Nonchalance Par Excellence: Nailing The Art of Sprezzatura
Few Italians, unless well-versed in the sartorial arts, would understand the word: and yet for style-savvy men the world over, “Sprezzatura” is the holy grail of sharp dressing.
But here’s the rub – it’s a holy grail you’re not allowed to go in search of. It has to fall into your lap. Defined in many dictionaries as "studied carelessness”, Sprezzatura is arguably self-defeating, because the whole concept of effortless grace collapses the moment one makes an effort to achieve it. It must be, or appear, inadvertent: any hint of performance and it becomes a contrivance, an affectation.
So how does one approach this tricky conundrum? And where did the whole idea of sprezzatura come from in the first place?
The History of Sprezzatura
The word first saw light of day in 1528, in The Book of the Courtier – a tome defining etiquette in courtly life. Its author, Renaissance diplomat Baldassare Castiglione, described sprezzatura as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it”.
The concept has clearly confused the great and good of menswear ever since: Beau Brummell, Regency England’s most influential dandy, reportedly spent hours in front of a mirror each day arranging his cravat to make it look like it had been arranged with zero effort.
And yet, so many men nail it. Italian industrialist and playboy Gianni Agnelli is a prime example, as are his nephew Lapo Elkann and Neapolitan tailoring heir Luca Rubinnaci. Naturally plenty of actors have it in spades – leading men from Alain Delon to Steve McQueen to George Clooney – whilst stand-out movie characters packing studied nonchalance aplenty include Richard Gere’s Julian Kay in American Gigolo, Marcello Mastroianni’s Marcello Rubini in La Dolce Vita, Jude Law’s Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and just about any character played by Cary Grant.
How to Unlock The Enigma
Popular wisdom has it that sprezzatura is something innate, rather than acquired: this writer would disagree. The movie characters above – as well as being played by men trained in deportment and poise – had enormous help from wardrobe departments: sprezzatura can be learned. Slowly but surely.
Establish a hard-earned familiarity with your wardrobe, a long-lived ease with proportion and context, and a lack of anxiety about having dressed correctly will inevitably follow. Buying smart, then, is at the core. And, a number of Anatoly & Sons garments will, especially deployed in combination, help you achieve “nonchalance par excellence”.
If opting for our bespoke or made-to-measure services, there are a few specifications you can make which will help the cause. One is soft, or light, shoulder construction – “spalla camicia”, as they say in the city, Naples, where this style was first popularized. A natural lapel roll – one which rolls from the top button rather than folding sharply – is also conducive to a relaxed, debonair guise. Higher armholes, meanwhile, offer more freedom of movement: a great boon to self-unconscious posture and deportment.
Meanwhile, many Savile Row tailors have told this writer that seasoned clients these days often buy full suits, but to mix and match rather than wear as a whole, with stark contrasts between jacket and trousers a great way towards severing that link with yours and others’ expectations.
This Navy Double-Breasted Pinstripe Suit is a good starting point: its inherent formality and structured nature allows for intentional breaks in convention (the aforementioned Gianni Agnelli used to fasten just a single, lower button: a subtle act of rebellion from a man who also wore his watch over his shirt cuff).
Worn with smart jeans, the contrast does some seriously heavy lifting. And, you can invert the idea – let an informal garment shroud the torso, then wear smarter trousers, as the model sporting this Blue Traveler Jacket has done. Splashes of color in an otherwise monochrome ensemble are another sprezzatura masterstroke: consider one of our more distinctive pocket squares (this silk floral/paisley option, being reversible, offers more options).
And, consider pairing any of the above with any of our range of linen shirts (possibly in a pastel color such as this option in pink), as an alternative to cotton. The celebrated cloth from flax plant fibers – with its matte finish, breathability and less-starchy response to air and motion – works wonders for making a look not seem over-engineered.
Confidence Over Contrivance
Modern menswear retail zones are packed with choreographed, straight-from-the-tin attempts at sprezzatura. Think artfully rumpled jacket sleeves, knitwear that’s draped rather than fitted, mannequins sporting soft-shouldered jackets over rock band t-shirts. Such contrived insouciance is labored cosplay.
It comes from the wearer, not the manufacturer, and is all about curation, assembling – and, ultimately, confidence. Whisper in front of any Italian dandies, but perhaps the man who summarized the concept of sprezzatura best is British menswear designer Hardy Amies: “A man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care, and then forgotten all about them.”
