`As long as it looks good and it's reasonably priced, that's ...my style'

Who: Eric Mann, a 40-year-old Alabaster resident married to Versie Mann and father of two daughters, ages 13 and 11. He is an operations manager for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. Co-worker Cheryl Myers nominated him.

Caught: At Vulcan Park & Museum.

What are you wearing? A Hart Schaffner and Marx sports jacket and navy slacks, both from Parisian; cufflinks, a Robert Talbott tie and Magnanni shoes, all from Gus Mayer; and a custom-made shirt.

Are all of your shirts custom made? He said they are, explaining he's 6'4", slim, has a small neck and long arms. Such a combination makes it hard for him to buy shirts off the rack and have them fit properly. He gets his shirts made by two tailors: Marvin Harrell from Marvin Harrell Custom Clothing in downtown Birmingham and Clarence Jones in Memphis.

Describe your style. "As long as it looks good and it's reasonably priced, that's what I consider my style," he said, adding that he hasn't bought anything new in while. "I really try to find stuff that will be in style for a while and will last for a fairly long time because I don't shop a lot."

Do you have to shop in different places for clothes? "I go to stores that I know have my size," he said, adding he likes Shaia's and Gus Mayer.

When you are not dressed up, what are you wearing? "On the weekends, I'll wear jeans or some nice slacks, or a nice shirt."

What do you want your clothes to say about you? "I don't dress for other people to compliment me. I just dress for what makes me feel good," he said. "If someone were to compliment me I guess they could say, `He's a classy dresser.' That's the best compliment somebody could give me. And trust me, I live in a house with three women and if I got dressed and it didn't look right, I'd get a bunch of looks and questions."

You said the most cherished items in your closet are your shirts and cufflinks. How many cufflinks do you have? "Oh, a ton. I think the ones I like the most were the ones that my father had. They were very old. I have all the ones he had back in the'60s," he said. "And then I've got some that I've bought; people have bought some for me."

Have you ever had a bad fashion moment? "I had to go out of town for business for my job and I ended up having to stay an extra night and I didn't have an extra suit with me. I had to go and buy dress pants and a shirt, so you can imagine how I looked the next day," he said. "I've only worn it once. The pants were just barely long enough where you couldn't see my socks. It was a bad day," he said. "Your pants have to have a little swing to them when you walk. That was not cool." Chanda Temple Guster --

E-mail: cguster@bhamnews.com