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alternate title: Some Velvet Midtown

Midtown Manhattan is not the most interesting place in New York for fashion. Or for food. Or for much of anything, really. However, if you spend a lot of time there you’re bound to see some stylishly-dressed people hidden amid all the map-clutching tourists shuffling out of Penn Station, and the sea of navy blue suits hustling back to the office after a quick lunch at Au Bon Pain. I’m a Midtown office person and this is my life. 

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So, it’s always a tiny delight to see someone with a certain amount of panache around these parts. I saw this character strolling down the sidewalk in the most Midtown of all Midtown places—right in front of Madison Square Garden. A maroon velvet coat paired with a fedora has a pretty high potential for looking straight-up ridiculous, but this gentleman pulled it off.

The length of the coat was another variable that could’ve gone awry, but combined with the basic black slim-cut jeans tucked into leather boots it looked cool instead of costume-y. The sobriety of most of his outfit somehow both highlighted and toned down the prominence of the coat—it was noticeable, sure, but it looked natural.

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And the hat… oh, the hat. Please don’t wear a fedora unless you know what you’re doing. This guy knew what he was doing—the hat looked proportional, its warm grey color suited the maroon, and the flat brim lent it a bit of somber elegance that a checker-patterned trilby from Target can’t give you. If you’re gonna dance with Death and wear a hat anyway, make sure your hat of choice fits your head, and make sure it adds something (and by ‘something’ I don’t mean ‘fabric on your head’) to your look. Good luck.

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