Style Icon: David Beckham

Say what you will about David Beckham, he commands respect around the globe for how he handles himself on the pitch and for his undeniable talent.

Becks lives and breathes football, and has a right foot capable of the kind of a precision a trained from childhood Russian sniper would be proud of. But Becks isn’t the most famous man in the world for how good a footballer he is – there are more talented and more successful players.

Beckham always comes across as confident, but unassuming; he wears his clothes, which are sometimes off the wall, remarkably well. He’s aging like a fine wine, and his style is amongst the most copied on the planet. Be it an impeccably tailored suit, a plain white t-shirt (something he wears  better than anyone) or even his underwear, Becks looks like an old school movie star filtered through a very modern look - just look at the amount of tattoos he has.

Like all stylish men, he wears his clothes and doesn’t have them wear him – even the most ostentatious clobber. Don’t get JOE wrong, he’s hardly the male version of Lady Gaga (stop sniggering at the back) but you wouldn’t describe his style as plain.

Becks takes care of himself, that is obvious; and while that might be a given for any professional athlete, it’s not always the case. His body shape is slighter than guys like Gerard Butler or Colin Farrell, so if he dresses like them then he’ll look very thin. He needs to wear clothes that make him maybe look that bit bulkier, but that still fit like a glove.

There’s still something relatively humble about Becks; despite all the money, all the fame, and that he’s one of the most photographed human beings on the planet. He never courts the attention unless it’s photoshoot on his terms, and this is quite possibly why his style is so seminal and copied all over the world.

You could argue that David Beckham looks better now than he did during his prime for Manchester United; that’s more than just good genes, it’s an innate sense of style and taking care of ones self.