The older I get, the more simplified I like things. My life and my wardrobe included. It’s important to figure out who you are, what message you want to send and then dress with intention. If you’re still trying to figure out your individual style, that’s okay. You’re on a journey that most all of us will go through. Try things, make mistakes, learn from them those mistakes and apply what works for your lifestyle.
What Suits Your Lifestyle?
Find what suits your lifestyle and what makes you feel good about yourself. That’s gonna be a little different from anybody else, but remember, It doesn’t have to be about impressing anybody other than yourself. However, with that said, we’re all judged, whether you like it or not, based on the impression people get when they see you. But realize, that you have total control over the impression you’re making with how you’re presenting yourself to the world.
Tailoring Is Everything
Fall in love with what you already have in your closet again. Tailoring is everything. We talk about fit all the time and the importance of making sure your clothing fits you correctly, but what does that look like for different body types? Let me say this loud and clear.. Your body is your body and it’s just fine. Just because something you try on might not fit the way you’d like, that isn’t your fault. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Different manufacturers produce things for whatever THEY determine is “average” so they can sell as much as possible.
The trick is to find a good tailor in your area and start using them. If you really love that blue shirt in your closet, but you don’t wear it that often because it’s too baggy or the sleeves are too long, or you’d really rather wear it untucked but the shirt tails are too long… Take it to a tailor, spend a few bucks and have it altered. It’s cheaper than buying a new shirt. Same goes for pants including jeans, chinos, and dress trousers, jackets or anything else.
Using Apps For Inspiration
Let’s talk tech for a minute and talk about using Google and Instagram for wardrobe inspiration. It’s totally OK to use apps like that for inspiration. But you have to spend some time figuring out your own style, and what’s not only comfortable, but also something you can wear on a daily basis without feeling uncomfortable. And when you’re looking for inspiration, just be mindful looking at what other people wear because all body types are different. Part of the reason why their clothing looks so great in photos is because they’re utilizing a tailor to get things perfect. They might be using tricks like Photoshop to make themselves look even better. It’s pretty hard to tell what’s been photoshopped these days.
Make Sure Everything Goes Together
One goal, if you’re looking to have a very simplistic wardrobe, is making sure that everything goes with everything else. That way you’re eliminating a lot of confusion and chaos every day. Also make sure you can easily distinguish between work items, leisure items, and evenings out items. Find the colors that work with you and purchase items that are complimenting colors. I’ve talked about using the color wheel in several other videos, and I’ll link to my favorite one here. The goal is to avoid having a chaotic closet where nothing matches. If you want to have an effective and efficient closet, it’s critical that the majority of your pieces are interchangeable.
Anson Belt & Buckle
Speaking of interchangeable items in your wardrobe, another interchangeable item that should be in your wardrobe are simple, streamlined belts that easily pair with everything in your closet. Anson Belt is sponsoring this video and in my opinion, they’re the best belts on the planet, period. Here’s why. Their belts don’t have holes because the holes are never in the right spot. They use micro-adjustments on the backside spaced out in quarter-inch intervals for a perfect fit, always. Even if you lost a few lbs or even gained a few, the belts always fit perfectly.
Use Belts That Fit You Perfectly
Here’s another reason… they’re one size fits all. You just measure it up, and cut the extra length off this end. That way, it fits your waist exactly. Not only that, but you can choose a ton of buckle and strap options because the buckles are interchangeable with different straps. Since I’m dressing more casual these days in jeans, that feature is awesome.
Anson Belt is a family owned business with amazing customer service and a lifetime guarantee. I’ve met David the owner a few different times now and he’s one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Gentlemen, if you want to go check ‘em out, hurry and click this link to get the best deal going which is the box set of 3 straps and 2 buckles, or 3 buckles and 2 straps; that comes out to 6 belt combos for under $100. Or just buy one belt combo if you like. You’re absolutely gonna love these belts!!
Dress High-Low
The next thing I want to stress is not every piece in your wardrobe, or every piece you’re wearing needs to be expensive. One expensive item elevates the entire look. For example, the jacket your wearing might cost $500, but you can easily wear that with your $25 jeans and it makes everything else look expensive. This is called dressing High-Low. One expensive, or nicer item, paired with other less expensive items. You could have a nice pair of shoes or boots paired with $30 jeans or chinos and a $40 bomber jacket from H&M. And as long as everything fits well like we talked about earlier, it’s a great high-low look.
Watch Out For Impulse Buys
Have a vision and a purpose and buy with intention. It’s OK to see something really cool and get excited about it, but try not to get overly excited and make a bad impulse purchase. Before you buy it, think about what else in your current wardrobe you can wear it with. Does it go with a lot of what you already have, or just one specific thing? Find pieces that fit your work life and also your personal lifestyle because that makes outfit selection a lot easier and less stressful.
Store Demographic
Let’s talk about store selection and the demographic different stores cater to. I’ve talked many times about buying jeans at American Eagle even though that’s a store for a much younger demographic. Now, certain items from a store like that might be OK, but you need to learn how to pick and choose correctly for your age, especially if you’re in your 40’s or beyond. I’ll buy basic casual blue jeans and some dark wash denim there because honestly, the prices can’t be beat and the jeans are super comfortable because they use a stretchy denim fabric. They’re decent quality for a sub-$50 pair of jeans, and if you’re a short guy, they’ve got inseams down to like 28 if I’m not mistaken. Just stick to the basics in there and avoid trendy pieces, big logo’s and super bright colors.
The Sale Sections
Let me say a few words about the Sale rack. A lot of people say to go straight to the sale rack to find all the good deals. Now yes of course, sale sections are great, but try to avoid buying items that you might not wear just for the simple fact that it was on sale. If you think you “might” wear it and it’s a really good deal, even if it is a good deal, if you don’t wear it, it was a waste of money. Like I mentioned earlier, think about how you’re gonna wear it and what you can wear it with.
Style is a Journey
Style is ultimately a journey and Lord knows I’m dressing a lot different these days than I did when I first started my website talking about this stuff. I thought I had to always be super dressed up and dapper all the time. And yes, I still do that on occasion, my daily wardrobe is very simple and most of my closet consist of jeans, sneakers, and casual button up shirts. I’ve made tons of mistakes along the way and failed publicly. But making mistakes is OK, and it’s a part of growth. And just being aware of that makes it okay because how else do you learn if not from your mistakes?
