The Louis Latour Man of Style Awards are open to any Irishman who can dazzle the ladies with his dress sense, writes Sarah Binchy
What epitomises male style for Irish women? Wit, sparkle, a sense of confidence, creativity? An enormous car, a tiny mobile phone? If you think this adds up to you, think again: it adds up to James Bond. In a survey of Irish women's attitudes to Irish male style, the overwhelming majority, 81 per cent, found Pierce Brosnan most stylish among Irish men.
"I feel depressed by that," says Tony Robertson, a sharp-suited salesman drinking coffee in the Merrion Centre. "They might as well have said the Milk Tray Man and be done with it. I'm not great at jumping out of airplanes." But he brightens up when he hears that Irish women rate Italian men (65 per cent) as the most stylish men in Europe. "At least I picked right with an Armani suit," he says happily.
The results of the survey accompany this year's Louis Latour Man of Style competition, which is still accepting entries from the public.
As far as the women surveyed are concerned, if you can't be James Bond, it helps if you have conquered Hollywood.
Liam Neeson is next on the list of stylish men at 48 per cent, then Gabriel Byrne (47 per cent) then Daniel Day Lewis (43 per cent).
Colin Farrell may be the toast of Hollywood but at 28 per cent he has yet to touch the steely hearts of two out of three of the women who filled in this survey. Perhaps it's the cursing (elsewhere in the survey 77 per cent rate "manners" as an important component of style).
Some 26 per cent rated the only designer on the list, Paul Costelloe, stylish. The unforgiving 74 per cent who didn't rate him are presumably still smarting from his infamous comments of a few years ago when he said Irish women had no style, and just relied on designer labels.
International fame helps your case. Eddie Irvine scored 39 per cent, Ronan Keating 27 per cent, Bono 25 per cent.
TV presenter Patrick Kielty scored 28 per cent, Pat Kenny a respectable enough 14.3 per cent, Roy Keane 8.8 per cent (a source of hope for every man who thinks style is a football shirt plus attitude). A patriotic 6.4 per cent ticked the box that said Bertie Ahern, who certainly deserves a little encouragement for packing in the anoraks.
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary, invariably and boringly referred to as the most eligible bachelor in Ireland until he got engaged, scored a mere 1.5 per cent.Eamon Dunphy got 0.5 per cent, which is a kind of achievement in itself (but he has nothing to worry about, having previously made it on to Social and Personal's 100 Sexiest Men list). Christy Moore (2 per cent) and Ian Dempsey (0 per cent) are equally unlikely to be kept awake by their low ratings.
"I would not have picked Pierce Brosnan - he's kind of obvious - or Patrick Kielty - those stripey suits and runners are terrible. Or Pat Kenny, he looks too stiff in those suits," says actress Hilary Cahill, scanning the results. "Colin Farrell, fair enough. Style should be about wearing great clothes with confidence and not taking yourself too seriously." Dress sense, intelligence, manners and a sense of humour rated highest in terms of elements of style, according to the survey.
Confidence, oddly enough, wasn't included.
"But confidence is part of the overall package. Ordinary Joe Bloggses shouldn't be put off by people like Pierce Brosnan topping the list," says tailor Louis Copeland, who is on the judging committee of the Man of Style awards. "In a survey like this, people come up with names of guys who are in the limelight, but our awards are an opportunity for ordinary guys who have something special to get noticed."
For Copeland style is "something indefinable, instinctive, it's in a guy's posture, the way he walks, the way he holds a glass, his choice of shoes. It's not just about clothes." Irish men are the equal or superior in style to English men, he believes - "just walk around Heathrow airport - English men haven't moved with the times. We have." But the Irish will never be able to match the Italians or French for colourful dressing, he argues. "It's a question of complexion."
Robert Williams, fashion buyer at Brown Thomas, says the adventurous streak constitutes a small but significant part of his customers. "There was an explosion in colour in the past couple of years, mainly in shirting, but the majority of suits I sell, 60 to 70 per cent are blue, navy blue or pin-striped."
Williams came to Brown Thomas from Harvey Nichols "where we would have more volume with the wacky, avant garde stuff. Here there's less volume, but there's a definite contingent of guys willing to give it a go."
The better-groomed customers are the most experimental. "You don't have to be supertoned to be stylish but it helps, and the ones with the gym subscription, the tan and even, if you can believe it, the manicure - they're the ones who want the wackiest pieces, the see-through D&G shirts and the rest."
Williams does note brand loyalty, to the point of dependency, on the part of some customers. "But then, you can't always fault that. Some people just know what suits them."
And the object of most intense desire in his department? The Brioni suit - which also happens to be what James Bond wears. He sold 10 of them, made to measure, for €3,000 each last season.
Now all those men have to do to impress Irish women is learn how to jump out of an aeroplane.
To nominate a friend for the Louis Latour Man of Style Awards, visit the website at www.manofstyle.com and fill in the form explaining why you think your friend should win. The closing date is Monday.