Shopping for clothes - guys.

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GrannySmith111

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I've never likes shopping for clothes for some reason. I've always wanted to look nice. Have something nice to wear to school every day. I wish that never again would i have to worry about wear to buy clothes and what to wear.

I have a problem when it comes to clothes. I've never cared much or payed attention to what i wear. I shop at the stores pretty much every teenager goes to, Abercrombie, Hollister, and AE.

Im just getting tired of what i wear to school every single day. Jeans and a different graphic tee from the same store :/. Sometimes i'll wear shorts. Overall, i just dont have good style or variety with my clothes. I've never known where to shop, what clothes to shop FOR and what to wear.

Any of you guys have any advice on how to overcome this? Any website or something i can go to and learn how to dress better? Any general tips?

Thank you in advance!
 
Do you have any female friends who could go shopping with you and give you some tips? A lot of men find that the women in their life have a good eye for clothes. (I don't, but then I am unusual in this.)
 
Sounds like you are dressing the norm for your age. What's wrong with graphic t's? I have a ton of them, most are superhero related but yeah...I have so many.

Dress how you want to dress. When I was in school I wore cargo pants because I liked having the extra pockets, and I'd wear a nice button up shirt because they always look nice. I stayed away from name brands that had their logo emblazoned on them, that makes you a walking commercial. You could also try golf shirts, they are a good medium between a t-shirt and button up shirt. Nothing wrong with jeans either, they are a good generic item to wear to school.

Anyway, good luck, just wear what makes you feel comfortable.
 
First off, I have no idea of your gender, so I can't tailor this advice I'm afraid (I checked your profile, but it didn't say), but here are my general tips:

1. You can wear any colour provided it's the right tone - blues don't suit me generally but navy blue does, mint green looks awful on me but emerald green looks nice etc. for example.
2. Wear what makes you happy.
3. Remember not to give a **** what other people think, wear what you like and be happy.
4. Wear styles and cuts that suit you.
5. Shop in different stores and maybe try thrifting, try different ways of shopping is what I'm getting at (I thrift a lot and I tend to find lots of variety which is why I mentioned it).
6. There are so many different styles of just 1 type of clothing item and there are so many ways to wear things too - T-shirts which you mentioned are great - there's a variety of different styles for sleeves, neckline, fit, design etc. Keep wearing T-shirts, just try on a completely different style to what you'd usually wear instead.

You mentioned jeans, shorts and T-shirts there - I know it's hard to have the confidence to wear something completely different when you're used to wearing a lot of the same sort of clothing item regularly and it can be daunting trying to figure out what suits you and what doesn't and to find a new style etc. but you really have to just not be worried about being a bit adventurous with it.

Also I use Polyvore a lot when I'm looking at ways to wear items, what to wear items with and different styles of dress and latest trends etc. - it's handy to see how I might be able to wear something stuffed away in the back of my wardrobe differently and it's given me so many ideas on what to wear with what that I never would have thought of.

I actually love Gok Wan when it comes to wardrobe basics, capsule wardrobes, his advice on finding styles and cuts that suit you, "classic" items and ways to wear the same items differently.

Hope I've been of some help. :)
 
I'm a guy, sorry if I wasn't clear.

Nothing wrong about wearing graphic tees, but it does get boring after a while. It's also hard to find clothes that fit perfectly. I can find a shirt that will be too tight or too loose. If I get the shirt that fits perfectly, it might shrink after I wash it. Shirts that are too big might/might not shrink. Plus, different stores have different sizes and everything.
 
Actually, you'd be very surprised how helpful the staff (especially females) can be at making good suggestions, based on your appearance, coloring, body shape, etc. Especially in more upscale shops.
 
I've always had concerns about the way I dress. Ultimately though, my major concern is hygiene. I'd say don't worry so much about the look of your stuff. Try to focus more on how it fits and of course, keeping it clean and not ripped/burned ect. If it's clean and it fits you, you should look good enough.
 
Umm... I have to say that your problem really sticks with me because I had the same issue until very, very recently. You see I got out of school not too long ago and realised I was still dressing like a kid, and not only that but a kid with terrible fashion sense.

The trick for me was to decide what kind of styles really intrigued me that I seen other people wearing. The other trick is to be adventurous and just try and wear something but not beat yourself up over whether or not it looks "stupid". Trial and error, my friend. Honestly, Gutted has great advice too... The most important thing is the fit, right? No matter how awesome or quality the clothing is, it's all for nothing if it doesn't fit right. I can pm you some links that can help guide you with that sort of thing, just shoot me a message and I'll get the ball rolling. There are also some great forums online that help out guys like you and me who experience a fashion crisis lol
 
I like playing dress-up with guys. If you have female friends, I definitely recommend asking for help shopping. I also know a guy who always asks the salesladies to pick out clothes for him.
 
I asked girlfriends to shop for me. But, they all refused. One had good style and was trendy. I figured she would want to dress me up. But, nope. So, I still have no style. But, at my age it doesn't matter any more.
 
I had a similar problem with style too growing up. I never really knew what to do.
I didn't have money, so all that preppy stuff was not an available choice - not that it would have authentically represented me anyway. I did go to those stores once or twice, and got a few things, because at the time I thought it was just what you do, in order to be "cool" (and the purpose of that, was ultimately to "get" the "hot girls" - it was an admittedly teenage mindset, but keep in mind I was a teenager at the time). That was what a lot of people did around here. But I remember feeling vibes there like I didn't belong, and it never really felt like "me" anyway. And I didn't like the idea of being a company's billboard either, it feels like you're being used, made a sucker out of. The kids with more money to spend may have looked down on me, but at least I wasn't paying a company, so that I could advertise for them, for free.

I think the best style a person can choose, is a style that expresses your real interests and personality. That's the real "you", and that's what you'll feel the most comfortable doing. And that was a problem for me growing up for a couple of reasons. One, I didn't want to get teased for liking "geeky" stuff. That stuff wasn't accepted by the mainstream yet when I was in my teen years. Two, I didn't have enough interests to express. Fandoms were pretty much my only real interest at the time. I was kind of a one-interest person for my entire childhood, which, looking back, was a problem in and of itself. I couldn't do what others around me were doing, but I just didn't know what other options were out there that might have been more suitable to me.

One thing that helped change things was the internet. When I got my own connection I started really listening to music seriously, for the first time. And once I started listening to bands, that opened up more style options for me, both as interests I could express, and in finding online stores that sold band shirts. I started getting shirts of my favorite bands from these online stores, and from concerts.

And eventually I started gaining the courage to express my interest in fandoms too. It might have taken until college, but I would show up to class rocking my Boba Fett or Optimus Prime shirts. And what do you know, no one ever made fun of me for it. It was all in my head - who knows, it might have been all in my head when I was younger, too.

Since then I've noticed some other stuff I like - usually from shops I find online, sometimes on Facebook pages too. Personally I can't wait to start buying graphic tees again. I also discovered I like Hawaiian shirts too, and I want to see what options are out there for those.

Again, thinking back to that preppy stuff, some people really spent a lot of money on it. I'm glad I didn't, because not only was it not really who I am, but also styles can change with your age, and what's "in" when you're a certain age, is no longer "in" when you move into the next age group. If your wardrobe is "cool" or "in" when you're a teenager, but doesn't seem mature in your 20s, then you'll have to buy your whole wardrobe over again. But if you buy stuff that's authentically "you", based on your real interests and personality, then your wardrobe will still be "you", no matter your age.

Anyway, that's what I'd suggest. The internet gives you more options than just what stores are in your area, or what you see people around you doing, if that isn't "you". And your own interests and personality are always a good starting place for what style could be an authentic fit for you. Good luck finding your style!
 
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Go get your measurements taken by a tailor or seamstress at a formalwear clothing store.
Thereafter, keep a copy of your measurements for fitted clothing.
Department stores for fitted clothing exist, and from there all you've really gotta do is plug in the numbers and play with the colors and styles.

I dress like a hobo 99% of the time but in all actuality I do actually know how to clean up well. I just usually don't have a reason to. 🤷‍♂️
 
I don't shop for clothes.
I enter a Wallmart, grab two pairs of wranglers, a pack of three black t shirts. 15 minutes later, I'm out.
My girlfriends usually took care of my "style" lol. I'm kind of oblivious.
 
And eventually I started gaining the courage to express my interest in fandoms too. It might have taken until college, but I would show up to class rocking my Boba Fett or Optimus Prime shirts. And what do you know, no one ever made fun of me for it. It was all in my head - who knows, it might have been all in my head when I was younger, too.
You were way ahead of the times man, that's all the rage nowadays. Creating trends not following them. Well played sir :)
 
I love clothes, always have. Vintage 1950's to early 1970's is my thing or anything with a Victorian flavour.

Good posture, a strong shoulder line and a wee bit of tailoring and you'll look good in just about anything.
 
I had the same problem with style too growing up, I never really knew what to do.
I didn't have money so all that preppy stuff was not an available choice, not that it would have authentically represented me anyway. I did go there once or twice, and got a few things, because at the time I thought it was just what you do. That was what a lot of people did around here. But I remember feeling vibes there like I didn't belong, and it never really felt like "me" anyway. Some people really spent a lot of money on that stuff. I'm glad I didn't, because not only was it not really who I am, but also styles change with the times, and what's "in" when you're a certain age, is no longer "in" when you move into the next age group.

I think the best style a person can choose, is a style that expresses your real interests. That's the real you, and that's what you'll feel the most comfortable doing. And that was a problem for me growing up for a couple of reasons. One, I didn't want to get teased for liking "geeky" stuff. That stuff wasn't accepted by the mainstream yet when I was in my teen years. Two, I didn't have enough interests to express. Fandoms were pretty much my only real interest at the time. I was kind of a one-interest person for my entire childhood, which, looking back, was a problem in and of itself. I couldn't do what others around me were doing, but I just didn't know what other options were out there that might have been more suitable to me.

One thing that helped change things was the internet. When I got my own connection I started really listening to music seriously, for the first time. And once I started listening to bands, that opened up more style options for me, both as interests I could express, and in finding online stores that sold band shirts. I started getting shirts of my favorite bands from these online stores, and from concerts.

And eventually I started gaining the courage to express my interest in fandoms too. It might have taken until college, but I would show up to class rocking my Boba Fett or Optimus Prime shirts. And what do you know, no one ever made fun of me for it. It was all in my head - who knows, it might have been all in my head when I was younger, too.

Since then I've noticed some other stuff I like - usually from shops I find online, sometimes on Facebook pages too. Personally I can't wait to start buying graphic tees again. I also discovered I like Hawaiian shirts too, and I want to see what options are out there for those.

Anyway, that's what I'd suggest. The internet gives you more options than just what stores are in your area, or what you see people around you doing, if that isn't "you". And your own interests are always a good starting place for what style could be an authentic fit for you. Good luck finding your style!
I have a t-shirt with Leonard Nimoy in costume, written "Live Long and Prosper" with the Vulcan greeting sign. Been wearing it for twenty plus years lol.
Only comments I ever got is "Cool! Where can I get one?" 😜
 

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