Paul McGregorStyle is personal, and sometimes it’s hard for us to define what’s ‘stylish’ as opinions on what looks good and what doesn’t differs. But in general, we believe keeping your style classic and timeless is the easiest and best way to improve your appearance.
We’ve broken it down for you, highlighting 10 simple style tips that can be implemented straight away, and they’ll lead to vast improvements.
Style Tip 1: Fit
Fit is, hands down, the number 1 essential to dressing better.
You could be wearing a £1,500 suit but if it doesn’t fit, as it should it’s not going to look good. The issue with fit is guys choose to ignore it because they may be overweight, or they want to feel comfortable. But you should always pay close attention to the way clothes fit you whatever weight or whatever age you are.
Fit is important for everyone. Whatever shape or size you are.
If you’re overweight, you’ll tend to want to buy baggier clothes to cover up… but the effect you’re actually creating is the opposite.
Defining how something should fit is hard because everybody’s different, but the most important thing you need to remember when focusing on fit is the less ‘unwanted’ fabric the better.
In other words, if you’re wearing a pair of jeans and they’re scrunching up at the bottom… the fit needs some work. If you’re wearing a shirt and I can grab a handful of fabric from either the front or the back of the shirt… the fit needs work.
It’s about getting the balance right… Yes, The less ‘unwanted’ fabric when wearing the garment the better the fit is, but if it looks painted on you need to up that size slightly.
Your clothes should almost “skim” the body, smoothing out your shape without pulling or looking tight.
Style Tip 2: Good Shoes
I remember working on a video once asking the women of London what they like on a man, and 95% of them said good shoes.
From a style perspective, good shoes can really enhance your overall appearance. You could be wearing a simple jeans and t-shirt combination, and with the addition of a nice pair of shoes your appearance will enhance.
Brown shoes are your friends.
Forget your lucky pulling pants, brown shoes should become that best mate you can rely on.
Compare the two…
You’re heading out to a bar, wearing dark denim jeans and a white polo shirt, which both fit immaculately. You decide to opt for a pair of new balance sneakers to go with it…
Impressions? Casual.
Wear the same thing, but pair it with a pair of brown shoes (maybe a Brogue or a Double Monk) and the difference is huge.
The formality of your outfit has increased.
Just one simple minor change, which doesn’t take any effort whatsoever will dramatically increase your look.
In terms of what shoes should you opt for, take a look at our run down of 6 Footwear Essentials.
Style Tip 3: The Suit
Wow, the suit is powerful.
Not only for perception reasons, but walk around in a suit and feel the power it gives you mentally.
You feel like a BOSS.
Not only does this then allow perception of you to be better than it would be normally, it also gives you confidence. Which will help benefit your success on dates, at work, meetings and more.
But look, I’m not asking you to walk around in a suit all day and night.
You’re not Don Draper.
But every man should own at least 1, GOOD suit.
Why?
Because you don’t have to always wear it as a suit…
Dress it down with a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and wear the jacket. Make a t-shirt look more formal, pairing it with suit trousers and some good shoes. Wear the full suit with a polo shirt, with a shirt, a t-shirt, dress it up with a tie if needed and accessorize accordingly.
With just 1 suit, your options are unlimited.
You need to make sure you suit fits you though… there’s nothing cool about a suit which hangs off you like a hammy down from your pap.
Style Tip 4: Keeping It Timeless
Catwalks? Fashion week? The latest trend? If you’re not into that, then your best bet is to keep your style timeless.
You don’t need to know anything about fashion to be stylish…
See the issue arises when you believe you have to follow style like a ritual… you don’t.
With us being men we’re lucky, because think back to the style in the 1920’s, the 30’s and the 40’s and elements of it is still in style now.
It’s called a ‘Timeless Style’.
The blazer is an essential, and a navy blazer was fashionable back in the 1930’s as it is today.
Brogues are shoes that my Grandad used to wear… and I wear now.
That white buttoned down shirt you might buy tomorrow, will still be in style in 50 years time.
There’s no need to follow trends, as menswear is all about keeping things timeless.
But What’s Timeless?
- Suits (Neutral colours, classic cuts. You know the importance of suits…)
- Accessories (I’ve got ties I inherited from my Grandad who’s 89, accessories are timeless)
- Shirts (Again, neutral colours and classic cuts. The white shirt is a style staple every man should own)
- Shoes (Brogues, Monk Strap Shoes, Oxford or Derby Shoes… these are all classic, timeless shoes)
- The Chino (Again, a classic wardrobe piece. Chinos will be wearable in 30 years time)
- T-Shirts (No, not them graphic prints or slogan t-shirts… classic styles. A simple crew neck white, black or navy t-shirt can be worn for years to come.)
- Denim (Again, avoid trends. Classic dark denim jeans are timeless, allowing you to wear them over and over again.)
In fact, look over some photos of stylish chaps in the past 50 years and see what’s readily available now.
Flares? No.
Slogan T-Shirts? No.
Gold chains? No.
Ink died clothing? No.
Keep it classic, keep it timeless and your style will improve dramatically.
Style Tip 5: Quality Over Quantity
Improving your style is about being smart.
It’s not about having a huge choice; it’s about having the correct choice.
Women own too many shoes, they impulse buy and that’s not what we want to do.
Us men can get away with two pairs of shoes. 1 casual and 1 formal if we wished. As long as we choose the right casual pair and the right formal pair, we can still enhance style.
Do you know you could have a wardrobe with just 10 pieces… and you’d be able to put together multiple looks for multiple occasions?
It’s true. You could get away with just owning a few fundamentals, and you can create multiple outfits with them suitable for various occasion.
Having a wardrobe filled with timeless pieces you know fit you, and knowing what and when to wear them is exactly what being ‘stylish’ is about.
3 Minutes To Get Ready…
I always say if you gave someone stylish 3 minutes to get ready for a night out, and you asked someone who had no insights to these fundamentals I’m sharing with you you’d get a huge difference.
Why?
Because they’ll know what’s in their wardrobe, they know what goes with what and they know everything in there fits them. It takes 30 seconds to think about what to wear and to pull it from the wardrobe, and then they’ve got 2 and a half minutes to put in on.
Watch this, I love this video. It’s Patrick Grant of E. Tautz and Norton & Sons showing how he gets dressed in 30 seconds.
The end result is decent right?
He just knew before hand that the look would go well together, and he knows that it all fits him, as it should.
It’s also important to note that if you want to focus on quality over quantity, then you need to invest.
A $30 blazer from H&M isn’t going to last you long… where as a more expensive, but a better made and a better fitting blazer will last you much longer. Therefore, saving you money in the long run,
We want to create less fuss, so spend a bit more and focus on buying clothing that is well made and timeless.
Simple.
Wrap Up
What’s your favourite tip, and do you have any you want to share? Leave a comment below or get involved over at our Social Media channels.