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Fashion advise for men

  • 03-01-2009 10:37PM
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭


    Where does a guy start to look? I want to move away from tshirt/shirt and jeans look but don't exactly know what to wear instead without looking too fancy or overly groomed.

    I'm not a fan of the skinny jeans look, it wouldn't suit me at all. I've worn a lot of Billabong, Rip Curl and Quicksilver over the years (I'm 26 now) but feel like a need a change.

    Any websites or magazines or shops you lot can recommend? I need a man makeover! :D


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 391 ✭✭Beerlao


    not advice as such, but just walk about the shops and see what you like, try it on and buy it if you like it


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭m83


    Thanks but I guess i'm looking for some expert advice on what works for me, whats in this year, etc. :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16,658 ✭✭✭✭Peyton Manning


    m83 wrote: »
    Where does a guy start to look? I want to move away from tshirt/shirt and jeans look but don't exactly know what to wear instead without looking too fancy or overly groomed.

    I'm not a fan of the skinny jeans look, it wouldn't suit me at all. I've worn a lot of Billabong, Rip Curl and Quicksilver over the years (I'm 26 now) but feel like a need a change.

    Any websites or magazines or shops you lot can recommend? I need a man makeover! :D

    Really depends on your figure to be honest. For example, I swear by these t-shirts with the low V-neck:

    tshirtsin2.th.png

    But then again, if you're too skinny - they look horrible and make you look skinnier and if you're too fat, they look even worse.

    Personally, Id often wear shirts casually. Only rolled up sleeve shirts though - nothing looks worse than a short sleeve shirt IMO. A nice designed T-shirt underneath is always good too. I always wear wrist accessories too, but every man must own a nice watch.

    Always good to own a nice suit jacket too (a full suit doesnt hurt lol). A leather jacket too, which always looks great worn over a hoody.

    As for jeans, youre right to stay away from skinny jeans. Horrendous look, as are slouch jeans. Just a nice regular pair of slightly baggy jeans (not hanging down past your ass or anything). Faded jeans look really tacky IMO, but I always go for jeans with lots of pockets.

    Shoes wise, you really only need 4 pairs - black shoes, brown shoes, vans and converse :cool:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,084 ✭✭✭n1ck


    Go for a walk down Henry Street and look to see any styles people are wearing, if you like it, try replicate it.

    Avoid Grafton St. because all you'll get is d4 heads wearing A+F or Hollister.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 280 ✭✭Show_me_Safety


    n1ck wrote: »
    Go for a walk down Henry Street and look to see any styles people are wearing, if you like it, try replicate it.

    Avoid Grafton St. because all you'll get is d4 heads wearing A+F or Hollister.

    ...because socks that come up over your NY tracksuit bottoms / denim combats is a much better look than a polo shirt!!!???

    OP, why not use a personal shopper service, you can get it in Dundrum SC and most good places.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,084 ✭✭✭n1ck


    ...because socks that come up over your NY tracksuit bottoms / denim combats is a much better look than a polo shirt!!!???

    OP, why not use a personal shopper service, you can get it in Dundrum SC and most good places.

    Why are shops like Jack and Jones, Pull and Bear, Debenhams, H&M and River Island on Henry Street? Going by your stereotype everyone on Henry Street wears scumbag clothes it would be a bad business move for them.

    I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're a D4 head.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 280 ✭✭Show_me_Safety


    n1ck wrote: »
    Why are shops like Jack and Jones, Pull and Bear, Debenhams, H&M and River Island on Henry Street? Going by your stereotype everyone on Henry Street wears scumbag clothes it would be a bad business move for them.

    I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're a D4 head.

    im not a D4 head, im more than happpy to shop on both streets and id recommend the OP trys Burton in the jervis street SC, im only making a similar assumption to the one you made about grafton street.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,445 ✭✭✭✭Creamy Goodness


    n1ck wrote: »
    Why are shops like Jack and Jones, Pull and Bear, Debenhams, H&M and River Island on Henry Street? Going by your stereotype everyone on Henry Street wears scumbag clothes it would be a bad business move for them.
    and going by your stereotype everyone wears D4 clothes on grafton street? :rolleyes:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 152 ✭✭N_Raid


    It all really depends on you. What do you look like? Build? Height? etc. It'll all determine what you can get away with.

    Do you want to wear whats fashionable at the moment? Or do you want the kind of stuff that always looks good and doesn't relly grow old that quick? Or do you want help creating your own style?

    Have a good look around, try on loads stuff, see what you think looks good on you. And be careful of blindly following fashion. Those T-shirts above are a good example (Y-Necks) they can look good but put them on the wrong person and they're just horrendous.


  • Site Banned Posts: 5,346 ✭✭✭wixfjord


    My advice would be to keep it basic. Imo men have a much easier time of it than women because we dont have to follow fashion as much and a stylish guy is not one that follows fashion but one that is cofident and classy.

    Shoes-
    One pair of white trainers (stan smith, white converse, white vans etc)
    One pair of nice brown shoes (base london is a good brand)
    One pair black shoes (topman)
    IMO the onitsukha tiger runners look good with jeans
    Stay away from the likes of nike air, shelltoe adidas, etc

    Jeans
    Diesel, Gstar for good wear
    Jack and jones h and m zara for casual

    Shirts/Tshirts
    Nice white shirt from topman
    Couple of nice polos eg fred perry lacoste lyle and scott (and no there not scumbag brands, youll only look like a scumbag if you wear a full tracksuit)
    Some nice shirts in river island
    Stay away from any tees with the random number/american college combination, and most of river island, topman etc tees arent great, zara is good.
    Stay away from the likes of y neck imo as its too fashiony.


    Tops
    Buy a few v necks in different colours from topman etc. These can be dressed up with white shirt or down with polo.
    Good leather jacket is always nice
    Grey wool coat (zara has nice ones too)
    Gstar has good jackets
    Lyle and scott does nice tops as does fred perry (www.xileclothing.com, www.fredperry.com, www.asos.com)
    When looking at hoodies go for block colours and not stupid designs etc.


    It isnt too hard to look grown up when you break it down and you dont need to spend a fortune either.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭m83


    Great replies there folks especialy wixfjord.

    I think you hit the nail on the head with your closing line, I just feel it's time for me to start dressing a bit older. I'll hit the shops so with your suggestions. No better time for it than now anyway :)

    EDIT: Oh and one other thing, hair!

    I have dark brown hair and I always just get it shaved to a 1 or 2 blade because it grows very thick and is really difficult to manage. I had it about 1.5 inches long before but I had to use a ton of really strong fructis gel all the time to keep it in place. It probably looks ok shaved but I'm wondering what other styles would be suitable for a mop like mine?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,946 ✭✭✭red_ice


    m83 wrote: »
    Thanks but I guess i'm looking for some expert advice on what works for me, whats in this year, etc. :)

    So you'd rather look like a boyzone replica? Stop and think about what you just said. The one thing that the person you've wasted money on (may as well be your mother) will say is "i think that looks great". Thats his/her opinion that your paying for.
    m83 wrote: »
    I think you hit the nail on the head with your closing line, I just feel it's time for me to start dressing a bit older. I'll hit the shops so with your suggestions. No better time for it than now anyway :)

    All the shops out there are aiming at people from the age of 22-33. These are the people who are out of college and spending money on how they look. It just so happens people outside that age group like that stuff aswell and dress that way. You want to dress older, but you dont like skinny jeans, what ever will you do.. :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭m83


    When did I say I want to look like a Boyzone replica? If you had read my entire post you'd have seen that I didn't want anything too fancy. D'oh :rolleyes:

    Also I want to dress older than the tshirt and jeans look and skinny jeans are not for me. Give me a break already :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,092 ✭✭✭pseudonym1


    wixfjord wrote: »
    My advice would be to keep it basic. Imo men have a much easier time of it than women because we dont have to follow fashion as much and a stylish guy is not one that follows fashion but one that is cofident and classy.

    Shoes-
    One pair of white trainers (stan smith, white converse, white vans etc)
    One pair of nice brown shoes (base london is a good brand)
    One pair black shoes (topman)
    IMO the onitsukha tiger runners look good with jeans
    Stay away from the likes of nike air, shelltoe adidas, etc

    Jeans
    Diesel, Gstar for good wear
    Jack and jones h and m zara for casual

    Shirts/Tshirts
    Nice white shirt from topman
    Couple of nice polos eg fred perry lacoste lyle and scott (and no there not scumbag brands, youll only look like a scumbag if you wear a full tracksuit)
    Some nice shirts in river island
    Stay away from any tees with the random number/american college combination, and most of river island, topman etc tees arent great, zara is good.
    Stay away from the likes of y neck imo as its too fashiony.


    Tops
    Buy a few v necks in different colours from topman etc. These can be dressed up with white shirt or down with polo.
    Good leather jacket is always nice
    Grey wool coat (zara has nice ones too)
    Gstar has good jackets
    Lyle and scott does nice tops as does fred perry (www.xileclothing.com, www.fredperry.com, www.asos.com)
    When looking at hoodies go for block colours and not stupid designs etc.


    It isnt too hard to look grown up when you break it down and you dont need to spend a fortune either.

    Very good advice here!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 653 ✭✭✭CSC


    Good, sensible and easy to follow advice from wixfjord.

    A man needs to find a look that he is comfortable with a stick with it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19 Disonyxiated


    Hey,

    I sort of went through a similar transition a few months ago when I graduated. I just decided that I was fed up with the jeans/tshirt combination & wanted to mature my style a little bit.

    The best advice I can give you is to look around at people around you, take mental notes & try to figure out what'd look best on you. Everyone's different, we're all different heights & ages & builds. So something that looks good on one person wont suit all of us. You gotta look around & see what you would feel comfortable in, while still looking more stylish. Now, as guys that's not too easy, it can feel a little awkward, especially if you're not into spending time shopping & haven't got a clue how to make things match-up.

    The best way to overcome that is to just see what others are wearing & try to copy their style. So if you see, whatever, someone in town who's wearing something that you think would suit you, just keep it in your head when you get around to shopping. Likewise some shops have manikins & all set up to give you an idea of what's in at the moment & they're put together by people who know what suits what & what's in fashion, so you know it'll look good.

    Another thing which I found important was the cost of it all O.o I still tend to get jeans in Penneys, mostly because they're pretty cheap & well there's not much to jeans anyway so who'll notice. When it comes to shirts & jumpers though I head to Esprit or Next. They've always got something stylish & the difference in fit + quality is pretty noticeable. For shoes, I get runners in River Island or Next, usually when I'm buying other stuff there I'll take a look at the shoes to see if there's anything that'd go with the stuff I just bought.

    As a general guide for what you should have, I'd say...

    *Shoes*

    One pair of simple white runners.
    One pair of black leather shoes.
    One pair of brown leather shoes.

    Avoid running shoes. By that I mean most runners you find in the sports shops. Try to get ones in River Island etc. I know at the minute they're selling runners for under €30 which come in about 10 different colours, which is perfect for matching stuff together.

    *Shirts*

    White shirts are great & go with pretty much everything. I'd go for short sleeved ones, coming into Summer they'll be handy. Other than the basics look for colours that suit your own style, I'd avoid anything too flashy & although TkMaxx is really cheap, I've never been able to find anything great there. Maybe that's just me though. Personally Esprit & Next are great for shirts that are simple, not too over the top & affordable.



    *Tshirts*

    I know you said that you're trying to get out of weaing tshirts, but they can still be great for a more mature style if you wear them as part of an outfit, as opposed to wearing them as the outfit. What I mean is, try wearing a blue tshirt with a not-too-loose white short sleeved shirt buttened 3/4 way up, with a pair of darkish blue jeans & white simple runners, it's simple but all works well together.

    *Jeans*

    Like I said above, I go for the cheaper ones in Penneys. Think they look the exact same. Maybe that's just me though O.o

    *Jumpers*

    Next & Esprit are doing great v-neck jumpers at the moment which go great with shirts underneath.

    *Accessories*

    This is something that most guys don't think about & I only sometimes do, but that's what pulls it all together in the end. Stuff I recommend...

    Watch
    One black & one brown wallet.(To keep with your shoe colour.)
    Cross/Chain
    Belts, Brown & Black.

    I tend to avoid scarves, probably cause I'm from Wicklow & I'll be laughed at :]



    Also I recommend checking out www.askmen.com they're probably the most helpful thing you'll find on-line.


    -Chris


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭m83


    Hey thanks for another great reply!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 36 freshtodeath


    If you're stuck for inspiration, I find magazines like GQ etc. are good as they are nearly half-filled with ads of men in the latest styles, and these are usually the mature kind of type I imagine you are looking for.

    I wouldn't advise an attitude of "I don't wanna look overdressed". Firstly, it's quite hard to be overdressed in any casual situation (obvious exceptions aside). Most people in Ireland anyway think that wearing shoes while not at work or in a nightclub (if even) is overdressed. It's not really, generally it looks smart. Same applies with shirts.

    The shops that have been listed above such as Zara, H&M etc. are a great place to start as they have very good casual and smart at very reasonable prices.

    Colourwise, I think a black-grey-white kind of balance looks the best almost without exception. Avoid greeny, browny, khaki type colours definitely, and approach loud colours with caution. I find if you have a lot of things in similarish shades its very easy to mix n match bits n pieces to make completely new out fits e.g. a grey v neck jumper will look good with either a white t-shirt underneath, or a black shirt.

    Jeans are worth spending well on, and taking care on imo. Grey and dark denim are the best colours I'd say. I know you say you don't like skinny jeans(fair enough), but it is important you don't go the complete opposite direction and get baggy jeans that have that crumpled look all the way down your leg. Get a good pair of straight or slim fitted jeans that cover the top of your shoes. Jeans dragging along the ground is the worst thing you could do, without exception! You will look about 14, and not a cool 14 yr old. Topman have a good range, also, levi's.

    Jumpers, cardigans, shirts, t-shirts etc can be got quite reasonably in the likes of H&M, Zara, Topman again.

    Get a nice coat which will be versatile enough to wear in most situations, and one which will go with majority of your clothes colour-wise.

    Accessories - As has been said, theres a lot to be said for a nice watch. Avoid at all costs anything resembling those surfery necklacey things, again you'll look 14...
    Scarfs, necessary in winter, again i'd recommend going with the black-grey-white colour scheme. Same with hats n gloves (leather gloves ftw)

    Shoes - plain black with a pointy-ish toe, can't go wrong - most shops will have something liek this.
    For more casual, get a few pairs of decent plimsoles, i.e. not the light as a feather ones for 10euro, Aldo have a good range if i remember correctly.

    I'd say the fit is one of the most important things, try everything on before you buy them, if it doesn't look right on you, don't get it, even if it looks nice on the shelf/you think others will like it. The same goes with the "fit" of the outfit, i.e. have your whole outfit in proportion e.g. no bulky shoes with slim trousers/slim shoes with baggy trousers. Apply this to whole outfit...

    Avoid becoming a walking label, (again, you'll look 14) so try to limit them if you can, especially with labels you would associate with teenagers (Hilfiger, AnF, Polo etc...)

    Try to minimalise pattern clashing, i.e. if you have a check shirt make sure your jumper is plain/vica versa etc...

    Lastly, when picking clothes, be open about them, don't look at something and immediately think "I couldn't carry that off etc...", you'd only be limiting yourself. I'd say even consciously try and bring yourself out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to wear something you ordinarily wouldn't have thought you would, you never know....

    Sorry, list is very all over the place, good luck though!!:)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,138 ✭✭✭eviltimeban


    I think most of the points have been covered here, but I would stress to all men, no matter what your age, if you are wearing shoes with a suit for work, please please go for a classic style, rather than the "in" style that you see in Office or places like that. When I see guys in those shoes it just totally ruins their chances of being taken seriously.

    So more this:
    5030_02.jpg

    And less like this:
    3101626220_exlg.jpg


    BTW I'm a man and have the first shoes (Grenson) and I have to say they are the best shoes I've ever bought. A little towards the pricey mark, but what I did was get the size and fit in BTs then I ordered them on the web for about 20% less.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,029 ✭✭✭johnk123


    Good solid advice on here so far. Follow these guidelines and you shouldn't go too far wrong. Hope your transition is a success


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,283 ✭✭✭PrivateEye


    Avoid the following things

    u1_PALESTINIAN_Scarf.gif

    You'll look politically ignorant/a dick. Think the Baader-Meinhof shirts people used to wear. Bad-taste. If you are wearing it 'in solidarity' or something, you would buy it from Palestine, not a 'made in China'. When you see the Olsten Twins in 'em (use google images, for serious) somethings a miss....if you google this, you'll find some great debates on the issue.

    abercrombie.jpg

    Abercrombie and Fitch.

    Walk around your college campus, what do you see :rolleyes:
    Everywhere, and nobody knows why. Probably originally on the fake
    pretence it was somehow 'luxury', but you'd get a dearer polo shirt in
    Marks and Sparks. It also looks so American its ridicolous.


    acc152.jpg

    Geeky Topman 'Dont need glasses' Glasses. Look stupid.


    Also avoid: anything in neon, stupidly skinny jeans, wearing ties when you don't have to, wearing sunglasses indoors at nightclubs etc., VERY low V t-shirts, those t-shirts with the BIG PRINTED MESSAGES ON THEM (FEEL THE BEAT and that kind of random crap) and also avoid wearing a pear of plimsolls to bits. Nothing looks worse!

    I would argue in favour of wixfjords response being printed in every lads mag/sports section in the world, its spot on.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19 Disonyxiated


    I'd agree with PrivateEye on the A&F part for sure. In fact when it comes to clothes who feel the need to be covered with logos I'd be inclined to avoid them. If you're trying to improve you style you want to be moving away from buying clothes bought primarily for the label & start looking for things that suit your look.

    Though I gotta admit that I recently came across a 'skinny black tie' in Next which I've worn with a shirt I got in Esprit. I think it pulls it all together pretty well, though I'd only wear it for going out & try to tone it down by keeping it a little looser than usual.

    Other things that should be avoided are sports items when you're not doing anything sports related. So avoid wearing football shirts unless you're actually watching a football match, avoid wearing runners unless you're actually running. White socks should never ever be worn. Ever. They don't go with anything. If you are at the gym or whatever wear those ankle socks, looks 100 times more stylish.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,283 ✭✭✭PrivateEye


    skinny black tie at the right time can work wonders my friend, wonders.


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