Men in scarves

Not so long ago, we were watching a video of The Pianist with a couple of friends and their 11-year-old son, when the youngster piped up, 'Hey doesn't Mr That's Not My Age look like him (Adrien Brody)?' Absolute silence. 'Well they've both got big noses!' Mmm. So that's not the Blog Widower, it's Adrien Brody looking quite chic in a summer scarf - and, I suppose, a little bit like Mr TNMA if he had facial hair and a shiny suit. Next week is Mr TNMA's birthday and inspired by the elegant, Continental Style of those lovely older Italian men The Sartorialist captures so well, I asked how he felt about a summer scarf:



Had he ever worn one? 'Yeah, all the time in the eighties,' Mr TNMA then went on to detail his New Romantic phase, a series of flamboyant outfits including a tuxedo jacket, gold BOY London trousers and a lime green snood. Yes, a snood. This latest gift (from Sandro) can only be an improvement.



Don't worry, he's seen it already, in fact he even took part in another game of dress-up in the shop. Now, I know anyone can wear a scarf and lots of men do: football fans, hippies, Russell Brand, but having the panache to carry one off is a different matter. As Mr TNMA points out, Keith Richards has always liked a bit of scarf action:





Peter Saville designed some of the best album sleeves, ever and gives good scarf.



Editor-in-chief of W magazine, Stefano Tonchi wears one all year round.






My advice to grown-up men everywhere is to go for wrap-around rather than skinny and then casually throw the scarf on over a tailored jacket.


Can you think of any other men who accessorize well?


Photos
Adrien Brody: Wenn
Keith Richards: Contact Music and Ethan Russell
Peter Saville: Anna Hessman
Stefano Tonchi: The Sartorialist and Getty

Ask the experts

Sometimes being a blogger is a bit like being a teenager again. I once asked Peter Hook where he bought his leather biker jacket, Mick Hucknall where he got his hair cut and Joe Strummer if he'd like a bag of chips - but that's another story. So now, many years later and with a blog for an excuse, I'm once again overwhelmed by the urge to march up to famous people and start asking them questions. Fortunately, I wasn't invited to this year's Academy Awards ceremony, but it only took a glimpse of the still-so-beautiful Bianca Jagger at London Fashion Week and I was off. Would she like to offer some style tips for my blog blah blah? ' Don't let people tell you what to do,' said the woman who rode through Studio 54 on a white stallion, and we know she means every word, 'I've had a sense of what I wanted to wear since I was twenty.' You're not kidding. From Halston to Yves Saint Laurent, statement coats to snakeskin boots, Jagger's self-assured attitude and singular take on glamour has always looked effortlessly chic. But what about now that she's older? 'Know your pros and cons. Highlight your pros and disguise your cons - and don't let anyone take your photo from below!' The last instruction aimed at the hordes of photographers lurking nearby may have something to do with flattering lighting/the double chin scenario (not that BJ needs to worry about either). Sound advice from a style legend.



Expert number two, the fabulous Hilary Alexander says, ' Wear amazing jewellery and enjoy clothes, but not in a mutton dressed as lamb way.' And then, apparently quoting Barry Humphries, and in full agreement with Bianca Jagger, the Telegraph's fashion director adds, ' Cover up the bits that aren't flattering, fashion is just a matter of hiding the body and the older you get the more true that is.' This is an area That's Not My Age has a fair amount of experience in - each summer I show less and less flesh, this year I'll probably be lying on the beach in a slanket.



As there were more bloggers at London Fashion Week than Spanx pants at the Oscars, it wasn't long before The Sartorialist showed up. And I was in like Flynn. 'When you turn forty you know who you are, as opposed to following this trend and that trend,' points out Mr Schuman, 'you start dressing for your best attributes. I know I did.' The man with a penchant for classic tailoring likes to 'celebrate style through a wide variety of ages' by documenting real people looking good on the street (as well as a few glamorous fashion editors and Kanye West). As his photographs prove, Schuman is an expert on ageless style:







Do you have any expert tips for looking style at any age?




Photos
Bianca Jagger polaroid: Andy Warhol from the LA Times
Hilary Alexander: The Daily Telegraph
Scott Schuman: Wayne Tippetts

Street Style

One of my friends, who's a lot more tech-y than I am, introduced me to Twitter over a year ago. So far I've tweeted three times. My first tweet was a moan about feeling jet-lagged after a trip to New York and the others were sent recently to spread the word about my street style pics for That's Not My Age. OK, so I know I'm not The Sartorialist, blimey, I don't even take the photos (I just find the people and ask the questions). Luckily I have a couple of photographer friends who cover that side of things and together I think we find some pretty-damn-fabulous-over-forties! So here are a few more:



'I'm not wearing any make-up! You want it au naturel, you got it,' says Joan Rolls, a very young-looking 56, with her gorgeous Dutch bike and glamorous Kirsten Heckter tweed coat. The teal Mongolian lambswool scarf makes a nice contrast don't you think?



Angela McLennan, 68, looks fabulous in her Agnes b beret, wool swing coat and sassy tartan skirt. And don't think I haven't noticed the nicely scuffed-up leather Chloe bag!



Like a female Indiana Jones, Ainslee has been on some amazing around the world adventures. She bought this hat in Buenos Aires and the beautiful, wool scarf from 'a weaver in Hammersmith'


PS If anyone knows how to change the Twitter format (the gadget looks a bit ugly and I've noticed other bloggers don't have it on show) - please advise!

Photos: Dvora