Dressing for Success

No idea why, but I’m getting a lot of ‘How to get the gurlz’ for older guys in my YouTube feed.

Do they know something I don’t?

This one was interesting, but I don’t agree with some of it:

For guys over 40. That’s me, for sure.

Let’s fisk this list:

No Deep-V T shirt. Didn’t know there was such a thing.

Can’t argue there. Dude looks like a creepy slob. I wear Dickies or beefy-T heavy cotton crew neck. They fit great, look great, and are comfortable.

Clunky bright running shoes with casual clothes. I saw this in spades at a convention I was at in Las Vegas. They look dopey with casual dress and most certainly don’t go with suits. Yet, there were many men walking around in suits with ridiculous running shoes. Sorry. I also don’t care for the recommendation.

Those are women’s sneakers. If you are a grown man, put sneakers away unless you are in jeans. Running shoes are for running. There is a reason Brits call them ‘trainers”. Get a black or white pair of Reeboks. Or better yet, get a pair of Sperry Topsiders or loafers. Buy quality shoes, your feet won’t hurt.

Cargo shorts with big pockets. – Wrong. With big pockets, maybe. But cargo shorts are fine. I don’t care if they hate it and the prescription is decidedly effeminate.

I’d call them dress casual shorts. And unless you are skinny, they look bad to me. Nope. I’ll put on a pair of khakis first. If you need to dress casual, leave the shorts at home.

Over use of logo shirts/sweatshirts. Also hats or shoes with excessive branding. I’m there. I Don’t have any. Don’t like them. The worst are the sportsball shirts. My logowear has small logos on the chest. That big logo shit is for kids. Muted, solid colors and small logos, if you must. You shouldn’t have the brand be the focus, you should be the focus.

No Crew socks with shorts. I’m there, unless I’m running or biking. All the time else, I’m in ankle socks. I also have been unable to find crew socks that don’t pinch my calves.

What looks worse if is the socks and shoes are black. And while I’m at it, no sandals and socks, unless you’re in your 90s. By the way, that’s a dopey getup on my man above. I’m not a cardigan and shorts guy. It makes you look like mommy dressed you.

No cheap looking faux leather.

Yup. I’m there. Screams “I shop at Ross”. or “I’m a cheapskate”. Spend the dough. Buy quality leather. I myself wear an actual motorcycle leather jacket, bought from a cycle shop, that I wear when riding my bike. In general, I don’t buy cheap jackets. That said, when I’m in don’t care mode, I have a Brazos (Carhart knockoff) I got at Academy. More often than not, if it’s chilly, I wear a fleece hoodie or a Sherpa. It generally isn’t cold enough down here to bother with a jacket.

No novelty T-shirts with dumb slogans. Nope. See above. Leave childish things to the kids. I have some, like a few Vice Grip garage shirts. Seemed cool when I bought them, but feel gaudy when I’m wearing them.

Multi zipper pants.

People wear these? But he also threw shade on my cargo pants. Here? Fuck him. I’m wearing them. As long as they don’t have zippers, which I’d have never bought anyhow. But his prescription? Tailored chinos, stretch cotton?

Not only no, but hell-no. These are the equivalent of yoga pants and have no place on a 40+ year old dude. The taper is all wrong, it clings all wrong. Us men are not built like teenagers. Don’t try to look like it. Can you see what that would look like if you had a gut? Women find that attractive? I don’t think so.

Curled or floppy collars – Meh. See the polo shirt paragraph above. Buy good quality shirts. Iron your collar. Curled, messed up collars are a sign of a cheap shirt.

Outdated glasses. – Yeah. I’m here too. Buy good styles, especially shades. My preference is Ray Ban. I have a pair of cats with mirror/super dark coating, and a pair like Michael Douglas’ glasses in ‘Falling Down’. I had a pair of silhouette frameless glasses until earlier this week, when they vanished whilst riding the hot rod. No idea where they flew off to. I had to go and get new frames.

I can sum this up in a few lines. First, don’t dress like a slob, women pick up on that. Don’t dress in cheap sportswear. One thing I can say they notice, straight away, is your shoes. Don’t rock up in a suit or dress casual in shitty scuffed up shoes. Same with the shirt.

Where they get it wrong in the video is thinking a 40+ year old man is like a thirsty 20 year old on the prowl. None I know are. Dress like a man, not a child. I know men my age, and younger, that don’t own jeans, let alone baggy ones.

For the most part, I walk around every day in a Dickies T and straight leg jeans, with casual shoes or boots. When it’s hot, I swap out the jeans and shoes with cargo shorts and topsiders. If I am planning on meeting people, I wear khakis and a polo, or button down, and boots. Unless I’m meeting people I know, I never wear shorts. Generally, my casual pants are tailored. My dress casual pants have cuffs. I go for the classic and timeless rather than any modern fashion look.