Coleman Domingo’s Sizzling Summer Style: The Ultimate Menswear Guide

When
I met up with Colman Domingo
ahead of his Met Gala hosting gig last month, his stylists had just informed him of a tweet that more or less summed up the actor’s fashion mantra: “Three things are certain: death, taxes, and Colman Domingo having that shit on.”

In recent years, Domingo has nary missed an opportunity to put that shit on,
especially on the red carpet
. But when you’re famous enough to get nominated for Oscars and invited to host the Met Gala, being a well-heeled celebrity is a full-time gig. Red carpet or not, you’ve got to be prepared. When I asked Domingo about how his style had changed since reaching megastardom
in his 50s
, he admitted that now he likes to “look a bit more dialed up” when he’s on the move, since there’s a good chance he’ll get recognized.

“People are looking in a different way. People watch you when you walk into a hotel. I’m walking in as Colman Domingo, the actor,” he said then. He added, cheekily, “Being a house ambassador of Valentino, I want to make sure I have my Valentino bag.”

So when the paparazzi found Domingo outside of the ABC Studios in Manhattan (he’s currently promoting his new Off-Broadway play,

Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole

) on Wednesday, he was ready: He beamed in a simple
ribbed white tank
tucked into super-snug whiskered blue jeans, which he’d cuffed at the ankle and cinched with a double-ring brown belt. He wore ruched tan loafers with bright white socks, Oliver Peoples aviator sunglasses, and—of course—a studded-leather Valentino bag.

He looked like he’d stepped out of a high-fashion version of a
Tom of Finland
drawing. An ideal look for the second week of Pride Month.

“One of the greatest things that I like right now is as an openly queer man, 55 years old, I have young boys, girls, macho dudes all admiring me. They’re like, ‘Oh, I love you. I want to dress like you. I wish I could. I think I could,’” Domingo told me in May. “I’m inspiring generations of men to be like, ‘Yeah, I want to put that shit on, too.’ I feel like I have a whole league of people that I’m inspiring, and I see it, and I see the effect.”