For the Men: WHat does your sense of fashion/appearance say about you?

[DaemonSeid]

Ok.....so I recently started reading...and I mean really reading GQ magazine as of May (Jessica Alba issue) and they pack a lot of insightful and informative articles about how men can take care of themselves as far as dressing to impress and altho some of the stuff I agree with, a lot of it I either 'knew' growing up or some of it is new and stuff I would like to try....like for instance, types of watches ....and I own like 4....when I was a kid I was a watch nut who liked digital Timex asio glow in the dark tell time all over the planet kinda watches but as I got older, I came back to wearing analog watches as they were just....classy. As we get older, wiser, and deeper pockets our mode of dress and taking care of oneself should change...

So...a few questions to the fellas (and I know some of you ladies will chime in too)

1. How has your fashion sense changed within the past 10 to 15 years?

2. What colors do you prefer to wear, what colors for you are a no...and what have you found that works best? (sidebar: when going out with a signficant other, is there a need to color coordinate with her too?)

3. Is there a big difference between boxers and briefs or do we just blow this up for no reason?

4. Shaving......simply discuss....

5. Any preference for soaps

6. How do you do for smell goods (colognes)

7. Any guys get mani and pedi's?

8. What are some on the spot things that you keep with you when you go out that may keep you at the top of your game when in good company.

9. How are you about shoes? Large collection small collection how much do you spend on a pair?

10. How important is it for men to get a haircut....

I will answer a few to get it started.

1. For me, within the past 10 years I can say that I have finally come to terms with having a well balanced closet. By that I mean, I can geek up in shirt and tie in the morning, dress it down with a jersey or short sleeve polo in the afternoon and I own not just one, but 3 suits. One thing my mother taught me was to make sure you always own a suit because you never know when you will need to really make that impression.

When I was in my 20s I was all jeans all the time and at least 2 or 3 of slacks...now I have about as many slacks and khakis as I do jeans with decent combinations of how to dress them up and down

Some of my particulars: Since I have a slim to medium frame, I try for loose fitting clothes because they are comfortable, I have to really be careful when it comes to pants is altho the waist may fit, it's the length that gets me.

Over the last 2 years, when it gets warm, I have really started enjoying waering linen and I am still trying to find that 'perfect' linen blazer like one I had 5 years ago.

What made me laugh was one article I read stated that pants should be long enough to show off the shoes but not so long as to hide your feet....that is so true as I see a lot of guys whose pants are so dayum short... not everyone can get tailor made pants but you should know when u are feeling that breeze on your ankles...hehehe


3. I think we make a big deal out of the whole boxers briefs thing...really it's just a matter of comfort, however I do believe that when you get a certain age (when you start buying your own clothes dammit!) tidy whities are a no...I am boxers type of guy but what I also like are boxer briefs because they are a biy more comfy some days and they keep all the equipmnt tucked just so....but bottom line people is that some of us gotta do better with the clenliness thing..I was watching an episode of blind dates and this guy had gotten this girl to give him a massage....sad part was he was close to getting some...and he had skid marks....instant buzzkill. Sure, the last thing anyone may ever see are our undies but, just like the outer is the first impression, the undies may leave a lasting impression...and some women can attest to this....

8. I have gotten in the habit of carrying hand gel, and small tube of cocoa butter, altoids and on occasion, toothbrush and toothpaste (yeah you heard me right!) Nothing worse that looking dressed to kill, you get to where you going and dayum...you got cracked hands, or you ate all them onions and now your breaf is rank. Fellas, it's ok to carry this stuff...you don't need ALL of them simultaneously and for less than 5 bucks you can get it at CVS. They are just as important as having that condom u wanna use and just think....if you didn't have them altoids to freshen your stank ass breaf you may not ever get to use the condom!

9. Unlike women, we men should have a utility collection of shoes....aint no way in hell I need to have a collection that would put Imelda Marcos and DSW shoes to shame. My closet contains the following: 3 pairs of sneakers ( 2 hangin' out pairs and 1 raggedy pair,) 2 pairs of dress shoes (Kenneth Cole black patent leathers and Stacy Adams brown) 2 pairs of Timberland casual oxfords, 2 pairs of Timberland boots, 1 pair of sandals. YOu need shoes for every occasion and since some of us pay a lot of money for our shoes, some of us need to relearn the art of keeping shoes clean. But come on now, no sense in having 10 pairs of black shoes!!!!

Now, I know for myself since I have sensitive feet, I can't go cheap on shoes. I will spend 70 to 125 for shoes as long as they fit and long lasting. 2 of the shoes I have now I have had for the past 3 years and as long as they stay maintenenced, they may last another until it's time for a new pair. Best advice on shoes...if they feel too snug, get them a 1/2 size higher because every shoe is not cut the same and when your foot fluctuates between a 14 to 15 like mine do, it counts.