Reader Question: Too Small for Velvet?

Reader:

I was recently throwing together an idea for an outfit I had that involves a velvet blazer. When I showed friends and co-workers pictures, they all seemed to like the outfit. However, a couple people said the same thing, "You're too small for velvet." I'm 5'9" with a lean, rower's build. Could you explain why velvet may be a poor choice for me?

SB:

Thanks for reading. I'm really happy you asked this question!

I was just putting together a post with a message that goes something like this: don't let others decide what you wear! You should dress how you want to dress, in a manner that makes you feel good, and to express yourself. If I changed every time somebody commented on my outfit, I would have nothing to wear! With that said, it is also important to understand what works for you, and what simply doesn't (some people are haters, but some people are right when they say you look ridiculous).

Too small for velvet? Nahhh. Never heard of it. Besides, I hate "rules" like that. Keep in mind, though, that velvet does attract attention, so people will be looking. And when people glance, the first thing they'e going to notice is your most obvious physical attribute - body size, and in your case - your height.

It really depends on your level of confidence. Some guys are self conscious about their height or weight, and for those guys I recommend staying away from loud clothing such as bold pinstripes, bright colors and, yes, velvet jackets.

Hope this helps!

Yours in style,
SB

Tip-of-the-Day: Lose the super skinny sh-t

A movement starts. Men start wearing their clothes more fitted, in part due to European influences.  More and more men shop for slim clothing, putting new found effort toward looking stylish. Time passes.

A trend starts. Trendsters get wind of this new "tailored" look and, in what seems like a natural progression, bring it to the next level. Slim turns to skinny, and stylish begins to look a whole lot like corny. A trend dies - some men go down with it.

Seriously, fellas, enough with the super skinny sh-t. In particular, ties.

There is nothing more "trying-too-hard-looking" than a tie that can be mistaken for your little niece's fat sneaker laces. At 1" (2.54 cm) wide, neckwear screams "look at me, I'm really cool!".

Your tie, like your clothing, should be slim, not skinny. The difference can be inches, or fractions of inches, but it is crucial.

When it comes to neckwear, try not to go any slimmer than 2.5" wide (2.75"is my ideal width...for now). Sooner or later tie widths are going to swing the other way, along with lapel widths and jacket lengths.

Oh yeah, and proportions are key! While I try to figure out a proper tie-width-to-waist-size ratio, lets just say that if you are a big guy, a skinny tie won't look any better on you than skinny jeans would.

Thanks for reading!

Yours in style,
SB

Tip-of-the-Day: De-Jacketing

A mentor of mine once told me "If you put your suit jacket on the back of a chair and lean back on it, your suit jacket will look as if you put it on the back of a chair and leaned back on it".

I often walk into restaurants or office buildings and see men in collared shirts sitting with their jackets all squashed behind them on their chairs. I never really understood this.

So today's tip is simple.

It is not necessary to remove your jacket if you are sitting at a restaurant, or in an office setting. Usually, I leave mine on all day. A man almost always looks better with his jacket on, and if the fit is right, it shouldn't be uncomfortable. (Also, keep in mind that a well tailored jacket can easily hide a not-so-well-tailored shirt).

However, if you really feel the need to take it off, most places where de-jacketing is appropriate should have a coat rack, coat check, or some kind of closet. So no more walking around in squashed wrinkled jackets.

Thanks for reading.

Yours in style,
SB

Reader Question: iTux

Reader:

I am helping a friend pick out a tux for his wedding, and was wondering what suggestions you would have for a tall, portly man looking for something classy but conservative.  Would a vest be better than a cumberbun to give a slimmer appearance?  What about straight tie vs. bow tie?  Shawl lapel vs. peak?  Thanks for the help!


SB:


Great question! If there is ever a time when a man wants to look his best, it's when he is wearing a tuxedo. For a "portly" man, dressing for your body type is all about drawing attention to your "assets" rather than your "liabilities". With that said, I would suggest a two-piece peak lapel tuxedo with a straight tie. 


The peak lapels will draw attention to the shoulders (thus taking attention away from the mid-section). Stay away from the vest, it will make your friend look too "stuffed" and it distorts the perfect black/white ratio that makes a classic tuxedo so sharp. Same goes for cumberbuns; they are outdated and will only draw eyes to the stomach. Also, consider a white cotton or linen pocket square folded straight and just peaking from the breast pocket, again,  to accentuate the chest.


Your friend should wear a long tie rather than a bow tie on his big day because the north-south line will offer a slimming effect. Along that same line (no pun intended) your friend should leave the belt at home and wear black suspenders. This will allow him to "float" his waist, rather than choosing to strap his pants above or below his belly. Also, a belt (like any accessories, lines, or stripes that run east-west) would only draw attention to his width.


Also, keep in mind that fit is even more important if you are a heavy guy. Some big guys think that a "roomy" suit will hide the fact that they are overweight. This is not true. A bad fit makes you look sloppy, not slimmer. Lastly, a clean shave and a fresh haircut can go a looong way to looking more put-together. 

photo by GQ 

(not a tuxedo, but a great example of a heavy-set guy cleaning up nicely)

Some other general tuxedo guidelines:

- 1 button is best

- The lapels should be 100% satin, and ideally your tie should be made from the same bolt of fabric

- Like a suit, double vented looks best (in my opinion)

- No collar pins, tie bars, brooches, lapel pins, stripes socks, chunky bracelets, oversized watches...or other "statement" accessories. Its a tuxedo, keep in simple, keep it classic

- No button-down collar shirts. Semi-spread is best

- French cuffs with small, simple cuff links

- Keep your jacket buttoned when standing

- Black socks, simple elegant black leather lace-up shoes, freshly shined (skip the cheap-looking patent leather shoes) 

- White shirt. Black tie. Period.

Thanks for reading, and congrats!


Yours in style,
SB

I just touched down...all around the world!!

Hey reader, you are not alone!

I always knew I had a pretty good following from the amount of email questions that I get, but I never knew the real "numbers". I'm also not the most tech-savy person in the world, so when a friend of mine introduced me to google analytics - a free statistics generator for my blog - I was absolutely blown away to see how strong my readership really is and how far and wide these posts touch down.

My intention in sharing these "stats" is not to boast, but rather to let you know that you are not the only one who enjoys reading about mens style. (Unfortunately, there seems to be a good number of men who are squeamish about admitting that they have an interest in "fashion").

If you were a reader from day one, you will remember that when I started this blog (only a number of months ago), my intention was not only to share photos, answer questions and offer unique styling tips for men, but also to create a kind of community, or meeting place for style-savvy men to share opinions and ideas. Therefore, I'm hoping that seeing this will encourage you to offer insights/opinions/responses via the comments section of the posts. I love it when readers comment. It's great to get feedback (either positive or constructive) and I sincerely enjoy reading other unique points of view, especially when they come from around the world.

So check it out! Below is a map of last week's readers:

My top 15 countries last week (M-F) were:

1. United States - 11,306 readers
2. Canada - 3,126
3. Brazil - 814 
4. United Kingdom - 710 
5. Australia - 262
6. Ireland - 160
7. Hong Kong - 120
8. Germany - 111
9. Singapore - 107
10. Poland - 105
11. Italy - 96
12. Spain - 82
13. Malaysia - 80
14. France - 77
15. India - 64

This information has certainly encouraged me to take this blog to the next level (I got big plans!), and I hope it will encourage you to share your own ideas with our worldwide community of stylish readers.

Yours in style,
SB

Tip-of-the-Day: A note on shin cleavage

There are certain little things, let's call them "pet peeves" for lack of a better expression, that can really ruin an outfit for me. One of them is the length of a guy's socks.

No matter how great a man's outfit is, if he crosses his legs and suddenly you can see a small area of pale, hairy leg between the top of his sock and the hem of his pants...attention is immediately drawn to it and it ruins his look. Yes, I am anal about details like this.

As a solution, simply make sure you buy socks that are long enough to cover the gap, and pull them up all the way. Remember, the shorter your pants, the higher they will pull when you sit.

I don't necessarily recommend this, but as a more extreme solution for guys who insist on crossing their legs but have extra-skinny ankles and thus have a problem with schlubby falling socks...you could try sock garters. If pulled-off (and up) correctly, I could imagine it being a really cool "retro" accessory with the right outfit.  After all, with lower east side hipsters bringing back old-school classics like black plastic frames, timex watches, doc marten boots and polaroid cameras...perhaps these are the next "cool" thing.

    

Yours in style,

SB

Reader Questions: Boat Shoes + Socks?

Reader:

I was wondering how you felt about wearing some sort of graphic socks with boat shoes. I know it's a stretch, but I do wear straight slim or skinny jeans (that aren't too tight) so a little bit of my foot shows.

SB:

You know how some car commercials have a caption that says something like "Proffessional driver on a closed course. Do not attempt". Well, this is kinda like that.

Normally, socks with boat shoes - hell no. But, like I always say, rules are meant to be broken, and the most stylish people break them regularly. I do have a couple guidelines that could help you succeed:

- Never with shorts
- Not in the middle of winter (even with socks, boat shoes are three-season)

- Keep your pant leg opening slim. Like 7.5" across slim.

- Keep your inseam short. Like hardly touching the back of your shoe, hemmed at an angle so the front hits even higher, short. (or roll your pants/jeans)

- Wear striped socks, not argyle, check, or polka dot

- Wear the thicker, ribbed socks 

- Keep the majority of the stripes muted, and consistent with the tone of your pants. Maybe one thin colorful stripe, but you don't want them to be too loud.

 For Example, look for something like this:

Socks by Smart Turnout

Here is a rare picture of this look very well executed:

Photo by GQ

Thanks for reading,

SB

Tip-of-the-Day: Save the Pastels for the Summer

I kinda thought this was a little too "common sense" to blog about, but today I saw two different guys wearing easter-egg-colored shirts, under heavy (and oversized) black overcoats.

Fellas, lets save the pastel colored shirts and ties for the summer time. I can't really explain why, other than it just doesn't look right in 35 degree weather. I'm not saying you can't wear color in the winter, just that the hues should be muted. If you insist on wearing pinks and purples, keep them darker, stronger pinks and purples.

Most of the time I agree with GQ's fashion team...but I was surprised to see a couple of the colors in their new "Ultimate Winter Shirt-and-Tie Wardrobe" feature.

The bright pink shirt (2nd in the top row), and the teal/aqua shirt (3rd in the 3rd row) would be hard for alot of men to pull of in the summer, let alone the winter. Otherwise, mostly fail-safe options.

Thanks for reading!

Yours in style,
SB

Tip-of-the-Day: Create Your Own "No-Show" Undershirt

For a working man (or anyone who wears collared shirts), an undershirt is an everyday essential. It soaks in your persperation, keeping your dress shirt clean and, more importantly, dry. You definitely don't want to be that guy:

The problem is, for those of us who wear dress shirts, but not ties, a classic v-neck undershirt poses a problem. When a tie-less button-up shirt is worn with the top 2 buttons undone (which looks best), the white v-neck undershirt creeps a little too high, allowing the top of it to be seen...which drives me crazy!

So here is my solution...

Get some basic v-neck undershirts like these (3 pack for around $29.50). Make sure they fit snug.

Then, use a pencil to lightly draw the outline of a deep "U" shape:

Next, find a pair of scissors, and cut along the lines.

Now you have the perfect undershirt to keep your underarms dry, and have that sexy open-chest look.

Ironically, this picture is perfect because the homemade undershirt would follow a similar line as the "bib" design on Sr. James' shirt.

After all, nobody is immune to embarassing pit stains. e.g. Glamour Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive":

Stay fresh.

Yours in style,

SB

SB Endorses: The Nato G10 "James Bond" Watch Band

As I've mentioned before, I only wear one watch. But I have a collection of bands and change them according to my outfit.

My new favorite watch band is the Nato G10 strap. It is 100% durable nylon and comes in a number of solid colors and stripes (the official "James Bond" edition being black/gray striped, as pictured).

The best part is, this great way to switch up your favorite watch can be picked up on eBay for about $15!

So feel free to pick up a couple different colors to add a unique punch to any outfit.

Dishing all my best-kept-secrets,

SB