Okay, this is kind of crazy. Stay with me. The entire John Wick cult has been going gaga over a dress that just has shades of black…(or, black and white). Does that even help? Yeah, we get it— it’s John Wick (duh)! The important bit to focus on here is what makes Keanu this John saucy Wick?
No, the answer obviously doesn’t end in one sentence. There are many facets that come into action when it comes to this rakish look— we’ll walk you through all those details from understanding the fine specifics behind styling, theme, dress, accessories, and all the other things that make such an awfully minimalistic attire so captivating.
Ready?
Mental Preparation: The Slick-Wick Theme
John Wick is a simple man. He’s a forced-out-of-retirement hitman who wears monochromatic colors and fires guns like he’s using a video game cheat-code in real life. So, simplicity is the key ingredient here.
The costume designer, Luca Mosa, described his look by saying, “Keanu’s look is simplicity. It is a lack of entertainment, a lack of embellishment, a lack of pattern and color.”
Wick’s life is devoid of colors. He’s lost his wife and his puppy was also murdered (huge mistake!). So, the choice of colors here isn’t done randomly; it stems from Wick’s overall character and the theme of the movie. His outfit elicits the world within his flesh, a dark world. A world deprived of hope and colors.
The second thing to notice about the styling theme is neatness and simplicity. You won’t see any glaring bling from his watch or a part of clothing that’s identifiable from distance. He’s almost akin to a silhouette with a face when you notice him from afar. Not to mention, this kind of tidy and unembellished look opens up your doors to carrying on the same look on different occasions—a classy date to a business meeting with your colleagues (don’t bring guns).
This doesn’t imply that you can’t sport this look if you don’t have a gloomy life (although an added advantage for the “sad bois”). The idea is to express yourself through your clothing. This attire is all about simplicity, neatness, and carrying on a dark theme (still doesn’t mean you’re allowed to carry a gun). So, keep that in mind in terms of the attitude you carry while wearing it and couple it with your own uniqueness by bedecking the outfit with accessories that do justice to the theme.
Now that we’re all set with the theme, let the suit-out begin (bad pun?).
The John Wick Suit: From Top to Bottom
Just one little thing regarding fashion before we proceed.
Fashion is a game of fine margins. Imagine altering the position of your jeans (by an inch or two) on the waist, giving rise to a massive style trend. Or, perhaps, adding up a few inches at the top of your jeans to rekindle an obsolete fashion.
Full stop: fine attention to detail, especially in this look, would define the fate of your look. So, the key to being a big gun (pun intended) at the occasion is to master the fine margins.
Suit Jacket
Normal people don’t fight with their suits on. John does. Therefore, his suit is designed in a way to ensure it doesn’t obstruct his range of motion, and those kicks and punches don’t give a significant error. Which makes sense why his suit jacket is rarely seen with buttons on.
Flap pockets, a single-breasted jacket with notch lapels and a two-button front. Make the armholes high and put a double-vent near the rear. Your suit jacket is ready.
Here’s our recommendation:
Balenciaga Boxy Wool Sportcoat
Suit Pant
The front of the pants is flat instead of pleated and it ditches cuffs. This man has to kick so high rise is an obvious element. In terms of fitting, the pants are mildly tapered but don’t particularly fall into the category of slim-fit. This allows him to stretch his legs with the worries of tripping and restricted movements left at bay.
Here’s our recommendation:
HUGO Hartley Super Black Trousers
Shirt
This is probably the easiest part to imitate and gives you a fair choice of color options, too. As you may have noticed on the poster of John Wick Chapter 2, he’s donning a metallic, dark-grey shirt. Although, he did wear a white and black shirt in some parts of the movie. You can pick your choice of color (not like you’re spoiled with options lol) but our recommendation would be a white shirt.
If we dig deeper into details, Keanu’s shirt has a spread collar, two rear darts, and French cuffs and cufflinks.
Here’s our recommendation.
Thom Browne Classic Button-Down Shirt
It probably doesn’t take rocket science to pull this off.
The Accessories
Black shoes, black socks, black tie, all black everything—cookie points if you read this in Jay-Z’s voice.
Here’s our recommendation for the tie:
Like we said earlier, it’s super important to stick to the dark theme. So that even if coffee or blood is spilt over it, it doesn’t show.
Now, one of the most important accessories in men’s wear, the watch.
Wick’s watch is tactical like his suit. How? Notice how it’s inside-facing, ensuring safety from the eyes of the enemy and the glare of the sun. The watch is spruce, a Carl F. Bucherer Manero AutoDate, which Mr. Mosca describes as, “…incredibly elegant and clean at the same time — exactly my aim with John Wick’s suit.”
In terms of fit, the idea is to get your suit tailored in a way that could be carried on with an active lifestyle with minimum restrictions.
In conclusion:
As said earlier, fashion is a game of fine margin. Attention to the little things could help you stand out in a room. But, don’t forget your personality. If you’re a bad-mouthed man carrying on in the finest fabric, your personality would make the latter insignificant and, ultimately, water down all your efforts put into the outfit. So, giving a little attention to your personality would make your appearance more gallant.
Once it’s all done right, don’t be surprised if people come at you with…
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