The return of the British Gigolo

Wearing your shirt done up right to the top is the young British way at present, beloved of presenters such as Rick Evans on T4, the youth strand of Channel 4, Olly Murs, the Shoreditch/Hoxton set and those who shop at Urban Outfitters. The check shirt (will they never go away?) is particularly prevalent with this look, and it all suggests that us Brits are a bit, well, buttoned-up.

I know it's cold here, and perhaps it's just me as I'm a devoutly undone man myself, but I find this all a bit mousey and timid. I keep picturing Corrie's Mavis Riley twittering and clutching at the high neck of a securely fastened polyester blouse with a tasteful cameo brooch.

So hurrah and unbutton for the resurgence of the racier Seventies look that is already happening (wider lapels, nipped-in waists, safari jackets) and will really come into force in autumn /winter 2011, a reaction to the sleek, skinny Mad Men image that has ruled for a while.

Tom Ford has pioneered the wide lapel against the tide for some time: catch his shocking raspberry pink job with lapels that can almost be seen from behind if you're a real bobby dazzler. Crucially, the shirt to wear with this look should be extravagant, slightly louche and pec-clenching, open as far as you dare - and a bit more (but no medallions please).

I have to confess that my own dalliance with the sleekly open-necked shirt borders on the fetishistic. Perhaps I have Italian blood somewhere for it is they, the peacocks of Europe who love to puff out their chests for the ladies, who are behind this look. Dolce & Gabbana has long favoured the plunging neckline for guys, with the four-unbuttoned look. Jude Law clearly loves a bit of he-vage so presumably we'll see him ditching those deep V-neck T-shirts for something a bit more sultry.

Gucci, too, is going for a sleeker gigolo look next autumn, all nipped-in waists, patch pockets and peaked lapels. Supermodel David Gandy has this loose-boy look down nicely (but then he has the required pectoral pulchritude). DSquared 2, run by Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten, also offers a similarly sexy range.

Go on, bring out your inner lounge lizard.