Fashion for the Modern Man Pt. 1

By Nicholas Neyhouse on October 12, 2014
"Uniqlo"

image via http://goo.gl/yhSg2w Taken by: InSapphoWeTrust on May 6, 2012

Part 1: The Foundations

It has been increasingly clear that one of the many things that is expected of the modern man is to dress well.

I’ve done a lot of people watching on my many BART rides to San Francisco and Berkeley and I found that there are an enormous amount of different styles that the modern man wears well. This article provides a path to creating the foundation that will lead to further nuances that add to your own personal style.

Uniqlo is a great store for basic everyday clothing that will help you find the foundations that I speak about in this article. I recommend looking on their online catalog or visiting one of their stores, because their clothing is relatively cheap and made fairly well. I will place a link to their online store at the bottom of the article with some of the items I talk about.

I should start out with saying that this is completely an opinionated piece. There is no one way to ‘correctly’ dress. My own personal wardrobe may go against some of the ideas that are presented in this article and future articles I write.

When I mention a brand most times the brand is for reference to the style I’m talking about and not necessarily the brand you should get. Finally, comfort comes first. If anything I say doesn’t fit your style or body then that’s completely fine, these are just recommendations based off of the compliments that I have received on my own clothing.

And remember, the cool thing about fashion is that you get to have fun with bending the rules and experimenting, so YOU DO YOU!

There are a few clothing items that each man should consider owning if they desire to build their wardrobe. For starters, a basic pair of dark indigo well-fitting jeans.

I recommend looking at Levi’s 501s or 511s. Levi’s provide a nice template for trying to discover what sort of jeans fit you best, and then you can go searching for a cheaper or more expensive pair of pants if you so desire.

The 501 is their original cut, while the 511 slims around the knees. Either pair will serve the purpose of a foundational jean, but the important task is finding the pair you feel comfortable in. Comfortableness changes from person to person, although for a statement on length: the pants should rest on the top of your shoe. I personally would probably go for the 511 or even their 522, which has a taper at the ankle, because I prefer tighter fitting pants.

While you are buying your jeans you may want to pick up a black pair and a pair of khaki chinos or trousers. These couple other pairs will help you diversify your outfit options, and once you know what style fits you comfortably, you might as well buy a couple more pairs.

Next come shoes.

Guys, my best piece of advice is to move past using a tennis or running shoe for your everyday shoe. For a laid back sneaker I’d recommend looking at: Converse, P.F. Flyers, or Vans. These shoes are decent looking and they provide comfort for everyday use. I personally love converse and own a pair of classic red chucks and a pair of brown leather converse.

It is important to own a shoe in between dressy and sneaker as well. This could be as easy as purchasing a nice pair of loafers or chukka boots. Sperry’s topsiders have dominated the boat shoe scene for the past few years, and I personally love them. My father has been wearing them since he was in college and now I own a pair. Sperry’s or Clarks classic chukka boot fit the style of in between sneaker and dressy, but options lie out there.

Try looking for a leather or suede material and a style of that works well for you, and I’d recommend staying away from square pointed toes.

Finally let’s move onto shirts.

For starters, you may want to remove some of the graphic tees from your dresser. Take a long look through your t-shirts and make sure you still really like the ones you have, and you aren’t just wearing them because they are there. My recommendation is to try and diversify your t-shirt collection.

Own shirts that have the things you love on them, such as a band, movie, book, or t.v. show, but also consider trying out some henley style t-shirts, or just shirts with plan designs like stripes or other patterns on them.

Next come button down shirts. It is completely personal preference of the patterns you want on them, but just make sure they fit well. The cuffs should hit the bottom of your thumb, the seams of the shoulders should rest right on the edge of where your arm falls, and the collar should fit fairly snuggly around your neck, although with enough room to slide in a couple of fingers.

These recommendations add up to the beginnings of creating a new wardrobe, although I would like to repeat myself here and state: please choose things you feel comfortable in, remember to take everything I say with a grain of salt, and have fun!

Uniqlo Jeans

Uniqlo Shirt:

 

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