From the designer: Fashion guidance for the new year (3 tips for becoming a sharply dressed man)
Brian Spaly — January 20, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
PART 1 OF 3
Each day we field various fashion queries from customers all over the world. It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to put together three key points of advice on the topic of how to look your best each and every day. Tip 1 is below—check the blog for tip 2 tomorrow!
Fit is essential. One of the most common mistakes we see guys make here in New York is to buy apparel that is trendy and expensive but not necessarily well-made, durable, or high-quality. Guys, in general, should spend more money on quality fabric and appropriate alterations than on fancy labels. Another common mistake that guys make is to become so set on buying a certain brand that they are blind to the fact that the cut simply doesn’t work for their body type. I have always admired Diesel jeans, but I have never found a pair that works for me. A well-developed fashion sensibility requires one to recognize that sometimes it just isn’t meant to be—sort of like in dating—no matter how cool/hot/sexy the article (or person).
Trousers: Almost all trousers need to be hemmed to the right length for you. We recommend you hem all of your pants to land about one quarter of an inch above the ground when wearing shoes. Expect to pay no more than $10 for a regular hem and $16-22 for an original hem on denim (where you want to keep the original bottoms of the legs—we recommend this). If you are paying more than that you are being taken advantage of. Go to the cleaners for this service, not the tailors. This is a simple operation!
Shirts: Shirts should flatter your figure. Find a brand and make that works well for you and focus on fit. Excellent slim fitting shirts are hard to find—we hope to launch our own line of these soon! In the meantime, buy shirts large enough to allow you to move comfortably, but not much bigger than that. Watch out for baggy arms and blousy, frumpy-looking midsections and waist areas. You can have some of that extra fabric removed by a tailor—it shouldn’t cost much more than $15-20 per shirt. Your sleeves should peak out comfortably when worn underneath a blazer or suit coat—ideally you are showing about half an inch of shirt cuff and the shirt cuff covers just a tiny bit of where your hand starts at the wrist.
Polos and t-shirts: You can think about these in a similar way—comfortable but not baggy or frumpy in any way. Depending on the style, there may be a bit more personal taste involved in how a short-sleeved t-shirt or knit should fit you—wear what you like and what looks great on you.
Outerwear: Jackets and coats should be comfortable when worn over seasonally appropriate tops. The slimmer fitting the better, but use good judgment. Extra fabric in any garment is simply unbecoming unless you are sleeping or pregnant. You do need a bit of extra room in a topcoat for warm air. Every gentleman should have one nice overcoat that falls somewhere between the lower thigh and the mid calf, to be worn with suits.
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Stoked to hear you might be throwing shirts our way.
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SHIRTS SHIRTS SHIRTS, I CANNOT WAIT FOR BONOBOS SHIRT!
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Word on the shirts.
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Another point to add is that, for dress shirts, the corners of the shoulders (or the tops of the sleeves) should line up with the edges of your shoulders (or the tops of your arms). It always amazes me to see people wearing shirts that do not fit in such an obvious way.
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I cannot wait for the shirts. Please give us as much advanced notice as possible so I can budget appropriately.
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I’ll agree: Yippee, yahoo Bonobos shirts.
But
I have to tell you. I grew up with baggy, boxy, ill fitting (name withheld) dress shirts and even though they may be a fashion crisis, I love ‘em. To me, even with sweat pants and a torn T-shirt, nothing says comfort like those shirts. To me, they are the shirt equivalent to Mom’s stew and a Thin Man movie.
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Looking forward to shirts, however, I urge you to refrain from too much contrasting material like on the trousers. I love it on the trousers, but if say when one flips up the cuffs and there is a different typ material there and inside the collar or something, it might be too much, especially if one wore it with Bonobos trousers. A little too Punky Brewster or something. Just an opinion!
PS Who one the naming contest? Me?
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[...] Click here to read Tip 1, and check back tomorrow for the third tip for becoming a sharply dressed man in 2009. Filed under: Uncategorized [...]
[...] 3 of 3 (read tips 1 and [...]
Can’t wait for the shirts! One micro-market to the next!
Any dress shirt designer suggestions in the mean time for tall, slender, athletic builds? So hard to find (here in Portland, OR).
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OK, first of all, a contrasting cuff lining is awesome. (Contrasting cuffs less so.)
Also, were in New York City are you getting hems for $10. W 46 Cleaners in HK charges $15, and Belleclaire in Chelsea charges $17. Were you pricing these for “the folks back at home?”
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A tip for our awesome customers in NYC:
Hit up Joy Dry Cleaning at 53 W. 16th St. (next door to Bonobos HQ).
Tell them you’re from Bonobos, and they’ll hem for $9!
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