A Man's Closet, Part 1 - The Basics

A Man's Closet, Part 1 - The Basics

By Frank K Siciliano

The vast majority of men hate shopping. Not just a little bit, either. A brief perusal through the annals of history show men who have scheduled root canals, knee surgery, late days at work, and a myriad of other unpleasantries just to avoid a five-minute hop to the clothing store for a pair of pants to replace the pair of pants with the hole in the pocket (which no one can see, so no big deal, right?).

I know you have jeans, sweats, and t-shirts in your closet, but how about the proof that you can clean up nicely once in a while? Most men rely on their significant others or members of their family to stock their closet for that. They too, however, may require some guidance. Whether you are making that trip to mall, or they are, here's the shopping list:

1. Navy Blue Suit - Yes, navy. Not black. Navy. The black suit is for weddings and funerals, and even in those cases, you can get away with navy. It's nice to own a few suits. It's required you own one. Go navy.

2. Four (4) Button Down Shirts - For those of you who read my article, "Clothing Should Fit!", you are perfectly aware of how your Oxford shirt (button down) should be sized. Owning four means you have two with two backups. Here's how to break down the four:

**Two (2) White - White is the standard. We like standard.

**Two (2) Blue - One light, one dark, or two of the same. Blue is for mixing it up a bit, and trust me when I say you don't want to have every dressed-up day of your life spent in a white Oxford shirt.

3. Black Lace-up Shoes - No, not black sneakers, but black lace-up shoes. Yep. With laces. They even come with thin rubber soles now, instead of tractionless leather.

4. Black Leather Belt - I stress black, because the shoes are black. Unless you want to start playing around with fancier combinations, match the belt to the shoes. Brown with brown, black with black. Whatever with sneakers. Never brown with black. Ever. Period.

5. SOCKS THAT AREN'T FOR THE GYM!! - Every time I see someone in a suit and white sweatsocks, I want to pull them aside, drag them into the nearest store, buy them a pair of black dress socks, make them change, then resume whatever else I was doing at the time. Either that, or hit them upside the head with a blunted (or blunt?) object. To avoid either, PLEASE make sure you have black socks. Not sweatsocks, either. You can do socks that are more suited (pun intended) for this occasion without going all nylon. Trust me.

Foolproof. That's the only way to describe this list. You may need to dress this way less than a dozen times in your life, but make those moments count!

Frank K Siciliano is the founder of dressinglikeaman.blogspot.com, which is in place to help guide men towards a more presentable way of dressing, without being all fussy. Since 1982, Frank has been developing an eye for what's hot, what's not, and what will stand the test of time in fashion. Interestingly enough, "what will stand the test of time" is the only thing that matters to most people. He does all that he can to guide anyone who will listen to a sharper, cleaner sense of style that will stand that very same test.

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Your Guide To Wearing Hats

Author: Joe Silla

Many women shy away from wearing hats simply because they honestly believe that they would not be able to pull off wearing one. To some women, hats call too much attention to themselves. Some women, on the other hand, just do not know how to wear a hat. It is a shame, actually, because a hat is a fashion accessory that every woman should have in her wardrobe.

Now, why is that? Why should a hat or two be part of a woman's wardrobe? One reason is that a hat is a great fashion accessory that can pull together an outfit and improve its overall look. The other reason is that a hat provides ample protection from the harmful rays of the sun, at a time when skin cancer is now a cause for fear and people are becoming aware of the dangers of exposing the skin to sunlight far too long.

In order to be able to pull off the look of an outfit with a hat, you only need to know how to wear one. The basic rule about wearing hats is that if you find the particular hat that you have got on quite comfortable and you feel confident about wearing it, then all other rules are canceled out. The most important thing about wearing hats is that you have to feel confident and comfortable with the hat you are wearing.

But if you are the type to pay attention to details, then read on.

One thing you should know about hats is that when you are shopping for a hat, you should pick a hat that matches the proportions of your face. You will be wearing your hat quite closely to your face and so the hat will draw attention to the features of your face. If your face is small, you should wear a small hat. If your face is wide, your hat should have a wide brim. A small hat on a wide face will make the face look wider; a big hat on a small face will drown the face.

The color of your hat should either complement or flatter your skin tone. If your skin is pale with rosy hues, then a pink or red or rust-colored hat would look nice on you. If your skin is dark or with yellow tones, you can wear just about any color hat but do try not to stick to just black.

If you are wearing solid colors, it would be nice to top off your outfit with a printed hat that combines together the colors you are wearing. You could also opt for a printed hat that provides a nice contrast to the colors of your outfit. Either way, your hat can make your outfit look nicer and much more interesting.

Try to avoid matching your hat's material with the material of your top or your jacket. You may end up overdoing the look. If you are wearing a leather jacket, try to go for a contrast and wear a tweed pageboy hat instead of something made also of leather. If you are wearing a tweed jacket, maybe a knitted cap would tie your outfit up and make it work.

Playing with contrasts is also a good thing to do when you are wearing a man's hat. If you want to wear a man's hat, like a fedora, you can go whimsical on it and wear pretty and really feminine earrings to soften the look. And of course, a dash of bright or warm lipstick and lengthening mascara will further feminize the look with the otherwise masculine hat.

Going for a casual look with just jeans and a plain T-shirt? You can dress up your denims by wearing a hat, maybe a pageboy or a hat with a wide brim. The overall impression would be a look that is casual, effortless and yet certainly more lively and interesting to the eyes.

You can go ahead and experiment with the kinds and styles of hats that you may want to match up with your outfit. However, here are a few things you ought to avoid when wearing a hat.

Always wear your hat in front of your head, fitting snuggly with your forehead. Only little girls wear their hats to the back of the head.

Shun retro hats and baseball caps as much as possible. Retro hats are out of style because they are out of style, if you get the drift. A baseball cap, on the other hand, will pull your style grade down a couple of notches rather than upgrade it. Unless you are going for a jog in your sweats or getting some yard cleaning or gardening done, avoid wearing baseball cap.

Lastly, do not turn to your hat to save your outfit if you think you have made a mistake in pulling clothes from your closet. If you think you are underdressed or overdressed, leave the hat off because it will only call more attention to your clothes.

Hats are great fashion accessories. You should go and get yourself a hat right away.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/fashion-articles/your-guide-to-wearing-hats-3808130.html

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