I agree with Pouhe. Pocket squares are a nice dandy touch, but they are not essential. In fact, they can be more distracting than desired. Your necktie should serve as an anchor while you speak to clients. Drawing their eyes to your chest and then elsewhere... pocket squares can be good when you're socializing in the evening. Short hair might be "in", but classic and simple should always be the benchmark. Besides, I've met many VPs and managers with neatly-groomed, longer hair which make them stand out 100x more than the wannabe 60s-looking junior associates i.e. think Rick Perry and Javier Bardem. Thus, short or medium are fine when starting out just shower and comb/brush your hair in the morning before work. Repped. With magazines likes GQ becoming very popular in the 00s and Mad Men arriving in 2007, this style of condescending male fashion advice is a pet peeve of mine. Suddenly, men in Katy or Sugar Land have to emulate their peers in NYC, Milan, and Tokyo to be well-dressed? I can't the fascination and obsession with New York, especially. So many TV shows, films, and commercials are shot there. Access to high-speed internet has obliterated the distances between these centers of fashion and traditional America. The media this way subtly imposes the culture of Los Angeles into households in cities like McAllen. Male fashion (skinny jeans, short/skinny suits, thick plastic eyewear, etc.) is one of those cultural exchanges. One of the victims of these cultural exchanges in Austin. So many hipsters from the Bay Area and NYC have brought their way of life and attitudes into that city. It really saddens me lol. I enjoy Mad Men too. However, these past 6 years have been over the top. Too many waste time and money trying to look like the cast. Would Don Draper really nitpick what some fictional character on TV acted and dressed like, with world-class stylists and costume designers at his disposal? Or, would he be himself: being the best in his line of work - where his clothes project his confidence and success? Don's clothes reflect his personality.
the only time to have short hair is during may through the last week of july. I want my hair shiny, long and fabulous , waving through the wind as the leaves change color in the fall! where is honey boo bear when you need him?
Some good advice and some mistakes: It's definitely good to have a nice pair of shoes, but a nice pair also means well-constructed. The designer examples he shows are likely all cement sole shoes (the Ferragamos definitely are) which means they can't be re-soled later on. Only a fool pays for designer shoes that won't last more than 5 years. Better to buy 2 pairs of $300 Allen Edmonds with Goodyear soles than to buy 1 pair of $600 studio Ferragamos with glue soles. If the thought of paying at least $300 for a new pair of shoes is too much to swallow, then hit up eBay and the resale shops. He forgets to mention that a good tailor is the best way to have your clothes fit properly. Most of us aren't built like models and so off the rack clothing is always going to need some adjustment. And heavy or stocky guys are not going to fit into slim cuts and shouldn't try. Obviously the article is geared for urban professionals in a fashion conscious environment. If you work with a bunch of guys wearing square toe slip ons and baggy pleated khakis, then it's best to stick to slightly more refined version of the same (a nice simple Oxford shoe or penny loafers with fitted plain front slacks). The key is fitting in with the work environment while maintaining a sense of class and dignity. On your own time, however, wear what's comfortable.
The only step you need to dress like a grown man is to dress how YOU want to dress. **** what everybody else says.
It's always the same basic idea with these write ups, stop dressing like a kid and dress like you're 50, but i think you can dress like "a kid" as a man and still be manly. You just have to know how. Simply put, i would say wear properly fitted clothing. That doesn't mean everything has to be tight though. You can wear looser fitting clothing, but not so baggy that it's sloppy. The sleeve thing is legit. Helps keep them in place. The laundry symbols is the only thing i've never really seen, that could come in handy.
Agree with that. And I'm definitely happy to be working somewhere that allows me to dress close to what I wear any other day!
They're pretty clear that comfort is most important. Basically this whole article is about wearing clothes that fit. We don't all have model bodies so clothes will most likely need to be tailored. Regardless, I agree with mostly everything in here, this isn't a guide on how to get laid because it isn't a miracle worker, it's about style and what most Women like.
Exactly. What might look good on the first guy looks so-so on the second guy and looks terrible on the third guy. It all depends on his build, face, eyes, hair, skin, personality, etc. If someone followed the advice on that site and other sites to a T...but in the end didn't feel confident and secure in his outfit...then some (or all) of the advice is moot. In other words, he lets his clothes wear him instead of the other way around. The site's blanket advice is not applicable to him. The only tips (they're more like common sense IMO) that really matter are these: (a) wear clothes that fit - which may require a tailor...and (b) wear clothes that you genuinely LIKE. Often that means wearing stuff that's an extension and a reflection of who you are...or (in a professional work/client setting) the image you want or need to project. Nearly everything else is subjective and boils down to individual taste. Button-downs, slacks, polos etc. work well for some guys and not so good for others. Likewise with the hipster look, the surfer look, the urban upscale yuppie look, etc. If a guy really needs a "designer" to help him pick out stuff, then he'd be better off getting a good friend, family member, long-term girlfriend or wife with an eye for decent design to help him...instead of a "professional" or a web article like the one in the OP with their generic list of guidelines. I do think that guys need to have a few "classic formal" outfits for special occasions (e.g. weddings) though. Otherwise, for everyday wear, for dates, for nightlife...just wear whatever you like and makes you feel good while still being occasion appropriate. If that includes a few fashion no-nos (e.g. short-sleeve button-downs) in the eyes of some other people, so what? Also, it's possible to wear very nice-looking clothes and decent quality shoes without spending a lot of money or going for high-end brands.
