Men's Fashion

[setzer777]

Fashion kind of baffles me. I just went clothes shopping with a friend of mine, and she wanted me to try on some v-necks that I thought looked plain. Turns out they look really good on me (make my neck look a lot better)! When I look at clothes on the rack they seem so similar, but then those small differences seem to have a large effect.

While I do have female friends I can go shopping with (none of the guys I know are particularly fashion-conscious), I would like to develop a degree of knowledge myself on the subject so that I can make my own judgments. Internet sources seem spotty to me though...

I guess what I'm looking for are consistently good sources of fashion info, as well as any universally applicable advice.

[Kang]

I admit I looked at this thread because after reading the title my thought was: «Men's Fashion? What does that even mean?»

[Garm]

Try looking here. If you've got a few bucks then the advice they give is pretty solid.

I take my wife to go shopping with me so I'm pretty set. Fortunately I've got a job where business casual is acceptable (Boulder is pretty casual regardless, lots of hiking boots and shorts in the building right now), so I own a lot of slacks and a number of dress shirts. The one piece of advice that I can give is to not scrimp on shoes. Three reasons for this, 1) bad shoes make an otherwise good looking out fit shoddy, 2) bad shoes are usually really uncomfortable, 3) good shoes last longer (see Vimes' Theory of Economics). My wife made me buy some $120 shoes last year. I'm still wearing them, they're comfortable, and work appropriate.

[EmptySet]

My wife made me buy some $120 shoes last year. I'm still wearing them, they're comfortable, and work appropriate.

Good gods, do they actually make shoes that wear out in less than a year? Normally I would expect at least two or three years of wear, and my record so far is eight years (AU$130 hiking boots, for reference).

[Jacque]

Here's a few resources to peruse at your leisure:

• Valet Mag - Men's fashion, style, grooming. A lot of good stuff, some sponsored articles, but they're easy to pick out. The tips and Q&A are usually rock solid though.
• NotCouture - Fashion, mainly women's but there's a handful of mens stuff floating around. Crowdsourced for the most part.

[SurgicalSteel]

Valet Mag - Men's fashion, style, grooming. A lot of good stuff, some sponsored articles, but they're easy to pick out. The tips and Q&A are usually rock solid though.

Something about that site just seems douchey to me. Could be that they recommend $200 cardigans and $150 jeans. If I pay $200 for a fucking sweater I'd better be able to eat it and run my car off it too. Just at a cursory glance I think I like Men's Health's Grooming section better.

Edit: I'll reel in my criticism of Valet a little, the Q&A section seems pretty solid.

[Dark567]

Valet Mag - Men's fashion, style, grooming. A lot of good stuff, some sponsored articles, but they're easy to pick out. The tips and Q&A are usually rock solid though.

Something about that site just seems douchey to me. Could be that they recommend $200 cardigans and $150 jeans. If I pay $200 for a fucking sweater I'd better be able to eat it and run my car off it too. Just at a cursory glance I think I like Men's Health's Grooming section better.

Dude, try walking into an Giorgio Armani Store sometime(Not Armani-Express or Emperio Armani). $200 will get you a pocket square, if they have a sale it might get you a tie.

[You, sir, name?]

$200 is probably around what I spent on clothing all of last year, if not more.

[Garm]

My wife made me buy some $120 shoes last year. I'm still wearing them, they're comfortable, and work appropriate.

Good gods, do they actually make shoes that wear out in less than a year? Normally I would expect at least two or three years of wear, and my record so far is eight years (AU$130 hiking boots, for reference).

I'm pretty hard on shoes. My feet being really flat doesn't help. I wear out the soles pretty quickly, especially when wearing cheap sneakers. I probably got a year or more of wear out of most shoes but they weren't comfortable (or work appropriate) at the end.

[Jorpho]

I just went clothes shopping with a friend of mine, and she wanted me to try on some v-necks that I thought looked plain. Turns out they look really good on me (make my neck look a lot better)! When I look at clothes on the rack they seem so similar, but then those small differences seem to have a large effect.

Well, that's just v-necks for you. They're all angular and such. (I can't quite seem to find them when I want them, really.)

But this path can lead to dark and terrifying places, so I am inclined to suggest you stop here.

[Dark567]

I just went clothes shopping with a friend of mine, and she wanted me to try on some v-necks that I thought looked plain. Turns out they look really good on me (make my neck look a lot better)! When I look at clothes on the rack they seem so similar, but then those small differences seem to have a large effect.

Well, that's just v-necks for you. They're all angular and such. (I can't quite seem to find them when I want them, really.)

But this path can lead to dark and terrifying places, so I am inclined to suggest you stop here.

Yeah..... I have a little bit of an addiction. I probably blow a couple hundred a month on clothes. Get out while you still can.

[OBrien]

Here's a few tips I've discovered:
1) If you have a really thick neck (like me, it's as wide as my head) shirts with the button-down collars tend to look really good.
2) Slim fit (but not skinny) drainpipe or straight-leg jeans make you look nice and tall
3) Bright colours on your feet can turn an otherwise drab outfit into a lively looking one (but, as with all bright colours, make sure they don't clash)
4) A navy blue blazer goes with almost any bottoms
5) Red jeans go with almost any tops
6) Tieing your scarf with the [url=http://uk.askmen.com/fashion/fashiontip_300/357_fashion_advice.html]once around knot[/i] looks really nice if your scarf is being tucked in to your coat
7) Mixing and matching your smart and excessively scruffy clothes looks damn cool (one of my favourite outfits is my threadbare, full-of-holes Dennis the Menace (UK DtM, not American) tee shirt, with smart, bright green military parade trousers underneath a pair of lght blue jeans so worn I need to wear the trousers undernath or I'd be breaking indecent exposure laws, with the aforementioned blue blazer and a pair of very nice black and oxblood brogues I picked up second hand for £20.

[Dark567]

1) If you have a really thick neck (like me, it's as wide as my head) shirts with the button-down collars tend to look really good.

This is true, but just realize you shouldn't ever wear one with a jacket. An oxford collar with a blazer or suit, is considered a huge faux pas.

[setzer777]

Great responses, thanks!

One issue I have is that I live in Texas, so it's practically summer 3/4 of the year. Not being able to layer clothing too much makes it seem much more difficult to do anything interesting.

[Midnight]

An oxford collar with a blazer or suit, is considered a huge faux pas.

I don't think that's true.
You always wear a dress shirt with a suit. If you've got a full-on suit with a T-shirt, that's like white socks and black shoes.

[JudeMorrigan]

An oxford collar with a blazer or suit, is considered a huge faux pas.

I don't think that's true.
You always wear a dress shirt with a suit. If you've got a full-on suit with a T-shirt, that's like white socks and black shoes.

I'm not sure you aren't misunderstanding Dark567. I'm sure there would be no disagreement that wearing a suit with anything other than a dress shirt of some sort would be questionable. But dress shirts with button-down collars are considered sporty and relatively casual.

[bigglesworth]

Great responses, thanks!

One issue I have is that I live in Texas, so it's practically summer 3/4 of the year. Not being able to layer clothing too much makes it seem much more difficult to do anything interesting.

Layering clothing is seen more often in clothes magazines/catalogues than anywhere else, and it's mostly for logistical reasons there (though yes it can look pretty interesting).

[Dark567]

I'm not sure you aren't misunderstanding Dark567. I'm sure there would be no disagreement that wearing a suit with anything other than a dress shirt of some sort would be questionable. But dress shirts with button-down collars are considered sporty and relatively casual.

Yeah, exactly. You can obviously wear certain dress shirts with suits. Oxford dress shirts are a sort of dress shirt that is not meant to be worn with suits, many other dress shirts are.

[TaintedDeity]

Oxford dress shirts are so named because of the fabric they're made of and can, theoretically, be in any design.
I can't find any sources that suggest not wearing an oxford dress shirt with a suit or blazer. Can you? I'm interested now.

[Wolf]

Oxford dress shirts are so named because of the fabric they're made of and can, theoretically, be in any design.
I can't find any sources that suggest not wearing an oxford dress shirt with a suit or blazer. Can you? I'm interested now.

I think he's not so much referring to the cloth as the button-down collars that "Oxfords" seem to commonly (apparently) have:

Spoiler:

From Wikipedia:

Button-down collars have points fastened down by buttons on the front of the shirt. Introduced by Brooks Brothers in 1896, they were patterned after the shirts of polo players and were used exclusively on sports shirts until the 1950s in America. It is still considered a more sporting style, and, particularly outside America, traditionally dressed men still do not wear suits with this style of collar.

[Dark567]

Oxford dress shirts are so named because of the fabric they're made of and can, theoretically, be in any design.
I can't find any sources that suggest not wearing an oxford dress shirt with a suit or blazer. Can you? I'm interested now.

I think he's not so much referring to the cloth as the button-down collars that "Oxfords" seem to commonly (apparently) have:

Eh, I was definitely referring to the Oxford collar, more so than the Oxford weave(Oxford shirts usually have both). This is because its hard to make the harder point or straight collars with the soft oxford material. That being said, I don't think you shouldn't wear a suit with a shirt that has an oxford weave even if it has a collar other than button-down. Or wear a suit with any shirt that has a button down collar, even if its not an oxford weave.

I had a pretty hard time find references for this, and a lot had conflicting answers and couldn't find anything reputable. The article agrees with me on suits, but disagrees with me and says its okay to wear button-down collars with blazers.
http://www.examiner.com/men-s-style-in- ... own-collar

[OBrien]

OK, I solved this argument relatively quickly by just trying them out:
Oxford collar with blazer: Can look good if you get the right combination, but can look atrocious.
Oxford collar with suit: Can look OK if you get the right combination, horrific if you don't. But don't worry too much about that because many, many "acceptable" styles of suits look like shit anyway (eg: Silk lapels)

[TaintedDeity]

What's that? The rules of fashion are a pile of wank and are superceded by "Yeah, that looks good. I'll wear that."
Great news!

[setzer777]

Oddly enough, I sometimes envy the broader options women have when it comes to fashion (though I know it's accompanied by higher expectations). I feel like it's more difficult as a guy to stand out visually and not blend in with half the other guys around.

So most discussion I hear on the subject tends to be for more formal wear (collared shirts and some sort of jacket). I have trouble with the more inbetween areas: when I want to go nicer than a t-shirt and jeans, but I don't want to feel like I'm dressing for the office or going to a formal event*. Winter fashion makes this easier, but I live in Texas, so we barely have a winter.

*I think part of the problem is that I think most polo shirts I see just look bad, or at least wouldn't look good on me.

[Dark567]

Oddly enough, I sometimes envy the broader options women have when it comes to fashion (though I know it's accompanied by higher expectations). I feel like it's more difficult as a guy to stand out visually and not blend in with half the other guys around.

So most discussion I hear on the subject tends to be for more formal wear (collared shirts and some sort of jacket). I have trouble with the more inbetween areas: when I want to go nicer than a t-shirt and jeans, but I don't want to feel like I'm dressing for the office or going to a formal event*. Winter fashion makes this easier, but I live in Texas, so we barely have a winter.

*I think part of the problem is that I think most polo shirts I see just look bad, or at least wouldn't look good on me.

Slacks and a untucked button down? Probably something along the lines of "sport shirt" as they are called. Here are some examples(a little on the expensive side, but they are more meant as examples, if you look around you can definitely find cheaper), a couple of these would definitely stand out visually:

http://dkny.donnakaran.com/men/shirts/kmru8502/new-stripe-shirt
http://www.express.com/chambray-fitted-piped-military-shirt-27807-689.pro?user_att_name=Interest&Mpper=3&Mrsavf=*&Mpos=35&Mcat=689&Mcatg=cat_1&Mcatn=View+all+Shirts&Mcatp=cat_49&user_att_value=Email&Mrsaa=*&Mpg=SEARCH%2BNAV&Mcatpn=Shirts&Mppg=0
http://www.armaniexchange.com/product/mens/woven+shirts/ombre+banded+shirt.do?asc=&sortby=&size=&imageName=1231.10953.9359.012

[SurgicalSteel]

Slacks and a untucked button down?

That's what I do in the situation setzer described. A nice button-up without a long-tail so it doesn't look weird untucked and nice jeans (nice here means clean, not faded and not ripped, torn or frayed). If it's very hot or just a little more casual you could do the same, but wear a regular, graphic-less t-shirt (regular meaning not an undershirt) under the button up and wear it unbuttoned, like an over shirt I guess, and tuck in the regular T. Though I think the latter looks weird with long-sleeved button-ups, and is actually the only time I wear short-sleeve button ups.

[setzer777]

Dark567: Thanks, I really like some of those you linked to. As for cost, I don't mind spending $70+ for a nice shirt.

Surgicalsteel: yeah, I've done the unbuttoned shirt over tee before, though I never tuck t-shirts in (I feel like most shirts look better untucked on me, perhaps because I'm on the shorter side at 5'7?) I also share your aversion to short-sleeve button ups.

Edit: Wow, I've never really looked at Armani Exchange before, lots of cool stuff! Hm,maybe this is sending me down a dark path....

[SBD]

Is it possible to wear All-Stars (the shoes) with shorts, or would it just look silly?

[Dark567]

Edit: Wow, I've never really looked at Armani Exchange before, lots of cool stuff! Hm,maybe this is sending me down a dark path....

Yeah, I know it has this reputation of "I wear Armani" douchiness to it. But.... Armani does have some pretty cool stuff at all levels, if I had to pick a favorite designer label, it would probably be Armani. They often do some cool things that I just haven't seen before, like zip up shirts, jackets that contrast the lapel and the collar etc.

Is it possible to wear All-Stars (the shoes) with shorts, or would it just look silly?

I would think that is fine. Just try to find some shorter socks, long socks can look pretty ridiculous with shorts.

[OBrien]

Edit: Wow, I've never really looked at Armani Exchange before, lots of cool stuff! Hm,maybe this is sending me down a dark path....

Living in England, I usually spend myy time drooling over the shirts in Ben Sherman rather than Armani. But yeah, as much as I hate the stigma surrounding these sort of shops, they do have some damn nice clothes.

[SurgicalSteel]

http://dkny.donnakaran.com/men/shirts/kmru8502/new-stripe-shirt
http://www.express.com/chambray-fitted-piped-military-shirt-27807-689.pro?user_att_name=Interest&Mpper=3&Mrsavf=*&Mpos=35&Mcat=689&Mcatg=cat_1&Mcatn=View+all+Shirts&Mcatp=cat_49&user_att_value=Email&Mrsaa=*&Mpg=SEARCH%2BNAV&Mcatpn=Shirts&Mppg=0
http://www.armaniexchange.com/product/mens/woven+shirts/ombre+banded+shirt.do?asc=&sortby=&size=&imageName=1231.10953.9359.012

Holy mother of fuck. I'll stick to Target.

[novax6]

Oddly enough, I sometimes envy the broader options women have when it comes to fashion (though I know it's accompanied by higher expectations). I feel like it's more difficult as a guy to stand out visually and not blend in with half the other guys around.

So most discussion I hear on the subject tends to be for more formal wear (collared shirts and some sort of jacket). I have trouble with the more inbetween areas: when I want to go nicer than a t-shirt and jeans, but I don't want to feel like I'm dressing for the office or going to a formal event*. Winter fashion makes this easier, but I live in Texas, so we barely have a winter.

*I think part of the problem is that I think most polo shirts I see just look bad, or at least wouldn't look good on me.

Slacks and a untucked button down? Probably something along the lines of "sport shirt" as they are called. Here are some examples(a little on the expensive side, but they are more meant as examples, if you look around you can definitely find cheaper), a couple of these would definitely stand out visually:

http://dkny.donnakaran.com/men/shirts/kmru8502/new-stripe-shirt
http://www.express.com/chambray-fitted-piped-military-shirt-27807-689.pro?user_att_name=Interest&Mpper=3&Mrsavf=*&Mpos=35&Mcat=689&Mcatg=cat_1&Mcatn=View+all+Shirts&Mcatp=cat_49&user_att_value=Email&Mrsaa=*&Mpg=SEARCH%2BNAV&Mcatpn=Shirts&Mppg=0
http://www.armaniexchange.com/product/mens/woven+shirts/ombre+banded+shirt.do?asc=&sortby=&size=&imageName=1231.10953.9359.012

I actually like that dkny one, not too bad at all. I might have to remember that. That Armani shirt looks like a barcode though, not digging it at all. But they do have some good stuff overall.

[Jacque]

If I pay $200 for a fucking sweater I'd better be able to eat it and run my car off it too.

Probably cashmere. Also, probably a paid product advertisement.

Regardless, cashmere sweaters feel fucking fantastic. If you've got that kind of pocket money to put down on that kind of clothing, why not? It looks good, it feels great, is warm as hell; it just costs a lot more than your standard cotton or wool.

As for warm weather wear. Linen is your friend. Probably have to wait until the spring to start seeing linen on store's shelves though.

[General_Norris]

The best tip I can give you when buying clothes is, if you don't know if you like it, pass. Thinking about it will not give you a good answer.

I, for one, enter a shop, see a couple of things that I might like and take them to the dresser where I dress not looking to the mirror. When I'm ready I turn around. Do I look good? If yes, I will buy if I don't know I pass.

[Jorpho]

What's that? The rules of fashion are a pile of wank and are superceded by "Yeah, that looks good. I'll wear that."
Great news!

This needs to be emblazoned on billboards from coast to coast freakin' worldwide.

[Amora]

I've found LookBook to be a great source for fashion ideas.

http://lookbook.nu/

It's all user submitted fashions. Each submission is tagged with the clothing used, so you can easily look up anything you like.

[TaintedDeity]

That website is fantastic, although it does break my heart everytime I type in a word to search, see there's 28 results and then click 'guys', only for the number to go down to 5...

[Dark567]

I actually like that dkny one, not too bad at all.

If you look closely at the dkny, the pockets are different. One is rectangular and one is rounded with a flap. Its a semi-subtle detail, but definitely not a particularly standard way of designing a shirt.

[montagfaber]

Dress well. Fashion is, whether you like it or not, such an important part of you as a person. Find a look and experiment. If you're the kind of person that thinks 'oh come on, looks aren't important', well then guess what, everyone else can tell that about you too from afar. But, let's say every season you pick up a few things just to liven up a wardrobe. After you have your staples covered in good quality, and you buy clothes that fit (north americans, for whatever reason, can not pick the right size garment) spend three minutes before you go shopping to figure out something that'll accent your self.

And, it is not ridiculous to give these aesthetic elements consideration. It would be lovely if we were all above superficiallity, but we're not. It matters when we see a cute girl or a cute guy, if they have a patch from a band we like on their bag, a tattoo on their forehead... we're visually drawn. We make decisions about how much to eat and exercise based not entirely on aspects of physiological well being, but on how we look as well.

Learn what's big in Berlin or London on the street. Learn what's big every season in Paris and Milan on the runways. These things are as much culture as what's big on the radio or the last episode of the Big Bang Theory.

Shop vintage.

And for men, if there's one thing I can recommend that will make you look absolutely ridiculously awesome no matter what you wear up top, here's my tip : slim-fitting (not skinny) jeans with a great, great boot. And a real leather bag.

[podbaydoor]

...I can look clean and presentable without paying attention to the self-absorbed vicissitudes of rarified European designers. If they come up with anything worth wearing, it'll trickle down to my plebeian level eventually.