Post by TM

I never lived in a hat wearing era, but I lament those days. The dressing down of dressing is a constant disappointment to me. A few decades ago no one would leave the house with a blemished coat; today people happily walk the streets in pyjamas. The less said about grey, cotton tracksuit bottoms (and the obligatory hand down pants) the better. 

I am hoping the tide is turning and people are going to start taking pride in their appearance – in themselves – again and I believe the lynchpin to this anticipated style revolution is Irish MMA star Conor McGregor.

As well as bring a champion MMA fighter whose genuine charisma and gift of the gab, oh and fighting talent I presume, has gained him a massive fan base – the man’s got style. His penchant for three piece suits coupled with his top knot / french braid is hipster meets country gent meets modern guy about town. And he’s changing Irish guys’ perception of style left right and centre. There’s something about a macho sporting hero from Dublin who dresses like an English tweet-clad squire.

If that squire wore fancy high top runners

CM and I were in Galway a couple of weekends ago and I couldn’t get over the style. Galway has a rep for being ‘alternative’ but its nightlife tells a different story. While I think that Galway girls are for the most part nice dressers, I was under the (informed) impression that men from the West – with exceptions – tend towards the jeans and shoes and striped shirt school of dress.

That weekend, every second guy in the bar we ended up in was wearing a Conor McGregor-esque suit. Every third guy had a top-knot (and a good too many were sporting the deeply unflattering short back and sides hair do.) Original? No. But A for effort. It’s heartening to think that men – the men who don’t really have built in style, not everyone does – do care about what they wear.

Conor McGregor’s rise is nothing but a good thing. MMA is not my sport of choice but skill is involved and it’s always brilliant to see an Irish man be at the top of a particular game. He has given other Irish guys inspiration to get out and get fit and he hasn’t been afraid to express his individuality, particularly thorough his dress sense. That kind of confidence in a role model -because he is one whether he likes it or not – is only a good thing.

A well dressed man is so much more arractive than one that doesn’t make an effort or wears The Wrong Thing and that’s just a simple fact. Guys – prepare to get your hats on.

The only thing that I have to ponder over is what happens to hipster? Now that suits, nifty shoes and pocket watches are the dress du jour, where do bona fide stylish men turn? I can’t wait to see.