Gentlemen, Antonio here.
Ten things your fathers should have taught you about style.
Now, I get messages all the time, men who were telling me, Antonio, I grew up without a dad.
Thank you so much for your videos.
You've taught me all the things my father should have taught me about style.
And, when I get those I feel good, but I also feel a little bit sad because the truth of
the matter is I grew up without my father around and, no one was teaching me any of
the stuff.
I had a stepdad who came into our life, but he really didn't take a role teaching me these
things which I feel all men need to know.
So, I didn't I don't think I set out with Real Men Real Style to fill this role, but
I found that I have.
And so, for those of you guys out there that grew up without father, for those of that
are raising sons, hopefully you can see these tips and you can use them and you can take
this information and pass this on to your son.
Now that I have an eleven-year old son, it's something and three younger daughters as well,
I look at I can give them this information.
And, it's not just for sons as I alluded to, it can be used, you know, with all of your
kids or if you are in a mentoring position.
You're a man perhaps at work and you've got a number of younger colleagues under you who
need help.
Maybe you can find a way to take this information and passing them up.
Al right, guys, let's get into the points.
Tip number one.
Your presentation speaks before you do.
Guys, it doesn't matter if you get that fancy degree in your back pocket or if you are the
smartest guy there in the room, if you don't present yourself as such when you meet people
for the first time they are going to make a split second decision, in their mind they
have an idea of what a successful mechanic looks like, of what a successful consultant
looks like, of what a doctor looks like.
What does a doctor look like?
He's got the white jacket on.
Here in the United States, if you betray that expectation you're fighting an uphill battle
trying to convince this person that their first impression of you is wrong.
Don't put yourself in that position, gentlemen.
Understand that appearances matter and when you do that when you start paying attention,
you dress your best you dress in a manner that you want to you don't want to betray
their expectations, you want to live up to what they believe, all of a sudden you're
going to find opportunity is going to open, it's going to just open up to you.
All right, guys, so point number two.
Style is about confidence.
So, one thing I've learned over the last decade, working with men to improve their style to
help them dress better is there isn't one style that works for any man.
And I find that it's really it's the men who feel good about themselves and confidence
comes from within.
Confidence comes from you knowing about yourself your capabilities and what you can do and
not worrying about what the rest of the world is telling you.
You can rock any style if you have the confidence, if you know where you come from, if you understand
your history you can wear, you know, a flower in your lapel you can wear a pocket square
and feel great about it and you're going to be able to wear it with confidence.
Tip number three.
Buy the best you can afford, take care of it, and pass it on.
So, some of you are very fortunate.
I would love to hear down in the comments of an heirloom piece that perhaps you want
to pass to your son you want to pass to someone in your family or you've received.
Watches oftentimes, leather luggage, you'll see furniture or other items like that which
can stand up to the test of time.
Guys, I love it whenever you see that in a family and don't feel, you know, many of us
don't have that.
Well, guess what?
You can start that and you can start to apply those concepts whenever you're out there making
a purchase.
Yeah, you can maybe get that one item today and, but maybe get the one that you really
want the heirloom piece, you're going to have to save up for a year you're going to have
to save up for two years, but when you get it, you're going to feel great and you're
going to have something it is going to be able to be passed on.
Tip number four.
Own a suit and make sure it fits you properly.
Now, I know some of you guys are going to say, Antonio, I will rarely if ever wear a
suit.
Why do I need to own one?
Because the times you need to wear a suit you want to look like a million bucks, you
want to feel like a million bucks.
We're talking your wedding, we're talking of friend's wedding, we're talking your little
girl's first communion, we're talking when somebody important in your life dies and you're
a pallbearer.
You don't want to be scrambling to be able to get the clothing, again, you want to have
that in your wardrobe, be able to pull it out put it on and get to work.
And, if it's a funeral, you don't want to have to spending time when you should be grieving
when you should be supporting others trying to find that suit, so that you can actually
participate in in that funeral.
Guys, make sure it's there, it's ready.
Try it on, make sure it fits and have it there when you need it.
Tip number five.
Know how to tie a tie.
Okay, guys, I'm going to link you right over here to an infographic, 18 Ways to Tie a Tie.
Bookmark it, save it, keep it, you know, download it on your computer whatever, whenever you
need this information you want to have it handy because it's going to be at that point
when you need that suit when you need to look sharp and you want to know how to do this.
Tip number six.
Shave with technique.
And what do I mean by this?
Guys, men have been shaving for thousands of years, don't think that you are just going
to instantly pick up everything.
Be a little bit humble and study what your grandfather what your great great grandfather
what the men before you have done and what they've learned as they have to shave their
faces.
There's a variety of razors and there is not one perfect technique.
You may have, you know, different types of hair, different types of skin types, different
types of razors, you know, you want to go out there and study straight razors.
Look at electric razors, look at safety razors, so many options.
And if you're a father take the time to teach your son how to shave with the safety razors,
all of a sudden his technique has to improve he has to understand grain and everything
that goes with it.
Now, guys, I've got a video right here, Seven Shaving Secrets.
I go into a lot more detail.
Go check that out.
Tip number seven.
Polish your shoes.
So, by this I mean take care of your shoes.
Now, you may have dress shoes and these are Paul Evans wholecuts.
Great shoes, I love them.
And polishing them they look great.
And, you know I don't expose them to too many harsh elements, however JL Rocha, I just got
these boots and I love them and he makes these great dress boots.
Now, the issue with this is I like to wear boots and I've got another pair on of a different
color.
I've had these now for well over a year.
I love them, but I understand here in Wisconsin we get I get water, I get salt, we get snow,
we get sleet, we get all types of stuff.
I've gotten these boots wet multiple times.
By polishing them by cleaning them by conditioning and nourishing the leather, I can make sure
that these boots last ten years to fifteen years not just two seasons.
When it comes down to it you want to take care of your footwear because it's going to
save you money.
Tip number eight.
Wash, iron, and maintain your clothing.
So, I know many of you guys are going to say, Oh, Antonio, that's a woman's job.
And that's a bunch of BS because this is about you being independent and being able to do
things on your own because if you can't wash your laundry, if you were destroying your
own clothing because you're too proud to take care of it properly, then you, I mean come
on who does that who has that mentality?
Guys, ironing your clothing knowing how to press it, it was something I picked up.
Actually, my best ironing skills in the Marine Corps because we always had to take care of
our uniforms and when you can all of a sudden sew on a button when you can take care of
make a minor repairs on your clothing, you're not only going to take -- your clothing isn't
only going to last longer, it's actually going to save you money.
Tip number nine.
Pay attention to the details.
So, whenever we're going to a dance competition we actually have a checklist of things that
we're taking.
My son is actually responsible for building up this checklist for making sure everything
is packed the night before.
When we're at the competition, you know, I inspect both both of my kids make sure everything
is in place, they both feel good because when we paid attention to all those small details
they feel great about they can focus in on their performance and they don't worry about
their hair.
They don't worry about is that, you know, tied perfectly attached, you know, are their
shoes tied properly so they're not going to have laces going all over the place.
Those small details matter, so take a step back.
Where can you improve your style where can you improve your life if you start to just
pay attention to those small details?
Gentlemen, life is nothing more than all of the details brought together pay attention
to them.
Tip number ten.
Lead by example.
Gentlemen, if any of you guys have kids you'll understand what I'm saying here, but they
don't always listen to what you say, but they watch what you do.
Gentlemen, this is very important.
It doesn't matter if you don't have kids because there is somebody in your life that's watching
you; a little brother maybe at work you are someone that other people look up to.
Realize that people are looking up to you, be the man that they believe you are that
you know yourself to be and don't be afraid to be the best-dressed man in the room, to
be the guy that goes out there and sets the tone.
All right, guys, that's it.
Hopefully you enjoy this video.
Let me know what you think in the comments and go check out the support article.
I go into more details over there.
Take care, guys.
I'll see you in the next video.