Every day we learn something new.  For example, today I learned that eating three Ferrero Rocher chocolates for lunch will not actually satiate hunger and that I will end up ordering an overpriced salad from Element Fresh anyways.  Wisdom.

So what insights can we derive from our man on the street here?  In a new series that I’m going to call “Be a Man: Wear a Suit” (see Dapper Dan) we’ll examine suit-wearing best practices and success stories from the office to the street.  In this, our second installment, I’d like to point out a few golden take-aways that you, sir, yes, YOU, can use next time you need to impress someone at a fancy lawyer meeting (it’s a technical term).

First things first: Dark or navy blue and black can be difficult to pair.  Suity here pulls it off by wearing a tie that falls somewhere in the dark-royal-blue category; that is to say, there is enough distinction between the two colors that they don’t just look like a bruised mess.  Secondly, wearing contrasting patterns, if you’re not experienced, can result in embarrassing failures leading to self-esteem issues and a hefty bill from your therapist.  Here, the clean, even lines of the shirt compliment the clean, evenly spaced white polka-dots on the tie.  The whites crisply stand out and the blues play off each other without being overwhelming.    It is awesome to behold.  Our third and final lesson of the day is suiting accessories.  Note the tie clip.  Not only does it add a sparkling gleam to the ensemble, it’s also practical: it holds your tie in its right place and it holds your cheat sheet for that upcoming client presentation.

Remember boys and girls, with a suit on, even if you have no idea what you’re talking about, at least you look like you know what you’re talking about.

What to say about Dapper Dan here? With such an obviously strong grasp on his own awesomeness and fashion sense, what else needs be said? Let me try to break it down for you:

Dapper Dan is a man who knows how to wear a mismatched three-piece suit with panache. Sticking to a palette of grays with colorful shirt-and-tie bursts at the neck, D.D. may appear to possess a devil-may-care attitude but underlying that is his fierce work ethic, which you can tell that he has because he’s got a Starbucks iced coffee, no cream – what is that, a venti? Also, he has a briefcase. Boom. Professionalism.

But – what? What’s that I spy, Dan? Could it be…? Yes! YES! You did it! You put the square in your pocket to create what we in the fashion world call a pocket square! You’ve taken the early-twentieth-Century-London-banker look and ushered it into 2010 without batting an eye, haven’t you, my saucy lad? And I know you knew exactly what you were doing when you partnered the brown-strapped tote with the brown shoes and brown briefcase. That’s what is known as tying an outfit together. That’s an industry term, people. Write it down.

Nothing is better than this boy’s 1980′s wave.  The scooter helps too, but everything else is lackluster.  Although what is major is his very well fitted plaid pants and the nice pairing of shirt under blazer. Fit is important and he nicely fills in the shoulder width of the jacket, but the arms look long.

So lesson learned: fit is important even when you hide behind a scooter and a flashy hairdo.  And the 80s are back.

Photo by Natalie Wang

Adorned in what looks like a classic Chanel Suit, this adorable lady is reminiscent of  Carolina Herrera in face and coiffure.  Our well-dressed AARP member (IARP?) keeps her look young and fresh by adding a thick wool chimney red scarf and vintage black pumps to her outfit… and by living in Rome.

But don’t take my word for how good she looks.  Just observe the look on the face of the woman behind her — the younger woman is mighty impressed with her elder’s style, and is absolutely not giving the camera an extremely puzzled look

Case closed.

Well, not exactly a dead ringer.  But this professor has a slightly-more-than-casual resemblance to former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant.  I knew him (Plant, not the professor) only as a frontman for the Zep, and only recently, discovered his 2007 collaboration with Alison Krauss.   If you haven’t heard it, you need to find it on bittorrent, on iTunes, or at Amazon.

The professor does a good job with this outfit — making a tailored pin-striped suit look casual.  The untucked shirt, white tennys and wild hair take the formal out of something you’d usually see in the boardroom.  Or the classroom.  Instead, he’s assembled an outfit good for wandering the Shanghai streets on a Saturday afternoon.

• MRKT makes the bag and other interesting felt items, but if you’re not in China, you can check this messenger bag by do loop Design, and a slightly smaller wool felt bag by byrd & belle
• the kicks are the original chinese sneaker, Feiyue.
• the glasses frames are vintage French celluloid from the 1960′s — originally a sunglasses frame — here are some more vintage frames.
• get yourself some rock-star hair
• and then wear it while listening to the grammy winning album, “Raising Sand”

[edit: unbeknownst to us at posting time, the professor is actually a prominent member of a band that riffs off Led Zeppelin:  Dick Zeppelin's site, and their myspace page.  good stuff.  also, he has provided us with the contact information of his favorite tailor, so if anybody is in Shanghai and needs a suit, let us know.]