Comments on: A Man’s Guide to Style Transition: 6 Steps to Start Dressing Like the Man You Know Yourself to Be

By: Chapman Bags

Chapman Bags — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 21:37:46 +0000

I think another tip is to go with what works for you. Some very sporty men can’t just jump into a suit and expect to look at ease. At times a gradual change is best, and even style consultants can miss this.

By: David Smith

David Smith — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:45:28 +0000

I think it was Hardy Amies that said, “A man dresses well, simply because he wants to.” The hardest thing is to make the decision and act on it.

As a teenager in London in the early 80′s, I was incredibly concerned with what I wore – obviously this is easier without the responsibilites of adult life, marriage, fatherhood, etc – but I cared and made an effort. However due to all of the above, over the intervening years I simply lost my mojo!
I’m now 42 and a highways engineer by profession; my job is about 70% office based and 30% site visits. I used to dress like I was on site visits 100% of the time… About 18 months ago I read Nicholas Storey’s book, “History of Men’s Fashion.” Not to put too fine a point on it, it completely changed my attitude to how I dressed for work. I decided I’d had enough of looking like one of my operatives and this book helped reignite my love of classic British tailoring and looking smart and stylish.
I have to say it was quite a shock to many of my colleagues but despite this, the reaction was almost universally positive, particularly amongst the women! I am now regularly complimented on my sartorial choices and these days people comment if I’m NOT wearing a suit and tie! (My office has an unofficial casual Friday and I always make a point of wearing a suit in protest just for the sheer hell of it!)
The key thing I would say, is to have the courage to go for it and don’t be afraid to experiment with colours and different combinations.

I’ll end with another Hardy Amies quote: “A man should look as if he has bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them.”
I reckon that neatly sums up the attitude one should aim for.
________________________________________________________________
p.s. If anyone asks, I tell them to check these out:

Books

* Esquire’s Handbook of Style
* History of Men’s Fashion – Nicholas Storey
* Gentleman – Bernhard Roetzel
* Sharp Suits – Eric Musgrave
* The Englishman’s Suit – Hardy Amies

Magazines:
* GQ
* Esquire
* The Chap – http://www.thechap.net

(Keep up the good work at AoM, superb website!)

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:16:53 +0000

@Declan: If you're looking for ways to dress well on a budget, allow me a cheap plug and suggest Dappered.com It's all we do. Great article by Art of Manliness as always. Best of luck Declan with the pursuit of taking a little more pride in how you present yourself.

By: Declan M

Declan M — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:14:36 +0000

Great article. I made the decision to stop dressing like a slob about 6 months ago. I started by making a list of all the items I would like to have, and then set about making a plan on which order to buy them. It has been going slowly so far. I am at university and money is pretty tight, so I haven’t been able to move as quickly as I would like. I’m still dressing in a less than desirable fashion, but at least my mind set has changed and I’m working towards something. If anyone has any tips on how to dress well on a budget then post them up!

By: Days and Adventures

Days and Adventures — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:15:22 +0000

I love what you wrote about mindset. Great insights.

Marc

By: dk

dk — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:30:20 +0000

This series has been very interesting to me – last December I changed jobs and the corporate culture I was used to was no longer necessary. I left a company that experienced the casual freedoms of the dot-com era where the norm was jeans and teeshirts and was given the opportunity to make myself over by accepting a technical position in management. So I pulled out and reviewed my business wardrobe and began filling in the missing pieces. Initially some laid back upper management folks were resistant to my more formal appearance – some might even use the phrase “animosity” – but in time they were won over. This trans-formative act extended beyond myself, as well, and I am pleased to see that other employees are more inclined to follow my lead with formal attire at the beginning of the week, business casual towards the end of the week, and, naturally, casual Fridays. I have always preferred a collar and a tie to a teeshirt and I was able to redesign myself in the process which ultimately has improved the company’s level of professionalism.

By: saad

saad — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:50:40 +0000

Wow, amazing coincidence you posted this, because I am doing exactly this “mindset-change” project, which I started last week. I’m recording my progress on my blog w/ a photo diary.

By: Mr Ed

Mr Ed — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 06:17:28 +0000

Good.
The only thing I’d beg to differ about is: if you shine your shoes only once a week, do it Saturday evening–not Sunday evening!

By: Erick

Erick — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:13:53 +0000

I made a decision to change the person I was about a year and a half ago.I was fat, out of shape and drinking far too much. I was about to become a father. I wanted to be healthy enough to be around for my son and began going to the gym and what was a chore became a passion. I changed my body and felt great. But then I realized I not only wanted to be there for my son, I wanted to be an example for my son and roughly 5 months ago I stopped spiking my hair, got a hair cut, and started caring about the way I dress.

Living in Portland, OR and working at a company who’s first line on their job applications is “A suit and tie aren’t even an option at x-company” dressing in anything but teva sandals, shorts and a ratty t-shirt that has some saying on it is standing out in the crowd. I chose to stand out, I don’t wear dress slacks but I wear very nice jeans, polo shirts, as well as a variety of leather loafers. I comb my hair and shave every other day, you’d think some of these people believe that a razor is giving into some sort of societal pressure.

The result of course was initially a lot of “Wow going somewhere special” to receiving various compliments that basically can be summed up as “I like the new dapper look.” My wife admits now that she much prefers this look to my old “bad boy” look and that she loves the confidence I carry around now. So I’d like to thank Antonio and The Art of Manliness as I read all of the Wardrobe articles he has written and taken careful notes. They have been an incredibly deep resource in assisting me in my change. For anyone considering a change I’d say that #’s 5 and 6 were the biggest ones to me. Get over what people will think, and have a plan.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:38:51 +0000

I live in the Phoenix area where the definition of getting “dressed up” is putting on a pair of socks. I admit, though, I truly miss dressing the way I did when I lived and worked in the San Francisco area in the mid-80s through mid-90s. I agree that the way you dress affects the way you carry yourself. Perhaps that’s what I’ve been missing for the past few years. I’m a self-employed writer working from a home office so my daily wardrobe, especially on 110 degree days like today, is typically shorts, a tee shirt and flip-flops. Most of the time I feel like a slob but in my mind I can’t justify the time and expense of sharp clothes to sit here in my office, by myself, all day. I often think that if I improved my appearance I might also improve my attitude, confidence and daily performance, but justifying that first shopping trip and thinking about the return of dry cleaning bills and ironing shirts stops me in my tracks every time. Anyone else have this problem? Any advice?