Trendsetters make geeky fashionable

Published 2:29 pm Friday, June 19, 2009

NEW YORK — Now that the cool-guy uniform — skinny jeans, layered Ts, tailored vest and stylish scarf, all in shades of gray and black — has reached every mall in the country, the trendsetters who started it have moved on.

And they’re going somewhere that few others can: They’re going geek chic.

This means adopting pieces that can be downright nerdy on almost everyone else, but transforming it with confidence and a good eye to make a bow tie the hippest thing around. Think Justin Timberlake: He’s the geek-chic role model cited by fashion experts.

His company in the sweater-vest club includes Chuck Bass of “Gossip Girl,” Joe Jonas and The Killers. It’s like they all discovered the clothes from Don Draper’s “Mad Men” 1960s-era closet in a vintage shop in Brooklyn.

They’re making a sort of anti-fashion statement, fashionably, said LeAnn Nealz, chief design officer of American Eagle, which is going forward with the look for fall. “It’s for the guy who wants to be different, but it’s cool looking. These are guys who might have a beard or put Clark Kent glasses on. … It’s a preppy geek, very Thom Browne-ish, but I think the celebrities interpreted it and made it more accessible.”

Nealz is right to point to designer Browne as an early adopter. He’s considered a very influential menswear designer — long a champion of the skewered preppy look — but with ideas far ahead of the curve.

Now that the collective eye is used to it, some of his styles don’t seem so crazy, but more mainstream stores and designers also have toned them down and added elements of mass appeal, said Tom Julian, author of “The Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Style.”

And, Julian said, knowing that all the department stores are now carrying gingham shirts, for example, takes away the scariness for those on the fence (himself included).

Geeks might be best known for their smarts, but some savvy tastemakers recognize the sartorial wisdom in their clothes, said Brian Boye, fashion director at Men’s Health magazine.

“Also,” he said, “for the past few decades, the term ‘geek’ seems to have undergone a change in meaning. Where it might have once been seen as a negative, geeks are now cool, if still bookish. Examples — The Geek Squad and Geeks on Call are the saviors of our electronics and computers. And many people self identify as geeks: theater geek, movie geek or history geek, for example.”

Scott Norris, senior vice president and general merchandise manager of Men’s Wearhouse, said the look is more subtle, but there certainly are sweater vests and argyle aplenty. From there, you’re just a wingtip’s step away from plaids, short-sleeve dress shirts, short pants (maybe Bermudas?!), Converse canvas sneakers and horn-rimmed glasses.

“So many pieces are forever timeless,” says “Mad Men” costume designer Janie Bryant. “Every 20 years or so — the cool group did this in the ’80s too — go back to them.”

The safest way to test-drive geek chic is a black cashmere sweater vest, she says, but if you really want to look like you know what you’re doing, make it an argyle vest and wear a collar-up shirt with the tail hanging out.

It takes more than the right demographic to hang out the nerd shingle said Nordstrom’s Julian. You need to consider the message you want to send. “The Pee Wee Herman look might make a statement, but in my ad/marketing world, I’d just be known as ‘The Pee Wee Herman guy.’ Even if you want to wear it to the nth degree, you have to pull it back.”

Geek chic speak

Think slim: pinstripes, skinny tie and fitted short-sleeve dress shirts.

Check the designers: Thom Browne, Band of Outsiders, Shipley &Halmos, Trovata and Duckie Brown, along with Retro brands like Penguin, Gant, Hickey and Ben Sherman.

Hair wear: Slightly messy or very neat.

Inching up: Jackets, suits, sportcoats and even outerwear, have higher armhole. A 2 3/4-inch lapel looks more modern than a 3 3/4 inch.

Skip the jacket: Wear a cardigan or vest.

Collar style: Turn them up and keep the shirttails out.

Buddy Holly-hip: plastic-framed glasses in a Wayfarer shape or rounder horn-rimmed ones.

Lounge around: Wear an untucked short-sleeve, button-down shirt on weekends.

Winged wonders: Argyle socks with wingtip shoes.