Proper Press

Judging one's wardrobe doesn't require a divine event. Indeed, the start of a new year is a good time to make an assessment.Like the Four Horsemen, there are four main mistakes that can plague your wardrobe. The goal of this article is sartorial salvation - let the sermon commence.

Gents, in the same vein, it’s your shoes, stupid. It’s this column’s charge to provide sartorial advice in a way that translates to real world success. I’m not saying anything new, of course, as in man’s attempt to woo the fairer sex (or the same sex for that matter), nothing is more commonly known than “women [people] judge men on their shoes.”

This was, of course, a dichotomy made out of simplicity, but there are numerous variations that I did not previously discuss, including, e.g., dark hair with dark skin. For further reading on the subject, I strongly suggest picking up a copy of Alan Flusser’s Dressing the Man if you don’t already own a copy. It’s a great coffee table book and reference guide.

Dressing intelligently begins with a few simple methods. "Personal color strategy,” as menswear guru Alan Flusser has written extensively on (see Alan Flusser’s “Dressing The Man” for more information), is an art that most men know nothing about.

Dressing well is also governed by laws. There are inummerable “rules” about what is the correct way to wear garments, matching of color, etc. And, like the hand of God, at times the conscious breaking of the rules becomes the stuff of legend. Take for instance the wide lapels on almost all of Tom Ford’s men’s suit jackets; they are large and out of proportion with the rest of the garment, and likely with its eventual wearer’s body. Yet, this breaking of the rule is Tom Ford’s celebrated and lucrative “style.” So much for adhering to rules.