Ice and Easy
This ice dancer/realtor has a look as sharp as his skates.
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Collin Vail Sullivan dresses like old Hollywood, citing Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, and Rock Hudson as style role models. The 42-year-old is actually an experienced performer himself, but his "leading man" outfits were anything but understated chic. Try spandex and spangles, as the 6-foot-1 Midwesterner was a championship ice dancer for many years, having moved to New England as a teenager to train at the Skating Club of Boston. The Savin Hill resident still starts each morning in active wear as a private ice dancing coach, but changes into an elegant mix of subtle patterns and textures for his day job as a residential realtor for Coldwell Banker in Wellesley and Boston. Though performing gave him grace and poise, Sullivan says his grandmother was the catalyst for his lifelong love of fashion, by "spoiling him" with beautifully made clothes sent from fine New York stores. Good thing, he says now. "You would never, never, never want to be seen wearing skating style in public!"
Sullivan likes to trade his workday tie for a dapper pocket square at night, like this whimsical butterfly-print silk handkerchief bought at
Selling real estate from Boston to the burbs, Sullivan looks for practicality and style over designer names, like this Nautica cotton blazer from T.J. Maxx in Framingham. "I thought the fabric was weighty and pretty sumptuous to the touch," he explains.
An inveterate bargain shopper, Sullivan combs through selective off-price stores wherever he goes. "You have to dig and dig, but sometimes there are incredible sample things you don't see anywhere else," he says. That was the case with this check shirt found at Daffy's in New York.
Though Sullivan may appear to be wearing a suit, the jacket is actually paired with cotton twill pants from Ralph Lauren on Newbury Street. The fabrics are comfortable, he says, but the soft drape also gives the look polish.
When he spotted these European leather shoes at Marshalls on Boylston Street, Sullivan thought the large "H" on the outsole stood for Hermes. Although that was not the case, the handsome oxfords were made by a fine Italian company, so his disappointment didn't last long.
