Fits Like a Glove.

Men’s fashion is something that I really enjoy and love to spend time understanding and applying to my own style. I quite often get asked about clothes, shoes, and accessories from men of various age groups. I even get the outfit check Facetime calls from some of my besties before going out. I don’t think this is because I am up to date on all the trends, or wear designer clothing, but perhaps because I have an artist for a wife who has taught me through the years how clothes should properly fit my body to accent my figure.

Sounds silly, but this applies to all men of varying shapes and sizes. Find clothes that compliment your figure and personality; create your style. Your style is something that may change through time, but always is indicative of who you are as a person. This is precisely why when you see someone who is trying too hard to embrace a certain “style” it’s typically a terrible failure. It’s not because the man is unattractive, but because maybe he’s trying to be someone he’s not, embodying a style that is not organically developed, but hand picked from intrigue. Don’t get me wrong, sense of style has a lot to do with what we think looks cool, but it has more to do with what compliments who we are.

Most women (and men for that matter) are attracted to people who give off some natural level of confidence. Too much confidence gets you nowhere. But, when it comes to dressing well, when you select clothing that compliments your body, you almost automatically give off a sense of togetherness, like you know what works for you and embrace it, and that has an air of confidence to it. So let’s agree as men that we will no more try a new “style” that we think may impress someone else, but rather embrace what works for us and exude confidence because of it.

Enough of the inspirational talk, let's get into the how. Now, I could cite a laundry list of blogs and YouTube channels that will help with a lot of these topics, but here we can just address the basics.

1. Form fitting clothing is good. Stop wearing straight leg slacks and puffy sleeved button-downs. When it comes to tops, make sure that the shoulder seam directly lies on the crest of your shoulder; don’t let it go past it because now you’re swimming in your shirt, giving the appearance that your shoulders are less broad than they actually are. And don’t let it hit your trapezoid because, well, you’ll look like you’re wearing children’s clothing. As for pants, we have to stop letting them bunch at our shoes. It is perfectly ok if the bottom of your pant leg just touches your ankle joint or around where the top of your shoe is. When you sit, the pant leg comes up, yes, but that is why you need to develop some sock game. The antithesis of this is the high-water trend that is going around. Trendy. A couple cuff rolls is fine, actually quite neat, but when the bottom of your pant leg sits at the bottom of your calf while standing, you either have off the charts style and edge (you better be someone special), or you’re just trying too hard; this is one of the circumstances where we need to be our own person and let our style develop organically.

2. The next thing we have to talk about is shoes. Not because I am a shoe fanatic, but because this is one of the biggest issues I see with outfit selections on men. Here’s my biggest no-no’s: 1) Dress shoes with jeans - if you want to wear jeans, for goodness sake get yourself a pair of casual shoes with some brouging or a casual sneaker. 2) Running or athletic shoes with anything other than a workout outfit. Guys, come on. Not only do those things smell because you worked out in them this morning, but your neon Asics don’t exactly compliment your form fitting v-neck tee. Finally, 3) let's start pairing shoes with outfits on a seasonal basis. I’m not advocating for a shopping spree here, all I am referring to are those of us that wear boots in the summer and flip flops in the winter; it’s not cool guys, it’s just not.

3. Last critical item is accessories. I don’t have many strict ideologies here, I think the accessory part of an outfit is the one area where we can express ourselves without compromising the entire look. Simple necklace fine, gaudy chain no (unless you have that whole thing going on). Watches and bracelets are 1000% yes, but if they are too large for your wrist and move up and down your forearm as you move, no. Earrings are also a yes, but let me emphasize this is not for everyone, just keep them tasteful. Other than that the only major leave at home would be that chain that hangs from your belt loop to your pocket, but fortunately we don't see those very often anymore.

At the end of the day, I challenge you to find the balance of wearing what you love and what other people love seeing on you. There’s plenty of brands out there that offer chic and comfort. Banana republic is always my go to, with options for every occasion…from the wedding dance floor, to hiking up the side of a Swiss mountain. Go ahead and wear what you love, what inspires you, what gives you confidence, but just do it tastefully and make sure it fits you well. I have plenty more to get off my chest regarding this topic, things like quantity and quality, colors, event related dress, etc., but next time I’ll try not to be so harsh. Gotta start somewhere! Now go throw out those cargo shorts!

Hope you enjoy the week end read,

Dionisio III