Originally posted by: yllus
Don't buy t-shirts and expect to be looked at as fashion-savvy. That's not to say that t-shirts can't ever be part of a fashionable outfit, but pulling it off is not a beginner level move. Hold off on this and return to it later when you have a better idea of how to put clothes together.
As a person who's more mathematically-minded than artistic, my maturing in the area of fashion occurred through learning by example. I have a subscription to
GQ, which actually is not Playboy-lite. In fact, I can't remember the last time a woman was on the cover - the rag is about fashion, style and the issues of the day. There's even some excellent investigative reporting in it. (For example, see
Seven Days In Tehran.)
If you don't want to shell out all of $1/mo for a year-long subscription, take a look once a week through the
Men's Fashion & Trends section, or subscribe to the updates by e-mail.
The best source of high fashion you can use in real life comes from a blog called
The Sartorialist. Hit page down a whole bunch to scroll through the blog quickly and take note at what you can see yourself wearing.
Here's a
simple example - grab a similar looking shirt from H & M, find some nice sunglasses (Rayban and Persol are favourites of mine) and a watch with a classic-looking dial. Jeans - no Levis. Try some premium brands, they are markedly better in style and softness.
Well, I ended up writing a lot more than I expected to. I guess at this point I'll keep on going and talk about the stuff that will separate you from the pack (not that most people will notice). These things are:
- A nice analog wristwatch (no quartz)
- A good belt that's worthy of being seen
- Sunglasses that look good and are stylistically current (slightly oversize, translucent frames is the thing right now)
- Shoes; lose the sneakers, get some nice loafers that don't look too casual or too formal
Okay, that really is enough now. Best of luck with your upgrade!