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Category: Reader Submissions

Alexander Before and After

1
19 December, 2013

I haven’t done one of these in a while, but I have a client who’s had some great results with one of my Online Consultations. Here’s what he sent me as part of the ordering process.

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He was already conscious of the way he dressed, and was doing better than most when it comes to taking risks and proper proportions. However, the colors he was wearing were wrong for his skin tone and the fit still left something to be desired.

We’ve been working together since September and here are a few pics that he just sent me this week. Notice the different in the fit, the coloring, and the overall presence it gives him.

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This is the reason I write this blog and offer consultations. I love seeing men make the transition from well intentioned to well dressed. In the before pictures, you’ll notice that his skin looks ashen and wan. Just by choosing colors that are flattering to his skin tone, he looks healthy and even a bit more tan.

The baggy shirts and pleated pants from before have been replaced by items that were custom made to fit his body. They follow his natural lines and give you an idea of who the man is who’s wearing the clothing.

We’ve still got a few more items to look for, but I’m excited to see this much progress and look forward to working with him more in the future.

If you’re interested in a similar change for yourself or someone you know, check out my Services Page.

Wolverine 100 Mile:Boots Mens Fall/Winter Footwear
Clothing, Reader Submissions

Reader Submission: Dress Sock Dilemma

2
5 March, 2013

Good question from a good reader.

I recently purchased some nice dress socks to help my transition to a more masculine me…the only issue is they seem to only have two sizes of socks. The socks that fit shoe sizes 6-12 is the size i fall into since I wear size 9.5-10.

Now that is fine and dandy, but when I put the socks on, the formed heal of the sock always ends up clear up at the top of my ankle. To me this looks a little sloppier than my faded ugly socks. Can you do a post of shopping for, selecting, and wearing dress socks to help us clueless men out there that don’t know what to do in this situation?

Thank you,
Tyler (a clueless man)

What Tyler’s talking about here is a fairly common, albeit small problem. It’s much more noticeable when the heel cap of your sock is very different from the rest of the body, but still obnoxious when you notice any difference.

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There are basically two approaches to solving this problem. The first is to immerse yourself into the world of luxury men’s hosiery. There are companies (Zimmerli) that will offer cashmere socks to specific foot measurements. However be prepared to pay the price; they’re not anywhere near cheap.

The second option is much more preferable – change the way you put your socks on. Since Tyler asked about dress socks, I’m going to assume he meant anything over the calf or at least mid-calf as ankle socks are inappropriate for business situations. 99.9% of men will put on their socks the same way – grab the opening with both ends, insert foot into opening, and pull sock all the way up as high as it goes. It’s simple, efficient, and keeps the top part of the sock over the calf preventing it from falling down throughout the day. However, even if your foot is the perfect size for your one-size-fits-all socks, by having the stretch begin at the toe cap and continue all the way to the top of the calf, you’re bound to have the heel cap stick out of the shoe.

The best alternative is to split that two-part process in half. When you first put on your socks, only pull them on as far as covering your foot. From there, you can either simply step on the ground or put on your shoe and then pull the upper half of the sock up and over your calf. By having the stretch start at the heel instead of the toe, you’re able to keep the heel cap in place and hidden inside your shoe.

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This process is easier with over-the-calf socks than their mid-calf brethren. Most of us know intuitively that the higher the sock sits on our calves, the more likely it is to stay in place. Since mid-calf socks don’t sit as high, you will have to overcompensate by having the stretch begin from the toes.

From a comfort perspective this does take some getting used to at first. The lower half of your sock won’t be stretched as tightly over your feet and will feel a bit baggy until you get used to it. Just remember that you’ve trained yourself to recognize that stretched feeling as normal when it really isn’t.

PS. For updates and insights follow me on Twitter.

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Clothing, Reader Submissions

Reader Submission: New Year’s Eve Then and Now

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8 January, 2013

Keith is a friend I’ve had contact with since the early days of the blog. He was even one of my first clients. While he’s always dressed well, he’s been able to take his style to the next level over the last year.

This morning he sent me two pictures of a New Year’s annual black tie masquerade ball he attends.

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This first shot is from New Year’s Eve 2011 ringing in 2012. He’s dressed appropriately and looks solid. Most guys would be happy to look this good in a suit.

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And here he is from last week. While the differences are small and subtle, the overall change in appearance is incredible. In 2011 he looked good, in 2012 he looks rakish (yes the creative pocket square helps).

There is a very large gulf between dressing appropriately and dressing well and Keith has crossed over to the other side.

PS. Follow me on Twitter for updates and insights.

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Reader Submissions

Reader Submission: Fitted Pants for the Muscular Man

6
16 April, 2012

This time our reader submission comes by way of question instead of showing what he already has.

I’m one of those men who has recently seen the light and is now upgrading my wardrobe, but I’m running into a problem that I thought you might be able to help me with. I’m an athletically built guy… broader shoulders but a skinny waist, and legs that can’t fit into skinny (or sometimes even slim) jeans. It’s not like I’m built like a stocky linebacker type, but more like a swimmer. My problem is finding pants that fit for a summer look. When I wear pants for the summer and try to roll the cuffs up, or try on the styles of pants that would be considered appropriate for such a look, I look like a ridiculous inverted triangle….very top heavy (because I have broader shoulders and a long torso) balanced on stick legs (even though my legs aren’t that skinny). I notice in perusing most summer looks/links that most of the looks features guys that are pretty straight up and down, so the slim fits and cuffed pants work for them, but seem to make me look kind of silly. So any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated on what to look for in pants for summer on a person built such as myself. If it helps at all, I’m going for the upscale yet casual European Mediterranean summer look (as I’ll be spending my summer in southern Spain…so warm weather pants are what I’m after as I think I look normal in shorts). Thank you for your time.

-R

So there are two good questions in here. First is how to wear flattering pants when you are built instead of slim, and second is what to wear during a summer in the Mediterranean. I’ll answer the second question in another post later today.

Believe it or not, finding pants that look good for a man with built legs is not as hard as it seems. The only real problem is that nothing will look good off the rack. Whatever you get, you’ll have to take it to a tailor.

When most men think of getting their pants slimmed down the first thing that comes to mind is the size of the cuff openings. They believe if those are slim, then they’re set. Unfortunately, it’s actually the exact opposite. A well-fitting pair of pants is determined by how well they adhere to your thighs and your ass.

Here’s what I recommend R and any other reader do to solve the problem of looking disproportionate on bottom.

Buy a pair of pants that absolutely fit you in the waist and look as good in the thighs as you can. I’d even suggest dragging a chair or a lady friend into the dressing room to put in front of yourself from the shins down so you don’t get distracted by how the lower portions look. If you can’t find anything that’s ideal in the thighs, get as close as you can, you’re going to have to visit a tailor regardless.

When you go in to your tailor let him know the problems that you’ve had in the past as far as your pants fitting. He’ll have you put on the pants and then start pinning them up. This is where you have to be assertive, especially if you don’t have a relationship established with the man. Take all the time you need to get things fitting correctly. When I’m getting pants done, I’ll even swing my legs up into my just and jump around to make sure his pinning wouldn’t restrict any movement. The ideal balance is to have the pants follow your thighs and show off their size without reflecting their movement. You also want him to pin up any excess fabric in the seat so it doesn’t look like you have a soggy diaper on.

After you have the thighs where you want them, you can start playing with everything below the knees. If you’re worried about looking like an inverted triangle, I recommend having your pants go straight down instead of adhering to the shape of your legs. This will add more visual weight to your legs and help balance them out, but having the thighs fit properly will still ensure your pants look like they fit well instead of seeming baggy or sloppy.

Bigger guys are also the only time I recommend a boot cut and this is even more true for jeans. You don’t want it to be excessive, but the little bit of flair at the bottom creates a balance of weight with broad shoulders.

As far as the break goes, I wouldn’t recommend going with no break. I’d say a slight break and if you ever roll your pants up, make sure you get them half way up your calves instead of just above your ankles.

Say what you will about Tim Tebow but his style has been slowly improving. I know this shot isn’t the best, but look at how his pants follow the line of his thighs but are loser in his calves.

I also recommend taking some cues from the king of style in the sports world – Lebron James

In that second one compare how James looks to how Jay Z does. It’s all about the length, and the fit in the thighs.

And here’s a good shot of Dwayne Wade.

All these guys are wearing pants that would look baggy on a skinnier guy, but because they thighs fit, the bagginess of the cuffs looks good and gives them the right proportions.

Take pictures like these into your tailor when you go visit him. Let him know what your problems are and you’ll be able to find a workaround that looks good.

Clothing, Reader Submissions Dwayne Wade Style, Fitted pants big thighs, How mens pants should fit, Lebron James Style, slim pants big thighs, Tim Tebow Style

Ox Blood

7 March, 2012

Kalim sent over this picture of his $7 ox-blood Florsheims and I’m a fan. The slim khakis that he’s cuffed himself and the white sox are about as 1960’s WASP as you can get.

Clothing, Reader Submissions Ox-blood Florsheims, WASP Style, White socks with dress shoes

Idealist by NewMediaThemes

 
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