Sometimes, there is nothing more enjoyable than choosing clothing for a man in your life, whether that is your partner, father or son. Sometimes, it is for a special event, and other times, it is just because. No matter what the reason, here is what you should be looking for when it comes to men’s clothing.
The 90% Problem
90% of all dressing problems come down to the fit. The fit is an essential part of having that effortless cool. We know that most men’s clothing comes in a range of small, medium, large and various numbers of XL. Many men think of themselves intrinsically as one of those sizes and stick with the same size regardless of where they buy from.
The size discrepancy isn’t usually much, but even a few inches can make a big difference – which is why some celebrities look incredible wearing basic jeans and t-shirts, and the same outfit on someone else looks ‘off.’
Well, since you are acting as the personal shopper right now, take a look at the most worn shirts in your man’s wardrobe and ask yourself if they really fit or not. Fit is one way to change the entire outfit without too much effort.
The reason fit matters so much is that bad fit makes the body proportions look off. Clothing that is too loose or big can look crumpled and messy. There is much to be said for comfort, but taking the time to find the right size is essential.
Look For Inspiration
The thing with celebrities is that often, you see the best versions of them online. Smooth, sleek bodies that are highly worked out and on tight eating regimes. Since most men aren’t movie stars or models, they don’t have to have rock-hard abs. This means not everything that looks great on the hard-bodied celebrity will look great on the average guy.
Thankfully, there are hundreds of influencers online that have a wide range of bodies – and that can help you find some inspiration. Look for someone who has a body type similar to your partner and start going through their photos.
The more stylish people you look at, the more likely you will be able to infuse the style into your guy. If your partner or you have some stylish friends or family, start asking where they buy their clothing.
Everyone loves to feel like they look good – and they get compliments while you get the information on where to buy some cool clothing.
Classics Are Forever
There is a reason that the capsule wardrobe is one of the biggest and most important things for those people who seem to have their style sorted. The capsule wardrobe staples tend to be classic icons and are easy enough to get together.
The capsule wardrobe can also be called the minimalist wardrobe, and typically has the following items:
- Socks and underwear: skip all the novelty options, and go straight for high quality, they’ll last longer and are better fitted.
- T-shirts: black and white are the best basics, and skip on any of the large logos.
- Jeans: black jeans or dark indigo go with anything from white sneakers to boots and everything in between.
- Polo shirts: a classic basic that fill the space between smart and casual, and can be one of the hardest working shirt options.
- Chinos: the chino is a classic that looks perfect for work, or an evening in the pub.
- Shirt: a white dress shirt for smart occasions and work is ideal.
- Footwear: white leather tennis shoes work with everything, and so do a good pair of chelsea boots or oxfords.
- Loungewear: there is nothing more comfortable than good loungewear, but upgrading it to more athleisure means it can go just as easy from relaxing in the house to a coffee shop or running other errands.
The key to almost anything that goes in a capsule wardrobe for your partner is that they were purchased somewhere that stocks multiple brands, classic styles and trending items (although trending items aren’t usually in a capsule wardrobe, if you love them it is worth buying). Ben Sherman is a great option as a one stop shop for accessories to socks and shoes.
Neutrals
While neutrals might sound boring, they aren’t – and almost all examples of a good outfit will have something, if not everything neutral. Neutral colours aren’t the beige and whites that people often think about. The base of the wardrobe will be about 50% of what will be worn, from some of those base neutrals will come the tones – lighter for spring and summer but deeper for autumn and winter. Pops of colours and prints can then make up a small percentage of clothing.
The reason to use neutrals is for people who prefer something easy, where everything goes with everything else. Once the neutrals are mastered, help your partner add more flavour into the mix.
Look and Style
Fashion is what we wear, but style is who we are. True style comes from knowing what we like, what fits us, and more often than not – people know what it is we like.
The best part about helping your partner work out who they are in terms of style is that there are thousands of things to choose from, and no one needs to have a completely 100% original style. Taking inspiration from male influencers, celebrities and what is on the runway can help your guy decide what he really likes.
And that might well be jeans and logo-laden t-shirts, so concentrating on the fit and quality is the way to go.
Think of great outfits like a formula or a recipe. The fit of the clothing and the neutrals are the basis of the outfit, the accessories are the seasoning and personality. It is important to play around with the recipe until you find one that fits your guy’s taste.
Clearing Out
Reaching for the same regular items, keeps people trapped in the style that they were hoping to move away from. Cleaning out the cupboards might sound painful, but in the end it might be one of the most important parts of a style revamp.
Keeping the favourites is something that makes sense – after all they were the favourites for a reason. But to upgrade style, then out with the old and in with the new. It is important to keep in mind that buying fast-fashion, low quality items will mean that they will wear out quickly and need replacing often. Opting for higher-quality will mean that the items you buy will last longer.
Where possible make sure that anything that can be worn again is donated or sold ahead of getting new items in.
What you don’t like
Finding out what your man really doesn’t like is just as important as knowing what they do like. Sometimes it can be really interesting and exciting to see what people like. Often we don’t know people have a real love for the fashion in a specific era, or the way a certain person dresses until we ask. Because it can often be that the conversations don’t always just come up naturally!
You can also tell your partner about the styles that you enjoy too!
When you know what you do like, and what you don’t like – then you start to develop what they call the ‘eye’. An eye for detail, an eye for style, and an eye for the things that will suit them or the people they are buying for.
Luckily style and taste are things that can be learned over time – and that means that after some talking, shopping and looking for inspiration it can appear. And while not everyone who is looking for a new style is going to want to deep dive into the world of fashion and start browsing countless blogs, it can be a lot of fun.
It’s a skill!
Understanding your partner’s dimensions and what looks good on them is a skill, and it is not one that comes naturally to everyone. So while you might have their measurements in front of you – you might not get their style quite right. Luckily – you can learn what looks great on them. It’s important to note that you’re not dressing them up like a doll! Instead you are looking for fun ways to help them reach their style goals.
Quality
Something that comes up the most is quality over quantity, and most of the time you are going to have to feel the fabric to know it. In general it is difficult to make anything high-quality with low-quality materials, and be able to buy it for a low price.
You’ll also note that the higher the quality the better the finish – buttons, seams, zippers and the general construction looks better. All of these culminate in an item that will last longer.
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