You see a great jacket on a mannequin in the store. You love the cut, the color, the way it looks styled.
You try it on, the salesperson nods approvingly, and you buy it.
Then it hangs in your closet, never worn. Another ghost in your graveyard of “it looked great in the store” clothes you loved and were excited about, then never reached for again.
Sound familiar?
One of the most expensive style mistakes men make is assuming that liking a piece means it will work for them.
It doesn’t always.
You may love a royal blue shirt, but that particular blue may do nothing for your coloring. Not all blues are the same. Not all burgundies are the same.
You may love the cut of a jacket on someone else, but on your body, the proportions feel completely different.
There are two big reasons something looks great on the rack, but not on you:
- Color
- Fit
Color and fit can make or break a piece, regardless of how much you like it.
Let’s start with color
Color is one of the first things people notice, and the right color can make a huge difference in how something looks once you put it on.
And I’m not just talking about whether you “look good in blue.”
There are warm blues, cool blues, bright blues, muted blues, dark blues. The royal blue shirt you love on the rack might not be your blue.
The easiest test when you’re shopping is to hold the color up near your face.
Don’t just look at the shirt or jacket. Look at your face.
Does your skin look more even? Do your eyes stand out? Do you look healthy and awake?
Or are you suddenly noticing shadows, redness or dark circles that weren’t quite so obvious a second ago?
This is something I see all the time during Color Analysis sessions. Sometimes a client loves a color, but once we compare it to a slightly different version of that same color, the difference is surprisingly obvious.
You don't necessarily have to give up a color you love. You may just need to find your version of it.
Then there’s fit.
This one sounds obvious: Of course my clothes should fit.
But I see fit problems constantly.
A jacket can look beautiful on a rack because it’s hanging exactly as it was designed to hang. Once you put your own body into it - shoulders, chest, waist and proportions - that changes.
I recently talked with Jeremy, a business owner in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, about a pink jacket he was interested in. He saw it on my social media and wanted to order one for himself. Cool! The jacket is from Jaime Hemsani, a designer in Mexico City, and I know Jaime is up for doing special pieces for my clients when he can.
Jeremy told me what size he “usually wears” and asked me to order it up. Whooooo there, Jeremy. Every brand is different so I asked him to get professionally measured before I place his order.
Why?
Because if you don't know your accurate measurements, you're guessing. You won’t know if the jacket is going to hang on you the way it's supposed to.
There are a few easy things you can look for to know if something is fitting right.
Start with the shoulders.
For a jacket or blazer, the shoulder should actually fit at your shoulder. It shouldn't extend past it or droop down your arm, and it shouldn't sit above it.
Look at the seat of your pants.
This is one I see all the time.
Image from https://www.giorgenti.com/tuxedos/
A good pair of pants should fit nicely around the bum. Not tight. Not hugging you. But following the contour of your body rather than sagging underneath it. The pant sag is not a good look. Check for it before you buy!
Button the shirt or jacket.
If the fabric is pulling or the buttons are straining, especially through the chest or waist, it’s too tight.
“A good fit should follow the contours of the body, highlighting it but not exaggerating it.” - Edwards Buice.
That’s really what you're looking for.
“But I don't have a tailor.”
I hear you.
A lot of men know they should get something altered or professionally measured, but then comes the next question:
Where am I supposed to go?
And that's often where the whole thing stops. So, make it easy.
You can start by doing a search online
-
"tailor near me"
- “men’s alterations near me”
-
“professional tailor [your city]”
Even better, ask a friend whose clothes always seem to fit well where he goes.
If you need to get professional measurements but there aren’t any tailors in your area, try calling a local tuxedo shop. Ask if they can take your measurements and whether there’s a charge.
And one note about dry cleaners: many offer alterations, and some may do excellent work. But tailoring isn't necessarily their specialty. If you need accurate measurements or more involved alterations, look for someone whose primary expertise is tailoring or alterations.
Chicago friends: I go to Reino’s Tailoring. Reino was professionally trained, worked at Nordstrom for many years and then opened his own shop.
The point isn't that you need to suddenly become an expert in tailoring.
You just need to know someone who is.
Before you buy...
Slow down for a minute. Before you buy, hold the color up near your face. Try the piece on. Move around. Sit down. Stand up. Button it. Look at the shoulders. Check the back of the pants And pay attention to how you actually feel in it.
Believe me, I had to learn this from firsthand experience.
I LOVE clothes, and I’ve bought plenty of pieces I felt like I just couldn’t walk away from. I still love some of them.
But loving the piece didn’t mean I loved it on me.
Remembering that NOT EVERY GREAT PIECE IS A GREAT PIECE FOR YOU is key to building a simple, strong wardrobe.
You can admire an outfit on someone else, or love it in a store, but that does not mean it belongs in your closet.
The goal isn’t to own more clothes.
It’s to build a wardrobe full of clothes you actually wear.
Otherwise, before you know it, your closet becomes an overstuffed graveyard of good intentions.
Ghosts of shopping trips past!
And all those unworn clothes add up.
Knowing your best colors and what fits your body doesn’t just make getting dressed easier. It can save you from spending money on clothes that end up sitting in your closet.
That’s a big part of what I help my clients figure out: what works for you, so you can buy fewer things you regret and more things you’ll actually wear.
If you could use some help figuring that out, today is a great day to start! Click here and let’s talk about your style.