How to Shop for Men’s Clothing

Most guys find it difficult to find affordable and stylish men's clothing. So here's a handy guide – written by a real live girl who has shopped with real men – on how to pick out clothes like premium cotton lungies for a home that won't make you look like a "doofus" and will keep you looking sharp so you can dress well with high-quality clothing on a budget.

Women are generally better at this sort of thing, so men, take note! Here are eight essential men's clothing shopping and wardrobe fashion tips:

If you are inexperienced at putting outfits together, the first step is to subscribe to or otherwise obtain several men's clothing catalogs. This is the best way to learn what clothes look good together and what clothes look silly together. Register for a catalog that sells clothes that you like. Examine the outfits in the catalog, and rip out the page with the look you like. If you don't want to buy the clothing from that store, simply take the page to another store where you shop and look for something similar. If you have a picture of what you want, it will help the store associates find it for you.

If you find something you like and it fits perfectly, buys a pair in different colors (online shopping sites for deals and coupons can come in handy here to save money). If you like the clothes in a certain store or catalog, sign up for their email list because that is where most sales are announced. Solid-colored clothing is a safer bet than prints and will last longer in your wardrobe; prints on pants are almost never a good idea and are nearly impossible to match. Don't remove the tags as soon as you get home, and save the receipt until you're certain you want the item.

You should be able to tell when your clothes are too small. However, determining whether the clothes are too big requires a little more dexterity. The most important thing to remember is that you will appear as big as your clothes. If your clothes are two sizes too big, you will appear two sizes larger. That is not what anyone wants. With properly fitted plus-size clothing, everyone, even big guys, looks a hundred times better. Shirts and cotton vests should skim the body without being baggier in one area than another, and they should fit well around the shoulders most of the time.

So many men fail to hem their pants properly, if at all, despite the fact that it is such a simple step. It is inexpensive to have done, but it improves the appearance of your pants and prevents them from fraying at the bottom, which looks terrible. If you find pants that fit but are just a tad too long, that is always preferable to pants that are just a tad too short, because you can always have that extra mite hemmed off. Locate a local tailor. Tailors aren't just for hemming pants; they can also shorten sleeves that are too long, especially on jackets, and they can take in the sides of a shirt if it's too baggy.

Don't be concerned about whether a color looks good on you. Most colors look good on everyone as long as they are not sickly. If you're self-conscious, don't buy pink or purple – they're fine colors, but an uneasy, ill-at-ease man is always out of style. If you are truly terrible at matching, pick a couple of colors and buy all of your items in those colors for ease of matching.

It is not a slimming agent. It simply gives the impression that you don't have any other clothes on. You should not wear black pants if you are wearing a black shirt. You are mistaken if you believe you look better this way. In fact, don't ever wear a matching top and bottom. This gives the impression that you bought your clothes somewhere special. The only exception is if you are dressed up in a suit or tuxedo.

Wearing a brown belt with black shoes, or vice versa is not acceptable. Men don't get to wear many accessories, so make sure the ones they do wear are stylish. A nice flat black leather belt and a pair of nice black leather shoes should be owned by every man. Also, learn how to polish them! Wearing these with dark-wash jeans and a button-down is a great date outfit that will make you look put together!

Please do not wear jean shorts to do anything other than changing your oil or unclog a toilet. For casual days, you should wear khaki shorts or cargo shorts, and you should not wear shorts to work or anywhere else remotely non-casual unless you work on a boat or in an ice cream shop. If the hems of your shorts are in your thigh area, they look silly and you can probably see up the legs when you sit. That is not what anyone wants. Shorts may be baggy in the legs but not in the waist or buttocks. On summer weekends, you may wear a polo shirt with your khaki shorts if you are appropriately daring.

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