Regular Joe

[H2K]

I just turned 4-0, high time to start dressing my age. An average day to work is a nice pair of slim fitting jeans & a t shirt. The question is, what kind of t shirt, polo, shirt? Graphics of skulls are out, I don't mind limited edition Kid Robot prints or the like. What shoes? The fav converse by Varvatos are great but I'd like a little more flavor. What about evenings & weekends with the family @ museum etc? Any advice?

[shad0w4life]

You need to narrow it down to what you want to wear, such as:

are you looking for dress shoes?

do you want polos? long sleeve casual(not tucked in) button ups?

whos style do you want to emulate?

etc. would help.

[thmage]

Consider henleys or pocket tees as a step up from graphic tees. Button down shirts are great too, but might be a bigger adjustment. (As always, focus on fit)

Evenings and weekends at the museum, I would throw a blazer over your button-down (perhaps even over a tee-shirt if you can pull that off) and be good to go.


One other thing, consider getting some slim-fit chinos as well. They're casual enough to wear like jeans, but they are a great combo-breaker.


Hope that helps!

[H2K]

Ok, I like limited sneakers, the sneakers & shirt combo sounds interesting. Not too keen on the dress shoes, suede brogues are about as far as I'll take it. I'd like to start wearing blazers when I go out, but where to begin?

[shad0w4life]

Jude law did a lot of blazers with T shirts, that might be a good start for finding colour combos if you like the idea.


Check allen edmonds "Strawfut" for something a bit dressy but very casual(mesh and leather) as an idea of more playful dress shoes. It would be rather hard to match sneakers with a blazer, those breathe very well while looking sharp


I have a Jcrew Broken In Polo, it's quite fitted a bit casual as it is meant to look like it's one of your most worn shirts etc. That would be a nice change from a T shirt but not a huge change from what you're used to, they also have darker colours.

[nicholascrawford]

Really, just following Dappered posts and soaking up the Primer get-ups will give you tons of ideas: http://www.primermagazine.com/tag/the-getup

[nerdland]

I'm in a similar position as you, H2K. I work at an ad agency (VERY casual workplace) but I want to start looking a little nicer. By no means do I want to start wearing a suit into work, but I'm trying to step it up from just flip-flops, a t-shirt, and jeans every day. (Or shorts. Haha. I told you, we're casual.) I've been throwing a blazer in the mix every now and then, wearing more button-ups, sticking to dark jeans or chinos, and trying to expand my shoe repertoire.


Those Allen Edmonds Strawfut shoes are pretty sweet, but I bought a cheap and even more casual version of that recently. It's not an "investment" shoe, so I wouldn't expect to get more than a couple of years of wear out of them, but they've got the style I was looking for. They're wingtips, but they aren't brogues. And only $40. It's called the Robert Wayne Atlas, and it comes in black or brown. http://www.6pm.com/rw-by-robert-wayne-atlas-brown-canvas-leather.


I've also been wearing more boat shoes, suede oxfords, and stuff like that. That kind of stuff tends to look fine with a blazer. I got a pair of bright red Sperrys that I like a lot.


There's also a pretty cool shoe by Vans called the Pritchard that's basically a sneaker disguised as an Oxford. The sole is flat, but they put a little notch where the heel would be, so if you look at it from the side, it looks more dressy. I have them in a tan-ish suede, but they come in some pretty sweet colors and materials. My favorites are either the blue nubuck ones or the tweed ones.

[nerdland]

I second thmage on the chinos, too. Around Christmas time, all the Marshall's and T.J. Maxxes in my area had tons of the Dockers Alpha khakis in a bunch of colors, so I stocked up for about $12-$17 a pair. I've been wearing those a lot. They're still VERY casual, but nice. I've got them in a bunch of neutral colors (brown, khaki, army green, grey) and also in a bunch of fun colors (red, orange, bright blue)

[kenneth]

Bright red boat shoes? The horror :P

[nicholascrawford]

I stayed up at night debating the red LEC boat shoes. Those look awesome.

[bosco]

I recently turned 44 and have been going through a style revamp myself over the last year. Last year my job went from suits 4 days a week and business casual Friday to very casual. Heck, some of the guys wear shorts and flip-flops, which I still refuse to do in an office environment.


I've gone from wearing light wash jeans that were too long to more fitting dark wash jeans. I realized my shirts always looked big on me, so I sized down and replaced most of my long sleeve button ups (sorry, I always tuck), and polos. I got lucky and found a pair of tan Bostonian split-toe dress shoes and a pair of J&M saddle bucks at a thrift store very cheap. Both look great with jeans and have been my go to shoes instead of the tennis shoes and casual shoes I used to wear. With the help of Dappered, I picked up the Merona navy cotton blazer at Target. I also thrifted a nice tan houndstooth blazer.


People have noticed, too. Our receptionist has nicknamed me "GQ". I wore the tan blazer with jeans and the saddle bucks one day and my boss said I looked like a college professor. My wife thinks I'm cheating on her because I've changed my look. I tell her I'm just trying to look more sophisticated and dress my age and that I want to look good for her.