Man Up! Part 1 of Building Your Wardrobe
Building a wardrobe can be an intimidating process – What do I need? What am I missing? A garment is a garment, right? Wrong. Every man needs a suit, so lets start there.
Suit or Suits (noun) – A set of outer clothes made of the same fabric and designed to be worn together, typically consisting of a jacket and trousers
I suggest a black suit as it covers all events, weddings, special functions and most of all, Vegas. Get it tailored to fit you and invest in something comfortable. Then add a white or eggshell dress shirt. Like your go-to black suit, a white shirt should cover most anything.
Shoes – I am going to keep this simple because I absolutely love my shoes and could go on and on. Keep with black to match your suit and be versatile. Most of all, get some proper polish and keep those suckers polished up!
Lastly, accessories: tie & socks. Socks – well in case you have been under a rock, loud and colourful is the way to go these days. Look under any table next time you are in a conference room or out for lunch with the boys and you’ll see some serious colour and patterns. Get some color and express yourself! A tie is the easiest and best way to show off your personality. They are very personal and everyone has their own taste. Just a heads up – skinny is in and its a great place to throw in some colour.
The first look below is a Versace suit, white Eton shirt, Ted Baker tie and Hugo Boss lace up black shoes.
So now you have the suit, but it’s in the back of your closet not getting any use. Wrong! You can go from formal to business casual or Friday night with the same basics and a few extras. That black suit jacket is now a black blazer. Switch to a pair of casual pants, lose the tie and you’re ready for business in the Okangan.
The second look is the suit jacket, white Eton shirt and Alberto casual pants.
Need casual? Throw on some jeans and a tee for a night out with friends. A plain white t-shirt or perhaps a v-neck is what is in order here, I like the v-neck myself, as silly as it sounds I think it is just a better look. Denim comes in so many versions now, but my advice is keep it simple. Choose a nice pair of dark denim that is hemmed and fits right. We may like a loose fitting jean, but I tell you right now the ladies think you look like a slob. You can use your black dress shoes to finish this outfit off.
The third look is the suit jacket, Hugo Boss v-neck tee and Robert Graham jeans.
Get yourself some core pieces and you’re set with these 3 different looks: black suit, white shirt, tie, black dress shoes, black belt, neutral tone casual pant, basic tee, jeans. They are the first set of basics for building your wardrobe.