If you had to choose between brand name and the look, which camp would you put yourself in? At any rate, it’s no secret that getting the right fit for your clothing is quintessential to perfecting your look and Permanent Style even claims: “A well-fitted jacket is the most flattering thing a man can own.” Let’s go back to the first question though: the best answer is to pursue a style that fits and emphasizes your own personality, mix off-brand and brand clothing as long as they all form a coherent style that fits with your body and the season.

The Basics: Fit and Color Scheme

It’s incredibly easy to master these beginning concepts when it comes to dressing well –  fit and color scheme. You may not believe it, but colors and how your clothes interface with your body actually have a very potent and clear psychological impact on your perception in the eyes of other people. And the truth is that the interaction between fit and color scheme can make or break the style you’re trying to get across or convey to others.

Let’s go on a bit of a tangent here, back in middle school I used to have this principal who dyed the walls of his office in a bright orange color because apparently orange makes people uncomfortable and it helped him get the truth out of kids faster. Amazingly enough, there are studies that confirm the fact that certain colors, like orange, have negative psychological impacts on some poeple. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association has an entire piece on it.

But I digress, the point is that color has a psychological effect on people in most contexts, and that includes the context of how they perceive your clothing. For instance, did you know that black clothing can make you look slimmer? It doesn’t apply in every single case, but it’s a general fact that black is a color that make objects look smaller. So, the first step to perfecting the personal, inexpensive, and clean look is to get your colors and fit right.

There’s no way to have a style without a solid grasp and execution of the fundamentals.

Visualize and Idealize Your Style

A journal published in Taylor & Francis Online about the relationship of body image and clothing revealed that: “Thematic analysis of responses revealed that clothing practices are a mundane and agentic part of the adjustive and self-regulatory processes for managing distressing body image. Clothing is used strategically to manage bodily appearance and anxiety by hiding ‘problem areas’, accentuating ‘assets,’ and flattering the figure.”

Just think of when you were in highschool or college – maybe you still are – and you tried to maximize how you looked to others during important events. Online sites and ecommerce ventures like LoveProm are providing people with natural and appealing possibilities to find the sets of clothing that best fit what you’ve imagined in your mind. Their prominence has allowed the possibilities of personal expression to skyrocket.

People are strategic in the use of their clothing, it’s a fact. Clothing is a means to an end to a lot of different things – attraction, professionalism, or value signaling – and we use it to accomplish a variety of goals to minimize the negative aspects and maximize the positive aspects of ourselves. Whether you believe it or not, and whether you like it or not, people are geared towards making judgments about your style and how you carry yourself through the things you choose to put on your body.

Right now, there are hundreds and thousands of options and sizes to select from for all types of clothing. Even sophisticated pieces such as wedding dresses are becoming increasingly easy to coordinate and order online through vendors like Azazie. The trend of digitalization and the expansion of personal choices in clothing has made it ever easier for you to find the right clothing to express who you are, what you stand for, or to simply put your best forward.

Do It On A Budget

Dress is a set. You have t-shirts, sweaters, hats, pants, shoes, socks, and the whole rest of the wardrobe. In order to get a personal and inexpensive style, you might want to undertake a strategy that focuses on one aspect of your clothing. For instance, you can find a lot of generic dress shirts and khakis that are cheap and off-brand, but spend some good money on a nice watch, belt, and shoes.

As an example, you could buy a generic white oxford and some khakis for $50 total, but then splurge on something like Taft’s nice, intricately designed $300 pair of Saint Boots in Espresso. Linking everything together, you’d order clothes that fit you and then choose a neutral color scheme that fits your upper and lower body, but emphasizes your shoes in the example we’ve outlined above. The key is knowing and deciding what’s worth spending money on and what can reasonably be replaced with generics.

You should consciously research and learn, visualize, and budget when it comes to clothing. That’s the key to perfecting the personal, inexpensive, and clean look.

Categories: Lifestyle

Tags: Lifestyle