Do you have great style? Do you have style at all? We know you have all right the clothes. You follow all the trends. You read the GQ. But do YOU have style, or are you simply following someone else’s?
Good personal fashion seems to be inherent in some people. Put Harry Styles in anything, and he’s going to look fantastic.
The inverse is also true. Put some people in the most basic outfits and they can’t pull it off.
Does that sound like you? If you’re like most of us less-than-blessed guys, you probably have a little bit of trouble nailing down a style. There’s a lot that goes into it. You want to express yourself, but you also want to look relevant.
So we’ve put a little guide for guys like you. We’re avoiding trend talk and sticking to advice that will last for years.
What Makes a Great Style?
Here are some basic rules to live by when it comes to cultivating your wardrobe:
- Know What Works For You
- Stick To Basics
- Don’t Try Too Hard
- Find Your Go-To Outfits
Know What Works For You
Don’t get us wrong. We love experimenting in the fashion world. If people didn’t take chances, then we’d never change. However, don’t feel like you need to constantly be pushing boundaries. We can leave that to the folks that look good in everything. Find what works for you, and base everything around that.
Let’s start with fit. That’s the easiest to grasp. If you’re tall and lanky, you know you need to avoid anything overly baggy. You don’t want to look like a kid playing dress up in his dad’s closet.
If you’re short and stocky, you want to work with that as well. Trends of skinny versus baggy go in and out. If you look great in skinny jeans but they suddenly fall out of style, don’t go buy a pair of JNCOs. Just loosen it up a little. Go for a slim fit instead.
This can also go for the vibe of your outfits. If you know you look good in a nerd-chic outfit, don’t go out in a biker boots and a leather jacket. Trying to hard to fit into a style niche that clearly doesn’t come naturally for you is painful to watch.
Stick To Basics
This doesn’t mean wear jeans and a t-shirt everyday. What we’re talking about is avoiding the wild stuff. If it seems like something Harry would wear, you probably can’t pull it off.
It also means sticking to things that are tried and true in menswear. A well cut suit, adapted for the current trend, will always be in fashion. Rompers for men will not.
Take sometime to build up your wardrobe with sturdy jeans, blazers, some non-graphic tees, and anything else you know you’ll be able to slip on for years. You don’t have to be a risk taker to have good style. You just have to look good.
Don’t Try Too Hard
That guys that look the best are the ones that roll out of bed and still look coherent. This goes back to the previous two. If you know what works, and what works isn’t hard to replicate, you can achieve that same “I don’t care” vibe.
Often when discussing this style, people joke about it taking hours too look perfectly disheveled, but that’s not what you’re going for. Looking like you’re not trying too hard actually comes from not trying to hard. If you’re constantly trying to reinvent fashion, that will never happen.
Not trying to hard also goes back to knowing your niche. If you’re naturally a little preppy, you can’t all of the sudden switch to a punk inspired look. That takes effort. That takes carefully curating an aesthetic, and it’s very transparent.
Find Your Go-To Outfits
All of the other rules kind of lead up to this one. If you know what works, stock up on all the basics, and don’t try too hard, you’re bound to come up with a few outfits that you always come back to.
Contrary to what Kate told Lizzie, it’s okay to be an outfit repeater. Repetition is good because it gives you time to perfect it. When you find a piece of clothing that looks better, swap it in.
Go-to outfits also let you clearly define your style. It’s okay to branch out a little bit, but you always want to come back to what works for you. Maybe it’s a flannel, jeans, and Redwings. Maybe it’s joggers and a Nike shirt. Figure out how your wardrobe works together and nail them down.
Lastly, go-to outfits ensure a base line of style. It’s a minimum of fashion that you’re setting for yourself. You can always add some flair or dress it up a little bit, but if you have a few put together outfits, you know you’re never going to leave the house looking like a mess.
Conclusion
Developing your style takes time. You’re not going to find it overnight. You need to build up the right wardrobe.
This will take trying on countless articles of clothing to find what fits. But once you find it, you’ll be set for life. Follow these rules and you’re on the road to having great style.
Once you nail down the basics, then you can start experimenting.