As I'm approaching finals week in college, I need to increase my efforts of distracting myself with unrelated topics so that I don't accidentally complete my school work too early. I am one of those people who has lived under a rock for most of my life thanks to porn and video gaming addiction. So unlike most people, I have never developed a sense of social norms around clothing and I am starting to realize there is somewhat of a consensus on how people dress depending on the event, location, season, or whatever. I've always lived like a minimalist so I usually just wear the same things every day only swapping out my undergarments. I'm at the point where I'm ready to redo my entire wardrobe and I'm curious to know if anyone has solved this mystery of how to dress properly. I've done quite a bit of research on my own, however, that only gets me so far because much of the information is conflicting. I'd much rather have someone show me what to wear and I am considering hiring a personal stylist. I just found that Nordstrom has free personal stylists on-site where they pick out clothes for you and then you buy them. Although it's probably really expensive to buy the clothes. I thought about just buying whatever was suggested, then going to a different clothing store to purchase similar items, and then later returning the more expensive clothing. Lately, I've just been going to quality clothing stores to buy one piece of clothing at a time to accumulate a new wardrobe because I'm not really sure what all to buy, so I just try to play it safe. So far so good. Does anyone have any similar experiences or suggestions for my situation?
That’s why I wear a lot of Polo, it’s classic American flavor. Never really goes out of style and people don’t know if your shirt 12 days or 12 years old. It’s expensive keeping up with trends cause they change with the season. I keep the clothes classic but there footwear I get more creative with.
It took me some months to have a sense of fashion and I only started to pay attention to how I dressed like 3 years ago. My father helped me. I always though he had a great sense of fashion. But it took me some months to understand what it meant. It is a process, then you start to like it and create your own style. So yeah a personal stylist is a great idea or you go out and buy clothes and shoes with a friend you consider has a good taste. And don't think you will get it right away it may take time to learn how to dress. It took me a while.
Hey Have a look at Thread.com, you can sign up for free and they will ask you a bunch of questions about what you're comfortable with and styles you are looking for ect, they assign you a stylist and then send you outfits to your email you can select what you like and what you don't so they get an idea of your personal style and you can purchase the outfits you like through the website I've been using this for ages Hope this helps
Thanks for your feedback. I like your idea of keeping it classic and not having to spend a bunch of money to change with the seasons, I don't want to have to go that route because you're right, it is expensive. I guess it is a matter of finding classic clothing that I can wear during all seasons.
Thank you for sharing, I really like your honesty about it being a process and there being mistakes involved. Those are really good suggestions, by the way, I will take this into consideration next time I go shopping. I think part of my problem is also taking after my alcoholic father, who in my case looks like he is homeless, lol. I need some new mentors in my life.
Thank you for this resource, it sounds like a great website. I'm glad you explained what to expect from it too. This is definitely helpful and I'll be checking it out soon! So glad I posted here
It's simple - just wear nice clothes, have good hygiene and groom yourself. I find it kinda gay when people overcomplicate men's fashion like were fuckin women.
Whatever you do, don't take it so far that it turn's into "gentleman's cosplay" or "playing dressup". This might be obvious, but make sure your look fits the context of your environment and what you're doing. Fashion is a form of self-expression, you'll figure out what you want when you see it. So even if you don't know what you want at the moment, the effort is really just looking at different options, and when something clicks you can go buy something similar and experiment. If you have any girl *friends* that are fashionable and give honest feedback, ask them about different options that you're considering for their opinion.
Whatever you do, please don't go for that hipster look so many guys are trying for and you see in so much of the advertising. On 98 out of 100 guys it just looks ridiculous. Stand out to women in a GOOD way by following the basics: - Good shoes, well cared for, that match your belt. (Yes you need one brown belt and one black belt, good quality and the right length which means you are buckling at the 2nd or 3rd hole. Wear 'em). For some reason women really cue in on a guy's shoes. - Clothes that FIT. This is so much more important than the label. Pants at the right length, shirts that don't bloom over your beltline if you're skinny or cling if you're on the chubbier side. - One notch overdressed always trumps one notch underdressed. - Shirts with a collar and cuffs (if long sleeved) when in public. No hoodies unless you're at home, working out or on a ball field. - If you're in an area that gets colder in winter, have a good assortment of medium and heavier weight sweaters. Awesome thing with sweaters is you don't need to iron your shirts underneath as long as the collar looks good. - Wrinkle free and clean (shirts and pants). I have my dress shirts professionally cleaned and pressed with light starch and it's worth every penny. - Have a good sport coat that fits well (again), goes with a wide range of colors and is a weight you can wear at least two seasons of the year. Yeah the good ones cost money but when you need it, you'll be glad you have it. Honestly most women don't give a damn what brands you wear as long as you look good. Smelling good helps too but that's another thread.
White shirt with navy blue shorts or denim Dark shirt with khaki/tan pants Keep it simple. Avoid working in flashy items until you know exactly what you're doing
This is something I actually have some personal experience with. I went on a mission to learn how to dress better a few years ago and I'm pretty happy with my success. What I learned is that there are some fairly simple rules which, if you follow, will make it easy to look good. First is to learn the difference between style and fashion. Men's style hasn't changed in at least 100 years. That's because the rules of good style were discovered and perfected. Fashion changes by the year and is mostly a consumerist scam. When you go to a Nordstram stylist they are selling you fashion. Find a tailor, not an alterationist, and follow his advice. Because style is visual it's easiest to study it from some books. There is one called "Dressing the Man" which can be a bit silly but it distills the basic rules and explains the reasons behind the rules so you can modify them to fit your body and skin type. It does a really good job of showing you how to choose clothes, shoes and accessories. I'll list a few rules to give you the idea. Do not get style advice from women unless she is a men's tailor. Wear only clothes which fit properly. Learn the rules of good fit and follow them closely. Even cheap clothes will look 100% better when they fit. Learn what colors look good on you. It varies with skin tone, eye and hair color. Only wear colors which fit you. Other colors will only detract. You can get "Color for Men" by Carol Jackson or use some resource from the web to learn your colors. Wear clothes appropriate for the event. If you aren't playing sports don't wear sport sunglasses. If you aren't doing a sport don't wear sneakers. If you are wearing a baseball hat you'd better be playing baseball. If you aren't wearing a suit or sport coat don't wear pleated trousers Never wear a tie with a short sleeved shirt If you wear a jacket or a suit always wear a pocket square. Never match the pocket square with your tie. That's for amateurs. Don't overlook your shoes. If you have sweet shoes you could wear a potato sack and still look decent. Do not mix black and brown. Khaki and black does not look good. Ever. On anyone. First you must learn to follow the rules and only then, when you know them by heart and understand why they exist, can you break them. Ask anything you like. I love helping guys with this stuff.
Yeaahh...This is a good thread to while time away. I agree with most of the rules that have been stated here. I think I'll add some more. I was taught by my mentor, good old man, that men need to wear dark colored trousers or not very eye popping colors. The very bright colors should be left for popstars and artists. Like red trousers, yellow trousers, and other colorful chinos. Also, wear nice colored pair of socks. I think there's a trend of having very eyecatching socks and this is more of fashion and trends as opposed to men style. Always care for clothes, ironed and wrinkle free and get clean shoes that are nice. I think it's overlooked but people notice men shoes a lot than what they wear. Take an example, when you walk in a bank...it's so easy to see how people dress and how people look at each other. Like I feel the worth of a well-dressed man is good shoes that fit the occassion and go well with the outfit. Also this hasn't been mentioned but for men, the most favorable option for jewellery is a watch. You may wear a necklace but it gets hidden inside a shirt and sometimes men earrings aren't a thing but one easy way to style up an outfit for men is to wear a watch and men should take this chance to choose a watch that goes well with outfit. Different types of watches...dress watch, casual wear watch may be a gshock, or casio, and other outdoor fun stuff may need a more colourful watch if one is into it. Am yet to get a nice watch collection but am definitely doing something about it. Also what do you think of the apple watch? Can it replace a real watch for a man? Can one use it and switch out bands for the ocassion? How do ya'll think about that?
Bright colors should be as a small accent and you are right about stuff like red trousers. You have to really know what you are doing style-wise to pull off something like that. I don't wear a watch but apple watch looks not-right.
I think sticking to hard rules is going to the extreme. Some people suggest not to wear sports jerseys unless youre at the game. Screw that. I really like baseball and today I am rocking a baseball jersey.