Suited Up in Short Sleeves for the Stylight Awards

Disappointed Academy Award losers always console themselves by saying it’s an honor just to be nominated, but in the case of the Stylight Awards held last week in Berlin, it was the truth. One Dapper Street was nominated for a fashion award and while I didn’t win (that distinction went to the lovely Candela), I was the only men’s blog nominated, and therefore felt like a winner regardless. Shout out to my fellow nominees: Nina Suess, Ebba Zingmark, and Erika Boldrin, all wonderful people, and all winners in my heart.

I always enjoy the chance to visit my home country, to get dressed up and to have a party. In this case I got to do all three. A few days before the ceremony, One Dapper Street photographer Stefano and I visited Reiss to get outfitted. The attire for the event was black-tie-casual and while originally I was looking for a tux, there wasn’t a plurality of options. I had to get creative with the selection available.

I ended up with a rather unconventional pairing that might sound strange, but actually ended up working out well, both functionally and stylistically. Being the height of summer and with the awareness that after the award ceremony we’d be throwing down on the dance floor, I chose to wear a short-sleeved dress shirt with a suit. Now before you get images in your mind of boxy shirted guys in your IT department with overgrown forearm hair and a front shirt pocket stuffed with pencils, the short sleeved dress shirt has undergone a makeover in recent years. These days you can easily find a slimmed down version with tapered sleeves that has a distinctly 60’s sleek vibe.

Then I chose a dark navy suit with a modern, tapered cut. I had the pants tailored to raise the cuff an inch above the ankle since I had planned to go sockless. No belt was needed for these flat front trousers, which worked with the minimal style I was going for. I finished off the look with a pocket square and brown brogues.

This look works well from a summer day-to-night perspective: suited up during the day, then take off the jacket and you’ve got a still-polished but more relaxed outfit underneath. After the awards were doled out and we moved to the after party, I undid another shirt button and put the jacket aside.

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