THE JOURNAL

August’s most stylish, from a casual Mr Matt Smith to a slick Mr Robert Pattinson.
The celebrity style merry-go-round doesn’t stop for summer. While you were splayed out next to the pool this month, your “look” consisting of little more than a pair of tropical-print swim shorts, the world’s best-dressed men were working overtime, showing up at parties, premieres and gallery openings in an attempt to convince the world – and, more specifically, us – that they merited inclusion in this month’s edition of On The Town. Who are the seven glamorous gadabouts who made the list, and what was the secret of their success? Read on to find out.
MR ARMIE HAMMER

Mr Armie Hammer at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 2017 Grants Banquet in Beverly Hills, 2 August 2017. Photograph by Splash News
To a glamorously appointed function room somewhere in Beverly Hills, where the great and the good of Hollywood gathered last month for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Grants Banquet, an annual event at which the television rights money from the organisation’s Golden Globe awards ceremony is doled out to a variety of worthy causes. In keeping with the charitable nature of the event, guest presenter Mr Armie Hammer decided to offer up a free masterclass in gala style. There’s a subtlety to the actor’s application of colour and texture that elevates an otherwise straightforward look to another level. The knitted tie is a subdued shade of burgundy, the shoes are a deep chestnut brown and the vibrancy of the blue suit is softened by his choice of fabric, which looks to us like a mélange of linen, wool and silk. The take-home lesson? Simple but well-executed beats elaborate but flawed.
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MR CORNELIU ULICI

Mr Corneliu Ulici at the premiere of Comrade Detective in Hollywood, 3 August 2017. Photograph by Mr Chris Delmas/AFP/Getty Images
Sometimes the worst ideas turn out to be the best ones. When actor and producer Mr Channing Tatum asked scriptwriters Messrs Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka for the absolute worst idea they had, they pitched him Comrade Detective, a cop show that attempts to pass itself off as a piece of Romanian pro-Communist propaganda filmed at the height of the Cold War. Because he’s either insane or a genius, Mr Tatum decided to back it. And because Amazon has lots of lovely money, it decided to give it the green light. The resulting show is far better than it sounds on paper, and has granted an international platform to a bevy of talented – and impressively well-dressed – Romanian actors. By way of example, here’s Mr Corneliu Ulici at the show’s Hollywood premiere, looking like an old hand on the red carpet in his slim-fitting navy suit, tonal sweater and peacockish pocket square.
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MR DANE DEHAAN

Mr Dane DeHaan at the premiere of Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets in Mexico City, 2 August 2017. Photograph by Mr Carlos Tischler/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The eternally youthful Mr Dane DeHaan has been doing the rounds this August in support of Mr Luc Besson’s latest madcap space opera, Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets. If you thought The Fifth Element played it a touch safe, this one will be right up your street. Anyway, to the clothes. It’s a tough job standing next to walking attention-magnet Ms Cara Delevingne, who co-stars alongside Mr DeHaan in the movie, but someone’s got to do it, and as a brand ambassador for Prada he’s better equipped than most. Here he is at the Mexico City premiere, looking for all the world like a young Mr David Bowie, and we don’t just mean in the face. Mr DeHaan’s taste for sharp suits, such as this example in an earthy camel shade, mirrors that of Mr Bowie’s 1970s heyday.
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MR MATT SMITH

Mr Matt Smith out and about in New York City, 7 August. Photograph by Goff Photos
Should a well-paid actor who is showered with offers of freebies feel obliged to wear current-season and box-fresh sneakers at all times? Rocking a Mr Hedi Slimane-era Saint Laurent shirt (SS16, menswear nerds) and a scuffed-up pair of Reebok Classics, Mr Matt Smith is making it clear what he thinks of that question. If something looks good – and his black and white hibiscus-print short-sleeved shirt undoubtedly does, even after three seasons – why not wear it indefinitely? It’s an IDGAF approach to style that belies his celebrity status, and we can’t help but admire that. Nice socks, too.
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MR ROBERT PATTINSON

Mr Robert Pattinson leaving The Bowery Hotel in New York City, 8 August. Photograph by Splash News
Here’s Mr Robert Pattinson looking suitably vampiric leaving The Bowery Hotel in New York City, if by “vampiric” we mean “gloomy, distant and wearing black”. We’re sure the 31-year-old actor is looking forward to the day when the Twilight references finally stop, a day that’s been brought closer by his mould-breaking appearance in Good Time. But he’s doing himself no favours in a getup like this, even if his round-framed sunglasses and vaguely baroque shirt sleeves do suggest something closer to Mr Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula than Edward Cullen himself. Never afraid of making a statement, he has taken his personal style to an entirely different level in 2017, to the point that it’s now quite hard to distinguish between off-duty Mr Pattinson and contractually-obliged-to-wear-head-to-toe-Dior-Homme Mr Pattinson. In all honesty, we’re not sure into which category this one falls.
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MR RYAN MCCANN

Mr Ryan McCann at The Art of Elysium in Los Angeles, 17 August. Photograph by Mr Steve Lucero/BFA/REX Shutterstock
Observe ex-UCLA and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback turned artist – surely one of the less conventional pivots into the art world – Mr Ryan McCann alongside his latest piece, “Amazon Now Shipping The Cosmos In Under An Hour”. He clearly thought long and hard about this outfit. “How can I dress the part of a chic, cosmopolitan artist without drawing attention away from my artwork when I’m inevitably asked to be photographed standing next it?” he must have thought while rummaging through his wardrobe in the hours and minutes before The Art of Elysium’s 20th anniversary celebration in Los Angeles last month. The elegant solution he devised is presented here for your consideration. It’s a simple, workmanlike look, but everything fits perfectly, everything goes together nicely. Getting the basics right – it’s a fine art.
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MR WILL POULTER

Mr Will Poulter at the Detroit premiere in London, 16 August 2017. Photograph by Mr David Fisher/REX Shutterstock
Mr Will Poulter’s career as an actor got off to a strong start. In 2013, when he was just 20 years old, he appeared in We’re The Millers, in a role that required him to sit between Mses Emma Roberts and Jennifer Aniston while they took it in turns to passionately kiss him. Most of us would have packed it in then and there, safe in the knowledge that our careers had probably peaked. But Mr Poulter is clearly not one to rest on his laurels. On the back of a towering performance in Ms Kathryn Bigelow’s latest movie, Detroit, he looks set to become one of the most in-demand young actors out there. And he’s clearly bagged himself an A-list stylist, too, if the all-Givenchy red-carpet getup he wore to the movie’s London premiere is anything to go by. Here is proof that you don’t need a tie in order to look smart. Just keep it clean, keep it monochrome and keep the collar crisp and fully buttoned.