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Styleometer: Sharpe vs. Strahan Week 10

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Shannon Sharpe Style Analysis: Week 10 – Big Lapels Sharpe vs. Grey w/ Stripes Strahan

Shannon Sharpe has quietly become one of the best dressed men on sports television.  Sometimes.  Unlike his competition (looking at you slim solid tie all the time Jesse Palmer) Sharpe takes risks.  Sometimes the risks work and sometimes they don’t.  The styleometer below is how we’ll track and analyze the CBS analyst’s look.  Ten is a a big win, zero is awful, and five is a forgettable “mneh.”  50% of the final grade will be the average score of your votes.

The Showdown

More than a few of you have pointed out in the comments or on twitter that along with Shannon Sharpe, Michael Strahan is doing more than his fair share when it comes to upping the overall style quotient on NFL pregame shows.  Along with keeping track of Shannon, this week we’ll put the hall of famer up against the single season sack record holder (Favre, you stink.)  Rank Shannon and then pick who wins the head to head matchup below…

The Good
  • The Suit Material: Maybe you had to see it in HD, but man did the fabric of this suit look incredible.  Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, or Zegna?  Who knows.  But it’s something.
  • The Suit Pattern: Pinstripes without looking like one of Capone’s hit-men.  Well played.
  • The Tie Width: That’s downright skinny for Shannon.  Slim and well balanced with the collar.
  • The Tie Knot: Have we seen the last of grapefruit sized knots on Sharpe?
  • The Tie Pattern: Despite the shine causing a glare on the camera more often than not, the Burberry check was big enough to work awfully well with the thin uniform pin stripe.  Still bold and fun, which is Sharpe.
  • The Cool Color Palate: Shannon goes back once again to a medium blue shirt, but along with the color of the suit and colors in the tie, it produced a real clean not too stuffy look.
  • The Fit of the Suit: This might have more to do with his commitment to fitness, but he is always wearing his suit.  His suit is never wearing him.
The Bad
  • The Lapels: They’re enormous.  Wings of an albatross big.  And up against that slimmer tie, they just blurt out all over the screen even more.  What’d they use as a template for those things, a bat’leth?
The Final Grades

From Dappered: 6.0 The lapels just kill it (for me.)  Aside from the lapels the suit looked terrific on camera.  The rest of it looked pretty good too, but it’s Shannon’s lapels that could give Strahan the win in the head to head.

And about Strahan… Although also in peaks, Strahan’s lapels are under control.  His lighter grey suit, white striped shirt, and blue striped tie combo is a safe play, but still a terrific one.  It’s the shape of his suit that might be an issue.  When compared to Sharpe’s, Strahan’s suit looks more like a boxy Marino style cut with lower armholes and a higher button stance.  It’ll be interesting to see how you guys vote in the head to head match up.

From the Dappered Readers: 7.0 You guys weren’t as harsh on the lapels, and the fit of his suit continues to win fans.
The Final Grade: 6.5 Not bad.  Not amazing.  Word from twitter is that he’s already thinking about what suit he’ll be wearing this upcoming weekend.  In the head to head, Shannon was the clear winner over Strahan.

Shannon Sharpe's Style - Week 10

  • 10 (6%, 11 Votes)
  • 9 (6%, 12 Votes)
  • 8 (25%, 47 Votes)
  • 7 (38%, 70 Votes)
  • 6 (9%, 16 Votes)
  • 5 (10%, 19 Votes)
  • 4 (5%, 9 Votes)
  • 3 (1%, 1 Votes)
  • 2 (1%, 1 Votes)
  • 1 (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 186

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Whose look was better in Week 10?

  • Shannon Sharpe (61%, 128 Votes)
  • Michael Strahan (39%, 82 Votes)

Total Voters: 210

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Click here for previous weeks of the Shannon Sharpe Styleometer.

Comments

  1. Those lapels look like Tom Ford, in which case they’re supposed to be like that.  I’m a fan and he gets a 9 this week from me, because that tie, while nice, is too skinny for those monster lapels.

  2. The lapels don’t bother me as much… The color palette is excellent and understated. The fit is perfect. I gave Shannon an 8.

    Michael’s suit coat fits terribly. Look at all of the hills and valleys on the slope of his shoulders! I thrift stuff that fits 10x better than this off the rack. He needs to call up Shannon and get the name of his tailor. 

  3. Strahan’s suit just doesn’t looks as sharp and well made in the seams. Maybe it’s just a bad picture. The waves across the shoulders make it looks like a bad fit. to me it doesn’t even look like these two suits are in the same league.

    also, I think those big lapels look excellent own Shannon’s wide frame.

  4. Joe, I feel your commentary is spot-on. Love Shannon’s tie, hate the enormous lapels.

    Is the tie confirmed to be Burberry? It’s absolutely beautiful.

  5. I’m not big on Shannon’s shirt color or fabric — too shiny, looks like the kind of shirt that comes w/ a tie (and maybe that pocket square to boot).  Otherwise, the man’s a dresser — these are quibbles. Also, there’s a thin line (no pun intended) between gangster and banker (in all ways).  If you’re not an Esq. or a moneyman, the close pin stripe always seems a bit severe to me.  I really like a medium chalk stripe somewhere between that Capone look and what SS has on — maybe twice SS’s spacing.

    I like Strayhan’s overall look a bit better, though I favor the discrete pieces of Shannon’s more.  Once again, I defend the fit of these suits as big, hard-to-fit guys sitting down and using their hands to talk.  I’d like to see Big Mike put something in that breast pocket, but from the look of the other ‘heads on the Fox set, all Murdoch’s boys will allow you is a cheap-looking pocket card.  Nothing is better than that, so no points off.

  6. Sharpe’s tailor must hate notch lapels.  I like the look a lot, but you’re right, Joe, the lapels are way too big.  Still, not a bad look.  I gave him a 7.

  7. It’s all context. For a Sunday morning sports show, Shannon looks way too formal. Strahan looks a little more relaxed with the lighter palette. Shannon’s tie looks ridiculous: shiny (maybe just the picture) and the knot is wider than the tie. Big-frame guys generally just don’t look good in suits. Shannon Sharpe probably has 8% bodyfat and as you can see, in a suit he looks like a hog. 

  8. I don’t mind the big lapels. He’s a huge guy on a football show, big lapels make his shoulders look big, which is probably kind of what he’s going for

  10. I largely prefer Strahan’s overall style (also, full disclosure: I’m a Giants fan) compared to Sharpe’s, but Sharpe’s suit fits better. Look at the shoulders: Sharpe’s has a clean slope, while Strahan’s has lumps galore.

  11. I agree, when I think of Shannon wearing narrower lapels I worry that the ratio (lapel width to chest width or something like that) will look very off.

  12. love almost everything about shannon’s suit, but i can’t stand that pocket square. also, how come we never discuss his hair? i think the side part is pretty fly!

  13. The lapels don’t bug me a bit.  I loved this look.  The only one I’ve liked more was Week 5 (dark navy suit, light blue shirt, purple tie.  I guess I go more for the boardroom look, but this one just looked awesome on TV.  It’s funny, I don’t usually watch the pregame shows, but I find myself tuning in to CBS for a few minutes on Sunday mornings just to see what Sharpe is wearing so I can come here and discuss it.  Joe, CBS should give you a cut for boosting their ratings. /nerd.

  14. I am a little old-school in my preference that ties should always be darker than shirts. So I will knock off one point for that, and 1.5 for the bizarrely oversized lapels. 7.5.

  15. To be fair, though, on the scale of violations of the lighter shirt/darker tie rule, Sharpe’s is about as tasteful and inoffensive as they come, especially compared to something horrible like this: http://www.dorsetsuithire.co.nz/assets/images/GALLERY/black_pin_stripe_black_shirt_green_tie.JPG

    The only thing more awful than the black shirt/light tie combo is the red shirt/light tie combo. These seem to be worn largely by younger men attempting (and failing) to look “cool.”

  16. Dude… many people here would give their eye teeth to look like that kind of “hog” in a suit. Sharpe looks great in a suit. The fact that he also looks like he could rip out your intestines with his bare hands is beside the point.

  17. They both look bad.  Enough pattern on pattern, seriously.  If you’re going to do pattern on pattern, do micro on macro, like pinstripe on windowpane.  Picture both of them with solid ties – instantly better.  You’re welcome.