Dress Like a Man (24 page)

Too many guys get out of high school or college and go on using the same old backpack for all their around-town carrying needs.

That's a great look if you want people to think you're still a kid in school, but if you hope to be taken seriously as an adult, you'll need an upgrade. Fortunately, there are varying styles for different levels of formality, so you can pick the one that works best with your day-to-day wardrobe:

• Messenger bags
  are a popular option for casual dressers. They sling over one shoulder, are wide enough to fit most laptops plus a few other supplies, and are made of sturdy materials like ballistic nylon or leather.
  
• Satchels
  are shorter and narrower than messenger bags, and look a bit old fashioned (mostly because they're not shaped for modern laptops). They work well for tablets, however, and are gaining popularity. Just beware of anything that strays too far into "man purse" territory. You want a satchel with some heft and breadth, and enough structure to look solidly square rather than soft and sack-like.
  
• Briefcases
  are the go-to staple any time you're wearing a jacket. Match the color to your other leathers where possible (brown cases with brown shoes, etc.), and the formality to the rest of your outfit. A case with a couple visible outer pockets, a chunky zipper, etc. is fine with a sports jacket or blazer, while a business suit calls for something fairly sleek and minimalist.
  
• Attaché cases
  are sturdier, travel-oriented versions of briefcases with hard edges and interior trays. They work well for business travelers who need a few small items on hand at all times, and want a little extra protection for everything inside the case.
  

Stay away from backpacks, tote bags, and anything excessively feminine, especially when you're wearing a suit or sports jacket. You don't want to go to all the work of dressing up just to have the bag you're carrying drag your look right back down.

Travel Luggage

Luggage can come in just about any size your need, from a light day bag to a massive suitcase or duffel.

For travelers who dress nicely, opt for something with a dressy look. Good features include:

• A fixed shape, rather than soft sides. Lumpy bags are inherently less "dressy" than ones with a defined shape.
  
• Dark, solid colors. Stay away from decorative prints or bright, primary colors.
  
• Sturdy handles and zippers. It seems like a minor detail, but thin, cheap-looking straps that wad up when you grip them look bad -- and they're not very comfortable to carry, either.
  
• No visible logos apart from a personal monogram. A company name on the zipper pull or a small crest is fine, but big athletic company logos splashed across the side of the bag are the opposite of dressy.
  

On the practical side of things, you also want a sturdy exterior material. Ballistic nylon with ripstop construction works well, or serious travelers can invest in knifeproof weaves (and even bulletproof sides, although that's realistically overkill for most men).

The ideal size is whatever you need to fit all your supplies -- unless, of course, you're trying to fit your luggage in the carryon racks, in which case you're best off buying something sized specifically for current airline requirements.

Packing Men's Clothes

There's no right way to pack a suitcase, but there are lots of wrong ones.

Your goal is always to have your clothing arrive as unwrinkled as possible, with no long-term damage caused by the travel.

Shoes on the bottom works well, since it keeps the dirty soles off other clothing. Shirts and trousers can be folded flat and laid on top of just about anything.

Jackets are the biggest challenge, and there are a couple of ways to handle them. One is a garment bag, which is specifically shaped and sized for clothes on hangers. Another is to fold the jacket's shoulders together, tuck the sleeves flat, and fold the whole thing in half, but that puts a crease down the middle.

Creative packers can turn the jacket's inside layers out, press the sleeves together, and roll the whole thing up, creating a tube with the jacket lining facing outward. That has the advantage of protecting the exterior fabric, while avoiding any folding that could leave a crease.

Small items can be tucked in the cracks between larger ones, or stored inside shoes. A Dopp kit or other small, watertight bag for toiletries is highly recommended, however -- even a single cracked bottle of soap or shampoo loose inside your luggage is one too many.

C
HAPTER 33:
M
EN'S
C
OLOGNE AND
S
CENTS

While cologne isn't, strictly speaking, a piece of clothing, it is a part of many men's wardrobes, and as such it bears a brief discussion.

Less is more
should be your watchword here. Cologne should be noticeable to someone who is in your physical space: anyone you're dancing with, hugging, or inadvertently pressed up against by a crowd.

If anyone beyond that radius can smell you, you've got too much scent on. A small touch at the collarbone is usually ample.

Choosing a Scent

Men who've never worn cologne before may find the language used to describe scent blends dizzying.

Take heart -- nine-tenths of it is just marketing fluff. There are a few considerations to be aware of, however:

• Composition
  is usually given in descriptive terms like "notes of," and so on. In theory, the scent/flavor notes are listed in order of appearance and strength. So if the bottle says "Notes of bergamot and citrus, with a hint of pine," you'll supposedly smell the bergamot up front, followed by the citrus, with a lingering trace of pine after those pass. Take it with a grain of salt, however -- the descriptions are often finalized by marketers, not perfumers.
  
• Oil content
  determines how strong and long-lasting the scent is. A higher oil content makes the smell last longer, but it also limits how much you can use. Colognes typically have a higher oil content than eau de toilette (EDT) blends. Use the former when you want a noticeable scent to last all evening, and the latter when you just need a faint hint of scent or a quick freshening-up.
  
• Release year
  makes more of a difference than you might think. The perfume industry moves in cycles, and one brand's offerings can change dramatically from year to year. That means scents get "dated," and in some cases also means they're not meant to last. Try to buy small bottles unless you use a lot of a particular blend, so that you can update from year to year.
  

Price is also a consideration here, and you should be thinking along these general lines: the more you pay for a scent, the more you should demand from it. A $30 bottle of cologne might be perfect for you, if you're lucky, but if it's just a touch too sweet, or too strong, or some other minor flaw, it's not the end of the world. A $300 bottle, on the other hand, had better be pretty perfect for you.

Other Scented Products

If you're wearing cologne, stay away from other scented products. You don't want the odors clashing. Even if the effect is too subtle for people to notice on a conscious level, it can color their subconscious reaction to your presence.

If you don't wear cologne, a mildly-scented aftershave, deodorant, or even skin lotion can be a harmless way to add a bit of scent to your "appearance." Just keep it moderate, and don't mix your scents. A splash of Bay Rum is fine; a splash of Bay Rum plus a lavender scented deodorant and an aloe skin cream is not.

Section 6: Conclusion

C
HAPTER 34:
W
ARDROBE
M
AINTENANCE

Congratulations -- unless you skipped straight to this chapter, you should by now possess all the information you need to be a snappy dresser!

Unfortunately, even snappy wardrobes wear out. And since nice clothes are expensive to replace, you want that process to take as long as possible.

Take a few basic steps to keep your wardrobe in good shape. It'll prolong its lifespan, and you'll look nicer along the way. There's nothing particularly flattering about missing buttons or frayed cuffs.

Wool Clothing Maintenance - Suits, Jackets, and Slacks

The fact that you can't throw it in a regular washer and dryer gives wool a reputation for being high maintenance, but it's actually one of the sturdier fabrics out there.

Most higher-end menswear stores will have "suit brushes" for sale (usually up by the front counter). You can use them on suits, jackets, and trousers -- pretty much anything made out of woven wool.

When you're done wearing a piece of wool clothing, put it back on its hanger and give it a quick brushing. It may feel excessive, but you're removing bits of dirt and debris from the wool fibers. Left in the weave, the particles will sever and snap individual fibers, wearing down the overall surface much more quickly.

Note that tape or lint rollers are not really a substitute. Lint rollers can't brush through the wool fibers to clear out things that have slipped into the weave of the fabric itself -- and in many cases, if the adhesive is too strong, it actually pulls up and snaps fibers. Stick to the wool brush.

Since wool has a good "memory," hang your wool clothes on sturdy wool hangers, with a curved shoulder shape for jackets and a wide dowel for trousers. Straight wire hangers will put a crease in jackets and pants. Heavy sweaters should be folded and stored in drawers to prevent stretching.

Dry cleaning should usually happen every third or fourth wear, depending on how long you wore the item in question and how heavily you sweat. Don't over-clean your wool clothes -- if they look and smell fine, there's no need for dry cleaning. While the process is designed to be as easy on the clothes as possible, it still involves soaking them in chemicals and drying them out. Over time, dry cleaning does wear out wool cloth.

Cotton Clothing Maintenance - Shirts and Trousers

One of the main appeals of cotton clothing is its low maintenance needs. You can throw most cotton items in a conventional washer and dryer and call it a day.

Depending on the weave, a delicate cycle or low heat may be necessary. Follow the instructions on the tag and you'll usually be safe. Since cotton is susceptible to mildew and mold damage, make sure clothes are completely dried before you put them in a drawer. Hang them or leave them flat on a clean, dry surface if they come out of the dryer damp.

Cotton loses its shape easily. If you need cotton clothes to look sharp and fresh (and you do, for proper business attire at the very least), iron them, and use a touch of starch when you want that razor-edged collar look.

With dress shirts, be mindful of collar stays. Some manufacturers include small, flat plastic tabs inside the edges of the shirt collar to keep them stiff and straight. You'll need to remove them before washing the shirt -- plastic stays can heat and curl in the dryer, or even melt, damaging the shirt. Metal stays are unlikely to be damaged by washing, but they could theoretically heat enough in the dryer to scorch the shirt, so pull them out just to be safe.

Shoe Maintenance

Leather shoes are among the more expensive wardrobe items out there for men. They're also more dependent on maintenance -- cared for regularly, good leather can last a lifetime, but neglected leather gets ruined very quickly.