15 Expert Style Tips Every Man Should Know

Dressing well isn’t all about dropping your hard-earned cash on expensive clothes and having a tailor measure each and every inch of your body to get the perfect fit. Granted, it helps, but there are other ways to ensure you’re always looking your sharpest.

So, here are 15 style hacks every modern man should know and why they will help keep your wardrobe on its A-game.

Tuck your shirt with military precision

Tucking a shirt into a pair of trousers – doesn’t exactly sound like the most difficult task in the world. However, pulling it off without things looking billowy above the waistline is no easy feat.

The secret to getting it right? The military tuck. This specialist form of shirt tucking involves pinching the excess fabric at either side of the waist and tucking it into the sides of the waistband to eliminate bagginess.

It’s the perfect way to make a loose shirt look fitted underneath a jacket or blazer.

Lose the belt

It’s a common misconception that being stylish means adding more and more to an outfit. In actual fact, the opposite is true. Removing elements from an outfit can make things appear more informal and laid-back.

Case in point: the belt. As long as you can ensure your trousers don’t fall down (and they shouldn’t if they fit you properly), taking the belt out of the equation can add an air of nonchalance to your look. Remember: less is more.

Soak it up

Is there anything finer than gorging yourself on a greasy takeaway? Perhaps not. But it can come at a price. Get too carried away shovelling it in and you could land yourself a one-way ticket to Stainsville: population, your shirt.

Still, if disaster should strike, there are things you can do. The first port of call for greasy stains is the bathroom cabinet, where a hearty smattering of talcum powder should soak up any nasty marks.

Whiteout

You can scrub a pair of white sneakers until you’re blue in the face, but if the laces are grubby, they’re still never going to look spotless.

The answer is bleach. Simply soak your white shoelaces in a jug of the good stuff to get them bright again and bless your sneakers with a new lease of life.

Perfect your sleeve roll

Rolling the sleeves of your shirt up a few times is a simple way of making a dressed-up outfit instantly look more relaxed. However, get carried away and you can end up going too far the opposite way – making it look like you’ve just finished washing the dishes.

Avoid this faux pas by never going higher than two turns. This will bring the ends of your sleeves somewhere between your elbow and your wrist. In other words, exactly where they should be if you’re going for ‘cool and laid-back guy’ as opposed to ‘kitchen pot-washer’.

Fix “shoulder ears”

If you’ve ever made the mistake of hanging your knitwear up in the wardrobe, you’ll know what we mean when we say ‘shoulder ears’. For the uninitiated, these are the areas on the shoulders where the weight of the hanging garment puts strain on the shoulders where they touch the hanger.

Suffice to say, it doesn’t look great when it comes to wearing said item. But it’s a simple fix: just put the garment on, apply a small amount of water to the affected area and massage it with your finger until it lies flat. Then simply let it air dry and things should be back to normal.

For a more permanent solution, fold and store your knitwear in drawers instead.

Colour me good

Colours, patterns, prints: they’re your friends. Learn to use them to your advantage. Knowing what colours work with your skin tone and what patterns are slimming is the difference between dressing cleverly and just, well, dressing.

Did you know dark colours can make you appear taller and more slender? Vertical stripes have the same effect. However, if you have a rosy complexion, you should avoid bright hues; if you’re pale, then pastels will wash you out; and if you’re well-built, cluttered prints – especially horizontal lines – will only add unnecessary bulk.

Lose the socks

Going sockless might sound like a minor adjustment to make to an outfit. But as many a well-dressed man will be well aware, the smallest details can often have the biggest impact overall.

Losing the socks can equip you with an added air of casual cool. Not to mention the breeze feels rather pleasant around your ankles on hot days.

Make a statement

One secret to making your clothing choices appear low-key considered is to ensure that no two elements are fighting for attention. That means never wearing more than one statement item per outfit.

A patterned T-shirt, distressed jeans, a logo hoodie, or a brightly coloured sweater—only one of these things should be present in any outfit at any one time.

If you’re going to wear a loud garment, then let it, and it alone, do the talking.

Easy breezy

Summer weddings: great. Sweating profusely in a marquee whilst clad in a three-piece wool suit: not so great. The solution lies in being selective with your choice of fabrics.

Lose the wool in favour of linen. And if you have a shirt made for the occasion, ask your tailor to construct the back from a thinner material, like voile cloth. That way, you will keep your cool even with your jacket on.

Go T-free

If you’ve ever been to Paris and wondered how the men there manage to look so stylish all the time, then allow us to let you in on a little secret: Parisian style is all about shedding the unnecessary. And that includes your T-shirt.

That doesn’t mean strutting around town topless. Rather, if you’re going to wear a sweatshirt or jumper then forget the base layer. Just remember to go extra hard on the antiperspirant.

Subdued shoes

With chunky silhouettes a key sneaker trend currently, it seems the general consensus within men’s style is: ‘bigger is better’. But if you want to avoid cringing at your Instagram feed in years to come, you’d be wise to miss this movement.

Instead, keep your shoes low-key but high quality – that way your outfit can do the talking without battling your footwear for attention.

Remember: your shoes are already one of the first things people will notice about you. They don’t need any help.

Declutter your wardrobe

We’ve all been there: staring at a wardrobe full of clothes and muttering to ourselves, “I’ve got nothing to wear!” That’s because you have too much choice. Narrowing down your wardrobe selections to the pieces you wear regularly will help alleviate decision fatigue and enable you to create looks quickly and easily each morning.

One way to clarify exactly what you can eliminate is to use the hanger trick. Start by turning all of your hangers so they face in one direction. Then, after you’ve worn an item, return its hanger to the wardrobe facing the opposite direction. The same goes for clothing that’s just come out of the wash: return the item facing the opposite direction. After a couple of months, you’ll quickly start to identify the pieces you feel most comfortable in and those you’ll never wear – no matter how much you try to convince yourself.

When it comes to the latter, bag them up and either sell them on a secondhand site like eBay, Depop or Grailed, or do a good deed and donate them to charity.

Learn to layer

We all love summer. Anyone who disagrees that dressing for cold weather is more fun is just straight-up lying. Having the opportunity to layer clothes is one of winter’s few plus points, and along with the additional warmth it brings, it can also help you shed a few visual pounds.

For example, wearing an open shirt over a T-shirt will break up your frame and make you appear taller and more slender. See, winter’s not all bad.

Matchy-matchy

Matching your accessories is never a good idea when it comes to tailoring. A contrasting pocket square and tie will always trump identical ones. Still, that doesn’t mean every aspect of your outfit should be different.

Regarding any leather you’re wearing, it’s good practice to ensure at least two items match. For example, if you’re wearing a dress watch with a black leather strap, your shoes should also be black leather. Or, if your belt is brown, ensure your footwear is a similar shade.

Just remember never to match all of them: belt, watch strap and shoes. You should always be aiming for two out of three.