Literant.(men's clothing)

There's not much to do while sitting in an airport, waiting for your connection. You can munch on overpriced food from an in-terminal vendor, or try to read a book if all the noise and commotion around you isn't too much of a distraction. Of course, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can people-watch.

Watching folks haul oversized bags (carry-on bags, bags under the eyes, saddlebags, etc.) and rush around like headless chickens or meander like newly conjured zombies can be unpleasant. You realize that yes, the obesity epidemic is real. And if you have any sartorial taste whatsoever, you realize that you are in a definite minority.

It isn't just the tourists and their awful interpretations of resort wear. It isn't merely the overgrown frat boys with trucker caps and puka shell necklaces, nor their distaff equivalents, resplendent in low-rise jeans to show off fresh tramp stamps as they travel to the site of the next "Girls Gone Wild" videos. No, some of the worst offenders are the commuting businessmen--in a way, the most offensive, as they are actually trying to look dressed-up. But with their high-water suit pants revealing poorly matched shoes, their ill-fitted jackets highlighting their ill-maintained bodies, and their badly tied ties peeking through badly collared shirts, they are failing miserably.

But there is hope. As we climb out of the '90s--a decade that attempted to destroy gentlemanly dressing through grunge and hip-hop fashions, along with 'Net-nerd inspired "casual Fridays"--some American men are rethinking slob chic and are actually starting to dress like, well, men.

A would-be gentleman doesn't have to go alone into the foreboding world of bespoke suits and handmade shoes. There are now plenty of books available about classic men's style. One of the newest and best is The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style by Nicholas Antongiavanni, the nom de ...