Hi Iím Antonio Centeno, the founder of Real Men Real Style.
And weíve got a question weíre going to be answering today.
Basically itís about how do you dress professionally but still dressed casually.
So the question goes, ìI rarely wears a tie, itís not the uniform of my profession, high
tech enterprise system software development.
Even at the executive level.
But we do wear them occasionally.
What Iím really interested in is learning how to dress well for both casual weekend
and especially how to just, just appear a step above business casual really.
I think I read or I read that youíre from Austin, Texas.
And so youíre familiar with the step down casual culture there where people are still
judged how they, by how they look but itís much more casual.
Over the years Iíve fallen to the trap of dressing like the rest of the poorly dressed
crowd.
Youíve inspired me to change all that.î Well, thank you very much.
ìand Iím learning a lot from your website, writing and videos.
Thank you.î Well, thank you.
I really appreciate it guys when you send me kind notes like that I mean we actually
put a lot of work in the all of this.
And it means a lot to me.
Well, let me get to the question.
So, how do you dress professionally but still dressed casually?
Well, look at me right here.
So I got a jacket on, Iíve got a dressier.
No tie, I have to admit Iím not really much of a tie guy.
Even though Iím a custom clothier by trade and when Iím not having to wear one, I donít
wear one.
I think if you want to step up your business casual or your casual dress and when you go
back to the three pillars of menís style.
And in case you havenít heard me says it before.
Fit, fabric and style.
And each of those, I mean I could write an entire, and I have probably written an entire
article on each of them.
So letís talk about fit.
So go through and immediately look at your clothing and if youíre wearing anything that
doesnít fit you take it and put it to the side.
And ask yourself, can this be adjusted to fit me better?
And if it canít, you need to get rid of it.
And you need to buy clothing that fits your body for how it is.
Often times I get men that coming and theyíre like ìoh well, Iím going to lose you know
30 pounds here on the next three months.î Well until you wear, until you lose that 30
pounds if you ever lose that 30 pounds, you have to have something to wear today because
you canít be walking around naked for three months.
So, I guess you could but youíre going to get arrested or unless you live in a nudist
colony.
But what Iím getting at is dress for how your body is now.
And if youíre bigger, if youíre thin, there is a right way to dress for your body type.
And I talked about this elsewhere but just make sure your clothing fits.
Take it to a tailor, itís one of the least expensive things you can do to really up your
style.
The next F is fabric.
Okay, when I mean by fabric I donít mean like finding some special fabric which is
going to solve all your problems.
I mean pay attention to fabric.
Go for quality items.
Thereís a difference between an Old Navy, Polo shirt.
And a Polo shirt thatís coming at of a luxury department store which is made from a very
firm like a super Pema or an Egyptian cotton thatís just feels beautiful to the touch,
is actually made to fit your body type better, isnít going to you know, isnít made to fit
a square body type if you ñ well, if you have a square body type then thatís the kind
of clothing you want.
What Iím getting at is pay attention to the different types of fabrics and how some fabrics,
smoother fabrics solids.
Those are pure, more formal.
And thatís what you want if you want to step up your game.
Avoid the clothing that well, it looks like itís made for a teenager.
It looks like itís made for a man and his ñ well, not even early twenties in my opinion.
Start dressing and finding fabrics which look better on you because black fabric is not
the same.
I mean thereís cotton, thereís tropical wools, thereís gaberdines.
Go out there and learn about the different fabrics and then find something, maybe pay
a little bit extra.
But every time you wear those you know grey flannel trousers, they look great because
a lot of the times if itís a casual environment, whenever wearing jeans.
Well why not step that up maybe go with Rod denim.
Yes itís going to cost more but it looks a lot, it looks a lot I think dressier than
a lot of wash or worn denim.
If you want to really step that up and everyone is going to be wearing you know, khakis or
Leviís or Dockers, how about look at some grey flannel trousers.
And theyíre different that dress trousers because these actually have a little bit of
a ñ of a texture to the fabric.
So pay attention to fabric.
Last thing, Fit ñ Fabric ñ Style.
So look at the style of the item and perhaps, if youíre always wearing really you know
the same ñ if you find that youíre wearing the same dress shirt again and again and Iím
talking to start where you got the pocket on here, where you got the point collar,
I mean thereís nothing exciting about it.
Perhaps look at a higher end designer dressier.
Something may buy a let me think, a Zegna, or something Brioni or one of those, the Italians
theyíre always good to look to when it comes to good quality and kind of cutting edge style.
You donít want to go with something thatís really fashionable that youíre not going
to be able to wear next year.
But something that is classic but little details about it make it stand out.
The style, maybe itís got a little bit spread collar or itís got a collar with a little
bit of a contrast collar on the inside.
Or maybe the style, maybe the buttons are unique.
There are a little bit heavier buttons, mother of pearl coming out of maybe Australia that
are a bit thicker.
Little things like that are going to set you apart.
So how do you still be casual and set yourself apart and go to the next level, itís not
the ñ itís not the big things.
Itís paying attention to the small details because you add up those small details and
they make a big difference.
I forgot to mention but pay attention to your shoes.
Iíve written about shoes, there are books on shoes.
Men need to invest in some good quality footwear.
I mean look at some Italian Markinsonís, some tassel loafers.
Something like that is really going to up your game.
It may look a lot better I mean you see everyone pushing out Converse and things like that.
Thatís okay if youíre in your early twenties but if youíre a man in his early 30ís, late
20ís, early 40ís, 50ís, a pair of Italian Markinsonís saddle shoes, those are really
going to set you apart and believe it or not itís almost as important if not, I mean you
stand on those.
Thatís your foundation so pay attention to your footwear.
Maybe I should have said thatís the fourth thing because Iíve talked about it for a
while.
Any case, hope that helps you, set yourself apart in a casual atmosphere.
And now if you would like more information, if you have enjoyed this make sure to subscribe
up above weíre constantly putting out new videos in addition over Real Man Real Style.
You can join my email list, and on my email list I put out exclusive contents which I
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An only on my email list where you get a lot of the tips and tactics and stuff that we
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sorry, subscribe here on Youtube.
Thank you, bye.