Fashion essentials for the 21st century male
What should you buy and wear? Why wearing pink will get you more links..
This is a tough question, the clothes you buy should show your style and individuality.
Only you can define your style and what image you are trying to show the world.
Some of you may be thinking, does it really matter. Well unfortunately it does matter, people notice what you wear and form an opinion of you. I don’t generally care what people think of me, but let us say you are going for a job interview or a hot date. I am sure you want to make a good impression.
DRESS UP EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A SPECIFIC DESTINATION IN MIND
You’re not impressing anyone by wearing those neutral colour dockers chino pants. I understand that you are going to work, but you are spending most of the day there and you want to look your best.
When you pop out on your lunch break, you never know who you might meet.
I do own a pair of chinos, the pair I own are more of a tobacco/rust colour. I find this colour works well with a lot of clothes I have in my closet.
I tend to wear dress pants/trousers to work and jeans on the weekend when I go out on the town. I find dress pants more comfortable, but I understand I am a bit different in my tastes.
Since I live in a country that has a cold winter, I wear wool dress pants most of the time. I stick to grey, it is less harsh than black. I always buy classic looks like grey flannel, herringbone and a tweed. That is my British upbringing shining through.
TYPE OF JEANS TO WEAR
When it comes to jeans, every guy has a pair and it is one piece of clothing that can be worn in most countries. I suggest staying away from trends like ripped jeans, stonewash jeans and jeans with funky worn designs on them.
I am happy to see a popular Japanese clothing line has made it to my city. Uniqlo sells reasonable priced clothing for men and women, they have a line of jeans called Selvedge that is priced around $50. Selvedge is a different weave process and makes the jeans more durable. These jeans are usually a dark indigo colour, they are great to dress up or dress down. The site is www.uniqlo.com
Since I wear dress pants a lot, I like to dress them down by wearing denim shirts. I stick to good ole Levi’s brand, which I can pick up for cheap. Denim shirts are pretty versatile, I also like to wear them with my chinos.
MEN IN PINK
If you listened to the podcast that Moma and I did with West Indian Archie, he recommended guys wear a pink shirt. I don’t know what it is about pink, but ladies love it when they see a guy wearing pink. I guess it lets them know that he is comfortable in his skin and is confident enough to wear such a bold colour.
A medium pink shirt works well with men of colour and their skin tone, I myself recently grabbed a medium pink button down shirt from Polo/Ralph Lauren. This type of shirt I would tend to wear to work or on weekends, maybe to a club/bar when I am on holiday in some warm destination. I might wear that in Miami and pair it with white jeans, drop a pair of loafers and people might think I am a local. 🙂
Let us drop the stereotype about pink being for gay men. Guys who make fun of you for wearing pink are probably not secure in their masculinity.
COLOURS THAT GO WELL WITH DARK SKINNED MEN
- Another colour that is great with dark skin is purple, they say purple is the colour of kings. I am looking for a purple turtleneck to spruce up my winter wardrobe. For those in warmer climates, a purple v neck t-shirt or a purple polo will add that same spice to your wardrobe.
- I would also add warm colours like red, orange and yellow work well against black skin. I actually feel the darker you are the more these colours will work with you. These colours will set you apart from other guys who generally stick to blue and black.
- If you listened to the show we did with the dark knight, he talked about wearing french blue or royal blue. He is a young lad with a darker complexion and claimed he gets a lot of compliments when he wears that colour.
- I tend to stick to solid colours when buying clothes, it is easier to mix and match your clothing.
- The last thing I would recommend, is to buy clothes that are made out of natural fabric. So clothes that are made out of wool, cotton, linen – not clothes made out of synthetic fabrics like rayon, polyester or viscose.
- With natural fabrics you will have clothes that will breathe, they won’t make you sweat. Also they will tend to last longer if you take care of them, the synthetic fabrics will tend to show their wear after a short period of time.
In the final installment, I will talk about shoes and accessories. (By Rudebwoy).
