Peer Eye: Matthew Pinna
I first thought of doing a Peer Eye for Matthew Pinna when he came up to me wearing one of the coolest jean jackets I’ve ever seen along with sweats and crocs (the not-cute kind). It was clear to me that Matthew wanted to look stylish and had a knack for picking out cool pieces, but it felt like he was being held back from really trying by the inertia of indifference. What I sought to do was make his existing pieces feel polished, and to give him the tools to do this himself day to day.
Throughout this process, Matthew described his style and the style of the men that he grew up around as “industrial casual.” I found that to be a pretty apt description of what he had been wearing. But when I asked him who is style icons were, he said he “would absolutely love to dress like how young thug dresses, love that man.”
With that in mind I did some research and showed up at Matthew’s apartment ready to rumble. I discovered that Matthew had a ton of super cool pieces that he bought in the last few weeks in an effort to improve himself. This made my job super easy and totally fun! I was sad that I could only pick out two outfits…
I told Matthew that one way to start is to pick out a piece he knows he wants to wear and then style the outfit around that piece. While he was beginning to play with color I also advised him to stick to a few tones and then try to get most of the elements of the outfit in those tones. Here I used the orange of the sweater to pick out the jacket and the gold of the necklace to pick out the shoes. I also gave him the fun fact that knit sweaters instantly elevate a look. If he wants to dress up a bit for a date or an event but not look too flashy, a sweater and dark skinny jeans is always sharp.
This outfit was a bit of a mix-and-match situation. I wasn’t sure what jacket would look best over the outfit so I asked Matthew what he would wear with this ensemble. He chose this Yankees windbreaker that was his dad’s and I was shocked by how much I loved it. These photographs show how big a difference outerwear can make to the tone of an outfit. Matthew’s staple Carhartt coat makes the outfit darker and shows off this hilarious graphic t shirt, while the Yankees pullover makes the outfit lighter and more playful. I told Matthew that color and pattern, even if it’s just a graphic t or the gray camo, is a great way to show that you put a bit of intention into the outfit and want it to be fun.
The only thing in these photographs that isn’t Matthew’s is the jewelry I used. I had asked if he had one of Young Thug’s staples: chains, and lots of them. He said that he had wanted to buy some but was worried about the quality so I assured him that the jewelry didn’t need to be real because most people wouldn’t know the difference and the point wasn’t wealth, it was style. Since he didn’t own any yet, I brought a few of mine over to demonstrate how to style them and how to shop for them in this shoot.
I suggested looking for pieces with a unique texture, size, or pattern of links. I also recommended staying away from mixing metals at this stage unless he was going for a stack of 3+ chains at once. Not mixing metals can be a tricky rule to break correctly for a beginner.
The last thing I did with Matthew was going through his closet and organizing it. I used my KonMari Consultant skillz to help him dump everything on the bed and get rid of things that didn’t spark joy, then taught him how to fold and put away the remaining items. We ended up with over 2 huge bags of stuff to donate and lots of pretty pretty rows of folded clothing.
I had a great time with Matthew and he was super appreciative at the end of the process, he went out and bought chains the same day! I think he looks great and can’t wait to see how his style evolves in the future!
Images Courtesy of Grace Peguese, see more of her work here.
