Ask Me Vol. 16 – ASOS Shoes, Sneakers with Suits and Find the Perfect Raincoat

I apologize if I do not answer these questions fast enough. You can always send me a Tweet, or Facebook message if you need something answered quickly.

Hi again! Thanks for the answer to my previous question – it was really helpful I am currently on the look for a few new pieces to use this summer – do you have any tips regarding what I should be on the look for? Maybe some specific colors? Also I was wondering how you feel about the magazine GQ? I have just recently started to buy it. I’ve noticed they feature a lot of “Loafers”, do you think they are going to be big this summer? PS. I think its really cool that you take the time to answer mine/our questions!! – Nash
During the summer, I usually dress for comfort. It gets very hot in New York and I avoid wearing a jacket outside. I wear gray, blue, khaki, olive and white all summer long. I would pair be a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up with cargo pants or cotton pants. You should wear whatever you think is comfortable. GQ and the other American men’s fashion magazines have been getting a lot better with their features. These publications are a good basis on what you should have in your wardrobe. Loafers are timeless and people have been wearing them for decades. I cannot really say that they will be “in” this season as they have always been quite popular. I am not a huge loafer fan and I prefer derbys and brogues in the summer.

I’m looking for a versatile pair of sneakers for the spring/summer. Something that can be worn with shorts, but also jeans or with a a suit for a dressed down look. Any recommendations or pictures of outfits that look good with sneakers? – Joe
If you are going to be wearing your sneakers with traditional clothing, I would look into getting a sneaker with a classic silhouette. You do not want to wear sneakers with too many frivolous details with a suit I am sure it can be done, but I would play safe if I were you. P. Johnson, a tailor in Australia, pulls of the suit and sneaker look very well. If you want something sporty, look into New Balance or Nike. If you want something more high-end, try Lanvin or the Margiela German army trainer. Like I said, you should keep it classic if you are going to pair your sneakers with traditional clothes.

I’m 5’7″ with an athletic build. Despite being relatively short I have disproportional long legs. Any tips to help conceal this problem and make me appear taller?
I answered this in the last “Ask Me“. Wear high-rise pants.

My friend gave me this really old Armani jacket that he said was brought over from Italy by his dad’s friend I would like to find out if its real any advice on how i should go about doing that? – Cameron
I am not an expert when it comes to variant Armani clothes. I am sure there are guides on the internet that explain how to authenticate an Armani Jacket. If that doesn’t work, you can ask a store which carries Armani to help you verify the jacket.

Hey. I’m a Londoner and Spring/Summer presents a problem to me. Often I leave the house in a pair of shorts and t-shirt, with the sun beaming down, but then come home battling against gale force winds, torrents of rain, snow etc. Or I leave, wrapped up for winter, only to suffocate in the heat later on. I think it’s probably a good idea to buy a light jacket/rain-coat, but I have been struggling to find the right one. Should I be going for a bright block color (eg. yellow), a pattern…? Since I’ll have to wear it with a wide range of clothes, what design/make should I be looking for? Do you have one in particular which has served you well, rain or shine, over the years? Thanks! – Mike
When buying your raincoat you need to keep in mind what elements bother you the most. Shorter raincoats are good for strong winds but do not protect your legs from the rain. They give you more mobility and you do not need to worry about your coat flying all over the place. Longer raincoats will protect your legs, but can be a nuisance in stronger winds. The raincoat best for you, will have to be long with closure that extend all the way to the bottom of the coat. The fabric will have to be impenetrable to rain and wind. I recommend something either mackintosh or waxed cotton in a solid color; preferably navy or gray. These colors will go with anything. I have a number of raincoats but I constantly wear only two of them. The first is a black waxed canvas raincoat with a removable down filled liner that has serviced me through the harshest of elements. This coat is almost perfect but their is one problem; the coat is black. Black is way too severe for a full length raincoat and there are only a handful of options that will work with this coat. The second raincoat is a gray mackintosh safari jacket. I always wear this jacket when the rain is not too strong. I do not have much experience in London and I am guessing that their is a ton of humidity in the air.

Why does it seem like you’re always with Gabriel Zeller? Are you guys like really good friends or did you just make a contract that you would always walk with each other to compliments each other’s looks? – Ernesto
We are good friends and we like the same things. So, I guess we compliment each other.

Can short guys still be considered fashionable/stylish or are they simply brushed off like nothing ? – JD
Any body type can be considered “fashionable/stylish” and it does not matter on how you look. I believe, people who have different statures look even more “fashionable/stylish”. When a person of a shorter height has knowledge of fit, they often have their clothes perfectly tailored to them. Proper tailoring will always look better than something off the rack. Many people who are a standard size do not bring their clothing to a tailor and often disregard slight imperfections. Those imperfections are noticeable to an educated eye and thus making them less “fashionable/stylish”. If you do some research, I think you would be surprised on how tall some of the “menswear street style gods” are.

Thoughts on ASOS? Saw you instagrammed a pic and was a little surprised given your usual penchant for quality over everything. – Xiaoping
ASOS suiting is good if you are looking for fast fashion. Many of their pieces contain high amounts of synthetics materials and the construction is not worth mentioning. The shoes on the other hand, are extremely impressive. ASOS has a Made in England line which is all produced in Northampton. The materials are fairly good and everything is goodyear welted making them easy to resole. You can find them on ASOS for about one hundred dollars on sale. They are some of the best entry level English shoes I have ever encountered.

Why do u hunch over when taking pictures? I’ve noticed several photographs of you with your shoulders forward. You should try to stand with your shoulders back; it appears much more self-assured. – Dave.
Thanks for the advice. I know I have bad posture and will keep that in mind.

I was wondering if you have ever seen the blazer on the left, (the red plaid with blue stripes). I am really desperately looking for something similar and I cannot find where to find something like that. – Vasil B
That fabric is quite unique and I honestly have no idea where you can buy a jacket like that off the rack. If you really want the jacket, I suggest you have it made (made to measure or bespoke). The only company I can think of that will offer such a fabric would be Isaia.

Just wondering… Does Balmain make samples or are there frequently Balmain replicas? I recently bought a Balmain cable knit merino sweater off eBay (yea i know.. but ebay sometimes does the trick for me), but I’m starting to think it’s fake. Lo’ and behold I found a Balmain cable knit on ioffer (i usually assume these products are fake) and it looks more like mine than pictures of the Balmain cable knit on Google. here is a picture of mine/listing and here is a picture link of the real from a listing - Dan
There are a lot of knockoffs when it comes to Balmain. Most of it comes from Korea. I am not sure if your sweater is authentic. Maybe someone can authenticate this in the comments section?

Saw the Z Zegna photos from NY not too long ago. Without being too offensive how is Adam Gallagher able to stand in the same room as you? His aesthetic is laughable, his credentials as a blogger measly and to be bluntly honest was probably wearing one of Peewee Herman’s clip on bowties at that presentation. Regardless, good to see you stomping shit out at Z Zegna: how did you find their collection? – Jemarcus
Thanks for the note. I was at first reluctant to answer this publicly, but I feel like I should. Mr. Gallagher has his readers and they are people who share the same interests as he does. It is safe to say, that we do not share the same aesthetics and there is nothing wrong with that. There is a reason why you come to Why You Mad?! and there is also a reason why others go to his website. There is no right or wrong. This is the internet and it is one of the most democratic place on earth. We all have a choice on which website we visit. As for the collection, I liked a lot of the pieces. My favorites were the needle punched jacket and the quilted suit.