Obviously subjective but often elusive.
Gentlemen, what is YOUR style?
What are you “telling” the world? Sporty, business-like, casual, smart or relaxed? Do you dress to suit your mood or the occasion? Or do you wear the same things all the time? Worse still, do you have a “uniform” a set of clothes you vener ever veer from?
Inspiration
I actually do feel a bit sorry for men as there is not the same media attention on nen’s style, although don’t get me wrong there are a few brilliant magazines such as GQ, Esquire, MFM among them and on-line sites MensStyleFashion, The EveryDayMan, MensWearStyle.
But do a lot of men read them? Is it an age thing? I have to be realistic here. From a random poll of 50 friends & family only about 10% do, and of them they were under 30. So where do you get your inspiration?
Do you dress seasonally or is it “if I’m wearing this T-shirt (with or preferably without dodgy slogan) it must be summer” , or “if I’m wearing this saggy baggy comfy jumper, it must be winter”?
Colours
How about colours? Had a lot of responses that said “I always wear blue as girlfriend once (10 years ago) said it brought out my eyes”!!
How Ladies find theirs
So to STYLE, guys, this is why we ladies spend so much time shopping. We try things on:
- to see if they suit our body shape
- to see if the colour looks good
- to see if items go together
We go shopping to see what’s new. That is what the whole multibillion fashion industry is about – new styles, colours, fabrics and trends.
Have Fun with it
It needn’t be scary and in fact can be a lot of fun! Finding a colour or cut that really suits you (Sir!), something you would never had picked up, something that enhances or transforms your existing clothes.
My daughters took a male relative shopping. He was the most excited I have ever seen him about a fantastic well cut pair of designer jeans. He baulked a bit at the shape and a bit at the price, but he now wears them all the time!
A Bit of Maths
That brings me to the theory of “cost per wear”. I don’t wish to be patronising but this is the maths.
Buy something at £25 wear it 5 times (either because you don’t really love it, or it didn’t wash well or it takes half an hour of ironing to look half way decent, or it only goes with one other thing in your wardrobe) and the cost per wear = £5.
Buy something at £100 pounds wear it 100 times (because you DO love it, it does go with lots of other things plus some you never thought of, plus you get compliments when you wear it, even from your mates!) and the cost per wear = £1.
It needn’t be too expensive either just a few key pieces per season to get lots of different looks. Our cash is more precious today than it has ever been so
DON’T SPEND MORE, SPEND WISELY!
Find your Style Angel
This is why you need to find and build rapport with your menswear shop. They get to know you and it’s really just like having a personal shopper or style advisor. They will be honest. They will point out things they think you may like and they will let you know what the trends are and what’s coming in the future. They will not let you leave the shop with something less than fabulous and age appropriate!
At Charles Stuart Menswear, you get this, plus a beer, coffee or wine whilst you are in there. This is not fast fashion. This is how shopping should be. Stuart’s customer base is made up of guys who visit on a regular basis and bring their sons, nephews and mates. That is the confidence Charles Stuart Menswear promotes – trust your independent shopkeeper!
If you live in the NW UK it really is worth a visit. If not, find yourself a good independent menswear shop (with a Stuart and his fab staff) near you.
Don’t be a slave to fashion. Master your style.
