Overdone: Jean Pocket Edition.

I don’t know when the line between women’s and men’s jeans became so blurred, but I can tell that some guys are confused. Jean pockets for guys are not a place to showcase personality. As I mentioned before, a man’s style should be simple and clean. Leave the cutesy patterns to the women-folk.

Think classic Levi’s pockets, and that’s it.

Here’s a checklist:

Elaborate flaps over your pockets?
No.

Rhinestones?
(seriously?) No.

Anything that glitters?
No.

Embroidered designs?
No.

Multiple colors of thread?
No.

All of the following do NOT work.

Photo credit: True Religion.

Photo credit: Express.

Photo credit: Nieman Marcus.

Photo credit: Nieman Marcus.

Brooks Brothers Clearance.

Another sale to apprise you of: Brooks Brothers Summer Clearance. Typically, I use BB as a model for old-school fit that you don’t want to emulate, even though their fabric and quality of their garments are very high. But, for business staples you really can’t ignore them, and you can still find some great things, provided you know what to look for.

So, if you need some high-quality, traditional dress shirts, sift through the sale, but look for things like what I’ve posted below (these are just examples, there are several more). They’re all the slim-fit (BB says up to 5″ off chest and torso), which should work on most body types. If you’re a bigger guy, you may want to go with the regular sizes, and get it tailored down. BTW, BB’s non-iron fabric is pretty amazing. I know fabric wonks think that non-iron fabric is subpar, but for real-world usage, you can’t beat it.

Photo credit: Brooks Brothers.

Photo credit: Brooks Brothers.

Photo credit: Brooks Brothers.

M+O Fall Boots.

Martin + OSA is a traditionally inspired, American style clothing store of a similar vein to that of JCrew. In addition to in-house designed clothes, they also stock trendy brands like Jack Purcell and Filson. M+O consistently has quality, stylish clothing at reasonable prices. If you have one in your city, I suggest you get to know it well. I’m super bummed that Houston doesn’t have one, as the only M+O in Texas are in Austin and Dallas.

As an added bonus, their sales promotions are usually frequent and can yield some great finds.

Recently, they released their fall boot selection, so I thought I’d post them here. Boots are an easy way to stylishly break from your typical sneakers or sandals and any of these would look great with your burgeoning updated wardrobe.

These boots are for casual purposes, perfect for weekend wear, casual bars, or stealing purses from old ladies (the crepe soles are both ludicrously comfortable and ninja-quiet).

Desert boots are definitely in style now, and the three varieties by M+O are my favorite of their fall offering. These are made by J Shoes.

Photo credit: M+O.

Photo credit: M+O.

Photo credit: M+O.

A Chelsea boot is a boot with ankle height and an elastic band at the top. The boots below are made by the 1970’s staple Frye boots.

Photo credit: M+O.

Get Groomed.

Photo credit: (cc) jonjk.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was slow to jump on the quality haircut bandwagon. I was taught by my dad to actively seek out the cheapest haircut. Not too long ago I remember him beaming when he found a shop that charged only $4.99 for a cut. But, I suppose when you’re semi-retired, own land, shoot deer with BB guns, and generally do whatever the hell you feel like, you can get away with a haircut that costs the same as a fast food meal.

And so I thought the cheaper the haircut the better. I’d go to a Supercuts/City Cuts/Sport Clips type place, but only on Tuesdays when it was $5 off, because cheaper = manlier.

Then one day I realized that I value quality things. Be it clothing, shoes, cars, beer, cigars and food. I pay very close attention to how I dress when I go out, but I was leaving one hugely noticeable area untouched: a quality haircut. So, I made an appointment with a salon, and I’ve never looked back.

What is the biggest difference? Attention to detail.

At my Quickie Haircutter I’d spend about 10 minutes in the chair. At my new place I’m there for easily 3.5 times that. With that amount of time they’re able to actually cut the hair properly, paying attention to the idiosyncrasies of my hair and my style. No chop job here.

It’s the difference of paying $4 to get a car wash at a gas station, and going and spending the $15-20 to get it hand washed. It takes more time, but the job is done much better.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have very odd hair. It’s a cross between a horse’s mane and pubic hair (you’re jealous, I know). So, perhaps it was more important for me to get a professional job, though I have talked with several other guys and they echo my sentiments. Now, if you’ve got a simple haircut like a buzz, or just like it super short, then by all means go to a Quickie Haircutter.

But, for everyone else, if you’re reading this blog, I’d hope that you’re buying into the idea that guys should care. We should be unapologetic about looking good, in our own manly way. So, while you’re paying attention to what goes on your feet, look at the other pole, and give a good quality salon a test drive.

Incidentally, for you Houstonites, I go to Daniel at Elements Salon off Waugh. Having only had my haircut by attractive women (and one cross dresser), it took me awhile to get used to having my hair cut by a guy, but he really does good stuff. The haircut isn’t too terribly priced ($35) but that includes a free necktrim whenever you need it. Also, importantly the shop decor is gender-neutral so as to ease the transition into the salon world.

Fit Lesson 6: Suits & Sport coats.

Now that we’ve got most of the basics covered, it’s time to tackle The Suit. This is an incredibly important article of clothing: when you’re suited up you implicitly are putting yourself on a stage, whether it’s for work or play. A suit amplifies (and signifies) everything: style, taste, body shape, personality. So, the worst thing you can do is put on an ill-fitting, or out of style suit.

The common mistake is assuming that a suit will fit you right off the rack. This couldn’t be further from the truth (even if you’re buying a $2-3k suit). PG has been lobbying for getting to know your tailor for just about every article of clothing, and based on feedback I can tell that you’re listening. Well, the suit is the granddaddy of them all and should fit perfectly. I can’t stress this enough: it is very unlikely that some amount of tailoring will not be required when purchasing a non-custom made suit.

If you’re in an office that requires a suit, don’t dumb it down and go for the status quo. The baggy coat and pleated pants look doesn’t look good on anybody. If you’re young and stylish, you owe it to yourself to dress more attractively. The cumulative total of even subtle changes will make a huge difference.

There are a myriad of variables that go into a suit, from fit to fabric, but for now we’ll focus on the fit rules and save whatever wildcards there may be for subsequent posts. In general, you want it form-fitting and comfortable. Something that doesn’t just drape on you, or give a boxy silhouette.

This is a long post, but it’s very important. So stay with me.

*Note: most of the suits highlighted in this post tend towards the more inexpensive side. This is intentional. Typically, with suits if you’re spending a lot of $$, and go with a modern designer, it should be easy to find a well-fitting suit. You just have to be more vigilant at more frugal price points.

Pants
When wearing a suit, it’s even more paramount to ensure that your pants fit you well, so make sure you’re following the rules on how pants should fit. The highlights: flat front, precise leg width, sits just below the waist, and has one break in the pant leg (the top of your pants should rest naturally over your shoe, and just above the heel of your shoe in the back). This will give a clean silhouette, without all the excess baggy fabric you see frequently.

If you’ve got a significantly larger chest than your waist, or vice versa, go for stores that sell suit separates to ensure you’re getting the proper fit for both your coat and your pants. Among the mass market brands: Brooks Brothers, JCrew, Express, Banana all sell separates.

Oh, and no pleats.

Coat
Generally, suit and sport coats should mirror the same sort of advice given for shirts. The general idea is buying a coat with a lot less fabric then you’re used to, giving you a coat that fits your body precisely, no matter the type.

But, it does get a little bit more complicated. Here are the important sub-categories.

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Gap Denim Sale.

PG believes in stylish frugality: you need not spend a ton of money in order to look good. Which is why most of the items highlighted in the posts are reasonably priced. The idea is that after reading the posts, any guy can walk into just about any mall in the US and find something that looks good.

Gap hasn’t lately been on the forefront of great style or quality, but there are signs that it is righting the ship. They’ve begun paying closer attention to their quality of denim and forging important designer collaborations.

PG uses Gap as a starter drug for those beginning their ascent into style consciousness, because it’s still a great place to get some quality basics at a decent price (especially when they’re having their sales), provided you know what to look for.

Which is why I wanted to alert you to the fact that Gap is having a pretty good sale on their denim – $20 off their “1969” line of denim.

A note: if you haven’t bought a pair of Gap jeans in a long time (or ever) it may be a good idea to purchase in store as opposed to online. My first pair of jeans from Gap were a pair highlighted in the Fit Guide to pants that had a wash that was very different from that of online. The bottom line is that with a value priced item, you’re sacrificing workmanship and quality (usually), so it pays to try it on to find the exact jean that fits you, even if the measurements are the same.

Here are some that are PG-approved.

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