Style Fail

While waiting for the train to pass, I noticed a man standing in front of my car with his briefcase in hand and overcoat on.  He definitely receives applause for trying, which is an important first step!  However, pretty much everything I could see was a style failure.  The first thing I noticed were his pants were too short.  If people can see your socks when you are standing up, your pants are probably at least 1 to 2 inches too short.  Trousers should have a 1 inch drape over the top of your shoes.  This inch is very important!!  Just because they are long enough when you are barefoot, doesn't necessarily mean they are long enough with shoes on.  Second, a coat should always fit the man wearing it.  This man's overcoat is about two sizes too big.  The overcoat dwarfs him and makes his legs look shorter than they really are, diminishing this man's height considerably.  This man is actually quite tall and slender in build, but his overcoat is shaped for a larger, wider man as the shoulder seams hanging down over his biceps will tell.  Lastly, his socks don't match his trousers (they were actually almost white in appearance in real life!).  A common mistake men make is to think people won't see his socks (so who cares), or to mistakenly match his socks to his shoes or shirt.  A man's socks should always match his trouser (pants) color.  Think of your socks as extensions of your pant legs.  Navy trousers, navy socks.  Khaki trousers, the same shade of khaki socks.  An interesting print is fine as long as the dominating color of the sock matches the color of your trousers. 

It's great to have style, just don't fail in your attempt. 

Comments

[James]

I always match my socks to my belt. And I agree on coats that fit.

[Lisa Bruckner]

Tomorrow morning, start fresh and try matching your socks to your pants. Your legs will look longer and your overall appearance more polished. It makes a difference.

[Hikeshi]

Oh please, socks to your pants? How boring, if you have any style, get some color in your hosiery and add some flash to your wardrobe. Cary Grant always wore purple socks with everything, he liked the color and it added a flash of excitement. The British like to where burgundy socks with there dress clothing. If you want to be tedious, sure, match your socks to your pants. Boring...

[Lisa Bruckner]

While I agree that style icons like Cary Grant could pretty much wear any darned sock color he wanted and look great, not all men can do this. For men who are still matching their socks to their shirt, the key rule of matching your sock color to your trouser color is a good one. Yes, men can make a style statement by wearing flashy, contrasting socks (Italian men do this with flair and abandon!), but they need to truly own their style in more than just their socks. The man who is still learning how to be more stylish should not start with his socks. My recommendation is to start with elegant rules and then branch out to the edgy styles once you have built your confidence and branching out comes naturally.