What exactly is a gentleman? Or, to put it more accurately, what is a ladies' man? What type of guy girls love to fantasize about, date, marry and grow old next to? Let's see, just like we did back in high school: he has to be tall (or, at the very least, taller than us), charming, funny, polite and attentive. Women love guys who open car doors for them to get out, who are not ashamed to stoop and pick a little something that we dropped on the floor (so very Victorian-like of them!), who never interrupt us in public or at home, who always have their own opinions but wait until we're done expressing ours to cut in, who tell jokes that leave us breathless (no crude humor, of course). He has to be clean shaved, extremely kept and attentive about his looks without falling into that category of self-centered narcissists, he doesn't use foul language in the presence of a lady, he is courteous with other ladies without being too flirty, he always smells of good perfume and doesn't smoke, preferably. And we could go on like this for ages, trust me! But the question arises: if this is how a ladies' man should be like, how come Colin Farrell is so cool? Why is he so appreciated, both by men and women but especially the latter, when he is, most likely, none of the above?

The answer to both questions is Colin's innate coolness factor. He might not smell good (rumor has it the man reeks of cigarettes a mile away), he might not like to pay too much mind to the way he looks, he might forget to shave for weeks and he certainly looks like a homeless dude who just happened to stumble on the red carpet. And yet, he is so cool, trendy and manly that few can actually resist his Irish, raw, natural charm. Many consider Colin just a dirty rat (their words, not mine!) who simply doesn't care enough about what his fans think of him to try a bit more, but the fashion world has not remained blind to his uneducated and completely spontaneous and personal, thus impacting, style. Ladies, the truth is we like Colin Farrell because he is the bad boy type (both in attitude and fashion style) - meaning, exactly the opposite of our ideal type of man! Strange... but true nonetheless!

What makes Colin so hot? Is it something that he does/wears on a recurrent basis or is it simply this overall negligence and homelessness aura that seems to characterize his every outfit that does the trick for ladies and fashion critics? Hold on to your panties, 'cause we're about to see right now. For this very purpose, I have chosen several outfits that Mr. Farrell has sported over the past years and we'll talk about them in detail to see what exactly it is that which has pushed this Irish actor towards the top of the list of Hollywood's most trendy men. Above we have a set of photos of Colin as he was walking around town with his girlfriend. You can see Colin is always the man to choose something shocking over real comfort; be it spiced with a half-buttoned dress shirt or lots of chains, bracelets, rings and other accessories, each and every one of his outfits has to have an element that makes it out of the ordinary and completely different from what anyone else would wear. For instance, with the outfit Colin is wearing in the first two shots, we see a dashing combination of street style, motorcycle gear (the well-worn boots - Colin's favorite pair) and a touch of classic elegance added thanks to the fedora. But the actor is also extremely fond of wide leather arm bands, necklaces and chains, massive rings and multi-layered bracelets so, naturally, all of them are present here too. Torn or well-worn jeans are another element that Colin almost constantly uses to perfect his bad boy image, as we can see from the third photo as well. But here we have something even more daring than in the first couple of pics: a red dotted bandanna, matched with an unbuttoned shirt that shows off his chest tattoo (for a man who brags about not working out, Colin is in tight shape, if I say so myself!) and lots and lots of bad boy attitude. I am telling you, it doesn't get any better (or, is it badder?) than this!

Next up we have another set of candids and I just have to say this: this man can look hot and original, and it's all done effortlessly! For example, the first two photos show Colin in a certain item of clothing that, on a lesser man, would have simply cried out poor taste and inappropriate behavior: a white wifebeater, also known as muscle shirt; and yet, he manages to pull this look off. Scientists are not yet certain if Colin's ability to look both street chic and classy in a very traditional sort of way is due to unknown outside factors (like, a personal stylist and an army of make-up people and personal assistants) or whether, to him, this is just something that comes naturally, but they tend to believe it's the latter. OK, scientists never really studied Colin's fashion sense but, if they did, I bet they would come to the same conclusion as I did: Colin's personal approach to every outfit that he dons is exactly that which makes him stand out in a crowd. And the guts he has when it comes to wearing items no one else, or no other man would, like the wifebeater and, in the last two photos, the long green scarf. We all know that only a certain type of men can actually get away with wearing what is basically a woman's accessory, and that's the metrosexual category. And Colin Farrell, who stands in an entire class of his own: it takes a bad boy to make this ensemble of scarf plus knitted cap plus jeans jacket look so awesome and effortlessly trendy!

Now that we've seen Colin in his everyday outfits, let's have a look at how this original guy dresses up for red carpet events or press conferences. But you shouldn't be surprised to see that there's not much of a difference: Farrell's appeal relies in precisely this ability that he has of infusing something very personal even in the most rigid outfits. For instance, the first two pics show him at a movie premiere a while back, and you can see that he kinda looks the same as in the other sets of photos. Only cleaner in some way... Colin's charm and 'customized' fashion style consists in, as I have already mentioned, the ability to combine various elements that, under normal circumstances, would go together like oil and water - still, he can pull them off. The first two photos show him with a plain (and apparently well worn and discolored) tee and with suit pants. The contrast is further maintained with the rocker-style leather arm band and the bookworm black frames, and the latter with the spiky hair and stubbly beard. However, looking at Colin's style only from this perspective would imply us being oblivious to his main secret power: the Irish I-don't-give-a-f**k bad boy attitude. This you can see from the last two photos, where he is wearing quite a simple ensemble (I mean, it's jeans, boots and a tee - how can anyone ever shine in that?) but still succeeds in coming off as the absolute hunk. You know, they say Colin is the symbol of the uber-male and it's not because of the long or uncombed hair, or the goatee or the skinhead or the long beard. It's all in his attitude and this way he has of carrying himself - because chances are this too is not something that Colin rehearses each night in front of the mirror - it makes him all the more appealing.

Up next is another set of candids: Colin at the airport, boarding his plane. Again, we see him in clothes that are quite common, once you think of it, but that still attract one's attention like a genuine magnet. With worn jeans, a leather jacket and matching fedora (the predominant color has to be black or ash black - one of the actor's unwritten rules) and the almost never missing biker's boots, my guess is you wouldn't expect such a tough looking guy to wear what it is called a man purse, or a murse. Though, if you know anything about murses, in any shape they might come, you know that only a man's man can actually wear one: further proof that Collin is the ultimate epitome of manliness. Add to that the unshaved beard, the squinty black eyes, the prominent brows and that it's-a-smile-but-not-quite grimace that always hangs on the corners of his mouth and you'll see what makes the ladies swoon when Collin enters a room.

Last, but not least, a real treat for the ladies: an all cleaned up, tuxedo wearing, smiling Colin on the red carpet. I saved the best for last because, obviously, this is something that you don't get to see everyday: you could rather catch him wearing nothing but what Mother Nature gave him than wearing a tailored suit. And, yet, miracles are known to happen every once in a while and this is definitely one of those cases. Colin is the perfect example of a bad guy turned good, even stunning, looking. However, we notice that, even when he's all dressed up, this actor knows that there's no reason for him to be flashy: while he could have gone for a more sophisticatedly cut suit or a fancy bow-tie, Colin chose a classic cut one and a narrow black tie, over a simple white shirt. It's not about the bling you have or the fancy and elaborate clothes you sport, it's about feeling good and being yourself! Now, here's a lesson any man could learn from this bad boy who just turned fashion upside down by introducing his own style into the mainstream tendencies.

To sum up an already long (but not too long, I hope) post, I say Colin Farrell, at least as far as his fashion style goes, deserves a big thumbs up: in a society, and I mean the Hollywoodian one, where there are only polished, shiny and conventional guys who always abide by old rules and are not strong enough to put a little something of themselves into their outfits, it's always refreshing to see a man everybody dubs a 'bad boy' being so good... at fashion!