Campus Chic: Bharat Sharma Brings GQ Style to USF

Bharat Sharma entered his media class to shouts of delight from Professor Kaiser and impressed or confused stares from his fellow classmates.  “Whenever I give a presentation I try to suit up.  People are watching me and think ‘look, he’s wearing a tie. He must have something important to say. Maybe I should listen to him.’” Sharma’s suit commands attention, and he believes it was Stefano Pilati who once said, “A suit is a modern man’s armor.”

Sharma’s blue lightweight wool suit is vintage, a find from Held Over on Haight Street. “I get basics from Gap and J. Crew. But lately after reading Campus Chic – not even kidding – I decided to peruse the long disorganized rows of clothing in vintage stores. Not to say I’m a vintage junkie, but I could become one, one day.” His crisp white button up shirt is from the Gap. His tie, two inches wide, belonged to his paternal grandfather, Amarnath. “He used to work for the Indian government and he did some legal work towards the end of his life. Every time I go to New Delhi I raid his attic. I feel good wearing his old ties.”

The tie clip, which has an emblem of what Sharma believes is a gargoyle of sorts, belonged to his maternal grandfather, Hiro. “I have some of his clothes as well,” Sharma said.

Sharma likes to mix textures and with his light weight wool he wears light brown suede wingtipped shoes from Martin and Ossa and his “some sort of derivative of camel” colored socks are lightweight cotton.

Sharma keeps accessories to a minimum and wears a large face watch with a brown leather strap. The watch is from a street bazaar in Florence. “I like this big dial. There is something classic about it. I’ve never worn a digital watch in my life.”

Next to his watch he wears a faded pink string.  It is from an Indian ritual called Rakhi. Sharma does not go into it with too much detail, but explains how the string was tied onto his wrist by his younger sister Natasha.

A pair of classic wayfarers add a nice young touch to the ensemble, while remaining functional on a bright San Francisco day.

Sharma admires the style of men like Scott Schuman, Cary Grant and Thom Browne and is not afraid of adding color to his outfits.