A rolled-up sleeves masterclass is in order, for three reasons: 1) It's a catwalk styling trick that has survived the disconnect between when we see the shows (we saw spring/summer 2006 in June 2005) and the clothes actually going on sale. 2) Rolled wrong, it can look awful. 3) If you've already got a good plain shirt, you'll get your main seasonal update for free.
What you need is a tight, workmanlike roll. When you're doing it, channel masculine thoughts that you just need to get the job done right now and so can't have such a vast impediment as a sleeve in the way. This should leave the roll looking slightly hurried, and also locked in place on your lower bicep. In the interests of clarity, I've just got out the tape measure - you want the roll to sit 10cm above the elbow.
Too wide a roll, however, and you'll start to get problems. It seems without purpose, as cumbersome as a kipper tie. Worse still would be to roll the sleeves of your suit jacket so you can see the lining, as if you wanted to be Don Johnson or whoever else was on that Miami Vice programme - by doing so, you'll be one of those tedious people who relies on cliché references for their dressing. I don't want to dress like someone from an old movie or TV show. I want to be part of us, now.
This next bit of advice may be premature for the open air, but if you're out for the evening and are wearing a T-shirt, roll those sleeves slightly, too. I used these words last year when I wrote about the shows, and I'll use them again: muscle top. In Hoxton, the night called Family is the best arbiter of such matters, and on our last visit rolled-up was de rigueur. Or even one step further: a rolled-up short-sleeved shirt, with a vest worn over the top.
· Charlie Porter is associate editor of GQ (m-f-a-s@hotmail.com)
