Most Common Style Mistakes Men Often Make

The rules of style and dressing could appear simple sometimes, but, there are common style mistakes that could jeopardize your success in your workplace. Read on to learn about these style mistakes and how to avoid them …

A friend of mine hosted a birthday get-together last weekend for his wife and I was invited. At the event, he introduced me to his younger brother who recently got a bank job.

He said he wanted me to give him some tips on how to look sharp and make a great impression once he resumes in his new role; and in addition, upgrade his wardrobe with new corporate wear – suits, shirts, shoes, and accessories.

We engaged in a brief discussion about his new job and I realized that this was his very first corporate job and he didn’t have many suits. He told me that he only managed to get one black suit which he wore all through the various stages of interview process till he finally secured the job.

Lucky Him! Anyway…we scheduled an appointment for the following week.

Now the day we met for his Wardrobe Consultation session, I asked him to put on the same suit he wore all the while he attended the interview just to confirm if it was suitable for work.

My observations: The black suit was not exactly his size, it wasn’t well fitted, he showed me the black socks he wore (black athletic socks) and an ill-fitting shirt with a Red Tie which clearly would never be referred to as a “power tie”.

In summary, he had adhered to the business/formal dress code as required by his bank, however, there were underlying style mistakes that I was able to spot in his entire look which he didn’t notice even when I asked him to guess what was wrong with the outfit.

I made him understand these mistakes and also explained to him that they had to be taken care of if he wants to be taken seriously in his workplace.

Now, the truth is…

It’s isn’t very easy for everyone to adhere to the dress code which covers what they should wear each day of the week at their workplace.

This is because the rule may appear simple and straight to the point, but in an actual sense quite ambiguous.

For example, your HR could say: “YOU SHOULD DRESS IN CORPORATE ATTIRE OR BUSINESS CASUAL EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK“.

Just think about it for a second, when you give everyone the above rule, what mistakes could they possibly make? A lot I assume.

Therefore, it is important that we go a step further in breaking down these dressing rules to ensure everyone will avoid making style mistake that could jeopardize their success in the workplace. 

THE 5 MOST COMMON STYLE MISTAKES MEN OFTEN MAKE

1. THEY WOULD WEAR ILL-FITTING SUITS INSTEAD OF NICE WELL-FITTING TAILORED OR READY-MADE SUIT

If there is one basic rule that we preach about here, it is that FIT is KING. No matter how beautiful your outfit is, no matter how well you’ve paired up or combined colors in your outfit, if the fit isn’t perfect, you’ve got the whole outfit wrong. However, if you get the fit right, the rest are secondary.

2.  THEY WEAR ILL-FITTING PUFFY DRESS SHIRTS INSTEAD OF NICE FITTED FRENCH CUFF OR SINGLE CUFF DRESS SHIRTS

Once again, the fit is very important. The pictures above say it all. Which do you think looks better?

 3.  THEY WEAR ATHLETIC SOCKS WITH DRESS SHOE

Avoid wearing athletic socks with dress shoes even if the socks are black, navy blue or gray. Instead, wear appropriate dress socks with your dress shoes.

4.  THEY WEAR “UGLY” OVERLY POINTED SHOES INSTEAD OF NICE MEN’S DRESS SHOES

Shoes with rubber sole squared toed and overly pointy toes that turn up at the end do not look stylish. Avoid them at all costs because no one would respect you when you wear them

5.  THEY WOULD WEAR OVERLY LONG TROUSERS

Allowing your suit trousers to flow loosely over the top of your shoes isn’t stylish at all. Your trousers should only touch the top of your shoes with no extra fabric bunching around your shoes. In addition, avoid boot-cut trousers in professional settings.