed the extra layer)
(bonus: if it got too hot, the T-shirt was awesomely stylish enough to stand on its own or go under the jacket)

...kept the white bucks but added some (requisite for me) argyle socks in a similar color pattern.

Inspired by a preppy look, but entirely my own.

There's no problem stealing looks, even stealing them wholesale, if they are representative of you and your style.  There's nothing inherently wrong with a trad preppy look, but it's just not  me.  So I take the look, take my own style and see where they find common ground.  I'll argue forever that it's more important to dress like yourself than it is to dress correctly (if such a thing even truly exists) or in accordance with some tradition that isn't your own (like a life of privilege summering on Nantucket).  So find something you like, and then put your own spin on it.

Thanks for reading.