Featured Image by: @nickzbikowskiphoto Here's the setting: A very young Daniel surfing a brand new app called Pinterest, obsessing over how to buy a lot of items he considered fashion and trying to build his own style. I was often engrossed looking at pictures of models in beautiful dapper vests tightly hugging their very chiseled bodies, unaware that they would not fit me or look the same on my very small, slender frame. I just dreamed of looking like them—refined, handsome, interesting, and with an aura of confidence.
Like everything in life, (and with no fashionable male role models around me) my fashion journey was fraught with trial and error. Everything I know about fashion is self-taught from years of investigation, curiosity, and immersion.
So, there are certain things to keep in mind as you wander through the aisles of your favorite store or navigate the catalogues of your favorite online shop.
To start, there is a difference between fashion and style.
Fashion
Many people confuse this one thinking it is the catch-all for good looking, amazing clothes–and though it does in part refer to that, when it comes to clothing this mostly refers to popular trends. Remember that ridiculously expensive, Off White yellow strap that looks like is found at Home Depot that suddenly became popularized as a belt by Tan France from Queer Eye? The fact that it started trending makes it fashion but it doesn’t mean that it fits your style.
Style
This is unique per individual. Within your style, you can choose fashionable, trending items to wear, but not all of them have to be. Each person has a different personality and a different “vibe” so it is natural that they should choose to wear clothes that only highlight the best aspects of who they are. There’s a myriad of recognized styles––boho/bohemian, grunge, street, haute, etc., but again, like I said, these can be made unique with slight modifications. You can style yourself to highlight what you want in you: Take the two styles below for example, and they give off a completely different vibe––this is what I encourage, never box yourself into one "feel," always experiment and find what brings out the best in you!
Now that you know this difference, I can give you the deets on what makes up your wardrobe.
Color
This is the most basic one. If you’re a (straight) guy reading this, chances are that you think of color in a ROYGIBV way.
Ladies tend to think of color a little deeper. Blue doesn’t tend to be just blue–it could be sky blue, royal blue, cerulean, aquamarine, sapphire blue, etc. Regardless of gender, you should approach color by taking into account the color of your skin. Contrast is always imperative, because you don’t usually want to blend in with your clothes.
Lighter skin should opt for at least having one to two darker pieces. Darker skin should opt for having at least one to two bright, vibrant pieces.
Tonality has become a trend, most seen in celebs like Kim Kardashian, in which your outfit is comprised of the same hue for top, bottoms, and shoes/accessories, but they all have a different tone.
Think of tone as how much dark (black) or light (white) you’re pouring into a hue (colors). Black tends to make you look smaller because it absorbs light, white tends to make you look bigger because of the way that it refracts the light onto the curves of your body.
You can also try this as well, but be weary of overusing this when crafting outfits, they turn stale really fast.
Simple Patterns
Simple patterns work to add some pizzazz to an otherwise very plain look. Though solids are a foundation, I strongly suggest you venture in adding some simple patterns to your wardrobe. Some examples are:
Polka dots
• These are great to add something fun and they can quickly catch the eye. Like all patterns, they should be used in a premeditated manner and should not be overused. You do not want to look like a clown or like your clothes came down with a case of chicken pox.
• The lovely thing about these is their versatility and variety. You can find them from extra small to very big.
Stripes (Vertical and Horizontal)
• Vertical stripes make you seem taller. Pay attention to how many stripes there are in your pieces and how thick they are to best fit your style.
• Horizontal stripes make you seem wider. This one is particularly tricky because if you use these, you want the lines to accent parts of your body you want to seem wider. For guys, this would be the chest/shoulders. (There's disagreement as to how this is a misconception––the best way to check it is to try some clothes on and see how the stripes guide your eye)
• Stripes can be your greatest ally or your greatest enemy in an outfit, so choose wisely. Make sure that there are no other lines (and by this I even mean hemlines) that really conflict with your look. Unless you are really aiming to look like a Picasso abstract painting, I would suggest you just take a second to make sure things don't look too conflictive.
Shapes
• These can include animal patterns, for example. Like the flamingo pattern you see on racks every Spring for Summer sales.
• Shapes are meant to be something fun to add to your outfit and I highly suggest you pair them with solids. Again, you don’t want to seem like you’re hosting a zoo on your body.
Complex Patterns
Complex patterns are for when you really want to take a bold leap. These really catch the eye and I encourage you to experiment by wearing them together so as long as they’re complimentary. An example of these can be:
Florals
• For Spring? Groundbreaking. In all seriousness though, wearing a good floral print can add some power to your look. These can be anywhere from the blooming roses pattern that you’re probably familiar with, to the palm tree leaves layered pattern.
• These are the usual print shirts you see everywhere. They have some design on them (usually the name of the company + some other cool-looking nonsense) • It’s really easy to get carried away with these (see Tapout shirts). You might end up looking like you frequent (and sleep at) a dive bar.
Paisley
• I consider Paisley a complex pattern due to how vivacious it can be and how heavy on the eyes it is for the most part. Out of complex patterns this is the one that can be paired with the most easily.
As I said, you have to make sure complex patterns are complimentary. Paired correctly, you will look bold and powerful. To compliment them, you have to make sure that the colors go well with each other. It’s really easy to go over the top so by using color wisely you can be as daring as you want.
Cuts
What I am referring to is to notice how the pieces of clothing are actually cut. How tight or loose they are and, taking into account your body, if they will fit you well.
To give you a better idea, this is for any man or woman who has ever shopped for Hanes shirts at a WalMart. The cuts are very plain, in the sense that they are not made to wrap around the body well. They are very boxy even when you shop your size, so you look like a rectangle. I call these Regular fits. One size fits all. Plain. Simple.
Now think of a store like Zara. Keeping in theme with the shirt example above, the cuts in this store have more variety so you will see pieces that are tighter around the waist or the bust. Same with pants. Maybe a tight waist but a bell bottom. You can start thinking of what parts of your body you want to highlight. I call these thin fits.
For the last of the cuts, these are found in stores like Anthropologie for women and Peter Manning NY for men or ASOS for both. These stores tend to be friendly to petite frames, but it’s not only that, it is the fact that they offer cuts that are tighter all around. These are what I call skinny cuts.
To be clear: No, skinny cuts are not only for skinny people and I actually discourage people with bigger bodies to stay away from things like overusing regular cuts, which may make them look bigger. As I’ve said countless times in this post, everything is a balance. If you overuse regular fits, you might start looking like you’re swimming in your clothes or look amorphous. If you overuse skinny cuts you might end up looking like a stuffed sausage. Balance.
Now go and shop for the wardrobe of your dreams, I believe in you.
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