My boyfriend’s wardrobe used to consist of a couple of pairs of jeans, beat up Chuck Taylors and band T-shirts.
Being the shopaholic that I am, I’ve taken him on a few of my trips to the mall. Nowadays a standard outfit for him is corduroy jeans, button up shirt, vest and a blazer. This is perhaps even more hipster than I had hoped for.
The idea that I’m posing is that maybe guys do care about what they wear – some just don’t know how to dress.
Here are some helpful hints for guys trying to find their fashion paths or for the kind girlfriends trying to get their boyfriends out of the fashion dark ages.
The most important aspect of looking good is feeling good. Once you feel good in what you wear, the mall becomes a place of limitless possibilities. You may feel good in jeans and a band T-shirt, but trust me, you could feel much better.
Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up. When looking for shoes, you don’t have to necessarily buy new ones, just maybe pull a pair out that you rarely wear.
I’m talking about your dress shoes. They’re going to look much more fly with your jeans than any pair of running shoes would.
Some Nike kicks can look pretty fly with colored jeans, but they’re not the fashion statement of the year. As we’re going into summer you might want to check out some boating style shoes; my preference is the Sperry brand.
You don’t wear socks with those so you might want to also invest in some shoe deodorizer.
If you’re going to wear jeans, I suggest dark, fitted jeans. They have a much more sophisticated look than the light-wash, ripped jeans. While you’re at it, you might as well jump on the colored pants bandwagon as well.
However if you’re looking for something suitable for summer, go shopping for some khaki shorts. These are different from the cargo shorts you wore in high school; these are more of a golf style, with about 20 million less pockets and end a little higher on the knee than other shorts.
Solid colors and stripes are what you should be wearing up top. Camo is also making a comeback. I realize for most of western Pennsylvania the trend never left, but it’s entering back into the fashion world.
I think you can still leave the neon orange vest in the closet for now, but pull out your dad’s old military jacket and look pretty slick.
I can’t leave without talking about a well-tailored suit. Every lady reading this knows just how attractive a man can look in a nice suit. They can be pricey, but it’s a good investment, especially if you’re looking for a lady friend.
If you’re not ready to make the commitment to a suit, pick up a blazer. You can even wear it casually with jeans on the bottom, white T underneath, and roll up the blazer sleeves.
Whatever you do, it’s really worth nothing unless you look in the mirror and feel like checking yourself out.
Last but not least, you’ve got to be wearing that confidence, but not cockiness. Just enough to make you look like you don’t care if anyone likes your outfit or not. Do this and you’ll look great.
