Welcome to a short intro on dressing your man. It’s a potential new series here at Gentleman Within, inspired by my friend Melisa of The Career Fashionista. There seems to be many women out there wondering how they can get their man to dress better. You can’t get someone to change because after all it must come from within, but you can help.
If you’d rather listen to this post, I’ve got the audio equivalent for you right below.
ON STYLE MATTERS
You’ve found the one. He’s all the things you want in a partner, but his style could use a little or maybe a lot of help. And just maybe a part of you wished that he cared more about his outward appearance. You accept him for who he is on the inside, but you want to help your man along his style journey without seeming like you’re trying to change him.
The goal isn’t to mold him into the stylish man that you want him to be. Nor is it to completely change his appearance. We’re starting small here. No man likes being told what to do. The goal is to help nudge him from complete apathy to at least giving a damn about style. Because after all, style does matter. And that the sooner he can see this, his style can improve.
ON PERSONAL STYLE
As you may know, style is extremely personal and you want for him to develop a personal style that is unique to him, right? One that he chose for himself with a little help from you of course. Similar to how the relationship dynamic is a team effort, helping him to define and ultimately refine his personal style will take the both of you. If you communicate this to him, more than likely he will appreciate the effort. And who knows, he may even be open for a makeover. That’d be fun, right?
And as with anything worthwhile, personal style takes time to develop. It won’t happen overnight, but by getting him to care sooner rather than later, you are setting the stage to create his unique style that he feels confident with.
ON AESTHETIC & STYLE ARCHETYPES
I’ve found that there are two types of guys out there—the ones who care and the ones who don’t. If your man is in the apathetic camp and you want to help him see the benefits of why he should care, your job should be much easier than say if he’s already defined his aesthetic. If he doesn’t care about what he’s wearing then more than likely he will be open to suggestions and recommendations. The key is to open his mind to trying new things, to experiment with his style.
More than likely he already has a certain look that he’s developed. According to menswear expert, Tanner Guzy of Masculine Style, every man falls under a style archetype, whether that’s more rugged, rakish or refined. This is determined by things like the type of job he has, the people he spends his time with, what he enjoys, the types of clothing styles he likes, how he interacts with the world, and the way in which he lives his life. By knowing the aesthetic he leans towards, it makes things easier when deciding where to shop and what pieces to start introducing to him.
IN THE END
I like to think of what we choose to wear as telling a story. It’s a human trait to judge other people. Right off the bat, the first thing we notice is a person’s appearance. We unconsciously determine the type of person he or she is in a matter of seconds. In knowing this, we can define ourselves with the story that we choose to tell the world through our clothing. And by helping your man to give a damn about style, you’re helping him craft a story that best represents who he is and what he’s all about.
This concludes pt. 1 on dressing your man. One final word…I believe that the journey to better style should be fun and not taken too seriously. As with anything in life, if we can learn to enjoy the process, it will make things that much better.
I may consider continuing with this “Style for Him” series, providing tips and advice on getting your man to dress better. What do you think?
Let me know in the comments below if this is worth continuing and what specifically you’d like to see?
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