Quote: (10-03-2018 01:36 PM)HankMoody Wrote:
Maybe one day I will write a full post about this. But, if you're a professional, this is my advice...
- Always meet with new clients in a suit and tie. Once you know them, you can be less formal. My first meeting is always suited up, but after clients are usually fine seeing me in nice shorts and a polo.
- You can get fitted suits very cheap now. My preference is Indochino, mostly because they have a physical location here in Philly. The suits are around $300 and look great. Fitted suits look way better than off the rack, even if they are cheap. I load up on cheap suits. As long as they fit well, you'll look fantastic.
- Always carry a briefcase with a suit; never a backpack. I do not like shoulder straps. My preference is Saddleback Leather's thin front pocket briefcase. Filson looks good. But even a $30 laptop bag from Staples is better than a backpack. Backpacks look retarded with a suit. Leather looks the best, but anything is better than a backpack. You can wear backpacks with casual clothing -- my everyday carry is my jiu jitsu bag.
- White dress shirts. Honestly, no one can tell if you're wearing Van Heusen or Brooks Brothers (though better shirts last longer). Load up on white dress shirts, even cheap ones. French cuff is even better. Launder them at the dry cleaner, it's like $1 a shirt and way easier than ironing.
- Fresh ties. Even ties that cost you $8 from Ross look better than an old beat up tie.
- Good shoes are worth the money. You can get them at Nordstrom Rack. Personally, I like Allen Edmonds. If they can't be resoled, they're not worth the money. Get a pair of black and brown, along with a pair of strapped shoes and loafers.
- Belt should match your shoes. Black shoes - black belt. Brown shoes - brown belt.
- Cheeky socks are for fags. Just get basic Goldtoe. If you feel the need for colorful striped socks, go be gay somewhere else.
- Tie bars and cufflinks make you look like a baller. They're cheap, too. Pocket squares are easy.
- Get a watch that looks nice. Day to day, I wear an Apple Watch (the Nike white one, because it's breathable) with LTE because it tracks my activity levels, it's easy to do talk to text, and syncs to my earphones (meaning I don't have to have my cellphone with me to listen to music). However, I have a nice looking watch (cost was about $1k, but you can get them for like $20), that I wear when I'm playing dress up.
- Stains make you look like a slob. If you get a stain and can't get it out of your shirt, just get rid of it. This applies to t-shirts, dress shirts, polo shirts, anything. You can pick up decent stuff at Marshall's, Ross, Nordstrom Rack, etc. and no one can tell the difference. My polo shirts are all Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger and didn't cost much. Once they look old or beat up I just get rid of them.
Agreed with everything you said accept for the cheeky socks. Pocket squares are more "faggy" than colorful socks and both is not something I would wear in an office setting. These accessories are more for going out.