THE STYLE OF ROBERT DOWNEY JR | NEVER A FASHION MISS

The style of Robert Downey Jr of late has been one of keen interest to me. I often think how would I dress in my 50s. Would I grow old gracefully? Will I be trying too hard to stay young and relevant? Will I dress like a person that's trying too hard? All these questions.

My fifties style goals are spearheaded by Robert Downey Jr. If I make it to my sixties I want to be as hip as Jeff Goldblum. If I see my seventies then I'll be looking back at old photos of how Jeff Goldblum dressed in his seventies. You get my point, I like Jeff Goldblum. But let’s talk about Robert Downey Jr and how does he get it so right all the time.

STYLE AND CONTEXT 

You must remember that RDJ is a creative. He has licence to wear bilious shirts and dandified sports jackets because he's not from the professional sector. (Professional actor sure, but I'm talking city job, bankers, lawyers etc).

The difference? You might appreciate how RDJ dresses when doing press junkets, but that's not going to be appropriate for your board meeting or your court appearance.

WEAR WITH FLARE

What I truly love about RDJ's style is his versatility. He can do black tie perfectly fine, but he knows how to have fun with his style. See the look below. You can bring an otherwise run of the mill grey windowpane sports jacket to life by pairing it with a green paisley tee. It's very casual, but not completely whimsical. The look is calibrated by the paisley pocket square.

Pretty Green should be the place to go for these paisley garments but they annoyingly don't do all-over paisley printed tee shirts. Etro do the expensive versions but if you're on a budget then take a look at Lambretta. A classic mod brand with entry level pricing.

EYE SEE YOU ELTON

As a glasses wearer myself I have to say that Robert Downey Jr is fascinating to watch. His eyewear draw must have its own instagram page. RDJ is an obscene extrovert and his eyewear can sometimes be too audacious for my personal taste. But when he gets it right nobody does it better.

Thanks to an article on Spec Savers I have found these salt and pepper glasses. The deep rectangular frames have a Wayfarer-inspired vibe, and the upper rims are an opaque black that fades gradually into glossy transparent acetate plastic.

You could also splash out on a relatively cheap pair of blue light blocking glasses that will help for those long sessions in front of the computer. I've highlighted a pair off Amazon that you can find for around the £50 mark. So you can feel like Robert Downey Jr in those ZOOM conference calls. 

SUITS SEEING DOUBLE

I think RDJ does it best when he does it double breasted. It gives him a more formal look which runs against his incessant need to cry casual. Of course, Robert is Robert and he'll still remind you of his anti-establishment ways by paring a windowpane-check Isaia suit with white sneakers. 

You can find a Windowpane double breasted now in the sale over at Hawkins & Shepherd. 

ONE IN ONE OUT

And finally a neat way to instil some individuality into your suit attire is to have a 'one in, one out' skirt pocket philosophy. As I indicated on a previous post about how Robert Downey Jr stands out on the Red Carpet Robert keeps you guessing by having one pocket tucked in and the other out. Perhaps they might be tailored to be flapped and jetted accordingly, but either way it's a decent way to break up the look.