Dress The Part
Hello, everyone. I’m back. This time I’m focusing on fashion, because you guys need some help. Trust me on this. I took a break last night and went out to the casino for a quick Hold ‘Em tournament. Sitting across the table from me was a man who had on a baseball cap with a wave cap on, a throwback jersey, and his jeans sagging so low you could see his boxers. The problem is he had to be at least 40.
You have to realize that life is not a rap video. You can’t sag your jeans all the time. You can’t wear a 6X white t-shirt when you’re only 5′8″ and expect to be taken seriously. And no matter how many times you’ve seen it, Air Jordans do not go with dress pants.
Have you ever seen the movie “Hitman”? Agent 47 (played by Timothy Olyphant) was a smooth cat, dressed to the nines. If a man who makes his living shooting at people and throwing them in the trunk of his car knows the value of a suit and tie, you can at least have one in your closet.
About 6 years ago, I was working for a fortune 500 company in the Philadelphia area. There were very few minorities in management positions, so we were a pretty close-knit bunch. We tried to mentor some, as many people as we could, but some guys are just hard-headed.
I remember this guy named “D”. “D” was a pretty smart guy and had a future, but there were just some things he didn’t get.
He he said I wasn’t “keepin’ it real” , called me a “sellout” and told me I forgot where I came from. He said this because I pulled him to the side and told that having a nice white dress shirt, a silk tie, and dress pants did not make his Timberland boots suitable office attire.
Based on my experience, there are a few things every man needs to have in his clothing arsenal:
Suits
This is a no-brainer. Two at minimum, one navy blue, one charcoal grey. 
No yellow 12 button Steve Harvey specials. No coats that make you look like you’re trying to remake a Zapp video. Two single breast, three button suits. That’s all I’m asking for.
Solid long-sleeved dress shirts
With a suit you should wear white and baby blue shirts only. And they have to be long sleeved shirts, unless you work the register at McDonald’s. Save your yellows and pinks for casual days outside of the workplace (however, I’d question a pink shirt at any time). French cuffs are acceptable on occasion. That brings me to…
Cuff Links
Something conservative. No dice. No large diamonds that draw attention. No links that look like spinning rims (yes, they do make those and I’ve seen fools wearing them).
A Watch
I know that in the days of Blackberry’s and Ipods with clocks on them that we rarely use a watch, but they really are a great accessory. No bling. No diamonds around the face. If you want a higher end watch that says class, Tag Heuer, Cartier, and Omega are all nice. Or even a pocketwatch. But don’t get it twisted; I’ve seen a $60 Fossil with more style than those gaudy TechnoMarine “shinin’ in ya face” wrist pieces.
Dress shoes
If you can spend $200 on a pair of tennis shoes or Timberlands, you can spend the same (or less) on a nice pair of dress shoes. Cap toes, oxfords, wingtips, and dress boots are all nice and will go with a suit. Choose something comfortable that says style.
Jeans
Here is my sleeper. Every man should have a few pair of nice fitting jeans he can wear out. You can switch up a nice pair of jeans with a blazer or even one of your suit jackets. Iron them or take them to the cleaners. I actually like the term “denim pants” better because people will actually think about taking the wrinkles out of them before they wear them.
A few years ago, I have to admit that Kanye West wore the blazer/jeans style well. It was a good look for young men. Then he got on that leather pants/Liz Claiborne scarf sh*t and took it to the left (wish we could kick his ass to the left).
Hint: If you can put your jeans on without a belt and they fall to the floor around your ankles, they’re too big for you.
Now here are some things a man shouldn’t have in his wardrobe:
- Skinny jeans – I’m putting the worst offender first. Under no circumstances should any man have a pair of skinny jeans in his closet. You are a man. You guys think I’m kidding but I’m going to start slappin’ any man I see with some tight ass jeans on. It’s not manly.
- Rows and rows of Jerseys – No man should have too many jerseys. What are you, 14? A jersey for each of your favorite sports teams is ok, but to have rows and rows is unacceptable. Grow up.
- Leather Pants – Unless you’re a professional wrestler, I can’t think of a reason any self-respecting man would have a pair of leather pants in his closet. If you can think of one, let me know. Then when I smack the sh*t out of you for even trying to come up with a reason for it, tell me how that feels.
- Long Black Trenchcoat – Unless you’re planning to be in a low-budget remake of “The Matrix”, take this out of your closet and burn it.
I’m not being hard on you, fellas. I’m just trying to help you out. If you’re going to be a man, you have to dress the part. You don’t have to wear a suit all the time, but having your pants sagging off your ass all the time isn’t grown up. There’s no law against wearing a dress shirt when you go out either.
It’s time to man up.
Another key thing to remember is that just because it says machine washable does not mean you should stick it in the washing machine. Don’t be afraid to take your clothes to the dry cleaners. Even if you’re dressed in business-casual attire, it will give your appearance that extra edge to make you look like a guy who can dress much better but chose to dress down today. Speaking of business-casual; the make it more business than causal! I know you probably think you’re cool. But why would you come into your place of business looking like vagrant?
Good point. The washer machine can do a lot of damage to your clothes. If you have to wash them, make sure you separate your clothes (whites, light colors, dark colors) and dry them on a low heat. You can mess up some expensive stuff very easily by washing them wrong.
The problem is these cats think you are dressing that way when you go home. I had to explain to a youngin that it’s a work uniform like McDonalds. So I put it out like work clothes and the dress code. He asked me do I like it and I said NO who wants to walk around with something so close to their neck it can choke them. I told him this is the game if you want money so that’s why I wear it.
The old cats wearing jerseys is because someone didn’t show them what the word casual means. Somewhere between sports and suits lies dockers and loafers. But since dope and prison attire has become so rampant we got cats matching doo rags with their sneakers!
Ain’t that some sh*t?? They’ll match doo rags and sneakers, but don’t ask them them about picking a tie to go with a shirt they have. I’ve been cats saying they’re dressed up and they’re wearing sneakers with a suit. What kind of bullsh*t is that ??
one word “AMEN”
CRR, as a woman, I know you can appreciate this. It’s like men have forgotten how to dress. I’ve spoken with a lot of women and they’ve mentioned how they wish a man would approach them in a dress shirt instead of a 5X white tee.
Real talk it’s the dumbing down of America. Now you can spot a idiot coming down the street instead of hiring him and finding out later!
We went from casual Friday to straight up wear WTF you want Friday!
You’re right. When you dress better, you look better and you feel better about yourself. You have more confidence.
When I see people that sag their pants like that, I wonder if they know where that came from? Do they want to be the jailyard b*tch??
I’d take a man in a suit & tie anyday before a guy with his pants hanging off & his boxers showing.
I find men, (especially black men) more attractive when they are dressed business casual or in a suit. It turns me on lol
Not saying that a man has to always have a suit & tie on & nice shined shoes, but I remember one of my ex boyfriend (why is he a ex, I don’t know?) who met my family for the first time came with a suit on, nicely shined shoes & he had flowers in hand. He made a really good first impression to my mom.
That was the first & ONLY boyfriend who met my family that came over with a suit & tie. I think I should hold my future husband/boyfriend to that rule. what do you think true man?
The clothes don’t make the man…but they definitely help
. If a man has a suit, he has it because he wears it or has aspirations to wear it. He knows the value of looking his best and making a good impression. Think about where a man would need a suit: at the office, special functions, upscale events, etc. That’s on another plane from Leroy down the block who doesn’t have a suit, but has every pair of Jordans ever made.
Jeans have their place (except skinny jeans – they never have a place), but you can’t replace a good suit.