Teaming white socks with dress shoes may have enjoyed brief popularity as a quirky style statement in the mid-’90s, but there’s a good reason this combo has failed to make a strong comeback. Dress shoes should only be worn with dress socks, which are wool or cotton socks in dark hues like black, blue, gray, and brown. White socks, in contrast, should be reserved solely for pairing with athletic shoes and track pants.
Your pants pockets are a place to put your hands, some spare change and perhaps a slim wallet. They are not a place to keep a bulky wallet filled with cash and two-month-old receipts, your cell phone, three sets of keys, and a stash of business cards. Bulging pockets detract from an otherwise streamlined look, so if you notice any square lumps in your pants, it’s a sure sign that it’s time to get a bag. An all-purpose bag that translates easily from work to play is a messenger. Briefcases for business-minded guys and carryalls for active men are additional options. At the very least, rather than stretch out your pants by filling your pockets to the max, you should consider donning a blazer with interior pockets to distribute your daily necessities over a larger area and maintain a sleek appearance.
Making a blunder with regard to the color of your shoes practically defeats the purpose of suiting up, which is to look your most presentable. Unfortunately, men too frequently select shoes in shades that don’t complement their dress clothes, like brown-hued footwear with black trousers. Follow this advice, however, and you’ll avoid this common fashion faux pas: pair black suits with black shoes; gray suits with black or camel shoes; brown suits with brown or camel shoes; and navy suits with black, camel, tan or oxblood-colored footwear.
When you’re a student and you need to schlep around 10 pounds of books each day, a backpack is precisely the bag you need. Once your college glory days are over and you enter the job market as a professional, you’ll need to ditch your rucksack like you did your beer bong. To complement a work wardrobe of blazers, dress shirts and the occasional suit, you need similarly polished accessories, so splurge on a leather messenger bag or briefcase and save your backpack for camping.
While unintentionally leaving a patch of facial hair untouched is something that has happened to even the most conscientious of groomers, it’s never attractive, and for men who tend to rush through their morning routines, it’s an all-too-frequent occurrence. To make sure you get all those hard-to-reach spots like right beside the back of your ear lobes, install a shaving mirror in your bathroom next to the sink. Then invest in a very good razor and, above all, slow down and enjoy the art of shaving.
It’s shocking how many men persist in wearing socks with sandals despite how horrendous it looks. This monstrous fashion mistake could perhaps be forgiven if there were a practical purpose for pairing socks with sandals, but there isn’t any. If it’s cold enough to warrant wearing socks, then your feet will feel warmer in shoes. And at the beach, getting sand in your socks is simply uncomfortable. The point here is that if you’re guilty of committing this heinous fashion crime, do yourself and everyone else a favor and just stop.
Tibor Vojtko
