Don Draper's Got Nothing on You

I know the thought of wearing a tie causes some of you to start convulsing, but knowing how to put together dress pants, a nice dress shirt, a tie, and a few other accessories is absolutely necessary to a man's life. If you are a grown up you should know how to put this outfit together. The basics are simple and you can stick with those until you're comfortable and then branch out a little bit if you want to.



This doesn't look to scary does it? Alright, here we go.

1). Dress pants: Make sure they fit! There is nothing that can ruin a good outfit faster than dress pants that are too baggy or too small. In my opinion the way these pants fit on our torso-less model here are perfect. You could go a little looser if you are uncomfortable and a little longer if you wanted but not too much. Definitely don't go tighter or shorter. There is one very important element of these pants... NO PLEATS! Pleated front pants are your enemy. Stay away from them. They make you look chubbier and older than you are. Colorwise, try and stick with black or a charcoal grey color like these.

2). Dress shirt: Dress shirts should be pretty simple to get a good fit. Once again, just don't go to baggy or too tight. Make sure your sleeves are long enough also, they should hit right at the base of your hand when your arms are straight down at your side. If you have more of a narrow build look for shirts that are slim cut so you can avoid the billowing affect that dress shirts have if they don't fit properly. As for color, if you are nervous about coordinating or not sure you can pull of a bold color than stick with the classics. This blue is a great color for almost any man, and it works with black or grey pants. Of course, there is always your classic white. If you want to try a bolder color but aren't quite confident enough for a saturated color stick with lighter colors and they won't seem so intense.

3). Shoes: Invest in a good pair of black dress shoes. These are one thing I will sort of leave up to your taste and style. However, please make sure they are not super chunky. Super chunky black shoes take your dapper look down about 10 notches. Whether you go with a pointy toe, square toe, more of a boot, or a loafer is really up to you and what you are comfortable with. It also has to do with your age. If you are 25, stay away from loafers. Oh, and remember our rule about belts and shoes (if you missed it, check out the post below).

4). Ties: I will be posting a tutorial on how to tie a tie, but for now let's just talk about prints and colors. Your tie does not need to be "matchy-matchy" but it does need to coordinate with your pants and shirt. I chose this tie because it has a fun pattern, but still incorporates the grey of the pants and the black of your shoes and belt. As far as I can tell there really isn't any blue in that tie, but because the blue of your shirt is a neutral color it's ok. Also, the grey in the tie is going to take on a little bit a blue sheen when it's up against the shirt. You can really have fun with ties, just don't get crazy. Also, make sure your tie hits right about your belt. There should be about 1/2 an inch to an inch between them. A tie that is too long will make you look like a little kid, and one that is too short will make you look chubby.

5). Accessories: Men's accessories are pretty basic but they add just an extra touch of "put togetherness". A nice watch that isn't made of rubber or that velcro-y fabric is a really nice extra touch. This is where your own preference comes in. If you don't wear watches normally, then don't worry about wearing one with this outfit. This is about taking your own unique style to the next level.

So what do you think? If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me and I'd love to help. Now, go impress your wives, girlfriends, or mothers, and show up wearing an outfit like this to your next wedding, funeral, or semi-formal event.