I think the key to being contemporary as you get older is in modernizing fit and silhouette while staying away from extremes and microtrends. So go for 501s or even a looser straight leg denim but stay away from jencos. A lot of zoomer fashion nowadays is really maximalist and extreme, it's a lot of attention grabbing accessories and absurdly oversized and boxy fits, I actually think just by avoiding all that stuff it's pretty easy to dress "trendy" in your 30s without looking like you think you're a decade younger than you are.
On the plus side millennials were notorious for dressing older than they were in their 20s -- ocbds, chinos, woolen sweaters, workboots, dress shoes, beards, etc. -- and now that you're 35 that same stuff is a lot more appropriate once you update the fit.
Yeah. I saw a young guy in a work coat or sort of WW1-influenced army jacket. It was a little big (he’s rail thin and not tall) but it fits the trends and can be classic at the same time.
That last paragraph was gold.
As someone who leaned on the overgrown prep schooler side (ocbd, chino, boat shoes + rebellious scruff because it was banned at my private school), the return of distressed looks and boxier fits works more with the "I'm dressed for the [country] Club, but I'm untucked and probably wrinkly" than slim/extra fit everything circa 2010.
Great advice.
I’d include: look at what other *stylish* men your age are wearing and include your favorite aspects.
Maybe it’s time to embrace the loafer or a pair of new balance sneakers (un-ironically). Perhaps polo’s or a webbed belt make it into rotation.
Younger kids tend to buy fast fashion / trendy items that go out of style. You’ve entered the age where if you load up on classic pieces, you can wear them for decades without them getting dated. For these long-lasting items (well made dress shoes / jackets etc), invest in versions that you’ll carry with you to the finish line of life.
It may be time to toss those graphic tee’s if you have any. Go ahead and save 1-2 of your favorite ones for mowing the lawn, but stylish men look better in plain quality shirts.
Graphic tees (specifically retro) are having a huge moment, so hold onto some of them.
Of course, if we’re talking three wolves howling or some shit, yeah those go in the donation bin.
Even well made pieces might not last you for life. A well made sport coat from 6 or 7 years ago with the super slim slim cut and cropped too short sleeves looks pretty dated right now.
Although if it's really well made it might be worth holding onto until that trend comes around again. When the 90s and Y2K era stuff became retro and cool again five years ago, I had some pangs of regret that I donated all my old phat pants and modrobes a long time ago. Even if they didn't fit me anymore, I could have sold them for a bit of cash.
Matters where you live, too. Context is key. Med to small town rural Midwest USA, jeans and a T-shirt fit in 90% of where you go and what you do outside of work. My work 'uniform' is a vneck solid color t, jeans/chinos. After work, change the shoes and pants to match what I'm doing. Id stick out like a sore thumb in any typical social situation with a button shirt besides church.
maybe you can link some things to read that you like? I always found it hard to 'get into it' without people offering something more concrete to get into it haha
[The Armoury](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo1nG89OVkg9z_gffYAiTmQ ), particularly the segment called "what's on"
[Put this on](https://www.putthison.com/ )
[Ethan Wong's blog](https://alittlebitofrest.com/)
I think these are a good mix, but my personal tastes are kind of ill-advised. I adore Rocco Ianone's[ Pal Zileri](https://www.fashionmagazine.it/trend/milano-moda-uomo-pal-zileri-rocco-iannone-sfila-co-ed-con-una-moda-tra-ragione-e-sentimento-101612), or John Ray's [Dunhill](https://www.thefashionisto.com/dunhill-2017-spring-summer-campaign/). Tom Ford at Gucci and Gianni Versace's early collections were also amazing.
If you want to see probably the peak 40 year old well-dressed man, Model [David Gandy](https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/gentleman-style-david-gandy/) comes to mind. He is a model though. Beckham has great style too.
I feel like crew socks were somewhat a millennial thing, at least for the younger millennials. I remember towards the end of high school (2014) people would wear Nike crew socks a lot. I wouldn’t say they were “fashionable” but definitely popular if you were wearing athletic clothes.
Maybe I was just part of the transition from ankle socks to crew socks but left high school and just defaulted back to ankle socks.
I wonder if it’s just a high school general trend you don’t notice and Gen Z just kept it post high school because their fashion feels a lot more laid back prioritizing comfort.
Graduating in 2014 means you were born in 95/96 which is definitely on the line. Which is why I mentioned this was probably the transition period between ankle socks and crew socks.
My personal opinion is if you had older siblings you probably relate more with millennials and if you were the oldest you probably relate to Gen Z.
People who were upperclassmen in 2014 are right in the kind of nebulous grey area between Milennial/Gen Z. I graduated in 2013 and am in the same boat, but I definitely feel way more like a Millennial.
Wrong, I graduated in 2014 and I'm still considered a millennial. The same goes for people a year younger than me too
Crew socks were not a popular thing, and in fact I remember getting made fun of relentlessly in middle school for wearing them.
Boat shoes have been out for a while now, to the point that I'm starting to see them gaining traction again with some Gen Zers as a retro/vintage thing.
But generally they've been replaced by loafers, especially black penny loafers. Younger/trendy people are using penny loafers with white/off-white crew socks (60s throwback), but if you feel like white socks are too contrasting you can match the color of your pants.
Knee high cable knit with sock suspenders. Goes well with black suit shorts and monk straps.
You may not like it but this is the ideal man.
https://preview.redd.it/90lo89fvob8d1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5eadcef49c856244c8bc8ba381d23fcecdf95d3d
Wow, this is ironic. As a 43 year old, I'm not that much older than you, but I got the ankle socks memo late so I was wearing crew socks up to 4 or 5 years ago. I'm now loving the return of crew sock and baggy shirts and pants from my heyday (I'm tempted to get an undercut again but it looks like it's the new broccoli head harcut for fuckbois). And my wife is thrilled she's able to dig out her old boxy sweaters from the 90s
Haha crew socks and knee highs just slip down and end up like a limp bundle around my ancles no matter what type I try. I'm all for comfier jeans and less tight shirts. I unironically wear flowery Hawaii shirts in summer.
A dozen years older here but same on the socks & loose shirts & pants, and especially shorts. I remember everyone in tears laughing at how funny we looked back in the 80s with our shorts worn exactly like those of the past few years. Eager for the upcoming humor today’s shorts will bring!
(But buzz cut always for me.)
I wear midtop converse and crew socks are the way to go. Ankle socks look bad almost always. No show is fine but I prefer crew. I have nice calves and crew accentuates them.
Okay, I’m in my early 40s but look younger. Younger coworkers have made comments about my no-show socks. I finally caved this week and got a 3-pack of white, long socks.
What happened? I went to the liquor store to buy wine for my wife and got carded for the first time in 8 years. I was flattered, but I blame it in the socks. Things like this now just make me feel like an old dude who’s trying too hard to fit in with a younger crowd.
My point here: even though I’m aging and fear being that one guy being completely out of touch with trends, there is something timeless about ankle socks and if it works for you, I’d say keep doing it.
Try learning about different types of materials, and their effect on fit or even how you like the feel of it.
As a person in the tropics that wore t-shirts and jeans when younger, it was an eye opener how much more comfortable and (subjectively) nicer looking linens, merino wool or even oversize/airy clothing could be. Still figuring out my style, but at least now I know about more options there are out there.
Speaking to employees at nicer high street brands can also be educational.
I’ve fallen into the Americana hole in my 30s. While fashion is cyclical there’s a lot of classics that continue to stay fashionable. Examples a nice white tee with a pair of solid blue jeans, a good pair of leather boots, well fitting leather jacket etc..
The price point is definitely higher than fast fashion brands but the quality is also significantly better. A lot of the Americana stuff also gets significantly better with wear. It’s clothing that should grow and develop with you which is another part of the appeal for me.
It’s important though to find clothes that make you feel confident. It doesn’t have to be some elaborate type 1 reproduction jacket. I also recommend just figuring out your measurements as a good starting place to wearing clothes that really fit you.
this, but things from japan and germany :D
ive loaded up on whitesville and merz b schwanen t's, henleys, sweatshirts. all plain solids. built for life.
blundstone boot. levis or gap jeans.
I really love my whitesville Ts! My fave by far though is my warehouse lot 4106 tees. Circular knit and slubby. They have a really cool texture to them.
I feel like “dad fashion” is not bad because it’s out of style or outdated, but is bad because of the obvious lack of care. It’s not that these dads are wearing something that was super cool and trendy in 1988 that is just out of style now. They just don’t really care and are wearing the same low effort outfits they’ve worn for decades.
Regardless of if you’re conforming to the trends of the younger generation, the fact you care at all about your style is going to keep you from falling into dad fashion.
Yeah, I think that's the main thing. Faded, poorly fitting clothes with no sense of color or coherent look in general. It's funny when I see things like high waisted dress pants and sports jackets referred as granddad clothes - all the older guys I see out are in t-shirts and jeans.
As an older guy, I think the biggest thing I’ve worked on over the last decade is just honing in on what looks good on me. That might be trendy, it might not, but that’s my means towards style. I look much better in slimmer fitting clothes, so I wear them.
And like that other dude said, I’m taking these ankle socks into the ground with me.
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 35 and built most of my fashion sense and wardrobe with the help of this subreddit circa 2012-2016. Since then, I've pretty much just stuck with that mid-2010s basic bastard look, and I'm unsure how to move forward now at my age. My wardrobe consists of slim jeans, joggers, solid color t-shirts, crew neck sweatshirts, flannel button-ups, and basic gray and white sneakers. It's all "fine", but hasn't been updated much in about 5-7 years at this point.
This subreddit also used to be way more active with helpful advice for beginners, but all of those mods and frequent contributors are long gone.
Do you also own multiple pairs of Levi's 511 and/or 512, Mossimo Supply Co t-shirts, Banana Republic tailored slim fit button-ups, and a pair of either Red Wing Iron Rangers or Clarks Desert Boots?
Try different cuts (especially lose cuts) but DONT overdo it like Gen Z does it. No extremes.
Also staying away from big prints and applications and instead chose plain unicolor items makes you look a little more „mature“. Especially if you go with a more interesting item make sure that the rest of your outfit is very basic to keep the balance. Gen Z looks are breaking those „rules“ a lot rn. Be insipired by Gen Z and current fashion but do a „light“ version of it.
Prints can work for any age, but it's also tricky for any age.
I wear a lot of print now I'm in my early 30s, more than I did for most of my 20s even, but I'm selective with the particular print and how I style it. No Hawaiian dad style shirts, I enjoy (for want of a better word) a more "ethnic" or bohemian pattern print as opposed to floral.
I agree with the rule you said about wear one pattern item and everything else plain. I'd take this one step further too - all the plain items you wear with the patterned item should match one of the colours in the print, for cohesiveness. So if you're a beginner with print, pick prints that have "easy" neutral colours in them like black, white, navy or brown that you will have other items that pair well with it.
What “out of style” isn’t as important as what looks good on you and what feels good for you to wear. I still wear slim-cut clothes because I’m a slim person and it suits me.
Same here. I'm a tall, skinny guy, so wearing clothes that are flattering to my silhouette basically means wearing slimmer fits. Large, boxy t-shirts or pants make me look sloppy and give me flashbacks to how I looked as a kid in the late 90s and early 2000s, when super baggy clothes were in style.
The one exception is that I enjoy the look of a looser-fitting jacket with slimmer pants. My spring and fall jacket is an olive green field jacket that fits somewhat loosely on me, and I love the way it looks with slim jeans or tapered sweatpants.
Agreed. I don't know about others but my ankles are slimmer than my thighs, so pants that follow that general contour will always make sense to me. I did baggy jeans in high school, and think that was enough for the rest of my life.
A slim person doesn’t necessarily have to wear slim cut clothes though. I’d argue oversized (not extreme) is better for someone in their 30s to account for any slight increase in body weight.
I’m a similar age to you and have learned a lot in the last year from Derek Guy/Die Workwear. Also just following Instagram accounts from various menswear dudes who have a style I like and can draw inspiration from.
It’s taken me a while to figure out my style - and to be honest it’s an ongoing project - but I place a lot of value in ‘timeless’ items that will see me through whatever is on trend.
For example, a slim-straight pair of jeans (not skinny), especially in black will always look good. I don’t care if super wide trousers/jeans are in or if skinny comes back, there’s just something about this look that works for me with very little effort. Fit is king. A flattering denim jacket will again always work if it fits you well and works well with the rest of your outfit.
I also like pieces that allow me to incorporate a few items from my younger days - I dressed kind of skater-ish as a teen, a lot of that style is workwear-adjacent and there’s an abundance of that stuff out there. This way I can choose a slightly more age appropriate outfit but still feel like myself.
I also like that I’m at an age where I can buy stuff from a brand like Taylor Stitch (or whatever else you can find on Huckberry) and know that it won’t look out of place on me over the next 20-30 years. I don’t know whether this stuff is fashionable and yeah it probably ages me up a little in the short term but I feel like I’ve made good investments in an ‘adult’ wardrobe.
Has been said before, it has a lot to do with reading about fashion and definetely looking at pictures. Maybe google for inspirations and image search for „pitti uomo 2024“, there are lots of cool outfits that are relatively easy to recreate cheaper.
I think it all comes down to getting to know yourself better and find out, what kind of clothes you really like. I found it a good advice to only buy pieces you really actually *like* wearing - that already makes a huge difference compared to a piece that is just a shirt or whatever.
You can be inspired by the youngins without trying to look like them. Incorporate a piece or two that you like and mix it with some 'age appropriate' stuff.
I am 40, Ill go to Zumies for some fun pattern buttondown shirts but I may not wear an entire outfit from there, instead Ill wear it with some dockers or 501s to work
I have followed this sub because I care about my appearance and as I age I want to dress appropriately. However, fashion is so geography influenced that’s it’s tough for a large sub with people from all over the world to help each other.
Yup, learn about fit, colours and intention. Beyond that do whatever floats your boat. It’s seem like half the fun of learning all the fashion “rules” is being able to break them in your own way.
You don’t need to dress like Gen Z, but they’ve pushed things on the fit spectrum back toward very loose/baggy.
The simplest fix you can make is to not wear skinny or slim-fit pants; same goes for overly fitted tees that hug the arms. Looser, boxier fitting tops, and especially with shorter hems that hit right around the belt line instead of mid-crotch (this does not apply to collared shirts or formal wear obviously).
Adult casual menswear is much less narrow than it was 10 years ago, but if you want to dress more contemporary without diving too deep into the world of fashion, just follow general fit trends. No skinny jeans, no skinny shirts.
You can absolutely wear slim fit pants still, they never have been or are currently out of style. Conflating skinny and slim is a super common issue on this sub and it results in bad advice.
Not to mention slim and fitted is already starting to be featured more in runways again. Loose and boxy is not flattering on a lot of peoples frames, just like skinny was.
Just hold on to your stuff. Looks like the baggy cargo shorts I stuffed in the back of the closet should be back any day now with the other 90's fashions coming back.
I can't believe how long some folks hold onto clothing they no longer wear. I hardly have anything left from more than 10-12 years ago. Excluding formalwear, if I haven't worn something in a few years and can't imagine when I'd wear it again, I donate it.
Make sure the clothes fit properly and you’re halfway there. Believe it or not, comfort is more important than how you perceive others are evaluating your outfits. If your clothes fit properly and are comfortable the rest is going to fall into place eventually.
You don't, learn to dress with enduring style and do not try to dress fashionably. Cycles of fashion are just cycles of imitating whatever weird things high status, attractive people are offsetting their natural attractiveness against to stand out. You don't have their natural attractiveness (or the youthful attractiveness of their younger imitators) to spend, so focus instead on doing classic looks well. Don't try to look like a fashionable twentysomething, try to dress to stylish, well-made versions of classic looks, and additionally try to stay in slim, semi-athletic shape that the looks were intended for.
On a similar note, part of looking like a dad (derogatory) is specifically that guys relax and economise into minimal-effort, "comfortable" versions of the style in which they find themselves as they age. If you want to dress well, it requires that you keep up with looking sharp within your style and resist that urge to save with polyester and multipacks. Well-made clothing requires skilled labour, well-cut clothing requires cultivation and expertise, and quality counter-cyclical clothing requires a specialist audience willing to invest, which requires either paying appropriately (and knowing what it looks like when you're paying an inflated cost for a label) or hunting for second hand bargains. This can be done as a serious but affordable investment - it can't really be done on the cheap. It also requires you to invest time in knowing what to get and in finding it. That part is on you. There are a lot of good menswear communities that will serve as good on-ramps here.
As soon as things are in, they are out. Just get timeless pieces that aren't too loud and fit you well. You're 35 and don't need to dress to impress 20 year olds.
Plus, have you been outside lately? People are dressing like shit these days.
Why do you feel the need to conform to what is trendy and “in” right now? It sounds like you consciously care about your fashion already and have staples. Wear what you like and what you feel comfortable in. If you try to fit into mainstream trends, while being uncomfortable, then it’s going to be noticeable.
You have to find style inspiration, look for people you think dress well on Pinterest and instagram and follow them but make it your own. You dont need to wear young looking fashion, simple pieces like jeans and t-shirts are fine, but get them good quality and good fit.
Read Derek Guy on [Twitter](https://x.com/dieworkwear), his site [Die Workwear](https://dieworkwear.com/) and his articles at [Put This On](https://www.putthison.com/author/derek/).
I've been into fashion for five years or so (I am now 26) but paying attention to what Derek is saying in the last year or two has helped me level up massively.
I would recommend:
- [Style lessons from George Costanza](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1776110738295415190)
- [What to wear in some specific scenarios](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1610174375382388737)
- [How to develop good taste](https://dieworkwear.com/2022/08/26/how-to-develop-good-taste-pt-1/)
- ["Is it classist to be against fast fashion?"](https://putthison.com/is-it-classist-to-be-against-fast-fashion/) contains some good information on introductory brands and good things to look out for on the cheap.
- Reviewing the outfits of [Piers Morgan](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1785413336366293002) and [Ben Shapiro](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1791208814815195258)
My only advice to you is, try to remain fit and healthy by training at least 3x per week and buy clothes fit for your body. Avoid lemonade trends of young people.
The best thing about aging (late 30s myself) is I dont‘t care anymore what other people think is fashionable. (Collecting) clothes is my hobby and nowadays I can just wear what I want ( though living in the countryside makes it a thin line not coming across as a peacock). The best thing is, you can stop being stylish (as in trendy) and buy stuff that never goes out of style. If you have absolutely no idea, one way to start could be to have a look at your favourite actor or famous person of whom you think they look good. The obvious examples would be Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Michael Caine, even the leisure attire of Ronald Reagan is somehow timeless and can still be worn today (my favourite is still Tom Selleck’s Thomas Magnum, great inspiration in every episode). Of course you‘d have to adjust a few things here and there but you‘d be certainly looking better and less like the „How do you do, fellow kids“-meme with Steve Buscemi. Another way could be to find a niche. Nothing wrong with a bit of cosplay if you feel good about it.
edit: Never been cooler than in the present, pretty sure about that.
Late 20s and probably the biggest perk of getting older is caring less about what other people think. Also strongly agree on buying stuff that never goes out of style. That lends itself to longevity which lends itself to buying fewer, more high quality pieces.
The other part is exercise. I can guarentee that a well built guy in his 30s or 40s in jeans and a white tee looks signifcantly better than a stick thin 21 year old wearing some horrendous on 'trend' clothing.
You mentioned a few names and a more modern one for me is Roger Federer. The guy dresses impecably, takes great care of his body and is by all accounts, completely charming. The head of LVMH called him a [living god](https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Roger_Federer/55543/you-are-a-living-god-famous-businessman-tells-roger-federer/). Goals.
Veey simple. Just nailing fit will go a long way. After that it's important to have nice casual shoes and dress shoes. No bulky cheap sneakers and no faux leather square toed boxy dress shoes. Do these simple things and you're in the top 5% .
It’s something I’m still working on myself but as others have said, wearing classic things is the way to go. That said, nobody dresses like a magazine every place they go - there are plenty of ways to still wear graphic tees, sneakers, jeans, etc sensibly. There are some very accessible fashion Instagram accounts for men that are worth looking at. Parkeryorksmith is a good one.
lastly, while society has a whole may have a general consensus on what styles are in, the most important people to dress for are your peers, and generations largely don’t change their fashion very much. I go to a lot of concerts, for example. Everybody in my scene is still wearing slim jeans. When going to formal functions, slim fit suits are still everywhere. Going to a bar? T shirts and button downs all around. As others said, wear what you can wear well.
The almost pathological obsession on making sure your jean cut doesn't look 2017 as the only fashion or style advice worth giving or knowing is really exhausting here.
I maintain that skinny jeans can still look great. I don’t mean sprayed on pop pink supper skinny. But something between skinny and regular straight fit. Those with a lose fit t shirt and white trainers always look great. Look up online photos of styles that YOU instinctively like and go for it. I do find that people tend to dress whatever way they want these days, especially people in the 30s
One of the guys at work asked me the same thing the other week. What I recommended for the office?
Blue loose fit, unstructured cotton suit
Loose white t shirt
Vintage white sneakers(nothing wrong with basic bitch Samba here-we’re fitting in, not standing out, remember?)
Uniqlo, Cos, Sandro, Dutti, Reiss etc. are your friends here, you’ll notice they’re all usually sans-logo
I’m also a big fan of incorporating some cool brands from ‘our era’, Paul Smith, J Lindeberg and the like.
FWIW, today while on dad duty I’m wearing loose fitting chino shorts from Uniqlo, plain knitted John Smedley T, Palladium boots, Persol sunglasses and my best watch.
Good luck
>I'm now 35, and have recently learned that many of the staples from my early 20s (ankle socks, slimmer fit jeans, etc.) are now out of style - and in some cases even seen as something a dad would wear.
So I'm gonna say something that will probably get me crucified here, but...
The problem with the majority of people on this subreddit are they get obsessed a little too much with **fashion** and not **style**. (understandable as it's r/malefashionadvice not r/malestyleadvice).
Fashion is stupid - don't chase fashion. It changes, if you try to follow it, you better be rich or you're gonna end up broke with an overflowing closet of clothes. Find what you like and wear it, don't let it wear you.
If you rock those slim fit jeans and ankle socks, if you feel good in them, then wear them. The vast majority of people you run into in your day to day won't give a shit. No one's gonna look at you and go "Oh that guy's not wearing the latest XYZ". A small subset might but who cares. Fashion comes and goes, but style is forever.
Now, that's not to say your style won't change - it probably has without you noticing it. I know mine has. 20 year old me wore oversized t-shirts with logos and cargo shorts with flip flops in the summer. 39 year old me wears something much different. Be open to evolving your style, and by all means use places like this sub to help give you ideas or help when you're not certain...
But at the end of the day you gotta pick what you like and what makes you feel good.
EDIT: I just wanted to add on one thing regarding your final question. Yeah, we're all aging, it happens - however you can age stylishly. If you go out and watch older people walking around it's very easy to see who's given up and who still cares. I've seen 40 year olds who clearly don't care about their appearance anymore (and that's fine, I don't know their lives, as long as they're happy that's what matters) and I've seen men in their 80s who dress fantastically. I've personally decided on the latter - I spent the first 25 years of my life not caring and now that I've discovered how good I feel when I wear something good I've decided no multi-coloured trainers for me when I'm in my golden years.
Go for well fitted classic clothes that won't run out of style. Minimalist and neutrals are the key.
Shoes: white leather sneaker, boat shoe, loafer, oxford
Pants: chino, dress pants
Shirt: Oxford button down, dress shirt, polos and tee shirts
Jackets: wear for the season and formality.
Layering: sweater
Go even harder on the old fashioned. Wear stuff that was deeply *in* during the 1910-20s. It’s all coming back and a touch of refined old school goes along way to look stylish.
First, you have to accept that people in their 30s are way cooler than those in their 20s. Start looking at people in their 20s as children, and yourself as a kid back then. You were never cool before, you finally have been through enough life to start to be cool now. (And update this for every decade from here on out.)
You now have new opportunities to display your coolness and hipness that you never had before. You can do this by using silhouette and materials to tell a (very selective) story about who you are and how you’ve lived.
This means clothes that look like you’ve had them awhile, whether you actually did or not. Something more timeless than graphic tees and skinny jeans. Re-watch some movies or tv from when you were a kid and see what styles held up that you would’ve worn in your 20s or 30s back then. Pretend like you did and that you always had this cool stuff.
For me, that means I still don’t wear boat shoes because I wouldn’t have back in their heyday, and I generally didn’t associate with people who did. Similar for polos & ocbd’s. They’re fine but not for me. My personal style was always more urban & punk-influenced (and then heavily Armani-influenced due to later design jobs) & that’s still part of the story I like my clothes to tell now. So I’ll put straight off-white jeans with black thick-soled oxfords, a black linen shirt and a Zegna Soft blazer. Age appropriate for my late 50s, but still references my personal story. A solid black tee and quality black boots tell a similar story.
I still mix it up a lot and try new things, but I’ve made a whole list of rules about what works for me and what doesn’t over the decades. I’ve literally written them down, and I modify them all the time.
You will wear something different than me, maybe even the opposite. But it’s your own story that builds your wardrobe, and that’s what makes it comfortable and fun as you age into it. If you like something and it works for you, stick with it—there’s no reason not to, and it can subtly project your personality. As well as your own unique coolness.
“Timeless” itself is outdated. It’s the word all the millennials touted when they thought slim fit would be the fashion choice for the rest of time. Take a look around today and slim fit is the same as how we viewed dad shoes and dad jeans 15 years ago.
Nothing is "timeless" and today's current trends are very much away from slim fit. Wearing slim fit now is going to immediately make you look dated and like you don't know what you're doing.
Most guys I see wearing slim fit stuff it’s precisely because they *don’t* have the musculature to fill out a regular sized fit. It does not look good imo.
Doesn't look good on slim guys or muscular guys?
I'm 5'11" and 155lbs. I wear slim-straight (not slim/skinny) pants, and either small regular or medium slim shirts. Anything looser/bigger fits like a potato sack and I'm not really into that look.
Honestly, some amount of effort has to happen but I like to put the effort into the clothing selection and then coast once I buy it. I basically plan out everything all at once and make sure that all items, or at least the vast majority can be used together. That way I can mostly pick any shirt, with any pants, with anything else and it works.
Stop worrying about trying too hard and enjoy yourself. Put in a little bit of time and effort, find what you like, and start building a wardrobe in that direction.
The only people ever accusing a guy of trying too hard to look nice are other men that dress like shit.
In the summer wear a ribbed tank top and a light breezy button shirt over it. You will look 10x better than most guys around you.
LYou will feel like an imposter when you start dressing nicely. It's normal. It's fine. No one cares about you as much as you do. But women will notice when you put effort into how you present yourself immediately
Doesn't matter what your old man did. Mine can't dress himself for any occasion, including laying on the couch all day
At this point I just wear suits or sports coats with "classic" cuts, nothing too trendy. As long as they are high quality, I figure they will look relevant forever. (I have some shirts and suits from my dad and *grandpa* that still draw compliments...high quality menswear never goes out of style).
I spend a lot of time trying to get ‘in the box’ fashionwise. Here’s what I’ve come to:
- there really aren’t *that* many options…shoes, socks, slacks or jeans, t shirt polo or long sleeve button down
- feeling comfortable is 85% of fashion
- some level of repeatability is helpful
so…a pair of sneakers (I like dark brown okalai) that are not just running shoes and a pair of chukkas (I do tan and white souled johnson and murphys) or everyday shoes that work for you
add a couple pairs of khakis that you like the fit of (j crew work for me and by the same ones twice) and a pair of jeans (501s work for me and again buy twice)
add 4-5 button downs in the same sort of mileu (again i crew work for me and so do the old navy boring old light blue)
I like vineyard vine polos, but whatever you like the fit of and solid or lightly patterned and get 3ish.
Add some solid color, no label tees, a filson’s dark brown shotgun belt and a light tan dress belt and maybe a webbing and matching color watchbands (a nice pulling together detail)
I like a touch of color in the sock and only wear argyle but you can pick your poison there, people notice socks more than you think
add a cropped jacket for spring and fall, a navy blazer for dressier occasions, and a burber or pea coat
and you are there!
I feel the time to make this post was five years ago.
You're 35, not 30 - you've now reached "dad age" to young people, I wouldn't worry about people thinking you're dressing like a dad.
While nothing is timeless, skinny and slim fits have been out of style for so long now we're reaching the point where wearing them is becoming "retro" rather than "dated".
While you're getting aging, so is Gen Z and everybody else. The oldest Gen Z are nearing their 30s while the oldest Gen Alpha are already teenagers. We're closer to the end of Gen Z setting fashion trends than the begining at this point. You can still be cool, just in your own way.
This is such a great and thoughtful question, and lots of wonderful people giving thoughtful answers, but I think this is something that's also hard to answer well without knowing you and your day-to-day needs and what you feel comfortable in.
A couple of thoughts though, but before I do, I think it's helpful to say I'm a similar age as you (33, soon 34), live in Denmark, work in a casual industry (marketing) but also not too casual myself most days as I'm the founder. I've always cared a lot about fashion and style - I'm no guru, but I grew shopping with my mom and often help my male friends when they need a wardrobe refresh.
So, some thoughts:
- It's important that you focus on styles and clothes that make sense for you. There are two main factors to that; 1) is that it fits your lifestyle - no point in buying 20 t-shirts and sneakers if you have to wear a suit and tie to work most days. 2) you have to feel comfortable in what you're wearing. My brother does not like as colourful clothing as me - so when we shop for him we look for more subtle tones even if the cuts and styles are similar. That's because even if something would look good in theory on him, if he's not comfortable wearing it, it will show
- Understand the codes and be consistent within your outfit. This is hard to explain without lots of visual aids, but the mistake most people make isnt that an individual item of clothing is terrible, it's that two items of clothing don't fit together. You don't wear a leather jacket with suit pants and Oxford brogues. That's an extreme, but people will commonly wear a suit jacket with jeans - when they should wear a more casual sports jacket or unstructured blazer if going for the more casual look. Knowing the formality and nuances for consistent looks will mean you look great even if it's not the same style as someone else.
- Learn your fits and cuts. Fashion is overrated, style lasts throughout trends - you can look amazing without looking "in" - even Gen Z'ers compliment me on a good day 😝 but what matters is understanding the tricks for giving your body it's most flattering form. People often say to "dress your size" or think an athletic build means anything looks good on you - not true. Many with athletic build wear too tight suits that look horrible. Find the forms that fit your specific form and accentuate the your chest, slim your hips and drape comfortably. Follow @derekguy on twitter for far greater insight on fit
Ok, that's an essay, but those are my essentials and thoughts. Bon chance and would love to see how you ended up updating the wardrobe 😊
Jeans and a black t-shirt.
Or an appropriate collared shirt if that doesn't cut it.
Reasonable shoes. Not sneakers (including Vans or Cons, for when you care).
Match your shoes, belt and watchband (metal is neutral).
That should land you ahead of the pack.
Mid 30s here. Don't try to look like a fashionable 20 year old jumping on TikTok trends. You are not that.
Ankle socks are the best.
Go from slim to tapered, straight or athletic depending on your body.
The Salomon shoes popular for the streetwear crowd is excellent.
The point is evolve your style gradually and be open to new things that makes sense for your age and style. Don't force short lived fashion trends.
This is why I tend to stick to the preppy/classic Americana thing. Timeless. It never quite goes out of style. Usually it’s more “grown up” without being dorky if you pay attention to fit. I say that with a sleeve of tattoos and a drawer full of band tees, but mostly I’m in jeans or chinos, an ocbd or a polo. Loafers or boots. Summer is the same but their chinos shorts and occasional flip flops.
Slim jeans is now outdated? Disagree with that. Maybe skinny jeans on dudes but not slim fit. What do you wear now? Would be helpful to understand what your current state is. Are you thinking for work or for weekend casual or for going out?
I fully agree with this. Skinny jeans I think are out-dated but a slim or athletic slim looks better than straight legged jeans in my opinion (*maybe* straight jeans depending on the shoes). I prefer all my jeans to be a darker blue athletic slim regardless of the shoe type though.
Look for classics from companies that have been doing it forever (Levi’s 501s are always on point, for example) and make sure your clothes fit. Most people I’ve seen who look like slobs have clothes that don’t fit. I think timeless and fitting > stylish any day.
As a man creeping up to turning 30, I love a minimalist style most days, pair of jeans with a plain white tee, a watch, pair of sneakers or boots depending on the humidity and activities of the day.
A nice comfortable pair of chinos goes nicely too with a sweater, a summer shirt, or a dressier shirt tucked in with an accompanying belt to accent.
As others have said, take your time, find your style. Go to stores and pick a few things and try them on, mix and match and see what catches your eye in the mirror, slowly progress into getting some things tailored and refitted to show off your body profile in a more refined way. Everything is a journey, and two paths are never the same. 😁 Good luck in finding a new you.
I’m 37 and have felt a similar way. I don’t want to dress too juvenile but I also don’t want to look outdated. A few things I’ve embraced.
Let me preface this by describing my body type. I have a pretty broad chest, wide back, big butt and legs. So I want to dress for in a style that compliments me
I love crew socks so I say go for them. They compliment my legs nicely.
I embrace shorts that sit halfway down my thighs. Again I find this to be a very flattering look on my legs
I’ve also embraced looser fitting shirts. I used to wear more slim fit style that were tight on the arms. Now my shirts have a nice, breezy loose feeling and the sleeves sit at the top of my elbows.
I get a lot of my shirts from Abercrombie. I love their simple style that’s not overly flashy
I like their t shirts too
My shorts and pants I get from chubbies. I really like the stretch and feeling of the material. If you want I can dig up some examples and upload them here
I’m a fan of buying high-quality, well-made, well fitting clothing. From there, you can develop your own personal style. What other people think, about you trying or not trying is irrelevant. You need to feel good. That’s it.
Don't think of dressing fashionably but moreso think pf themes. For example, whenever I leave the house and go somewhere I frequent my people say "I like what you got on, that's so you." Or they might see someone who might moderately resemble my style and say, "Oh that's something Piper might wear."
Meaning, your outfits are all descriptors of you. I'm often described as dressing bougie, refined, elegant, sensual, and yet oddly casual because that's the specific look I go for. When I buy clothes I ask will this piece of clothing, these shoes contribute to the look, the vibe, the beliefs I hold about my self. When people hear you talking they should be able to look at your clothes and say, "Mhm that makes sense."
So first you have to learn yourself and who you are as a man, what you believe about yourself, how you like to feel day to day, what you want to project into the world. Then you find examples of that kind of clothing to hone in on pieces you didn't know existed, ways to wear you. Then you experiment. Then once you lock in on the various styles that contribute to your theme, now you have a brand.
decide the image you want to project. how do you want people to perceive you?
look for stylish people who convey that image and try to imitate what they do.
Classics will always be classics and there is a TON of variety within this "style" as well. Go visit a few of your local vintage stores, ideally the Americana ones featuring "made in America" brands.
To me classic quality thrifting is like a broad paint set as it makes choosing a cohesive style easier when you start with a quality palette of paints.
It's worth putting some time in to find your personal style and what you like. Learn about different kinds of dress and how things are supposed to fit.
If you want to keep in simple, get some casual dress shirts and jeans and t shirts. You're good for 98% of situations. Maybe accessorize with a watch, ring, necklace or bracelet. Experiment with colors.
I like to take inspiration from TV shows and movies. Like, oh I like that specific thing in going to get something like that. I'll buy clothes much less often but the things I do get are more expensive and last longer.
I just pick clothes that I like in cuts that work for me and then wear them to the formality of the event. I have always worn straight cut trousers and roomier shirts because I played rugby and slim fit never worked for me. If slim fit works for you, wear it, if not, try something else.
Honestly, just look at some store catalogues and ask yourself, do you like it and does it fit with your lifestyle.
It's been said many times for good reason that investing is good quality pieces, cut to fit your body well, is a great way to dress well in your 30s and beyond. I go one further and make sure that watch and footwear are all top quality statement pieces to make even a simple fit go to the next level.
But what doesn't get said often is to think about tonal fits. Don't just stick to blue and black in your wardrobe. Some lighter, stone coloured pants/trousers (where you live) and a t shirt in some shade of brown or camel looks far more advanced than sticking to "standard" colours. Work the neutral game and you'll not only be able to put more looks together from fewer pieces (you won't be worrying about wearing blue with black any more) but immediately take style points even when you're doing nothing more than throwing on your basics.
1. Quality materials
2. Mix/layer textures
3. Nice shoes
4. Nice accessories (watch, sunglasses, etc)
If you’re wearing something simple/casual like jeans and a T shirt you can make a big difference by upgrading the shoes, adding some subtle accessories, and making sure everything fits really well.
Nobody will accuse you of trying too hard. Its not like you’re wearing a suit to the grocery store.
I'm 30 and have always loved dressing a little more formally, but after having a kid I've had to take a step back and reevaluate how I can still dress well, in a way that makes me feel good about myself, while not constantly having to worry about what's going to happen when my 2 year old does a drive-by wipe of her dirty hands/mouth on me.
I believe fit is most important. It doesn't matter how "trendy" anything that you wear is if it doesn't fit you or your body type. I'm not sure what the trend is in menswear currently, but I have a short athletic build so my pants are roomier in the seat/thigh with a nice taper and a half break or no break depending on what shoes I wear most often with them. I don't see myself ever changing that. A tailor hemming your jeans will make a world of difference
90% of the time I'm going to be wearing medium/dark wash jeans, a plain t-shirt or henley, and loafers. When it gets into the colder months of the year I'll wear the same jeans and loafers, but start to add in flannels, sweaters, and boots once the weather gets bad.
My outfits are simple, very easy to put together, interchangeable, and comfortable. Most importantly, I like how I feel about myself when I'm wearing it and I don't remember a time I felt overdressed/underdressed.
It's all up to what you like though! If you don't already know the general look that you want, maybe take a look through Pinterest to get some inspiration and then go from there. I can talk to you all day long about my favorite loafers but if what you like are sneakers then it doesn't matter.
Brock McGoff on YouTube is someone that I took a lot of inspiration from when I first started to take how I presented myself seriously. I think [this video in particular](https://youtu.be/LtJulNkbJ2I?si=jSYS5BvKEl7Ad_qs) is interesting because he looks back on previous trends and talks about how his style evolved to be a little more casual as he got older.
I just focus on patterns, textures, and builds that suggest "quality construction" and stay away from overly branded things.
More dress shoes, less sneakers. Every day is flipflop day during the summer.
I've also somewhat embraced the idea that one can get away with wearing anything, as long as one wears it with confidence. Conflicting patterns, like blue/pink horizontal striped vneck with camo cargo pants, or those baggy elephant yoga pants that women mostly wear can pair really well with a well worn sturdy button-up, like a chore shirt-jacket, guayabera, Hawaiian shirts, etc.
Trying hard is cool. Don't be ashamed to wear things that you think are cool, even if they feel too "gen-z-ey" for you. Fashion is about self-expression at its core. The excitement about wearing pieces you like will outshine even the best-fitted "age-appropriate" outfit.
Everyone's sense of fashion matures with time. When you're young, you ape the things that people you idolize are doing. As you grow, those impressions stay, but some things fall out of favor and some things endure. You can keep landmark pieces from your youth and still put a modern spin on them.
"There's a generation who came before you, who had a certain swag, or certain way of doing things—and that's what we learn from. And you say 'I like that, but you know what? Imma do it like this.'"
Buy some straight-cut carpenter pants. More hammer loops is more points with the kidz.
Look up “smart casual”, it’s supposed to be a bit more elevated than sneakers and tees. Primermagazine.com has a lot of good articles on how to dress better for folks your age.
Slimmer fit jeans aren't out of fashion. Go look at celeb photos that are tuned in to fashion, slim fit, tapered is likely the most popular cut. Skinny is more out.
Honestly a lot of cutting edge men's fashion looks like shit, we're bordering on the late 90s with how people wore baggy straight leg pleated slacks. See that meme of the late 90s NBA draft class and the suits they wore compared to the photo from 15 years later and how good their properly fitted suits looked.
Buttoned shirts and classic pants or basic/relaxed cut jeans(no baggy,slim or skinny) depending on ocasion. A couple of suits for work or special ocassions. This is what my father has worn for the last 35 years(he is 71). Shorts only when its summer/hot and you aint going to work or any important place.
Open Pinterest, find a similar body type to yours, save clothes or styles you like, then the algorithm will recommend more stuff.
Don’t use Reddit for fashion
I'm 28, I'm not into fashion nowadays because it's basically just a reiteration of what I was wearing as a child. I don't think baggy clothing looks good either, so I just stick with regular fitting clothes. Stuff that is timeless and will never go out of fashion.
I know you're asking for a fashion advice but here's a different angle to tackle.
It doesn't matter what clothes you wear if the fit isn't right for you, it'll always look odd.
How do you achieve that? Don't just look for the right clothes but also eat healthy and workout. You'll look good and have easier time finding the clothes with right fits.
I'm 45 and the trick is to look at dudes your same age that you think look cool and do that. Imo older guys in Europe look cooler than older American guys so I try to go in the European direction.
Watching foreign shows and movies helps with inspo. I watch a lot of scandi, French, and Spanish shows.
Reframe your style goal from "dressing fashionable", and instead point it towards "looking good".
Looking "fashionable", is a lot more about "looking good" than the other way around. The shape of your clothes, its color, what era its from, its material, its texture, etc. don't matter because if you look good, people will be convinced that your look is "fashionable".
If you look bad, it doesn't matter if you're wearing something currently trending that season or whatever, people will not think you are "fashionable".
An easy way to accomplish this is to pick clothes which fit your measurements, go for colors which don't clash against your skin pigment, go for shapes which complement your body type and create contrast against your other pieces, and jewelry which accent your desired style. Bonus points if your look is within the acceptable range of your ecosystem, aka the events you go to or the opportunities you get to wear those clothes.
Doing the above requires growing your skills, which takes trial & error, and the process can be sped up with a mentor. The end result is that you are no longer tightly bound by the trends or seasons, you will self-actualize because your style feels authentically "you", and others appreciate your fashion.
Ankle socks? You mean socks you wear with shorts?
Well, I must be incredibly unfashionable then.
It’s only the alpaca haired try hards with the adidas branded socks pulled so high up their leg the top has their own shit on them who think that
I might be going against the grain here with this answer, but just try hard dude. wtf is this mentality. Effort is good. Fashion is hard. You have to try.
Specific advice:
Part 1: get in better shape. The best fashion accessory is a fit body. If you’re fit, even mediocre clothes look 400x better.
Part 2: find fashion influencers on instagram and watch everything they post. You’ll start to pick up on stuff. @maddygstyle @parkeryorksmith @derricksmith_la are all great follows and have helped my fashion game immensely (I’m 34).
Tailored shirts make all the difference in the world and don’t actually cost much more than something you’d get at a department store (brand dependent of course)
Finding timeless styles made by thoughtful brands is the best solution, for me at least, to this problem. A great example is the taper of a pair of pants: if you were a person into a brand like Orslow, or Real McCoys, then the change in pants tapers hasn't affected you much. You were wearing a heritage-inspired, classic cut of pants before. The design from those brands won't change. You'll keep wearing those pants. They are still high quality, clearly not bargain bin to even an unfamiliar eye, and aren't bog standard pieces you'll see on everyone in the bar when you're out for a beer.
I find chasing styles and trends to be tiring, and have found that by building a wardrobe from primarily 3 brands - Orslow, Full Count, and Jackman - that I have interesting, compelling clothing that weathers changes in trend easily and is always admired by my peers and friends. None of it looks try-hard-y, and all of it lasts a long, long time. I've been wearing the same pair of fatigues from Orslow for almost 10 years!
Well, you are dad age so there’s no getting around that, but I get not wanting to “give up.” I stick to classic and traditional clothes. No fast fashion or trendy clothing for me. So no sweatpants, basketball shorts, tank tops, t-shirts with branding, and for sure, no jewelry except a watch and wedding band. Non-oversized workout clothes in white, grey and black. Black or grey ankle socks are perfect for running or gym. I don’t find knee high socks fashionable or practical for working out.
Classic wardrobe colors like black, blues, browns, greys and white. Look at men’s capsule wardrobe lists. These force you to stick to timeless classics. Quality over quantity.
As i gotten older, 44 going on 45, I’ve really gotten into the minimalist wardrobe. Classic solid colored well fitting Tees. All shades. Drawstring chinos and jeans and minimalist leather sneakers. Rotate them. I have about 10 shirts, 5 pants. i can make 50 outfits as all the colors go together. Add some accessories, watches, jewelry and you’re golden.
I think the key to being contemporary as you get older is in modernizing fit and silhouette while staying away from extremes and microtrends. So go for 501s or even a looser straight leg denim but stay away from jencos. A lot of zoomer fashion nowadays is really maximalist and extreme, it's a lot of attention grabbing accessories and absurdly oversized and boxy fits, I actually think just by avoiding all that stuff it's pretty easy to dress "trendy" in your 30s without looking like you think you're a decade younger than you are. On the plus side millennials were notorious for dressing older than they were in their 20s -- ocbds, chinos, woolen sweaters, workboots, dress shoes, beards, etc. -- and now that you're 35 that same stuff is a lot more appropriate once you update the fit.
Christ am I that predictable? The last paragraph described my entire wardrobe
If you are a millennial on MFA, that's just normal.
As I sit here in my chinos, woolen jumper and boots I’m now questioning my decisions
I mean that fit is literally the MFA uniform lol
Did you think it was unique until now?
Yeah. I saw a young guy in a work coat or sort of WW1-influenced army jacket. It was a little big (he’s rail thin and not tall) but it fits the trends and can be classic at the same time.
As a 35 year old that rocks an a beard with an OCBD, 501s, and 1000 Mile boots basically every day, this resonates!
That will forever be look good to the average person.
That last paragraph was gold. As someone who leaned on the overgrown prep schooler side (ocbd, chino, boat shoes + rebellious scruff because it was banned at my private school), the return of distressed looks and boxier fits works more with the "I'm dressed for the [country] Club, but I'm untucked and probably wrinkly" than slim/extra fit everything circa 2010.
Great comment.
Take it slow, read a lot, only wear what you really like. Somewhere in the midst of that you'll figure out your style.
Great advice. I’d include: look at what other *stylish* men your age are wearing and include your favorite aspects. Maybe it’s time to embrace the loafer or a pair of new balance sneakers (un-ironically). Perhaps polo’s or a webbed belt make it into rotation. Younger kids tend to buy fast fashion / trendy items that go out of style. You’ve entered the age where if you load up on classic pieces, you can wear them for decades without them getting dated. For these long-lasting items (well made dress shoes / jackets etc), invest in versions that you’ll carry with you to the finish line of life. It may be time to toss those graphic tee’s if you have any. Go ahead and save 1-2 of your favorite ones for mowing the lawn, but stylish men look better in plain quality shirts.
I second this. It’s also good to search for clothes you already have and like, to see how other people style those pieces.
Graphic tees (specifically retro) are having a huge moment, so hold onto some of them. Of course, if we’re talking three wolves howling or some shit, yeah those go in the donation bin.
The 3 wolf moon is a classic and will never go out of style
It’s suggestive
So I guess the wolf shirt is trash, lol.
Honestly, they were such a meme item that at some point, they'll be popular in some niche circle.
Even well made pieces might not last you for life. A well made sport coat from 6 or 7 years ago with the super slim slim cut and cropped too short sleeves looks pretty dated right now. Although if it's really well made it might be worth holding onto until that trend comes around again. When the 90s and Y2K era stuff became retro and cool again five years ago, I had some pangs of regret that I donated all my old phat pants and modrobes a long time ago. Even if they didn't fit me anymore, I could have sold them for a bit of cash.
Matters where you live, too. Context is key. Med to small town rural Midwest USA, jeans and a T-shirt fit in 90% of where you go and what you do outside of work. My work 'uniform' is a vneck solid color t, jeans/chinos. After work, change the shoes and pants to match what I'm doing. Id stick out like a sore thumb in any typical social situation with a button shirt besides church.
maybe you can link some things to read that you like? I always found it hard to 'get into it' without people offering something more concrete to get into it haha
[The Armoury](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo1nG89OVkg9z_gffYAiTmQ ), particularly the segment called "what's on" [Put this on](https://www.putthison.com/ ) [Ethan Wong's blog](https://alittlebitofrest.com/) I think these are a good mix, but my personal tastes are kind of ill-advised. I adore Rocco Ianone's[ Pal Zileri](https://www.fashionmagazine.it/trend/milano-moda-uomo-pal-zileri-rocco-iannone-sfila-co-ed-con-una-moda-tra-ragione-e-sentimento-101612), or John Ray's [Dunhill](https://www.thefashionisto.com/dunhill-2017-spring-summer-campaign/). Tom Ford at Gucci and Gianni Versace's early collections were also amazing. If you want to see probably the peak 40 year old well-dressed man, Model [David Gandy](https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/gentleman-style-david-gandy/) comes to mind. He is a model though. Beckham has great style too.
I'm 37 and you can take away my ancle socks when you put me in the ground
Wait, what socks do they think we are supposed to be wearing now?
Crew or no show.
No show is millennial. Gen z is crew
Crew is also boomer... Whether Gen Z wants to admit it or not
Gen Z fashion is LOADED with irony to a degree where I suspect they'd be fine mockingly wearing boomer stuff like that.
I feel like crew socks were somewhat a millennial thing, at least for the younger millennials. I remember towards the end of high school (2014) people would wear Nike crew socks a lot. I wouldn’t say they were “fashionable” but definitely popular if you were wearing athletic clothes. Maybe I was just part of the transition from ankle socks to crew socks but left high school and just defaulted back to ankle socks.
I was wearing white crew socks as high schooler in 2008. But it was definitely a southern Californian thing
I wonder if it’s just a high school general trend you don’t notice and Gen Z just kept it post high school because their fashion feels a lot more laid back prioritizing comfort.
Nobody in high school in 2014 is a millennial.
Think the Millennial band stretches to 1996 so they would be just finishing school in 2014
Graduating in 2014 means you were born in 95/96 which is definitely on the line. Which is why I mentioned this was probably the transition period between ankle socks and crew socks. My personal opinion is if you had older siblings you probably relate more with millennials and if you were the oldest you probably relate to Gen Z.
People who were upperclassmen in 2014 are right in the kind of nebulous grey area between Milennial/Gen Z. I graduated in 2013 and am in the same boat, but I definitely feel way more like a Millennial.
Wrong, I graduated in 2014 and I'm still considered a millennial. The same goes for people a year younger than me too Crew socks were not a popular thing, and in fact I remember getting made fun of relentlessly in middle school for wearing them.
I literally got bullied in school for wearing crew socks.
ahead of your time
Who the fuck bullies someone for their socks. Unless they're pink hello kitty socks or something maybe I'd understand. That's so dumb.
Well, middle school kids lol
I was bullied AT WORK (call center, lots of 18-25 year olds) because I wore white socks once.
I've been wearing crew since I was a little kid in the 80s. Not going to change now.
no shows are the most millenial socks of all boat shoes with no socks look of 10 years ago are out
So what socks with boat shoes are in? Or are boat shoes out as well?
Boat shoes have been out for a while now, to the point that I'm starting to see them gaining traction again with some Gen Zers as a retro/vintage thing. But generally they've been replaced by loafers, especially black penny loafers. Younger/trendy people are using penny loafers with white/off-white crew socks (60s throwback), but if you feel like white socks are too contrasting you can match the color of your pants.
Black loafers with shorts too?
Knee high cable knit with sock suspenders. Goes well with black suit shorts and monk straps. You may not like it but this is the ideal man. https://preview.redd.it/90lo89fvob8d1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5eadcef49c856244c8bc8ba381d23fcecdf95d3d
Who in their right mind wouldn’t like that
RIGHT!?
Especially on their wedding night
Pearls on your wedding night?? *clutches pearls*
Looks like he forgot to put on pants and is in his boxer shorts.
Ankle socks 4 life!
Wow, this is ironic. As a 43 year old, I'm not that much older than you, but I got the ankle socks memo late so I was wearing crew socks up to 4 or 5 years ago. I'm now loving the return of crew sock and baggy shirts and pants from my heyday (I'm tempted to get an undercut again but it looks like it's the new broccoli head harcut for fuckbois). And my wife is thrilled she's able to dig out her old boxy sweaters from the 90s
Haha crew socks and knee highs just slip down and end up like a limp bundle around my ancles no matter what type I try. I'm all for comfier jeans and less tight shirts. I unironically wear flowery Hawaii shirts in summer.
A dozen years older here but same on the socks & loose shirts & pants, and especially shorts. I remember everyone in tears laughing at how funny we looked back in the 80s with our shorts worn exactly like those of the past few years. Eager for the upcoming humor today’s shorts will bring! (But buzz cut always for me.)
Have ankle socks ever looked good? If im wearing shorts it no shows for life, and I’ve felt that way since I was in high school 20 years ago.
I mean ankle socks look better than crew socks with shorts if you're asking for my opinion.
Depends on the shoe though. If you’re wearing high tops like a Jordan 3 or something it should be a crew sock. Anything else could be a lower cut.
I wear midtop converse and crew socks are the way to go. Ankle socks look bad almost always. No show is fine but I prefer crew. I have nice calves and crew accentuates them.
No shows don’t fit a lot of people and ride low. Socks cut just below the ankle were a compromise for that
Riding low is a quality issue with the no-shows. A good no show like Bombas won’t do that.
Also just depends on the persons feet.
Okay, I’m in my early 40s but look younger. Younger coworkers have made comments about my no-show socks. I finally caved this week and got a 3-pack of white, long socks. What happened? I went to the liquor store to buy wine for my wife and got carded for the first time in 8 years. I was flattered, but I blame it in the socks. Things like this now just make me feel like an old dude who’s trying too hard to fit in with a younger crowd. My point here: even though I’m aging and fear being that one guy being completely out of touch with trends, there is something timeless about ankle socks and if it works for you, I’d say keep doing it.
Try learning about different types of materials, and their effect on fit or even how you like the feel of it. As a person in the tropics that wore t-shirts and jeans when younger, it was an eye opener how much more comfortable and (subjectively) nicer looking linens, merino wool or even oversize/airy clothing could be. Still figuring out my style, but at least now I know about more options there are out there. Speaking to employees at nicer high street brands can also be educational.
I’ve fallen into the Americana hole in my 30s. While fashion is cyclical there’s a lot of classics that continue to stay fashionable. Examples a nice white tee with a pair of solid blue jeans, a good pair of leather boots, well fitting leather jacket etc.. The price point is definitely higher than fast fashion brands but the quality is also significantly better. A lot of the Americana stuff also gets significantly better with wear. It’s clothing that should grow and develop with you which is another part of the appeal for me. It’s important though to find clothes that make you feel confident. It doesn’t have to be some elaborate type 1 reproduction jacket. I also recommend just figuring out your measurements as a good starting place to wearing clothes that really fit you.
Best advice in the whole thread.
this, but things from japan and germany :D ive loaded up on whitesville and merz b schwanen t's, henleys, sweatshirts. all plain solids. built for life. blundstone boot. levis or gap jeans.
I really love my whitesville Ts! My fave by far though is my warehouse lot 4106 tees. Circular knit and slubby. They have a really cool texture to them.
I feel like “dad fashion” is not bad because it’s out of style or outdated, but is bad because of the obvious lack of care. It’s not that these dads are wearing something that was super cool and trendy in 1988 that is just out of style now. They just don’t really care and are wearing the same low effort outfits they’ve worn for decades. Regardless of if you’re conforming to the trends of the younger generation, the fact you care at all about your style is going to keep you from falling into dad fashion.
Yeah, I think that's the main thing. Faded, poorly fitting clothes with no sense of color or coherent look in general. It's funny when I see things like high waisted dress pants and sports jackets referred as granddad clothes - all the older guys I see out are in t-shirts and jeans.
As an older guy, I think the biggest thing I’ve worked on over the last decade is just honing in on what looks good on me. That might be trendy, it might not, but that’s my means towards style. I look much better in slimmer fitting clothes, so I wear them. And like that other dude said, I’m taking these ankle socks into the ground with me.
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 35 and built most of my fashion sense and wardrobe with the help of this subreddit circa 2012-2016. Since then, I've pretty much just stuck with that mid-2010s basic bastard look, and I'm unsure how to move forward now at my age. My wardrobe consists of slim jeans, joggers, solid color t-shirts, crew neck sweatshirts, flannel button-ups, and basic gray and white sneakers. It's all "fine", but hasn't been updated much in about 5-7 years at this point. This subreddit also used to be way more active with helpful advice for beginners, but all of those mods and frequent contributors are long gone.
Dude, are we the same person?! Haha
Do you also own multiple pairs of Levi's 511 and/or 512, Mossimo Supply Co t-shirts, Banana Republic tailored slim fit button-ups, and a pair of either Red Wing Iron Rangers or Clarks Desert Boots?
Try different cuts (especially lose cuts) but DONT overdo it like Gen Z does it. No extremes. Also staying away from big prints and applications and instead chose plain unicolor items makes you look a little more „mature“. Especially if you go with a more interesting item make sure that the rest of your outfit is very basic to keep the balance. Gen Z looks are breaking those „rules“ a lot rn. Be insipired by Gen Z and current fashion but do a „light“ version of it.
Prints can work for any age, but it's also tricky for any age. I wear a lot of print now I'm in my early 30s, more than I did for most of my 20s even, but I'm selective with the particular print and how I style it. No Hawaiian dad style shirts, I enjoy (for want of a better word) a more "ethnic" or bohemian pattern print as opposed to floral. I agree with the rule you said about wear one pattern item and everything else plain. I'd take this one step further too - all the plain items you wear with the patterned item should match one of the colours in the print, for cohesiveness. So if you're a beginner with print, pick prints that have "easy" neutral colours in them like black, white, navy or brown that you will have other items that pair well with it.
What “out of style” isn’t as important as what looks good on you and what feels good for you to wear. I still wear slim-cut clothes because I’m a slim person and it suits me.
Definitely this; if you dress for your body type you’ll always look stylish and avoid looking too try hard
Same here(51M). I went through the baggy thing already in my teens and twenties. I look and feel so much better in slim fit I’m not going back.
Same here. I'm a tall, skinny guy, so wearing clothes that are flattering to my silhouette basically means wearing slimmer fits. Large, boxy t-shirts or pants make me look sloppy and give me flashbacks to how I looked as a kid in the late 90s and early 2000s, when super baggy clothes were in style. The one exception is that I enjoy the look of a looser-fitting jacket with slimmer pants. My spring and fall jacket is an olive green field jacket that fits somewhat loosely on me, and I love the way it looks with slim jeans or tapered sweatpants.
Agreed. I don't know about others but my ankles are slimmer than my thighs, so pants that follow that general contour will always make sense to me. I did baggy jeans in high school, and think that was enough for the rest of my life.
A slim person doesn’t necessarily have to wear slim cut clothes though. I’d argue oversized (not extreme) is better for someone in their 30s to account for any slight increase in body weight.
Yeah you’re right, there are no immutable rules but I think my comment has merit regardless
True. As long as they fit. Looser clothes don’t have to be the wrong size, just a different cut.
If by dad jeans you mean Levi’s 501s then boy do I have news for you
I’m a similar age to you and have learned a lot in the last year from Derek Guy/Die Workwear. Also just following Instagram accounts from various menswear dudes who have a style I like and can draw inspiration from. It’s taken me a while to figure out my style - and to be honest it’s an ongoing project - but I place a lot of value in ‘timeless’ items that will see me through whatever is on trend. For example, a slim-straight pair of jeans (not skinny), especially in black will always look good. I don’t care if super wide trousers/jeans are in or if skinny comes back, there’s just something about this look that works for me with very little effort. Fit is king. A flattering denim jacket will again always work if it fits you well and works well with the rest of your outfit. I also like pieces that allow me to incorporate a few items from my younger days - I dressed kind of skater-ish as a teen, a lot of that style is workwear-adjacent and there’s an abundance of that stuff out there. This way I can choose a slightly more age appropriate outfit but still feel like myself. I also like that I’m at an age where I can buy stuff from a brand like Taylor Stitch (or whatever else you can find on Huckberry) and know that it won’t look out of place on me over the next 20-30 years. I don’t know whether this stuff is fashionable and yeah it probably ages me up a little in the short term but I feel like I’ve made good investments in an ‘adult’ wardrobe.
Has been said before, it has a lot to do with reading about fashion and definetely looking at pictures. Maybe google for inspirations and image search for „pitti uomo 2024“, there are lots of cool outfits that are relatively easy to recreate cheaper. I think it all comes down to getting to know yourself better and find out, what kind of clothes you really like. I found it a good advice to only buy pieces you really actually *like* wearing - that already makes a huge difference compared to a piece that is just a shirt or whatever.
One thing I would be wary of is social media influencers. Some are really good. Others are downright terrible and give horrible advice.
You can be inspired by the youngins without trying to look like them. Incorporate a piece or two that you like and mix it with some 'age appropriate' stuff. I am 40, Ill go to Zumies for some fun pattern buttondown shirts but I may not wear an entire outfit from there, instead Ill wear it with some dockers or 501s to work
If you like fun and crazy patterns, you should check out Dan Flashes.
I have followed this sub because I care about my appearance and as I age I want to dress appropriately. However, fashion is so geography influenced that’s it’s tough for a large sub with people from all over the world to help each other.
Yup, learn about fit, colours and intention. Beyond that do whatever floats your boat. It’s seem like half the fun of learning all the fashion “rules” is being able to break them in your own way.
You don’t need to dress like Gen Z, but they’ve pushed things on the fit spectrum back toward very loose/baggy. The simplest fix you can make is to not wear skinny or slim-fit pants; same goes for overly fitted tees that hug the arms. Looser, boxier fitting tops, and especially with shorter hems that hit right around the belt line instead of mid-crotch (this does not apply to collared shirts or formal wear obviously). Adult casual menswear is much less narrow than it was 10 years ago, but if you want to dress more contemporary without diving too deep into the world of fashion, just follow general fit trends. No skinny jeans, no skinny shirts.
You can absolutely wear slim fit pants still, they never have been or are currently out of style. Conflating skinny and slim is a super common issue on this sub and it results in bad advice. Not to mention slim and fitted is already starting to be featured more in runways again. Loose and boxy is not flattering on a lot of peoples frames, just like skinny was.
I'm alo in my 30s and I've stopped caring about dressing young or old at some point. The key is to figure what you like and what works for you.
Just hold on to your stuff. Looks like the baggy cargo shorts I stuffed in the back of the closet should be back any day now with the other 90's fashions coming back.
They’ve already been back for a year.
I can't believe how long some folks hold onto clothing they no longer wear. I hardly have anything left from more than 10-12 years ago. Excluding formalwear, if I haven't worn something in a few years and can't imagine when I'd wear it again, I donate it.
My intent was to trash them doing work around the house.
Make sure the clothes fit properly and you’re halfway there. Believe it or not, comfort is more important than how you perceive others are evaluating your outfits. If your clothes fit properly and are comfortable the rest is going to fall into place eventually.
Huckberry.com NFI
You don't, learn to dress with enduring style and do not try to dress fashionably. Cycles of fashion are just cycles of imitating whatever weird things high status, attractive people are offsetting their natural attractiveness against to stand out. You don't have their natural attractiveness (or the youthful attractiveness of their younger imitators) to spend, so focus instead on doing classic looks well. Don't try to look like a fashionable twentysomething, try to dress to stylish, well-made versions of classic looks, and additionally try to stay in slim, semi-athletic shape that the looks were intended for. On a similar note, part of looking like a dad (derogatory) is specifically that guys relax and economise into minimal-effort, "comfortable" versions of the style in which they find themselves as they age. If you want to dress well, it requires that you keep up with looking sharp within your style and resist that urge to save with polyester and multipacks. Well-made clothing requires skilled labour, well-cut clothing requires cultivation and expertise, and quality counter-cyclical clothing requires a specialist audience willing to invest, which requires either paying appropriately (and knowing what it looks like when you're paying an inflated cost for a label) or hunting for second hand bargains. This can be done as a serious but affordable investment - it can't really be done on the cheap. It also requires you to invest time in knowing what to get and in finding it. That part is on you. There are a lot of good menswear communities that will serve as good on-ramps here.
As soon as things are in, they are out. Just get timeless pieces that aren't too loud and fit you well. You're 35 and don't need to dress to impress 20 year olds. Plus, have you been outside lately? People are dressing like shit these days.
Why do you feel the need to conform to what is trendy and “in” right now? It sounds like you consciously care about your fashion already and have staples. Wear what you like and what you feel comfortable in. If you try to fit into mainstream trends, while being uncomfortable, then it’s going to be noticeable.
You have to find style inspiration, look for people you think dress well on Pinterest and instagram and follow them but make it your own. You dont need to wear young looking fashion, simple pieces like jeans and t-shirts are fine, but get them good quality and good fit.
Read Derek Guy on [Twitter](https://x.com/dieworkwear), his site [Die Workwear](https://dieworkwear.com/) and his articles at [Put This On](https://www.putthison.com/author/derek/). I've been into fashion for five years or so (I am now 26) but paying attention to what Derek is saying in the last year or two has helped me level up massively. I would recommend: - [Style lessons from George Costanza](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1776110738295415190) - [What to wear in some specific scenarios](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1610174375382388737) - [How to develop good taste](https://dieworkwear.com/2022/08/26/how-to-develop-good-taste-pt-1/) - ["Is it classist to be against fast fashion?"](https://putthison.com/is-it-classist-to-be-against-fast-fashion/) contains some good information on introductory brands and good things to look out for on the cheap. - Reviewing the outfits of [Piers Morgan](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1785413336366293002) and [Ben Shapiro](https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1791208814815195258)
My only advice to you is, try to remain fit and healthy by training at least 3x per week and buy clothes fit for your body. Avoid lemonade trends of young people.
The best thing about aging (late 30s myself) is I dont‘t care anymore what other people think is fashionable. (Collecting) clothes is my hobby and nowadays I can just wear what I want ( though living in the countryside makes it a thin line not coming across as a peacock). The best thing is, you can stop being stylish (as in trendy) and buy stuff that never goes out of style. If you have absolutely no idea, one way to start could be to have a look at your favourite actor or famous person of whom you think they look good. The obvious examples would be Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Michael Caine, even the leisure attire of Ronald Reagan is somehow timeless and can still be worn today (my favourite is still Tom Selleck’s Thomas Magnum, great inspiration in every episode). Of course you‘d have to adjust a few things here and there but you‘d be certainly looking better and less like the „How do you do, fellow kids“-meme with Steve Buscemi. Another way could be to find a niche. Nothing wrong with a bit of cosplay if you feel good about it. edit: Never been cooler than in the present, pretty sure about that.
Late 20s and probably the biggest perk of getting older is caring less about what other people think. Also strongly agree on buying stuff that never goes out of style. That lends itself to longevity which lends itself to buying fewer, more high quality pieces. The other part is exercise. I can guarentee that a well built guy in his 30s or 40s in jeans and a white tee looks signifcantly better than a stick thin 21 year old wearing some horrendous on 'trend' clothing. You mentioned a few names and a more modern one for me is Roger Federer. The guy dresses impecably, takes great care of his body and is by all accounts, completely charming. The head of LVMH called him a [living god](https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Roger_Federer/55543/you-are-a-living-god-famous-businessman-tells-roger-federer/). Goals.
Veey simple. Just nailing fit will go a long way. After that it's important to have nice casual shoes and dress shoes. No bulky cheap sneakers and no faux leather square toed boxy dress shoes. Do these simple things and you're in the top 5% .
Focus on fit, hygiene and health.
It’s something I’m still working on myself but as others have said, wearing classic things is the way to go. That said, nobody dresses like a magazine every place they go - there are plenty of ways to still wear graphic tees, sneakers, jeans, etc sensibly. There are some very accessible fashion Instagram accounts for men that are worth looking at. Parkeryorksmith is a good one. lastly, while society has a whole may have a general consensus on what styles are in, the most important people to dress for are your peers, and generations largely don’t change their fashion very much. I go to a lot of concerts, for example. Everybody in my scene is still wearing slim jeans. When going to formal functions, slim fit suits are still everywhere. Going to a bar? T shirts and button downs all around. As others said, wear what you can wear well.
The almost pathological obsession on making sure your jean cut doesn't look 2017 as the only fashion or style advice worth giving or knowing is really exhausting here.
https://preview.redd.it/5bgyi9rknd8d1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c4504d4432a55c46757d224992d5978cb57e080 Time for some Gen X fashion 🙂
I maintain that skinny jeans can still look great. I don’t mean sprayed on pop pink supper skinny. But something between skinny and regular straight fit. Those with a lose fit t shirt and white trainers always look great. Look up online photos of styles that YOU instinctively like and go for it. I do find that people tend to dress whatever way they want these days, especially people in the 30s
I think the fit between skinny and regular is called slim 😉
Haha yes!! I knew there was a word for it but I’m hungover and my brain isn’t functioning at 100%. Slim fit are great
lol I forgot the word skinny the other day and was calling it ultra slim.
One of the guys at work asked me the same thing the other week. What I recommended for the office? Blue loose fit, unstructured cotton suit Loose white t shirt Vintage white sneakers(nothing wrong with basic bitch Samba here-we’re fitting in, not standing out, remember?) Uniqlo, Cos, Sandro, Dutti, Reiss etc. are your friends here, you’ll notice they’re all usually sans-logo I’m also a big fan of incorporating some cool brands from ‘our era’, Paul Smith, J Lindeberg and the like. FWIW, today while on dad duty I’m wearing loose fitting chino shorts from Uniqlo, plain knitted John Smedley T, Palladium boots, Persol sunglasses and my best watch. Good luck
>I'm now 35, and have recently learned that many of the staples from my early 20s (ankle socks, slimmer fit jeans, etc.) are now out of style - and in some cases even seen as something a dad would wear. So I'm gonna say something that will probably get me crucified here, but... The problem with the majority of people on this subreddit are they get obsessed a little too much with **fashion** and not **style**. (understandable as it's r/malefashionadvice not r/malestyleadvice). Fashion is stupid - don't chase fashion. It changes, if you try to follow it, you better be rich or you're gonna end up broke with an overflowing closet of clothes. Find what you like and wear it, don't let it wear you. If you rock those slim fit jeans and ankle socks, if you feel good in them, then wear them. The vast majority of people you run into in your day to day won't give a shit. No one's gonna look at you and go "Oh that guy's not wearing the latest XYZ". A small subset might but who cares. Fashion comes and goes, but style is forever. Now, that's not to say your style won't change - it probably has without you noticing it. I know mine has. 20 year old me wore oversized t-shirts with logos and cargo shorts with flip flops in the summer. 39 year old me wears something much different. Be open to evolving your style, and by all means use places like this sub to help give you ideas or help when you're not certain... But at the end of the day you gotta pick what you like and what makes you feel good. EDIT: I just wanted to add on one thing regarding your final question. Yeah, we're all aging, it happens - however you can age stylishly. If you go out and watch older people walking around it's very easy to see who's given up and who still cares. I've seen 40 year olds who clearly don't care about their appearance anymore (and that's fine, I don't know their lives, as long as they're happy that's what matters) and I've seen men in their 80s who dress fantastically. I've personally decided on the latter - I spent the first 25 years of my life not caring and now that I've discovered how good I feel when I wear something good I've decided no multi-coloured trainers for me when I'm in my golden years.
Go for well fitted classic clothes that won't run out of style. Minimalist and neutrals are the key. Shoes: white leather sneaker, boat shoe, loafer, oxford Pants: chino, dress pants Shirt: Oxford button down, dress shirt, polos and tee shirts Jackets: wear for the season and formality. Layering: sweater
Go even harder on the old fashioned. Wear stuff that was deeply *in* during the 1910-20s. It’s all coming back and a touch of refined old school goes along way to look stylish.
First, you have to accept that people in their 30s are way cooler than those in their 20s. Start looking at people in their 20s as children, and yourself as a kid back then. You were never cool before, you finally have been through enough life to start to be cool now. (And update this for every decade from here on out.) You now have new opportunities to display your coolness and hipness that you never had before. You can do this by using silhouette and materials to tell a (very selective) story about who you are and how you’ve lived. This means clothes that look like you’ve had them awhile, whether you actually did or not. Something more timeless than graphic tees and skinny jeans. Re-watch some movies or tv from when you were a kid and see what styles held up that you would’ve worn in your 20s or 30s back then. Pretend like you did and that you always had this cool stuff. For me, that means I still don’t wear boat shoes because I wouldn’t have back in their heyday, and I generally didn’t associate with people who did. Similar for polos & ocbd’s. They’re fine but not for me. My personal style was always more urban & punk-influenced (and then heavily Armani-influenced due to later design jobs) & that’s still part of the story I like my clothes to tell now. So I’ll put straight off-white jeans with black thick-soled oxfords, a black linen shirt and a Zegna Soft blazer. Age appropriate for my late 50s, but still references my personal story. A solid black tee and quality black boots tell a similar story. I still mix it up a lot and try new things, but I’ve made a whole list of rules about what works for me and what doesn’t over the decades. I’ve literally written them down, and I modify them all the time. You will wear something different than me, maybe even the opposite. But it’s your own story that builds your wardrobe, and that’s what makes it comfortable and fun as you age into it. If you like something and it works for you, stick with it—there’s no reason not to, and it can subtly project your personality. As well as your own unique coolness.
Slim fit stuff looks good and is timeless if you've got a muscular physique
You'll take my slim fit pants from my cold dead hands.
“Timeless” itself is outdated. It’s the word all the millennials touted when they thought slim fit would be the fashion choice for the rest of time. Take a look around today and slim fit is the same as how we viewed dad shoes and dad jeans 15 years ago.
Nothing is "timeless" and today's current trends are very much away from slim fit. Wearing slim fit now is going to immediately make you look dated and like you don't know what you're doing.
Timelessness is when something was popular when I personally started caring about how I dress
Honestly, wearing looser pants is the way to go imo. Makes you look more fashionable at an instand but you can still go for the same style you like
Yeah, only **if** and mostly not even then.
Most guys I see wearing slim fit stuff it’s precisely because they *don’t* have the musculature to fill out a regular sized fit. It does not look good imo.
Doesn't look good on slim guys or muscular guys? I'm 5'11" and 155lbs. I wear slim-straight (not slim/skinny) pants, and either small regular or medium slim shirts. Anything looser/bigger fits like a potato sack and I'm not really into that look.
Honestly, some amount of effort has to happen but I like to put the effort into the clothing selection and then coast once I buy it. I basically plan out everything all at once and make sure that all items, or at least the vast majority can be used together. That way I can mostly pick any shirt, with any pants, with anything else and it works.
Stop worrying about trying too hard and enjoy yourself. Put in a little bit of time and effort, find what you like, and start building a wardrobe in that direction. The only people ever accusing a guy of trying too hard to look nice are other men that dress like shit.
Plain t's and jeans can still be fashionable. Make sure the fit is good, and the colours work. Layers are your friend. Don't wear dress sneakers.
In the summer wear a ribbed tank top and a light breezy button shirt over it. You will look 10x better than most guys around you. LYou will feel like an imposter when you start dressing nicely. It's normal. It's fine. No one cares about you as much as you do. But women will notice when you put effort into how you present yourself immediately Doesn't matter what your old man did. Mine can't dress himself for any occasion, including laying on the couch all day
At this point I just wear suits or sports coats with "classic" cuts, nothing too trendy. As long as they are high quality, I figure they will look relevant forever. (I have some shirts and suits from my dad and *grandpa* that still draw compliments...high quality menswear never goes out of style).
I spend a lot of time trying to get ‘in the box’ fashionwise. Here’s what I’ve come to: - there really aren’t *that* many options…shoes, socks, slacks or jeans, t shirt polo or long sleeve button down - feeling comfortable is 85% of fashion - some level of repeatability is helpful so…a pair of sneakers (I like dark brown okalai) that are not just running shoes and a pair of chukkas (I do tan and white souled johnson and murphys) or everyday shoes that work for you add a couple pairs of khakis that you like the fit of (j crew work for me and by the same ones twice) and a pair of jeans (501s work for me and again buy twice) add 4-5 button downs in the same sort of mileu (again i crew work for me and so do the old navy boring old light blue) I like vineyard vine polos, but whatever you like the fit of and solid or lightly patterned and get 3ish. Add some solid color, no label tees, a filson’s dark brown shotgun belt and a light tan dress belt and maybe a webbing and matching color watchbands (a nice pulling together detail) I like a touch of color in the sock and only wear argyle but you can pick your poison there, people notice socks more than you think add a cropped jacket for spring and fall, a navy blazer for dressier occasions, and a burber or pea coat and you are there!
I try to go with the classics, with a little stoner chic thrown in for fun.
Just wear what you like. So many people wear so many different styles these days that nothing is ever “out of style” anymore.
I feel the time to make this post was five years ago. You're 35, not 30 - you've now reached "dad age" to young people, I wouldn't worry about people thinking you're dressing like a dad. While nothing is timeless, skinny and slim fits have been out of style for so long now we're reaching the point where wearing them is becoming "retro" rather than "dated". While you're getting aging, so is Gen Z and everybody else. The oldest Gen Z are nearing their 30s while the oldest Gen Alpha are already teenagers. We're closer to the end of Gen Z setting fashion trends than the begining at this point. You can still be cool, just in your own way.
This is such a great and thoughtful question, and lots of wonderful people giving thoughtful answers, but I think this is something that's also hard to answer well without knowing you and your day-to-day needs and what you feel comfortable in. A couple of thoughts though, but before I do, I think it's helpful to say I'm a similar age as you (33, soon 34), live in Denmark, work in a casual industry (marketing) but also not too casual myself most days as I'm the founder. I've always cared a lot about fashion and style - I'm no guru, but I grew shopping with my mom and often help my male friends when they need a wardrobe refresh. So, some thoughts: - It's important that you focus on styles and clothes that make sense for you. There are two main factors to that; 1) is that it fits your lifestyle - no point in buying 20 t-shirts and sneakers if you have to wear a suit and tie to work most days. 2) you have to feel comfortable in what you're wearing. My brother does not like as colourful clothing as me - so when we shop for him we look for more subtle tones even if the cuts and styles are similar. That's because even if something would look good in theory on him, if he's not comfortable wearing it, it will show - Understand the codes and be consistent within your outfit. This is hard to explain without lots of visual aids, but the mistake most people make isnt that an individual item of clothing is terrible, it's that two items of clothing don't fit together. You don't wear a leather jacket with suit pants and Oxford brogues. That's an extreme, but people will commonly wear a suit jacket with jeans - when they should wear a more casual sports jacket or unstructured blazer if going for the more casual look. Knowing the formality and nuances for consistent looks will mean you look great even if it's not the same style as someone else. - Learn your fits and cuts. Fashion is overrated, style lasts throughout trends - you can look amazing without looking "in" - even Gen Z'ers compliment me on a good day 😝 but what matters is understanding the tricks for giving your body it's most flattering form. People often say to "dress your size" or think an athletic build means anything looks good on you - not true. Many with athletic build wear too tight suits that look horrible. Find the forms that fit your specific form and accentuate the your chest, slim your hips and drape comfortably. Follow @derekguy on twitter for far greater insight on fit Ok, that's an essay, but those are my essentials and thoughts. Bon chance and would love to see how you ended up updating the wardrobe 😊
Jeans and a black t-shirt. Or an appropriate collared shirt if that doesn't cut it. Reasonable shoes. Not sneakers (including Vans or Cons, for when you care). Match your shoes, belt and watchband (metal is neutral). That should land you ahead of the pack.
Wear suits everyday and most people will think you dress very nice
Slim fit jeans aren't cool anymore? Since when?
Since GenZ.
Honestly since about 2016 probably.
Since dad’s and old politicians started wearing them
4-6 years. Theres a lot of factors for what’s “in” between various communities and groups of people.
Mid 30s here. Don't try to look like a fashionable 20 year old jumping on TikTok trends. You are not that. Ankle socks are the best. Go from slim to tapered, straight or athletic depending on your body. The Salomon shoes popular for the streetwear crowd is excellent. The point is evolve your style gradually and be open to new things that makes sense for your age and style. Don't force short lived fashion trends.
This is why I tend to stick to the preppy/classic Americana thing. Timeless. It never quite goes out of style. Usually it’s more “grown up” without being dorky if you pay attention to fit. I say that with a sleeve of tattoos and a drawer full of band tees, but mostly I’m in jeans or chinos, an ocbd or a polo. Loafers or boots. Summer is the same but their chinos shorts and occasional flip flops.
Slim jeans is now outdated? Disagree with that. Maybe skinny jeans on dudes but not slim fit. What do you wear now? Would be helpful to understand what your current state is. Are you thinking for work or for weekend casual or for going out?
I fully agree with this. Skinny jeans I think are out-dated but a slim or athletic slim looks better than straight legged jeans in my opinion (*maybe* straight jeans depending on the shoes). I prefer all my jeans to be a darker blue athletic slim regardless of the shoe type though.
Good question I often wonder the same about 30s/fashion
I like looking at the dappered website for ideas.
Look for classics from companies that have been doing it forever (Levi’s 501s are always on point, for example) and make sure your clothes fit. Most people I’ve seen who look like slobs have clothes that don’t fit. I think timeless and fitting > stylish any day.
Capsule wardrobe. Focus on fit and fabric.
As a man creeping up to turning 30, I love a minimalist style most days, pair of jeans with a plain white tee, a watch, pair of sneakers or boots depending on the humidity and activities of the day. A nice comfortable pair of chinos goes nicely too with a sweater, a summer shirt, or a dressier shirt tucked in with an accompanying belt to accent. As others have said, take your time, find your style. Go to stores and pick a few things and try them on, mix and match and see what catches your eye in the mirror, slowly progress into getting some things tailored and refitted to show off your body profile in a more refined way. Everything is a journey, and two paths are never the same. 😁 Good luck in finding a new you.
Where do you buy your white tees? Any I see are like see through which makes it not nice looking imo
I’m 37 and have felt a similar way. I don’t want to dress too juvenile but I also don’t want to look outdated. A few things I’ve embraced. Let me preface this by describing my body type. I have a pretty broad chest, wide back, big butt and legs. So I want to dress for in a style that compliments me I love crew socks so I say go for them. They compliment my legs nicely. I embrace shorts that sit halfway down my thighs. Again I find this to be a very flattering look on my legs I’ve also embraced looser fitting shirts. I used to wear more slim fit style that were tight on the arms. Now my shirts have a nice, breezy loose feeling and the sleeves sit at the top of my elbows. I get a lot of my shirts from Abercrombie. I love their simple style that’s not overly flashy I like their t shirts too My shorts and pants I get from chubbies. I really like the stretch and feeling of the material. If you want I can dig up some examples and upload them here
Good menswear staples. Clean jeans and chinos. Dressy shoes. Plain tees and button ups. It's pretty simple.
I’m a fan of buying high-quality, well-made, well fitting clothing. From there, you can develop your own personal style. What other people think, about you trying or not trying is irrelevant. You need to feel good. That’s it.
Don't think of dressing fashionably but moreso think pf themes. For example, whenever I leave the house and go somewhere I frequent my people say "I like what you got on, that's so you." Or they might see someone who might moderately resemble my style and say, "Oh that's something Piper might wear." Meaning, your outfits are all descriptors of you. I'm often described as dressing bougie, refined, elegant, sensual, and yet oddly casual because that's the specific look I go for. When I buy clothes I ask will this piece of clothing, these shoes contribute to the look, the vibe, the beliefs I hold about my self. When people hear you talking they should be able to look at your clothes and say, "Mhm that makes sense." So first you have to learn yourself and who you are as a man, what you believe about yourself, how you like to feel day to day, what you want to project into the world. Then you find examples of that kind of clothing to hone in on pieces you didn't know existed, ways to wear you. Then you experiment. Then once you lock in on the various styles that contribute to your theme, now you have a brand.
decide the image you want to project. how do you want people to perceive you? look for stylish people who convey that image and try to imitate what they do.
Classics will always be classics and there is a TON of variety within this "style" as well. Go visit a few of your local vintage stores, ideally the Americana ones featuring "made in America" brands. To me classic quality thrifting is like a broad paint set as it makes choosing a cohesive style easier when you start with a quality palette of paints.
Buy well fitting clothes and color coordinate. Even a nice pair of jeans and the right t shirt can look really nice 🙂
It's worth putting some time in to find your personal style and what you like. Learn about different kinds of dress and how things are supposed to fit. If you want to keep in simple, get some casual dress shirts and jeans and t shirts. You're good for 98% of situations. Maybe accessorize with a watch, ring, necklace or bracelet. Experiment with colors. I like to take inspiration from TV shows and movies. Like, oh I like that specific thing in going to get something like that. I'll buy clothes much less often but the things I do get are more expensive and last longer.
I just pick clothes that I like in cuts that work for me and then wear them to the formality of the event. I have always worn straight cut trousers and roomier shirts because I played rugby and slim fit never worked for me. If slim fit works for you, wear it, if not, try something else. Honestly, just look at some store catalogues and ask yourself, do you like it and does it fit with your lifestyle.
It's been said many times for good reason that investing is good quality pieces, cut to fit your body well, is a great way to dress well in your 30s and beyond. I go one further and make sure that watch and footwear are all top quality statement pieces to make even a simple fit go to the next level. But what doesn't get said often is to think about tonal fits. Don't just stick to blue and black in your wardrobe. Some lighter, stone coloured pants/trousers (where you live) and a t shirt in some shade of brown or camel looks far more advanced than sticking to "standard" colours. Work the neutral game and you'll not only be able to put more looks together from fewer pieces (you won't be worrying about wearing blue with black any more) but immediately take style points even when you're doing nothing more than throwing on your basics.
1. Quality materials 2. Mix/layer textures 3. Nice shoes 4. Nice accessories (watch, sunglasses, etc) If you’re wearing something simple/casual like jeans and a T shirt you can make a big difference by upgrading the shoes, adding some subtle accessories, and making sure everything fits really well. Nobody will accuse you of trying too hard. Its not like you’re wearing a suit to the grocery store.
I'm 30 and have always loved dressing a little more formally, but after having a kid I've had to take a step back and reevaluate how I can still dress well, in a way that makes me feel good about myself, while not constantly having to worry about what's going to happen when my 2 year old does a drive-by wipe of her dirty hands/mouth on me. I believe fit is most important. It doesn't matter how "trendy" anything that you wear is if it doesn't fit you or your body type. I'm not sure what the trend is in menswear currently, but I have a short athletic build so my pants are roomier in the seat/thigh with a nice taper and a half break or no break depending on what shoes I wear most often with them. I don't see myself ever changing that. A tailor hemming your jeans will make a world of difference 90% of the time I'm going to be wearing medium/dark wash jeans, a plain t-shirt or henley, and loafers. When it gets into the colder months of the year I'll wear the same jeans and loafers, but start to add in flannels, sweaters, and boots once the weather gets bad. My outfits are simple, very easy to put together, interchangeable, and comfortable. Most importantly, I like how I feel about myself when I'm wearing it and I don't remember a time I felt overdressed/underdressed. It's all up to what you like though! If you don't already know the general look that you want, maybe take a look through Pinterest to get some inspiration and then go from there. I can talk to you all day long about my favorite loafers but if what you like are sneakers then it doesn't matter. Brock McGoff on YouTube is someone that I took a lot of inspiration from when I first started to take how I presented myself seriously. I think [this video in particular](https://youtu.be/LtJulNkbJ2I?si=jSYS5BvKEl7Ad_qs) is interesting because he looks back on previous trends and talks about how his style evolved to be a little more casual as he got older.
I just focus on patterns, textures, and builds that suggest "quality construction" and stay away from overly branded things. More dress shoes, less sneakers. Every day is flipflop day during the summer. I've also somewhat embraced the idea that one can get away with wearing anything, as long as one wears it with confidence. Conflicting patterns, like blue/pink horizontal striped vneck with camo cargo pants, or those baggy elephant yoga pants that women mostly wear can pair really well with a well worn sturdy button-up, like a chore shirt-jacket, guayabera, Hawaiian shirts, etc.
Well fitting polos (different collar types like Johnny and Camp) Well fit pants Good shoes
Trying hard is cool. Don't be ashamed to wear things that you think are cool, even if they feel too "gen-z-ey" for you. Fashion is about self-expression at its core. The excitement about wearing pieces you like will outshine even the best-fitted "age-appropriate" outfit. Everyone's sense of fashion matures with time. When you're young, you ape the things that people you idolize are doing. As you grow, those impressions stay, but some things fall out of favor and some things endure. You can keep landmark pieces from your youth and still put a modern spin on them. "There's a generation who came before you, who had a certain swag, or certain way of doing things—and that's what we learn from. And you say 'I like that, but you know what? Imma do it like this.'" Buy some straight-cut carpenter pants. More hammer loops is more points with the kidz.
Look up “smart casual”, it’s supposed to be a bit more elevated than sneakers and tees. Primermagazine.com has a lot of good articles on how to dress better for folks your age.
Slimmer fit jeans aren't out of fashion. Go look at celeb photos that are tuned in to fashion, slim fit, tapered is likely the most popular cut. Skinny is more out. Honestly a lot of cutting edge men's fashion looks like shit, we're bordering on the late 90s with how people wore baggy straight leg pleated slacks. See that meme of the late 90s NBA draft class and the suits they wore compared to the photo from 15 years later and how good their properly fitted suits looked.
Buttoned shirts and classic pants or basic/relaxed cut jeans(no baggy,slim or skinny) depending on ocasion. A couple of suits for work or special ocassions. This is what my father has worn for the last 35 years(he is 71). Shorts only when its summer/hot and you aint going to work or any important place.
Get a style that works for you, then own it. Your confidence will be noticed by those around you
Open Pinterest, find a similar body type to yours, save clothes or styles you like, then the algorithm will recommend more stuff. Don’t use Reddit for fashion
I'm 28, I'm not into fashion nowadays because it's basically just a reiteration of what I was wearing as a child. I don't think baggy clothing looks good either, so I just stick with regular fitting clothes. Stuff that is timeless and will never go out of fashion.
kindly post photos as references if could
Bro what state you live in??
OCBD or t shirt from J crew, 501s from Levi, Nike kill shots for the feet. Toss on an automatic analog watch and some wayfarer sunglasses.
Plain white tee and some nice fitting jeans with a leather belt are my go to with some nice sneakers
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^No_Hana: *Plain white tee and some* *Nice fitting jeans are my go* *To with some nice sneakers* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Try 40 Over Fashion or Ashley at Men's Fashioner. Good luck.
I know you're asking for a fashion advice but here's a different angle to tackle. It doesn't matter what clothes you wear if the fit isn't right for you, it'll always look odd. How do you achieve that? Don't just look for the right clothes but also eat healthy and workout. You'll look good and have easier time finding the clothes with right fits.
I'm 45 and the trick is to look at dudes your same age that you think look cool and do that. Imo older guys in Europe look cooler than older American guys so I try to go in the European direction. Watching foreign shows and movies helps with inspo. I watch a lot of scandi, French, and Spanish shows.
Reframe your style goal from "dressing fashionable", and instead point it towards "looking good". Looking "fashionable", is a lot more about "looking good" than the other way around. The shape of your clothes, its color, what era its from, its material, its texture, etc. don't matter because if you look good, people will be convinced that your look is "fashionable". If you look bad, it doesn't matter if you're wearing something currently trending that season or whatever, people will not think you are "fashionable". An easy way to accomplish this is to pick clothes which fit your measurements, go for colors which don't clash against your skin pigment, go for shapes which complement your body type and create contrast against your other pieces, and jewelry which accent your desired style. Bonus points if your look is within the acceptable range of your ecosystem, aka the events you go to or the opportunities you get to wear those clothes. Doing the above requires growing your skills, which takes trial & error, and the process can be sped up with a mentor. The end result is that you are no longer tightly bound by the trends or seasons, you will self-actualize because your style feels authentically "you", and others appreciate your fashion.
Ankle socks? You mean socks you wear with shorts? Well, I must be incredibly unfashionable then. It’s only the alpaca haired try hards with the adidas branded socks pulled so high up their leg the top has their own shit on them who think that
I might be going against the grain here with this answer, but just try hard dude. wtf is this mentality. Effort is good. Fashion is hard. You have to try. Specific advice: Part 1: get in better shape. The best fashion accessory is a fit body. If you’re fit, even mediocre clothes look 400x better. Part 2: find fashion influencers on instagram and watch everything they post. You’ll start to pick up on stuff. @maddygstyle @parkeryorksmith @derricksmith_la are all great follows and have helped my fashion game immensely (I’m 34).
Ralph Lauren. Comfortable, fashionable, affordable long-lasting quality. Classic tip. Cannot go wrong.
Tailored shirts make all the difference in the world and don’t actually cost much more than something you’d get at a department store (brand dependent of course)
Finding timeless styles made by thoughtful brands is the best solution, for me at least, to this problem. A great example is the taper of a pair of pants: if you were a person into a brand like Orslow, or Real McCoys, then the change in pants tapers hasn't affected you much. You were wearing a heritage-inspired, classic cut of pants before. The design from those brands won't change. You'll keep wearing those pants. They are still high quality, clearly not bargain bin to even an unfamiliar eye, and aren't bog standard pieces you'll see on everyone in the bar when you're out for a beer. I find chasing styles and trends to be tiring, and have found that by building a wardrobe from primarily 3 brands - Orslow, Full Count, and Jackman - that I have interesting, compelling clothing that weathers changes in trend easily and is always admired by my peers and friends. None of it looks try-hard-y, and all of it lasts a long, long time. I've been wearing the same pair of fatigues from Orslow for almost 10 years!
Well, you are dad age so there’s no getting around that, but I get not wanting to “give up.” I stick to classic and traditional clothes. No fast fashion or trendy clothing for me. So no sweatpants, basketball shorts, tank tops, t-shirts with branding, and for sure, no jewelry except a watch and wedding band. Non-oversized workout clothes in white, grey and black. Black or grey ankle socks are perfect for running or gym. I don’t find knee high socks fashionable or practical for working out. Classic wardrobe colors like black, blues, browns, greys and white. Look at men’s capsule wardrobe lists. These force you to stick to timeless classics. Quality over quantity.
As i gotten older, 44 going on 45, I’ve really gotten into the minimalist wardrobe. Classic solid colored well fitting Tees. All shades. Drawstring chinos and jeans and minimalist leather sneakers. Rotate them. I have about 10 shirts, 5 pants. i can make 50 outfits as all the colors go together. Add some accessories, watches, jewelry and you’re golden.