Transcription
I haven't always been able to buy all the cool clothes that I wanted. Then I got a decent job and I could buy a lot of the cool clothes that I wanted, but it didn't really improve how I was dressing. I just bought a bunch of schtuff. And if anything wasn't being as thoughtful as I was when my options were more limited. Buying things doesn't necessarily make you dress better, it just makes you have more shit. I mean, look at some of the richest guys in the world right now. Zero style.
Dressing better with the clothes you already have. Encourages creativity. Is better for the environment. And more and more I just find myself being against blind consumption. So if you want to dress better and don't want to spend a bunch of money filling your closet, here's some things that you can do starting today.
Number one, look at pictures of dudes on the internet. Very soon, in this video, there will be some very practical techniques and even exercises to help you use your existing wardrobe more effectively. But in order to do that, you need to know where you're going. I think step one for trying anything new is becoming a fan of people who are good at it. I'm sure that some of you guys follow fitness influencers to learn how to eat or work out better. This is no different. Follow some fashion dudes. There's a lot of really great ones. Vintage polo Ralph Lauren is always your friend. Does that mean go above the ears? Having one good pair of salvaged denim in your collection? You can't go wrong with that. They're smart, they're thoughtful, they're funny. They're not all doing like blue steel all the time. We're not talking about like looks maxers. We're talking about men's wear guys. See who you connect with. Look at what they're wearing and then maybe walk it back two steps until you're at the level of stylish that fits your lifestyle. Comparison is the thief of joy, but inspiration is the wind that fills our sails. All right, I just combined two quotes. Guess what? New quote. Put that on arm. Make a collection on Instagram dedicated to clothes. Every time you see something you like, save it. Then you can go back in a month or two. You look at all the things that you've saved, you start to notice consistencies in the stuff that you have in there. That's what you like. That's called taste, brother. That is the beginning of personal style. Taste isn't bought, it's remembered. And this is connectivity. Connectivity.
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Oh, hey Calvin. How's Clyde? Okay, so you decided that we want to dress better. We've looked at pictures of dudes on the internet. Maybe we even have a mood board. We got a bunch of saved posts on Instagram. A natural first instinct at this point is, dang, I don't have any of this stuff. My stuff sucks. I gotta go buy new clothes. I don't have any money. Maybe I should get a new job. I could probably get a better job if I look more put together. But hey, I'm already good stuff. Buy myself socks. I gotta buy new clothes. I get a new job, put together, and the cycle continues until eventually, inevitably, you're sitting on the toilet crying your eyes out. We've all been there. It's a tale as old as time.
But take a breath. We can get through this because it's not about the item, it's about the effect. You might not have the exact item that the dude in the pic is wearing, but think about what the item is doing. Is the blazer in the picture providing structure to that guy's shoulders? Do you have anything that could do the same thing? Are you attracted to the combination of colors? Is it the mix of textures that you find intriguing? How can you use what you have to achieve the same effect? Take a look at this dude's outfit, for example. He looks cool as hell. Do I own a pink tie? No. What am I? Detective? But what is the effect of the pink tie? It's drawing attention to the chest. It's a pop of color in an otherwise muted outfit. So I think that I can get the same effect as that pink tie with a red shirt that I already own. Or the jacket. Do I own an A L D bomber? No. Things like $800. But I do have this barber that sticks to the color palette, has a similar vibe, adds a little bulk to the silhouette, makes me look kind of big. It's also got a collar that I can pop, which I think is a big part of the silhouette in this reference. And also, I don't like how I look in beanies. So same vibe, a little bit more me. Dude, this is a fit, bro.
Or we can look at this photo of Maddie Matheson. Historically, one of the dudes who has the most influence on my personal sense of style. You could take the monochromatic effect of the matching pants, the shirt and the hat, and do that with any color that you have at your disposal. I like the blue pants. I also own a pair of blue pants, but I don't have a blue short sleeve button up shirt. Am I gonna go out and buy a short sleeve blue button up just to imitate Manny Madison? No, that would be pathetic. I would never buy an article of clothing just because I saw a cool looking celebrity wear it. So I'm just gonna focus on the vibe, the shapes, what each individual item is doing to create the overall aesthetic of this photo. The vibe is obvious. It's a dad at a barbecue who's been to jail before, and the shapes are simple. It's an unbuttoned short sleeve shirt over a tank top, a vintage sort of motor sport inspired cap, classic work pants. My shirt is unbuttoned, so you know I know how to party. Who are you? Rick? Dog, shit name. Dude, I'm just fucking with you, bro. I've actually never worn this combination of clothes until just now and it's definitely going into my rotation. Next time I go to a barbecue, I'm gonna look like a dad who's been to jail. And I would've never put this together unless I just tried it on. And that's the thing, sometimes you just gotta try things on. It's like going to the driving range or shooting free throws. You can't just play in games and expect yourself to be good. Who do you think you are? Alan Iverson.
And this brings me to a fun little exercise that I just learned about recently. The 3, 3, 3 drill. This is a fast-paced creative drill designed to help help you look at your clothes differently and come up with new combinations. It's not the game that you play your heart out for, it's practice, practice, practice. Go to your closet and select the following three items: three tops, three bottoms, three pairs of shoes. Mix and match the items to make every combination possible. Look in the mirror, take pictures. Ask your lady or your fellow what they think. I know that you are reluctant to do this. A grown man literally playing dress up in his house. But not only does it actually work, I think you'll find that it's pretty fun. Some of the combinations are gonna be outfits that you already wear all the time. Some might look absolutely terrible. I just think I look kind of creepy. But some will create new looks that you would've never thought to put together. Whoa, whoa. That's kind of a cool look, dude. Yeah, I just feel like a lot of these, especially with these shoes, are like cool history teacher. Gentlemen, those who do not acknowledge the best are... The idea of this thing is to look at old items in new ways. Breathe some life into forgotten articles of clothing and potentially pull some stuff from the back of your closet out into your regular rotation. It's like you're at Harvard back in the day when a guy with your physique could be on the football team. I bought these pants over a year ago and really haven't used them very much, but I liked almost every outfit that we put together with these. This is like cool teacher on game day. He's assistant coach. Yeah. Yeah. Ms. Appleton, is that three inches above the knee? I think sometimes when I'm getting ready to go to some sort of social event, like a meeting or something, I start imagining myself in that situation. And the anxiety or nervousness that I'm carrying for that meeting kind of creeps into me trying on clothes. So just trying on stuff without that pressure was pretty liberating and fun.
Up next, Jake Wolf is, in my opinion, one of the best-dressed dudes on the entire God's green internet. So I hit him up. I explained the premise of this video and I asked him if he had any tips for guys who want to dress better without having to buy a bunch of new stuff. Tucking your shirt. Then he said, I can elaborate if need be. But yeah, if you tuck in all shirts and sweaters, you'll feel more polished and it alters the silhouette dramatically. So let's put this to the test. Untucked, totally normal, totally fine. I mean, it's a vibe, dude. Like immediately, same articles of clothing. I'm going to the grocery store like this. I'm reaching for the protein cereal like this. You are like, that guy cares about things. That guy gives a shit with an untucked t-shirt. I'm just some other dope with a tucked-in t-shirt. I might be a woodworker. I want to keep this away from the saw. I might be a farmer. This is purposeful. We don't want that crap flopping around. I mean, honestly, Jake's right. I feel thinner, more put together. Dare I say more grown up. Tuck in your shirt. This is a perfect example, all right, of something that takes zero effort and costs $0. That can dramatically change how you look and how you wear your clothes. You can also cuff your pants or roll your sleeves up. These changes make a huge difference because they break up your outfit. They let it breathe a little bit. Basically, you wanna remind people that there is a human skeleton under there. Your waist, your wrists, your ankle, your neck. That's where the skeleton moves. And you want people to be able to tell where those are. So instead of looking like a blob, you look like a human. It's easy for an outfit to look like a run-on sentence. So you add little points of punctuation here and there. It's where the eye is supposed to, you know, direct.
Get your clothes tailored. Tailors will gladly alter all kinds of clothes, not just suits. A lot of times I stop wearing clothes because I don't like how they fit anymore. That can be because my body has changed or the current trends have changed. Maybe I ordered a piece of clothing off the internet and it never fit well, but it was kind of expensive. So I kept it in my closet forever, hoping that one day I would magically love how it looked on me. Well, a tailor is kind of magic, and it's also one of the most overlooked and useful resources in a man's arsenal. You can spend a bunch of money on clothes, but if they don't fit you right, they will look like absolute trash. You can also spend less money on clothes. Get them tailored and look straight up fresh as hell. An ill-fitting expensive suit will always look worse than a well-fitting suit from Goodwill. These are a pair of $13 vintage Dickies work pants that I bought off of eBay. They're one of my favorite pairs of pants. I love the fabric, I love the color, I love the texture, the wear, the patina. What I didn't love is the fact that the waist was too big and the front would fall down, making it look like I had taken a dump in the front of my pants. A few bucks at the tailor. The guy took in the waist and they're perfect. I'm wear 'em without a belt right now. Jesse gets almost all his clothes tailored, which you know is absolutely not surprising at all. And if you aren't sure if a tailor is able to do something, ask. You'd be surprised at how much a garment can be altered. These guys are really good at this. It's like one of the first jobs ever invented. Find a good tailor in your city. Give them some business. Get to the point where you send your tailor a Christmas card every year. That's cool.
And finally, try. I get it, fellas. We all want to be effortlessly cool. That's the idea to look as if we rolled out of bed, grabbed some crap off the floor, and then accidentally walked out the front door looking like a generational style icon. Well, I got news for you. Looking effortless takes effort. I want to kill the idea that being cool and trying hard do not work hand in hand. Trying hard is cool. Caring about stuff is cool. Nobody does anything worthwhile by accident. Even Beethoven and Mozart, two very famous prodigies, were trying their asses off. What makes you think that you're gonna be good at putting on clothes without effort? And every time I make a video about anything like this, the same comment is in the comment section. At least a dozen times. All I need is jeans and a t-shirt. Well, yeah, man. Good job. That is a great single outfit. But you need more than a driver to play golf. Get yourself a pitching wedge and try on some double-pleated pants. We gotta get over the fear of trying, the fear that this isn't me, the fear of your friends making fun of you. 'Cause guys, your friends are gonna make fun of you no matter what. If they don't make fun of you, then they aren't your friends. So you might as well look cool and feel good about yourself while you're getting roasted. And you don't have to spend a bunch of money on new clothes to do that. Just have to try.
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