1. Trust your gut, not the salesperson
If you feel like the suit jacket is too big, or the shirt collar is a little tight, or the shoes might not look the best with your suits… then shut out the yapping sales associate and double down on your instincts. That said, there are some fantastic sales people working in retail out there. But know that the little voice (or voices) inside of your head should trump theirs.
2. Brown and Blue almost always trump Black
And this is coming from a website that’s one of the few left which still believes in the power of the clean black lace-up. But you’ll get more use out of your brown shoes. Same goes for navy suits, blazers, and top coats when compared to black. Aside from tuxedos and funerals, black suits are all but… dead. Yet most men gravitate towards black suits, sportcoats, and when dress shoe shopping, they’re always going for black.
3. Bar lacing on dress shoes just looks better
Standard criss-cross (which does not, in fact, make you want to jump… jump…) for boots and casuals. Bar-lacing for true oxfords and sleek dress bluchers. It just cleans up the profiles and adds some serious oomph to the sexiness of even less expensive dress shoes. It’s like the grill on a car. A good one goes a long way.
Left: Cleaner, bar lacing (like a football). Right: standard cross style
4. Dry Clean Less
It can get expensive, it can be really harsh on your clothes (especially fused suit jackets and blazers) and unless you’re sweating a ton, you can usually go weeks if not months depending on the level of use. Again, trust your gut. If something is starting to look a little less than perky, has a stain, or you sweated all night in it, get it dry cleaned. But don’t just dry clean for the sake of it.
5. Wear your “good” stuff more
Like all the time. Don’t “save” your favorite shirt, sweater, blazer or shoes for some unknown future event. Wear your stuff. More often than not those favorites spend far too much time in the closet, blowing past wash cycles when you could have worn them. So wear them and enjoy it.
6. Always try a size down
And not just suits. Sweaters, shirts, pants, whatever. But yes, suits and blazers come to mind first. This is almost certainly the #1 issue with why most guys think they don’t look good in so-called “nice” clothes.
Never hurts to try a smaller size. You might be pleasantly surprised.
7. Get a watch repair kit, and swap bands liberally
It’s like getting a whole new watch when you put a different band on a favorite timepiece. And don’t be afraid to ditch the stainless band if you find yourself not wearing a favorite as much anymore. Swap it out for leather or rubber.
8. Well tailored suit jackets, blazers, and sport coats look really, really good.
9 times out of 10 the guy in the jacket is going to look better than the guy in just a shirt and tie. Or, just a shirt and jeans or whatever. They can be super laid back or extremely dressed up. Whatever the type, it’s a piece of armor.
9. Fear-not a totally new combination. Just give it a try.
Grey shirt under a navy suit? Never would have even taken it for a spin. Or a black shirt under a grey suit (cheesy look on some, but not all). Don’t think your navy blazer and jeans have enough contrast between the two? Guess what… doesn’t really need that much. So you’ve assembled this arsenal of awesome duds. Mix and match out of your comfort zone every once in awhile.
10. But at the same time, don’t fear a personal “uniform”
There’s no harm in being the guy that 90% of the time is wearing a blazer with jeans. Or maybe he’s a v-neck over a collared shirt and wool trousers type. Or, a suit, white shirt, and knit tie kind of fellow. Mix it up from time to time, but the bottom line is you know your strengths and what you feel your best in. Wear the hell out of that.
Don’t be afraid to wear what you like often. (Just try & keep your hands out of your pockets some of the time).
BONUS: 11. Dressing well opens so many doors it’s almost unfair
Sure, there’s going to be those who think you’re a snob/snot for wearing what you’re wearing, but if you don’t take yourself too seriously, 99% of the world will give you the benefit of the doubt. Big time. And when people perceive you to be the best version of yourself (or, often even better) then you’ve all but won the game.
Top Photo Credit: Ell Brown
11. Truth
Personally I like roman lacing over bar lacing as it keeps my shoes much tighter than any of the bar options and also looks very clean
I really have to do #5 more often. I have a few expensive, never worn pair of pants that don’t even fit me anymore. Not a good investment.
I also have to reiterate that sizing down is not possible for everyone.
3 and 8 are the big ones I learned from this site. I am working on 9, but it’s tough not leaning conservative working for a law firm
Bonus bonus 12: new tie knots. Nothing crazy, but I’ve been able to get some great looks out of a half-windsor and kelvin.
12. It ain’t what you wear, it’s how you wear it. You can combine a Target cowl-neck sweater, Wal-Mart turtleneck, thrifted Levis jeans, Banana Republic clearance socks, JCPenney boots with some confidence and be sharper than most guys walking the street. It happened to me on Saturday and the random compliments were my confirmation. If only I’d known this years ago…
such great advice in this article. a lot on this list are things i’ve learned from reading this site.
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” – Mark Twain
Referring to #4, so you’re saying wear the dress shirt again without washing it? Or wash it in the regular washing machine vs getting it dry cleaned?
don’t dry clean your dress shirts unless the care instructions specifically say to
Good write-up. These are definitely things that took me a while to learn.
That said, I take issue with your second point:
1) I honestly believe black suits have a place in a man’s wardrobe – behind charcoal and navy, but still should be there. And if you’re of a darker or tanner skin complexion, it can look really good, even outside the funeral/wedding setting
2) I get the whole view of brown shoes being more versatile than black, but if you’re interviewing, a clean black lace-up (preferably a simple cap toe) absolutely must be there in your wardrobe. It’s just given that you wear black, not brown, shoes to interviews. And, hell, in a more conservative business environment (for big meetings, etc), the black shoe is mostly seen as superior.
You can get dress shirts laundered at the dry cleaner.
Or you can wash them separately as delicates and then hang dry them overnight in your bathroom before ironing them.
I have to say it took me too long to learn that clean shaven and being regular about hair cuts and trims make a huge difference. Keeping it at that point where people can’t tell you’ve had a haircut so that it doesn’t get shaggy really cleans up your look when you dress up or dress down.
I love my black lace-ups, and wear em’ more than my brown options (blasphemy to some, and thus the mention of being one of the few website left to defend them). I don’t think it’s a “given” to wear black shoes to a interview though. Also not a huge fan of the black suit myself, but once again, to each his own.
Wore my gray indochino suit, baby blue button up, and black accessories to a job interview. Thought it was professional and modern, got the job 🙂
I agree with all of these. Very good list.
I got put through the First Class check in line at SFO for Swiss Air when there was a line of about 60 people in normal check in when I showed up in a sport coat and pressed dress shirt, even though I was in economy class. Took all of 5 minutes to check in. Dress like you consider flying a privilege, and it feels more like one each time.
I would add if it doesn’t fit perfectly, don’t buy it (not referring to suits or the like obviously). Speaking from personal experience, I buy something that I like but doesn’t fit quite well and then think to myself that I will just get it tailored. I almost never do because of the price adding up as more and more clothes need alteration.
…I dunno…maybe Mr. Twain hadn’t seen a naked woman. They have all KINDS of influence. Even the possibility is influential.
You must have been the best dressed stripper in the entire club!
In that joke, I pretended that you were applying to be, and subsequently landed a job as a stripper. GET IT?)
Alright, I’ve gotta run, they’re yelling at me to get off my phone and shake it.
I find in my workplace there seems to be a mentality that if it is not black then it’s not formal/business attire. Not that I pay that any attention.
Number 3 is a personal preference where the rest are more general points. But, overall a good list.
@ 4. Dry Clean Less
Between dry cleaning, steam your gear. cheap steamers are out there. I got this one and it works great:
http://www.amazon.com/SteamFast-SF-407-1500-Watt-Fabric-Steamer/dp/B000BQRD0I/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_1/175-7193153-0683666
the jiffy ones are the best (used in retail) but 0uch $250!
i do this, i wash my shirts separately and in color/non-color loads and hang dry them. the whites get no bleach, when dinge appers it gets RIT white wash or rust remover, depending on the dinginicity or there’s this new stuff i found that gets stuff neon white.(not sure of the effect on fabric)… i’ll take a picture of the bottle and update this post later…
That’s true, but my flaw was that I bought these things knowing I can get them tailored for very little more, yet because I’ve bought so much that needs tailoring. This makes just the tailoring bill alone feel so high and not worth it.
I’ve got a couple of pairs of AEs that have 5 lace holes. Any recommendations for lacing with an odd number of holes?
I first realized the truth to 11 when, after I stopped dressing like a slob (among other less noticeable things), I only got a warning from a cop when going 10mph over the limit… even though I’ve always been quite respectful to cops. It always helps to make a spectacular first impression.
stuff is called white bright:
http://whitebritelaundry.com/
(DO NOT USE WITH BLEACH!)^2
Put the diagonal lace on the top just like in the picture above (look on the left shoe just under the knot and you can see it.) I do that on my Cole Haan Air Adams adn you can barely see it under the knot and under your pant legs.
Black suit is the classic runway ish. No one showing up to a super nice or formal event in a navy or grey suit, leave that for the office.
Always, Always get the correct collar size. It doesn’t matter if you not going to be wearing a neck piece. You never know when you might want to wear a tie with that shirt or indeed just button it up to the top (Not that I approve of that). It just pays to make sure that you have the freedom to do what you want with that shirt. Don’t forget to always go half a inch up of your actual collar size, to make sure your comfatable when you pull the knot up.