The London Lounge

Refine our sensens or seduce the other?

Refine our sensens or seduce the other?

I suppose we can achieve the latter if we are successful in the former.

My impression is that some men seem to think that dressing is an end to itself. The funny thing is that they seem not to care what they look like as long as they have plenty of clothes.

alden wrote:

Refine our sensens or seduce the other?

I suppose we can achieve the latter if we are successful in the former.

Excellent! I believe that the power of seduction is a by-product, not something we should strive for; the more we strive, the farther it withdraws from us.
Refining our senses is a noble pursuit and it comes with a rich inner life. What I believe stylish men and successful seducers have in common is that this inner life and pursuit of refinement is always in a healthy relation to the outside world, not locked within the self as in an ivory tower. They put themselves in relation to others - individuals, groups. They live IN the world and THROUGH the world. They need to exteriorize their inner life, to interact - hence the radiance expressed through style, charm, wit etc. Solitary figures have little appeal.

Costi - I agree. Here, have a look at the official presentation of the biographer of Brummell and Casanova looking like this -

http://www.iankelly.net/

I'd like to say to Kelly: "The hero of the cravat should be honoured better than this!"

The trouble is that there might be 10 or 20,000 men in the whole world who might understand what we are talking about. Fifty per cent. of them either do not like or do not need to talk about it. Thirty per cent. do not know that the LL exists and twenty per cent. come and go on this and fora such as this. For the countless millions of others, Ralph Lauren and Whatever-he's-called-Armani and their bloody advertising campaigns satisfy them with their quik-fix-solutions. If they wish to dream of being the modern Brummell, their objectives are subverted by the temptation of hip four-ply cashmere sweatshirts and Convers Allstars.

Douglas Sutherland, in his book The English Gentleman, published decades ago, said that the English Gentleman no longer existed. Yet we will not let him rest in peace. No. We won't. Not Yet. Maybe, never.
NJS.

Please oneself, not scare the horses, and be appropriate to the situation. Beyond that dressing and style should set an example that everyone can do a bit better.

Gruto wrote:Refine our sensens or seduce the other?

Ralph Emerson:

"...the sense of being well-dressed gives a feeling of inward tranquillity which religion is powerless to bestow."

There is much truth in the Emerson quote.
NJS