The first rule, the looking more polished, is to literally know how to polish your shoes.
Now, that may sound simple, but I can't tell you how many times I've been out and observed
a man wearing nice shoes that are scuffed.
Of course, not all shoes need to be polished.
If you're gonna be dressed in casual, maybe you're wearing white canvas sneakers, but
in general, the same rule applies your shoes.
Need to look good.
They need to be clean.
Now, for most of us watching this video, we are around people that are wearing shoes.
So then why does it still matter if everyone has shoes?
Because people's eyes go up and down when they meet somebody for the first time.
And we focus in on endpoints.
That's going to be the feat, that's gonna be the face.
And guess what we do?
Give shoes a bit more time and attention, and we do make a quick judgment about somebody
based off what we see.
And by the way, when it comes to taking care of your footwear, I'm not.
Advocating to spend 30 minutes a day spit shining your shoes.
What I am saying is, have the tools available, maybe a shoe shine box or whatever.
You need to make sure that your shoes, your sneakers look good when you wear them.
The next rule, looking polished, looking refined, is to understand how to mix and match pattern.
So right here is an example of what you don't want to do.
This guy unfortunately looks like a clown, which nothing against clowns.
There are some of my favorite horror movies out there, but that's not the look the majority
of us are going for when we're looking to mix and match these combinations.
Now, the base pattern is actually a non pattern, and that is solids and in my opinion, should
make up the majority of the clothing in your wardrobe.
Next up, we're gonna have stripes, and these are lines that go vertically.
Up and down.
And when it comes to stripes, you're gonna see a wide variety.
Now for the most part, stripes are gonna be found in shirts, although you will find them
in suiting as well.
On a side note, you will rarely see stripes in men's wear going horizontally, although
occasionally you will on certain shirts.
But if you're aware of this, understand you're gonna look like a french sailor.
Not necessarily a bad thing, but uh, yeah, that's the look.
Next up we've got checks.
These are gonna be intersecting lines, vertical and horizontal, and they come in a variety
of.
Different styles of Czech.
Now, when it comes to checks similar to stripes, you're gonna see the majority of it pop up
in shirting, sometimes in trousers, and occasionally in suits as well.
Next up, we've got twills.
To be honest, if you're going for a polisher sophisticated look, twills are a great entry
point cause they're so easy to wear again, because they look like solids from a distance.
But you get up close, you see this slight pattern, and they give also a feeling of texture.
The only issue with twill is it's a tighter weave, so it's not gonna be great for the
summer, but for the spring, fall, winter, it is a solid weave in men's wear.
Next up we have Florals, paisleys, and dots.
Those first two we're gonna see in shirts, we're going to see in pocket squares, we're
gonna see in neckties.
That last one dots pretty rare in shirts, and I wouldn't recommend it for most men,
but when it comes to maybe a pocket square or a necktie, it's fine.
Now that's a good number of patterns and there are other ones out there, but when you multiply
just those few patterns by all the different color options, guys, It seems like, yeah,
the options are infinite and I understand why most guys, yeah, they don't even want
to touch this stuff because it seems super confusing.
But Jen, it doesn't have to be this way, and you can still have a really polished look
by just bringing a few of them together.
First up, understand that you don't want the same pattern right next to the same size pattern.
That right there can create an optical lesion with the eyes of movement, not something in
general.
We want also.
Keep it simple right here.
Notice my shirt is a solid color.
We've got a bird's eye pattern right here in my jacket, and then with the pocket square
I'm bringing in a bit of contrast.
The result I brought in three different patterns.
I kept two of the colors relatively similar to each other, brought in a bit of contrast
with the accessory, and overall gives a nice polished look.
Now this next rule to lick refined.
Is a lot simpler, and that is to choose the right type of bag or luggage to carry your
items in.
So first up, for the professionals out there, nothing beats a briefcase.
I like a simple, elegant, stylish design.
Preferably, I'm looking for bags that are made of leather, and I really like it when
they've got a strap that you can just wrap around your body if you want to have your
hands free.
Now, what about backpacks?
Well, the key here is you don't.
Wanna look like a student.
I get it.
Maybe you are a student, but you wanna look more professional.
You want something that shows you're well put together.
In general, I lean towards leather for the more sophisticated looks, simply because it
has the history and durability.
Now, if you are traveling for more than a few days, that's when you need to look at
luggage.
Now there are all different types of carry-ons, but the one I'm gonna recommend is today's
sponsor, Carl Friedrich.
I use their bags when I'm traveling.
This right here is the best carry on I have.
Ever owned.
It's made with this lightweight polycarbonate, but it has an aluminum frame and it feels
really, really sturdy.
They use these silent Japanese spinner wheels made by Hini Moto, which in case you don't
know, they have the gold standard in luggage wheel manufacturing.
So the little things which aren't so little, like the leather that they use, they use a
vitta leather.
This type of leather is produced in Tuscany, Italy, and it uses a century's old technique
of vegetable tanning.
What it does is it gives leather a really nice.
Subtle texture and this natural finish that just gives it this refined, polished look
and getting into function and design.
Let's talk about their luggage.
So they've got this aluminum frame, which maintains the overall structure while keeping
it lightweight.
And over that they've got this lightweight polycarbonate shell, which gives it.
The feel of a very solid piece, but when you pick this thing up, it's incredibly light.
What I love is they've got one with an external pocket, so you wanna be able to quickly get
to your laptop or any books or anything you want to put in there.
Boom, you've got access to it right there on the outside.
Seriously, I've seen bags at this quality cost three to four times as much, and Jenz,
I've gotta mention their service.
So they've got this 100 day guarantee.
Seriously, you get the bag, you use it, you're not really into it, you can return it.
And on top of that, jenz a lifetime warranty.
Luggage bags.
Waltz, whatever you grab over there, you're gonna have this for the rest of your life.
And it's polished.
It looks sophisticated.
It's timeless in design.
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Go check out Carl Frier everything.
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The next rule of the look and polish to look and refine is to make sure your wardrobe is
full of clothing that is neutral in color.
By neutral, I'm talking classic colors and shades that are gonna be easy to mix, easy
to match are gonna be interchangeable, and really ferment.
Comes down to five colors.
Black, white, blue, gray.
And brown.
Now, I'm not saying red gold, orange, neon green, that you can't pull those colors off,
but in general you want to be careful.
Those are gonna be more accent colors.
In general though, you want 90% of your wardrobe to be made up of the colors that I mentioned.
Those five right there, they are simple.
They're easy to match.
Now, which direction do you want to go?
It really depends on the person you'll naturally gravitate.
I know more.
I'm more of a blue and brown colored guy.
I'm really black.
Isn't.
The go-to color for me, so I mix and match and bring in those other colors.
And by the way, when I say brown, tons of shades of brown.
So you can go with tan, you can go with khaki, with a light brown, dark brown, and the same
for blue.
Tons of different shades.
I know a lot of guys are gonna lean towards darker blues such as navy, which from a distance,
a lot of guys actually confused with black.
Same with maybe midnight navy.
That being said, Jen, again, Keep it simple.
Understand that you don't have to go crazy with colors.
To have a polished, sophisticated look.
Stick with the basics.
A lot of times you know what you like.
You've probably worn certain colors that you've got compliments on, so you know they're working
with your own natural color tone.
Or another quick tip, look at your eye color, social.
If you've got blue eyes, then you can bring in that same shade of blue.
If you've got another variation, try to match your eyes with some of the accessories.
It actually will bring them out, and it's a great way to actually get more compliments
on your eyes.
Now this next tip to look at more polished seems obvious, and that is pay attention to
your grooming.
You wanna make sure that your haircut is taken care of.
I like to schedule a time with my barber once a month at least, preferably probably.
Every two weeks that we can take care of, you know, just hair growing on the back of
the neck.
But you wanna make sure your grooming doesn't get, you know, outta control.
And I'm gonna go ahead and double down on having a schedule that you take care of your
nails, that you take care of.
You know, you have a skin routine if you are not taking care of your nails, if you are
not taking care of your breath, if you're not brushing, yeah, you brush your teeth.
But do you use mouthwash?
Do you floss?
Are you going to the dentist to be able to get plaque and stuff removed?
You should do that every six months.
Otherwise you're gonna get gum disease.
These type of things, you know, you can maybe get away with when you're a little bit younger,
but as you get older, these are things that really guys, it's gonna make the difference
between you coming off as well put together or coming off as, yeah, that guy dressed nice,
but man, stay away.
That breath is horrible.
That's what you don't want.
Now speak of the smell.
Let's talk about scent.
How do you smell more refined?
For me, it's gonna start with going with something crisp.
Clean and something that's classic.
Now, I'm not saying you gotta spend $500 on a bottle of fragrance, but maybe going with
something a bit more aromatic, maybe going with something that has vever is a prominent
note.
That being said, going with a classic floral, looking for a fragrance that maybe has an
iris or a violet note to it, or a combination of that with some white floral Nero at the
top.
But if flowers aren't your thing, go with a classic look for a fragrance that's been
around for decades.
Maybe it's been reformulated, and people are saying, actually reformulation is even better.
They've.
Refine it.
They've brought up a new version of it that is more modern, which happens all the time.
Another category to look at, the aquatics.
I absolutely love the aquatics cuz they are just such a mass pleasing, so many people
love them.
And again, you got tons of great options out there.
And once you go down the rabbit hole, there are tons of options.
Seriously, there are fragrances out there that gonna make you smell like a sexy, refined,
polished pirate.
Believe it or not, but seriously, Jensen, don't overthink this.
Find a fragrance that works for you and wear it with confidence.
Now what about jewelry, especially when you're going for that polished, refined look.
What are the rules in general?
I like to keep it simple, but I'm here in the west.
I know some of you guys and you can let us know down the comments what your thoughts
on jewelry and your part of the world are.
But uh, I like to keep it simple.
So wedding ring.
I know a lot of guys don't want to go beyond that.
I do wear an aura ring over on the left hand side that tracks things for me, but I do think
that watches are where men in the west can have a lot of fun.
That being said, of course you could try to pull off a necklace, you could probably have
bracelets.
Not really something I get into much, but nowadays it's really gonna be watches, any
type of watch that has a really simple overall dial.
That being said, another great option and no surprise to many of you guys that have
watched enough of my videos.
I love dive watches because you've got so many different options out there and you don't
have to spend a crazy amount of money.
You can look at different brands out there.
In fact, the only type of watch I would probably steer away from, again, if I'm going for a
more refined look or anything, any watch that uses rubber or it's got like a silicone band
on it.
Nothing against a strap like that.
But, uh, again, we're going for the more refined look, although I know a lot of you guys have
those probably with a Rolex on it.
At the end of the day, you can wear whatever you want.
So let's get to something I easily could have.
Put this as the, in the number one spot, but that is make sure you buy clothing if you're
buying it off the rack, that it fits you as well as it can.
If it doesn't fit you take it to your tailor cause you need to know the name of your tailor,
everything you wear, you wanna make sure it fits you well.
Cause I've said it before and I will say it again.
But you can go out there and buy a $200 suit and if it fits you well, if it's cut and tailored
to you, it will look better than a $2,000 suit that is poorly fitted.
Is too large or too small.
Now, this next rule is probably more of a mistake to avoid, and that is whenever you
go out there and you start making some money and you're buying better quality clothing,
don't think that you need to buy clothing just because it's got a fancy brand, whether
that be Ralph Lauren, whether that be Nautica, whether it be Gucci.
Point being is that.
Is not a signal that you are more polished or refined.
It just simply means that you are buying into the brand.
And unless the brand is paying you money, I would be really careful about wearing oversized
logos.
Small logos are fine.
Now, this natural looking, polished and refined seems so simple.
I'm almost, you know, hesitant to even put it on the list, but so many guys still mess
this up and that is, make sure your clothing.
Is clean.
Make sure that it is ironed.
The first point was about Paula's shoes, but guys, this applies to your clothing as well.
You want your collars to be ironed and to lay flat.
You don't want things all over the place.
You don't wanna wear clothing that is stained.
I see so many men wearing something they think to be nice and.
They didn't even think to iron their shirt.
Now, this next rule could have easily taken the number one spot, and that is to know your
history and to fill your closet with classic men's wear pieces.
Now I say know your history because what I love about classic men's wear, a lot of guys
think it's boring.
No, classic men's wear makes it easy for us, and most men don't think to master the fundamentals.
But if you do that, if you understand what's out there, you realize that history.
Repeats itself.
Fashion, the whisk wins of fashion.
They are constantly repeating things that have already happened.
But if you can find pieces that suit you, that suit your bill, colors that work for
your skin tone, Ian, A classic piece that has been around in men's wear for over a hundred
years in men's wear.
Let's take a jacket.
Simple as sports jacket.
Maybe a blazer, maybe it's gonna be a classic pair of trousers.
You know, chinos, well guess what?
Those have been around for 70 years in men's wear.
Jackets have been around for over a hundred years, so we can.
But we can rest assured that they will continue to be around.
Now, the width of little pells, the colors, the patterns, maybe a few things in the shape
are going to adjust over time.
If you look at a picture from 1965, you look at a picture from 1935 from 1995, and you
notice the same.
Pieces of men's wear are popping up 30 years again, again, and again.
You could rest assured that, Hey, I can spend good money on this piece, bring it into my
wardrobe, and I'm gonna be able to look good.
I'm gonna look sophisticated, look polished, without even trying.
And I'm gonna spend money on something that isn't gonna go out of fashion, which takes
me to this next guideline, which again, is.
Almost number one.
I'm, I'm gonna hit that number one here in a second, guys, but buy quality over quantity.
And so many guys resist this because you have to save up.
You have to maybe wait.
Yeah.
Don't buy a cheap leather jacket.
You're gonna find a lot of classic menswear pieces.
Even shoes can be resold if they're built correctly.
There are so many things that.
You can use again and again.
You're gonna get your money's worth.
That's why I highly recommend, again, you go with items that aren't gonna go out of
fashion.
You can spend more money on them there.
Therefore they're gonna last you longer cause you get better quality and, uh, you know,
it's a circle that goes around.
All of a sudden you're gonna come off as more polished despite the fact that you're wearing
a watch that you bought a decade ago.
Well, guess what?
It wasn't a fashion watch.
It was something that stuck around something that was made from good quality and becomes
a family heirloom.
So the number one rule, To looking more polished, to looking more refined is to give a damn.
So what am I talking about here?
I'm talking about actually paying attention to the details, putting in the reps, practicing
what you wear, actually caring about your appearance.
I have so many people reach out to me and say, Hey, can you help my husband dress better?
Can you help me?
But I don't wanna spend any money.
Guys, when you actually care, you are going to find a way.
To make it happen.
Jen, this sounds obvious, but if you don't care, you're not gonna make the effort.
So many people reach out to me and say, Hey, I know this guy.
He just needs your help.
Well, guess what?
He has to want the help.
He has to desire it.
He has to make it a priority before, cause I can't change anybody my information, you
know, I throw it out there.
But until you.
Want it until you have the desire, you're not gonna use that information to transform
yourself, because that's when the magic happens.
When you actually take this information and you spend the money, you go out there and
you spend the time to build a wardrobe that reflects who you are.
All right, Jen, so what video to watch next?
Well, boom, I got you covered with this amazing video right here.
Yeah, this one right here.
Click it.
Boom.
Go check it out.
Solid video.
I think you're gonna enjoy it.