I briefly touched upon Ryan Gosling in the last article, and it got me thinking: has he always had impeccable style, or was he once a schlub like the rest of us mortals? This is the first in a new series on celebrity style evolutions, where we’ll delve into the murky depths of celebrity culture to find the best, and worst, celebrity sartorial moments.
The early years
If anything sums up the late 90s, it’s those four photos right there. From the looks of them, floppy haired, soft focus, pouty shots were the soup of the day.
To be fair, he was a Mouseketeer and the young Hercules, so i’m sure he had all manner of people behind the scenes making his clothing decisions, and ensuring his parting was perfectly ‘sided’. He was a product to be marketed. This probably contributed to his style rebellion, as he transitioned into…
The awkward years
We all hit that moment in life (usually after school where we’ve been used to wearing a uniform every day) where we start to experiment with clothes. We’re like a freshly born calf learning to walk for the first time; it’s a big, scary, exciting world full of endless choices – and, inevitably, we make a lot of the wrong ones. It’s a learning process, and only through being brave enough to make mistakes do you learn what works and what doesn’t.
It didn’t help Ryan that the mid-noughties was a particularly confusing time for male fashion. Essentially, it was like a destructive clothing twister that sucked in various styles and items and spat out the resulting mess onto our bodies. An explosion of faux ‘smart-casual’, with ties over t-shirts, blazers over printed tees, and Converse with formal trousers.
The imperial phase
Whether it was the input of a stylist, or it just ‘clicked’, around 2010-11 Ryan hit what i like to call his ‘imperial phase’ – a period of time where couldn’t put a foot wrong.
His hair almost hit ‘Rachel from Friends’ levels of popularity, he got into great shape, adopted the designer stubble, and was making great sartorial decisions.
Formal wear was a particular highlight. His suits were now impeccably tailored. Not many people would have the stones to pull off a velvet suit in both black and red. Hell, he even wore two-tone brogues, white trousers and a pajama-type shirt to Cannes – and it somehow worked!
Off duty style
Having recently become a dad, he’s been out of the limelight. But whenever he’s been seen out, he’s nailed his everyday outfits. Apparently he’s a nice bloke too, so long may his reign continue!
The Northern Gent 