Sebastian Stan is one of life's winners. He scores Marvel gigs, and he can pull off trousers wider than your parents' expectations. He's got an upcoming film with Tom Holland. He is, in short, doing well. Comically so. And now, the 37-year-old has span the great big wheel of colour, and landed on a shade that scored another 10 point of good fortune. Rust. Lovely, versatile, loud-but-not-too loud rust.
At a Hugo Boss presentation of his latest flick, Endings, Beginnings, Stan was a sharp example of how rust should work. In this instance, that meant a Paul Smith two-piece wisely dressed down with a crewneck, and placed above leather lace-ups. It's the easiest route into smart-casual, sure. But the real story here is the palette. Rust isn't all that commonly embraced, despite its versatility, and it holds a strong position between mediocrity and much too much.
On one end, you've orange, which is enjoying something of a new dawn thanks to Paul Smith, Louis Vuitton and Off-White. While a big glug of Tropicana may whet the runway, though, it's a more difficult colour to pull off beyond the second row of a Rick Owens show. This is where rust comes in. The older, wiser brother of orange, rust is subtler. It's comfortable in its own skin. And better yet, it's not quite the seventies Soul Train throwback of another close cousin: brown.
Yes, rust gets it just right. The advantages of being a step darker translate to smarter options, too, just as Stan proves in a suit that'd be as comfortable in fully-suited regalia as it does in a smart-casual context.
So you're converted. Wonderful. Now, it's onto letting the monochromes in your wardrobe oxidise into something rusty, and buying into shades anew. Go on, have a spin of the colour wheel. Or just get your fix below. Nobody leaves here empty-handed!
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