More than one suit, men

It’s common for men to complain about the time it takes for women to get dressed, especially for when it comes to business attire or formal wear.

We often get teased when we go shopping to buy a new dress for an occasion, but at the end of the day, I think it is because we like to put more effort into our outfit than just the standard suit and tie combo. While men brag about how easy it is to put on business attire, I find it a little amusing because they essentially wear the same exact outfit with a different tie. I think it would be great to see men step outside their comfort zone and explore style outside their one suit. Be adventurous; it won’t go unnoticed! Here are some tips to engage your new business attire mindset:

1. Step up your sock game: Plain black dress socks or the tan ones Grandpa used to wear is not the way to go. There is a lot of talk about patterned and colored socks that give the outfit another dimension and having you dressed from head-to-toe. Match an argyle patterned sock that matches the color family that your shirt/tie is and you’ll immediately look more put together and stand out as someone who knows their trends (for more information please see Ladarius Thompson, our new Associate Director of Student Activities!)

2. Dynamic shirt/tie combos: Much like patterned socks are now a trend, so is mixing and matching patterns for your shirt and tie. You can either go with a checkered or plaid shirt with a polka dot tie, making the shirt the focal point. Or you can even make the tie a focal point and provide a solid striped background from your shirt. Don’t be afraid to play around with designs other than a solid monochrome button down.

3. Shoe Game: Shoes are a girl’s best friend and, most of the time, guys are obsessed with shoes as well.
The standard for dress shoes are black and a little boxy. Even if you’re not a fan of the brown dress shoe, or just don’t know how to dress matching them, play around with the design of the shoe. Go for a more pointed and sleeker design and don’t immediately stray from the designs that have a little more decorated detail; you can always scale down the rest of the outfit to make the shoes a focal point to your outfit.