Classic Style

A good looking gray glen plaid pattern with a mustard yellow windowpane overlay. T he word for today is "pattern."  In sho r t, guys, don't fear it or shy away from it.  Sure, navy and charcoal have their place for more conservative suits and blazers or sports jackets, but, as my grandmother used to say, "Live a little!"   Glen plaid and houndstooth are two very traditional patterns that will easily liven up your wardrobe a bit.  And, contrary to what many guys fear, they'll do so without making you look like the slimy Herb Tarlek on the old WKRP in Cincinnati TV program.  The trick to avoiding Herb's look is to keep everything else really, really simple.  Especially because both glen plaid and houndstooth are such dominant patterns.   Herb Tarlek from WKRP in Cinci nn ati. To avoid aping Mr. Tarlek's tacky 1970s appearance above, I'd suggest a plain light blue oxford cloth button-down shirt and with either charcoal flannel, or tan

Mr. Carson, head of the household staff along with Mrs. Hughes, on Downton Abbey.  This image comes from the PBS.org website. L ot's of men's clothing websites and blogs out there  have the word 'gentleman' displayed prominently somewhere on their landing pages, or embedded within their content.  But it's a mistake to assume that clothing alone will make the man.   I'd even go so far as to suggest that it's more the way we men conduct ourselves, alone and in the company of others, that determines how close we come to actually being a gentleman.  And that has to do with standards of behavior. Now, I'm not talking about arbitrary standards here, but accepted social conventions that, in many cases, have been around for centuries.  Things like:  -- Basic table manners.  Think about your elbows, a napkin in your lap, chewing with your mouth closed, swallowing food before you speak, asking for things to be passed to you, etc. -- Keeping y

Ok, one more time, guys.  This is your brain.  This is your brain on a steady diet of typical guy stuff --------------------------------------------------.  Right.  T ry using your brain for something besides memorizing batting averages and recalling the number of touchdowns in last season's Superbowl. A nother part of kicking up one's style a notch or three that should not be forgotten is the mind.  In short, use it for something more than trivial crap.  There's more to life than large screen TVs, football jersey collections, being gross in the company of male friends, and your "little general."   F igure it out.    I n short, d on't continue to be a nowhere man.  Get with the program.  Stretch yourself.  Step outside your comfort zone.  Learn another language .   More than half a dozen carefully memorized phrases.   Plan a trip somewhere besides Cancun or Cozumel.  Try to think in different ways.  Read some books on things besides sports, the A

Last Friday's more casual, snowy weather gear.  My wife told me to go back upstairs and change my pants before I left for school. T here are those days when, despite your best planning the evening before, an ensemble just doesn't quite come together the way you thought it would.  And so it was with the clothes above last Friday when we had several inches of new snow on the ground, and I decided on a slightly less formal look for campus.  Nothing wrong with any of the garments, footwear, or accessories by themselves, but it was all a bit much once I was dressed and looked in the mirror.  My suspicions were confirmed by my wife (usually the more stye challenged of us), who sent me back upstairs to put on a pair of more sedate tan corduroy pants before I was able to leave the house.   Later that evening, she gave me a hard time in the kitchen before supper about my initial appearance that morning.  There was much laughter on both sides, but I explained that the fun in na

  Besides thrift and consignment shops, p laces like the Salvation Army and Goodwill can also be places where you can occasionally come across a choice piece or two of menswear that, with dry-cleaning and minor alterations via your tailor, can take their place of pride in your wardrobe. A s I've mentioned here before -- and a number of other great blogs discuss in considerable detail.  See especially An Affordable Wardrobe . -- you can easily kick up your style several notches into the realm of tasteful, adult menswear by visiting thrift shops.  But even on those days when the pickings are slim in your particular dimensions, don't ignore picking up thse gems that can be flipped and resold for quite a bit more.   These funds can then be plowed back into your own clothing, shoes, and accessories budget for use at a future date.  Outlets like e-bay make this a very easy prospect.  For instance, this morning, I came across three pairs of men's Zanella dress pants in woo