The guys at DailyXY do a good job of telling you what to wear. (For fall: Thom Browne; Belstaff jackets; and anything from here). Leave it to the ladies of XX on XY, however, to tell you what not to wear. Here, five blunders to avoid this fall, lest your winter be a lonely one.
Boots Not Made for Walking
We love an outdoorsman, but wearing technical hiking boots (like these) in the city screams computer programmer, not mountaineer. (With all due respect to programmers, your profession isn’t known for its style.)
Mother Tucker
All your buddies might also be wearing baggy, striped, untucked dress shirts, but guess what? They all look bad, too. Go slim, tuck it in, and wear striped shirts only with the most discerning taste.
Park the Parka
Your slim-cut suit, made of fine Italian fabrics, looks perfect. Your shoes are well-shined. Your coat is…blue polyester? The surest way to ruin a beautiful suit is to pair it with a technical parka.
Please, No Pleats
Pleated pants might come back, and if you want to be on the avant-garde, then bless you. I’m sure that in a few years, everyone will want to look like they’re wearing their father’s trousers, circa 1986.
Burn Your Boot Cuts
Really? Still? You need not go hipster-skinny, but for the love of all that is holy, wear straight-leg jeans. Slim-fitting, please. I’ll let you in on a little secret: We like it when your jeans don’t leave everything to the imagination.
Image courtesy of TheGiantVermin.
Skinny jeans may be in but are not for all men. I have a man booty, and subsequently matching thighs. It’s difficult to get into skinny jeans let alone walk in them.
Style is one’s own, and fashion be damned I’m not a lemming.
My style may not be as fashionable as you advocate, but iis an easy sacrifice when you factor inn comfort.
I couldn’t care less if pleats are not in fashion, pants with no pleats do not feel comfortable to me. And straight skinny legs on jeans are just sadistic.
And my shoes are nice and shiny indoors, however whether you approve or not, they stay indoors as soon as the weather stops to collaborate, and warm non slip boots replace them for braving the elements…
Fashion blunders? Who gives a ####?
Oh! And you should see my bright yellow raincoat… It makes me stand out in a dark rainy day, and maybe I won’t get hit by a car, AGAIN!
…and what am i supposed to do with my five pairs of leather boots? Some straight-legs don’t fit over them. There are degrees of boot cut, some more flared than others. We are in an age of reductionism, but that doesn’t mean a functional flare should rule out all boot-cuts as a no-no.
any opinions on t-shirts under a dress shirt? I never understood this…that’s what undershirts (aka wife beaters) are for!
The bootcuts comment is too generalized. You should break it down by specific kind of shoe. Bootcuts are okay for most situations but when you’re attempting to wear a pointed toe shoe or boot with them and the leg is rather wide at the bottom, it’s generally not a good idea.
Not all bootcuts are the same, some are slimmer fitting from the waist to the thigh and then they open a bit more than straight/slim (my preference since I have horse legs).
However, I generally agree that men shouldn’t be rocking the baggy jeans – they tend to look rather sloppy when it looks like a pair of raver pants.