10 Rules of Style

In this month's issue of Details magazine, they asked designer Donna Karen to give her top 10 rule of style for men. Here's what she suggests:

1. Sometimes men can be a little limited when it comes to trying something new. When I first used stretch fabric, I couldn't even use the word stretch until men realized how comfortable it was. Now they ask, "Where's the black stretch crêpe suit?"

2. I don't think there's anything more important than spirituality. I don't think it's about a religion. It's about caring and sharing and realizing that it's not about us independently but about what we can do to help in life and make a difference for other people.

3. Every man should have the seven easy pieces: great pair of black pants, great jacket, white shirt, tie, great cashmere sweater, great pair of jeans, and a piece in leather—things that are amorphous. They can be simple and modern and yet comfortable and elegant.

4. The rudest thing a man can do to a woman is stand her up, not call, and just keep her dangling.

5. I can't stand men wearing a trend because it's a trend. There are quirky men who can carry off quirk, but most men can't.

6. A modern man is someone who looks at his life holistically and is flexible. His approach goes from day into night, from play to work, around the world. He should never be stuck in any one position.

7. I don't like oversized, really sloppy pants hanging off a man's waist, but then again I don't like really uptight looks either. The extreme of either of those styles doesn't make me feel comfortable. When you're trying too hard, it doesn't work.

8. Behind every great man there's a great woman, and behind every great woman there's a great man. A woman knows how to trigger a man's sensitivity and open him up to things that sometimes he can be a little shortsighted about, like how to truly enjoy life. A man knows the element of surprise, which women sometimes forget.

9. Being romantic can be simple—it's those quiet times. When you can just shut it down and really come together as one—that's romantic.

10. One guy can throw on a pair of jeans and T-shirt and just wear that and be perfect, while another guy can wear a T-shirt and jeans and look horrible. A guy needs to keep his eyes open, try several things on, and trust other people's opinions.

10 Rules of Style

In this month's Details, they asked Band of Outsiders designer Scott Sternberg to give his rules of style. Be amused:

1. Opening a conversation with "What do you do?" makes you sound like a shifty, social-climbing dickwad. Small talk is for sissies, but if you're stuck with it, you can certainly come up with something better than that.

2. Talking about what brand you're wearing is gay in the bad way. Just keep quiet and play dumb if someone asks. Talking about what a great deal you got on the aforementioned item is worse. If you must, tell your mom, because she has sale empathy and will take your victory as her own. It's sick.

3. I don't think a tie is a relic, not yet. It's purely masculine—that one garment that allows you to go a little outside the box. A tie with a well-cut suit makes you look put-together and confident. It's an auto-chic, easy uniform.

4. Cigarettes are a vile, dirty habit. Joints, on the other hand, are perfectly acceptable.

5. Whenever you start a new project or a new job, don't tell anyone what you're working on, because it can change direction a million times and once you start telling the world about it, you get constrained by your own mouth.

6. That skin-toned paste your girlfriend gave you to treat your pimple is makeup. Don't kid yourself. You're a girl if you use it. Figure something else out.

7. Rabid atheism does not lead to attractive or acceptable cocktail-party conversation. You know who you are and you need to chill. We get it, okay? God is for dummies. Now shut your hole.

8. It's just not cool to fart on a plane, even if everyone's ears are plugged from the altitude and they can't hear where it came from. Heed my warning: Airplane-fart karma is a bitch, and you will find yourself at the receiving end on a sleepless transcontinental red-eye soon enough.

9. Style fills the gap between how you see yourself and how you want other people to see you. It is not a mysterious quality reserved for Cary Grant or Liberace. You have a sense of it in there somewhere. It's just a matter of finding a way to express it without seeming like you're trying.

10. Rules, as they say, are meant to be broken. Don't get too caught up with what I—or anyone else—tell you about your personal style, except for No. 8.