Want to improve your style but you don’t know where to start?

Today’s article is for the guys who want to improve their style dramatically with little effort.

More and more men are starting to realize how a sense of fashion is an asset in every aspect of their lives. In today’s world, looking your best keeps you one step ahead.

Before

After

For those of who don’t really know where to begin in today’s society of information overload, fear not, making sure to cover the 5 areas below will be the fastest way to improve your first impression:

1) Make Sure The Fit Is Flattering

Your clothing should attractively fit your body shape - whatever shape that may be - and look like they’ve been hand-made for you.

Drilling this one bit of information into your head can instantly improve the way you look.

Yeah…yeah, it sound simple, but not having the proper fit is one of most common mistakes that men make when dressing.

So, how do you know when clothes fit right?

When you’re trying something on and you begin to question whether it’s too big or too small, it’s most likely not a great fit.

A good rule of thumb for finding a great fit is to pay attention to where the shoulder seams of the shirt or jacket lie; it should sit close above where your humerus (upper arm) fits into your scapula (shoulder blade). Not all sizes are created equal, so use good judgment. Fits will differ depending on the design and manufacturer. Your body shape will also determine if certain cuts will flatter you or not.

You may have passed with oversized clothing when you were a young boy – wearing hand me downs and attempting to add some bulk to your tiny frame - but if you’re a grown man, you can no longer get away with this.

Always wear clothes that fit like a glove, but don’t wear anything too tight. It just doesn’t look good on a man. Even if you’re muscular, women would rather it be a mystery of what’s underneath. It just looks like you’re about to burst out of your shirt any moment, you’re just making people nervous. If you’re built, it’ll show up in your frame, you really don’t have to show off your muscles to that extent - it seems like a cry for attention.

For pants, make sure they’re the right length - the bottom should just cover the top of your shoes when you’re standing. There shouldn’t be too much fabric bunched up around your ankle and they shouldn’t be so high that people can see your socks when you’re standing. If you can’t find the right length, get them hemmed to the appropriate length.

Pants should rest on your waistline, slightly above the hip bone without touching your belly button. They shouldn’t be too tight or too baggy. You should be able to fit two fingers into the waistline. For a more comfortable fit, get a relaxed fit or a boot cut. Do not purposely get a bigger size to try and create a baggier effect. Do you really want to look like a walking weight loss advertisement?

When you’re shopping at the store, always try things on. I don’t know why most guys don’t even bother, then they go home and realize that it looks all wrong. Save yourself another trip and just try it on. Once you start to pay more attention to how things fit on your body instead of just glancing at the size tag, you’ll start to recognize the patterns of what to look for next time.

2) Shoes Are Critical

Many have heard that shoes are the first thing that women look at. While that may not literally be true, shoes display an immeasurable amount of personality and taste; it’s pretty much all a woman has to look at to quickly judge what “league” you belong to.

Your shoes can make or break your entire outfit. If every part of your ensemble is perfect, but your shoes aren’t at par, you’ll look like a guy TRYING (and failing) to look stylish, not one who seamlessly IS.

I can’t stress enough how your shoes allow a person to determine how stylish you really are. Women pay attention to details, and after looking you over, your shoes will tell her the truth.

If you don’t believe that women pay attention to shoes, let me explain why. There are billions of shoes out there for women to choose from, in all shapes and sizes, most women have been trained since they were young to understand the power shoes have in helping them look fabulous. This kind of exposure and experience with shoes help them to not only judge other women by the shoes they wear, but men as well. They can quickly tell the quality of the shoes, along with the quality of the person, because they’ve been practicing it for years. When you do something enough, you undoubtedly begin to recognize patterns.

If you’re a car enthusiast, think of this:

A woman drives up in a hot exotic car, tuned up in subtle, but perfect ways. You’re experience with cars tells you what kind of person would drive a quality car like that - the kind of resources they would need to have to acquire it.

The way the car is tuned up would tell you how smart that person is, and how passionate they are about car performance and quality. You believe that this isn’t just some ordinary person but they pay attention to the details that matter, and that alone deserves your respect because it’s rare.

Finally, someone who understands, and even better, it’s someone of the opposite sex! All this probably makes you associate her with certain qualities, increasing her level of attractiveness to you.

Whenever you really understand the worth of something and how things work, you start to respect others who understand it because you know it’s not easy to get to that level of understanding without experience and some passion. And that by itself says a lot about someone. So showing a woman you understand shoes, really shows her that you’re a stylish guy.

With shoes, it’s about quality. It’s better to have two or three pairs of good shoes that will last a long time than to have twenty-five pairs of generic-looking bargain brands. That’s especially true of your dress shoes, but you can slide a little on casual shoes and sneakers.

Spend some money and get the best shoes you can afford, but make sure they are comfortable. If you’re buying leather shoes, get quality leather. It’s a lot less expensive to get them refurbished a number of times and have them last forever than to replace poorly made shoes every month.

The soles of well-made shoes will be stitched, not glued, to the bottom of the shoe. Also, the lining in better shoes is made of high-quality calfskin or natural leather, not synthetic materials. You can really tell a quality shoe by looking at the stitching - it should be neat and barely noticeable.

No matter how well you dress above your shoes, your shoes really sum it all up. Make sure you have a complete look from head toe. Nice, clean, well-made shoes is really all you need.

3) Be Mindful of Stereotypes

Image isn’t everything …

But it matters a freakin’ whole lot.

There is a “special police” guy who I see at Starbucks all the time. The Special Police unit is not a big deal in the U.S., they only have jurisdiction over small designated areas - but this guy walks in with his nicely pressed uniform like he owns the place.

The guy looks as young as a teenager - he’s got combed brown hair to one side, a spare tire gut, and wire rimmed glasses. Without his uniform, he would look like a real loser. Everyone treats him like he’s the man, almost like he’s the town sheriff - with respect, and accolade.

This is PROOF of how stereotypical dress invokes ASSOCIATIONS that Displays Higher Value even before you interact with the person.

So leverage those loaded avatars.

4) When in Doubt, Keep it Simple

If you don’t know where to start, start with the basics. We all want to stand out, but let’s do it the right way, not the wrong way. The right way will get people to compliment your style, even if it’s an outrageous rocker style. The wrong way makes you look you just threw a bunch of things together, without any specific attention to a complete look.

If you can’t cover the fundamental basics, you shouldn’t be going for the flair. Throwing on a rocker shirt and some ripped jeans won’t magically turn you into a sex god. It has to be put together the right way. So even for those attention grabbing flair addicts - when in doubt, keep it simple.

The guys who know how to do flair know how to do simple. When I say simple, I’m not talking about wearing an undershirt and some shorts. The real stylish men are the ones who can take generic looking clothing and make sure all the details are right (i.e., cut, fit, fabric, stitching, quality) along with their own knowledge of putting it all together in the most stylish way. They can take a normal dress shirt, match it with the right v-neck sweater, the right jeans, and shoes, and still stand out in great way. Throw in a hot pair of shades into the mix, and they’re golden.

You must understand what makes a man stylish before you go grabbing flashy items off the racks.

Being able to do this is a necessary base, which you can then take and add your own elements. For example, we can take the simple look I just mentioned and turn it into a rocker look in a matter of minutes:

Unbutton the collar buttons, add a skinny tie, roll up the sleeves and add a simple leather bracelet, put on some cowboy boots, and mess up the hair a little.

5) Stay In Shape

Fashion is not just about what you wear, it’s also about how it looks on your body. Take the same threads and put them on two different people: one who’s in good shape and athletic, and another who has a beer gut, round shoulders and a sunken chest. No matter what the clothes are, they’ll look better on the first guy.

Taking better care of your body can be as simple as making a few minor changes to your diet and spending a couple of hours at the gym every week. The related benefits of being healthier are that you’ll feel better about your body, be more confident and, therefore, look better. Attitude stems from confidence, and a large part of style is attitude.

For more men’s style tips, outfit critiques, and a place to ask your questions, check out the kinowear forums

Jae

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