Now that summer’s in full swing I’m going to teach you simple mistakes to avoid in the article of clothing I see guys mess up more than anything else 

the short-sleeve button-up shirt. 

Let’s break this down.

This is how your average guy looks in one of these. 

Small, lazy, and sloppy.

The number 1 most common mistake men make here is wearing shirts with sleeves that are too big. 

Too big can mean too baggy or too long. 

You can have 21” guns, but you’ll still look scrawny and/or sloppy w/ sleeves that are too big.

So what’s the right size? 

Length should be around the middle of your bicep – certainly nowhere near the bend of your elbow. 

Circumference should be – at most – half an inch bigger than your bicep 

Here’s too big

And here are some examples of the right fit

Like Barron from Effortless Gent

Or Greg from Kinobody

The next issue typically contributes to the first – shoulders that are too large. 

The seam where your sleeve attaches should fit right on top of your shoulder, not sag halfway over your delts.

Not only does this make the sleeves look longer than they need to be, it makes your chest and shoulders look like they’re too small to properly fill out the shirt.

Look at how much this shirt hangs off of this guy

Up next is the length of the body. 

Most SSBD’s are intended to be worn casually so you’d really have to go out of your way to find one that’s too long, but it does happen. 

If the shirt drapes past the bottom of your crotch, it’s too long and needs to be tucked in.

If it just barely covers your waistline or your belt, it’s too short and needs to be replaced – either with a larger size or a better-fitting pattern from a different brand.

Because this is a casual shirt, it should be worn with the top two buttons undone – three or even more if you’re at the pool or the beach. 

Whatever you do, don’t do up all the buttons, you’ll look like a giant toddler

Right

Wrong

Last thing, don’t wear these too tight. 

They’re casual, breathable shirts and need to have a little room in the body for you to move and for air to flow. 

This one is terrible

In that same vein, camp collar shirts or even guayaberas are supposed to be worn even fuller and boxier, but don’t go all 2005 on us, please.

As always, there are exceptions to all of this and ways you can tweak these principles to work with your Style Archetype

So there you have it!

Get this right this summer and you’ll look better than you ever have.

– Tanner

PS – Whenever you’re ready, I have three different ways I can help you improve your style.

If you want the easiest approach that tells you exactly what you should be wearing, sign up for my Effortless Style program.

If you want to better understand how to use your appearance to better communicate with others and build your own confidence and mindset, pick up my book The Appearance of Power.

And lastly, if you really want to get this dialed in without going through a ton of trial and error, you may be a great fit for my 1-on-1 coaching and can schedule a call with me to learn more about it HERE.

So this week’s Wednesday weigh in has gotten a lot of traction on Twitter (you can see it here) and – rightfully so – it’s been a polarizing one.

My personal reservations on it are the same as many others.

It’s trying too hard

Looks like a costume

He’s a hipster who doesn’t actually need the clothes he’s wearing

These ideas and a conversation with one of my friends started sparking an idea for me.

Most clothing choices throughout history have been driven primarily by function.

It’s why so many different cultures across the world dress differently – they deal with the unique challenges and demands of their environments in distinct ways.

That functionality gives a valid reason to change the way we dress and then the form or style aspects can start to evolve from there.

Which mean’s the problem today is most of us live, work, and largely exist in climate controlled or digital environments.

We have almost zero functional needs for our clothing.

I would imagine 90% of the population of the US would be just as functional in a pair of scrubs as they are in whatever they’re wearing (me included).

So with no specific functional needs for our appearance, we have no easy reason to start to change our styles.

The counterpoint to this is that there’s one other reason for aesthetic changes – symbolism

When we want to send a different signal – either to ourselves or to others – we can do that with the way we look too.

But once again, we find ourselves robbed of many of these opportunities in contemporary Western culture.

First, because we lost our fluency in symbolism.

Everything is now just logos and brands.

There is zero subtlety to the symbols we now use.

And so much of that is aesthetically ugly that it only results in graphic T’s.

Second, we live in a global society in which the less mainstream you are the less likely you are to find any success.

Yes there are plenty of sub tribes within our overall culture but almost all of their aesthetic approaches still fall under the umbrella of what’s socially acceptable.

Streetwear or suiting may not be for you, but it’s not so far removed from you or people like you that it looks alien or hostile.

The old counter culture symbols – died hair, visible tattoos, piercings, etc have all been swallowed up by the mainstream in our rabid desire to accept everyone and everything.

And there are no visible symbols that signal a rebellion against that ethos.

Oh, and don’t forget that even if we do have symbols in our clothing – you can just buy them, they don’t have to be earned.

There are exceptions for things like Motor Cycle Clubs, the military, etc.

But the vast majority of us can just buy or wear whatever we want to – making it more meaningless and also more interchangeable.

When you have to earn the right to wear a particular piece of clothing or visual symbol, you’re not as likely to abandon it in favor of whatever trend the global corporations and magazines are pushing on you next year.

So we’ve killed the need for function, along with the fluency and staying power of any symbolism.

Which means we’re just left to make crap up as we go.

It should be freeing and mean we have a ton of aesthetic variety but it doesn’t.

The only people who are pushing boundaries are those who want men to dress like women and I’m not interested in joining them in that pursuit.

So many of us look to the past to find better styles and aesthetic cues (like the picture I posted) but the problem is that it really is just LARPing.

We don’t need big hats, or work boots, or massive chunky scarves because we’re never exposed to the sun or cold unless we want to be.

When the function isn’t there, and the meaning is irrelevant, we see it as someone putting on a costume purely for the sake of standing out and getting more attention – which is still a gauche move in our society.

So how do we fix that?

I don’t know.

Barring a major social collapse, it’s not like we’re going to start seeing more of a functional need for clothing.

In fact, that’ll probably decrease.

Which means we need to lean on symbolism – at least as far as I can see – and that means having an identity that’s either part of our global one with very small aesthetic variations.

Or going full-on counter culture and embracing the massive differences.

But what’s the punk rock vs suit and tie version of you counter culture vs a global one that’s based on profit and inclusion?

And are the consequences of looking like you don’t belong to that world worth it?

– Tanner

PS. Whenever you’re ready to take control of your appearance, here are some ways I can help you.

You can start improving that by picking up The Appearance of Power

If you’re a beginner, go with Dress Like a Man (pay what you want) it will get you out of the bad clothes you’re used to and into something that looks great.

And lastly, if you really want to get this dialed in without going through a ton of trial and error, you may be a great fit for my 1-on-1 coaching and can schedule a call with me to learn more about it HERE.

Ben is one of the more interesting people I’ve had the opportunity to interact with over the years. His style is a strong blend of 19th century cowboy with modern skater and he somehow pulls it off in a way that’s interesting without looking like a costume.

In this episode Ben and I talk about how his style has evolved, what it’s like to wear unique and interesting pieces, how his career and family have impacted his approach to his appearance, and a whole lot more.