Being a true gentleman truly never goes out of style.

With sartoliaism no longer clung to those with grey streaks or multi billion startups, it was a pleasure to see two disparate trends of the suave look in Milan. One by day, and one, perhaps, after hours.

So much so that the runway took several minutes to inhale in polarized splendor.

The powerful, masculine and sharp collection sent eyeballs dropping with a chic and fitting lineup that can be eaten up by corporates and scions worldwide. Slimming silhouettes with hugging cuts in velvet, pony hair, wool and cashmere gave the term haute couture a new life in the world of gentleman.

For with each step, while it would seem they would be signing a contract or flying a jet, they were also (literally) glimmering in the catwalk light.

With check trousers and double breasted suits, the contrast to gleaming fuzz and cable knit sweaters or perfectly knotted ties made these looks perfectly functional as well as unblinkably stylish.

Neckties and gloves made for classy accessories, often in leather, with details akin to architecture, especially on the leather backpacks that would make any man’s work day more candid than an 80s briefcase.

And what’s a man to wear on a formal night out of town? That’s where Ennio Capasa’s menswear collection for Costume National Homme stepped in.

Keeping a similar sartorial vibe, it offered the whimsy and eventually the abandon of a valiant rock’n’roll emotion that flies with every young man. The blazers were often encrusted or embroidered with metal, sometimes all over with crocodile or snakeskin print.

Pairing them with similar trousers was a rarity, and I much preferred the use of leather and metallic zippers or neon linings to give definition to the leggy boys. Sometimes sans shirt and vest only (bringing this trend back), other times with a monotone hued suede shoe or coat to break the colors up, this was one well thought out collection.

Tapered suits were still a mainstay, often with a NYFWM style neckerchief to keep the neck high when the shirts were unbuttoned. Double breasted blazer or not, the shirts were often velvet, sparkling or sheer, with enough visibility of those pectoral workouts.

The use of vibrant colors was apparent, and not everything was sparkling like midnight. Being a lover of all things red, the all red suit had me salivating, as did the red lining on skinny leather pants.

With fur overcoats, and even the debut of the Nehru jacket style oriental collar on shorter blazers (a personal favorite!), this was a sartorial style collection in terms of layering, with the boys out to have a ball.

Thanks to Milan Fashion Week, The Fashonisto, Essential Homme and Design Fever for visuals.

Here’s to a year of equal amounts of work and play, with a blurring line in between.