12 Style Rules Mature Men Should Never Break

Let's start off with rule number one. Dress in your age. I mean if you're in your 20s, you probably have a particular set of style rules and guidelines you need to follow than if you're in your 60s somewhat. Because if you're in your 60s, if you're in your 50s, if you're in your 40s, people are looking up to you. You most likely are in a position of leadership whether you like it or not, maybe you're a father, maybe you're the head of a company that you had started just out of your garage. Now, you've got 50 people that are showing up and their livelihoods depend on you. Guess what? You need to dress the part as a leader. It may be a blue-collar factory type of company, but still there is an expectation that you are guiding the ship. You may get your hands dirty and so you want to wear something that's pretty practical. At the same time, you got to go in there and sell future investors on why you deserve that money, so that you can expand the operation. If you're in your 20s, I do think a younger guy you're in your teens maybe even early 30s, you can experiment a lot more. Society is pretty forgiving on what you can try. And this is the time for you to go out there and to try all different types of looks to find your unique style. So, as you can tell, dressing your age, something important to understand. Dress the body you have, not the body you wish you have. Yes, I know you plan on losing 20 to 30 pounds or gaining 20 to 30 pounds of muscle. Point being, make sure the clothing that you own fits you. And it's better to own less and to make sure it fits you well than to have a closet full of clothing that's way too big or worst case way too small. Most guys don't wear clothing that's too tight. We're just conscious of it and it doesn't feel good. It gets, yeah, it's just hard to do. But, clothing that's too loose, this is an epidemic and now it's even a fashion trend. Be careful of this. You want to wear clothing that offsets your let's just say less desirable features. If you have a big stomach, you're going to want to wear clothing that's going to build up the shoulders. That's why jackets or even shirts with epaulets, long-sleeve shirts that actually don't draw attention to, you know, your kind of flabby forearms. It's not going to hide everything. Nothing is going to make a large man look skinny. That being said, you can't look large and in charge versus fat and sloppy. And that's what I aim towards is to help you understand how can you wear clothing that's going to make you look good today. Now, of course, work to get in great shape. Work to build on more muscle to lose that fat. But, until that day happens, wear clothing that's going to make you look your best. You see, if you continue to wear clothing that was for the old you, well, every time you look at yourself in the mirror, you're going to continue to see the old you. Now, if buying new clothing isn't in the cards, can you get that clothing adjusted? Because ill-fitted clothing, no matter where you're at in your life, never makes a man look good. So, know the name of your tailor. Take your clothing in to get adjusted for the body you have today. The next style rule to live by, buy classics over trends. And I'm not talking cutting-edge streetwear. What I'm talking about here are your more classic basic pieces. And the reason being is because when you spend good money on an item, you want to be able to wear it a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. And all of a sudden, those skinny lapels on that jacket that you spent all that money on, you realize they are out of fashion and they never worked for your little bit larger body type. And you realize you just wasted money and that's what I want to avoid. And there are tons of classic items that you can build your base wardrobe on. And I want to stress I have nothing against fashion. I think it's something you can introduce into your wardrobe once you have your base built. But, your foundation should be classic items. Now, this is pretty tough when you're just getting started because it's like how do you define quality, Antonio? One of the best tips I can give you is go into the best menswear store in your area and actually touch nice fabrics. When you buy clothing that you may wonder, okay, I can buy a t-shirt for $10, I can buy one for $100. What is going to be the difference? Oftentimes, it's going to be the length of the cotton strands, it's going to be the design, the cut. You're going to find a lot of those higher end shirts are actually made to fit less body types versus those cheap t-shirts that, yes, cost 5 bucks are made from a really cheap cotton that is going to be rough, is going to change its shape, and is made to fit a hundred different men, so therefore it doesn't fit anyone properly. Now, that being said, I do need to point out you can spend a lot of money on crap clothing. But, rarely, gents, will you find high quality clothing at a super low price unless it's on sale. What I want you to understand though is to be able to spot the right clothing for you your needs especially if day in day out you are going out there, you're talking to people, you're engaging with people or did you even know and this is a whole science of enclothed cognition where the clothing you wear can actually have an effect on how you see yourself. So, don't be afraid, guys, to actually get what you want, just wear the heck out of it because when you get what you want, you're going to wear it more times, you're going to feel better every time you wear it. And that's what I love to see that you are buying quality for you, you're buying the right items that you will wear. Now, with casual clothing, I do want to talk about logos and I get it why people go towards brands. Brands equal trust for a lot of people. You've gone into this brand and consistently they've got your size, their clothing seems to stand up to wash, it always looks good, you get compliments, you like their color palettes. Now, these change sadly over time and a lot of guys, you know, get disillusioned with a brand after a while when they change things up too much. But, avoid big logos. It's kind of what I'm getting towards. And the reason being is big logos, unless that company is paying you, why are you out there showing off the logo? I get it maybe it's a status thing for some people, but for those in the know, the best status is actually wearing clothing, again, that fits your body type that looks good on you, finding those colors. And that right there is going to be timeless. If you look at classic pictures of men out there that had style a hundred years ago, do we see big logos? No. What do we see? A man that is wearing clothing that fits his body and looks good. Yes, even casual clothing like that. The style pyramid, fit, fabric, and function. Gentlemen, never buy a piece of clothing that doesn't fit you or cannot be adjusted to fit your body. If it's 95% off, it doesn't matter. Don't buy it unless you're buying it for a friend and you know this is going to fit him. Because if something doesn't fit you, gentlemen, it doesn't matter if you paid $2,000, $4,000 for that suit. Guess what? If it can't be adjusted to fit you and it doesn't fit you, it is never going to look good. A $200 suit, a suit that cost one-tenth, one-twentieth that amount right there is going to look better if it fits you. Fit is king, gentlemen, so never buy anything, never wear anything that doesn't fit your body type. Next up, let's talk about fabric. So, when I say fabric, I'm referring to the build, the construction, the materials that go into the items that you're purchasing. To the best of your ability, whatever you can afford, go for the best fabric you can. So, particularly with suits, go for 100% wool. If you cannot afford that and you see a 50-50 blend, then talk to the salesman, try to find someone that's knowledgeable, so that he can tell you how is this going to perform. I can tell you that there are some 50-50 blends that are not bad, especially when you get a killer deal. When you spend $300, $400, $500 on shoes, you want to make sure you're getting a Blake stitch, you're getting a Goodyear welt. And now, let's talk about function. By function, I mean is the clothing going to serve your professional and personal needs. So, if you're a lawyer in New York City, buying a black tie outfit may actually be in the cards. It may work out because you attend a number of black tie events yearly. But, if you own a landscaping business down in San Antonio, Texas, do you want to buy a black tie outfit even though you can get one on sale and it would fit you and you can afford it and you can get a great fabric? The answer is probably no and that is the function. You want to make sure when you purchase something that is going to serve a functional purpose, you're going to be able to get miles out of this because the most expensive clothing you will ever buy is the clothing you never wear. You know the Pareto principle that 20% yields you the 80%? This is the 20% of style that will yield you the 80%. If your clothing fits you, which we just talked about dressing for your body, if you choose the right fabric. And what I mean by this is quality made clothing that drapes on your body and just makes you look good and that's more than just suits. That's like actually finding the shorts that have the right inseam length that look good on. Making sure that whenever you put on a hat that it frames your face properly if you're going to wear a hat, even a baseball cap. Function is choosing the right piece of clothing for the occasion. So, if you're going into an interview, but it's a casual company, you don't need to have a suit, but you need to have clothing that makes you feel good that you feel like a million bucks, so you go in there and nail the interview. When you're choosing shoes, you want to make sure that the shoes are going to work with the clothing. There is such a thing as having two dressy of shoes with two casual of clothing. It just looks off. People don't always even understand what they're feeling or seeing when they see it, but they do feel that something is off and that's what you don't want. You want your clothing to in a sense if you nail those three things, the style pyramid, all of a sudden your clothing is going to fade in the background and you are going to be able to shine. Always add a third piece. All right. So, what do I mean by this? So, obviously when you're getting dressed, you got your two main pieces. You have your shirt and you have your pants. By the way, if you didn't know that, if you're going outside without pants, stop it, you're going to get arrested. That third piece is adding a second upper body layer. For some of you guys, it could be a vest, maybe it's going to be a sweater like a cardigan. But, for a lot of you guys, even in warmer weather, a lightweight jacket or over shirt is going to be the perfect piece to be able to level up your style. A well-fitted lightweight jacket on a skinny guy gives him a bit more substance. On a heavy set, man, it builds up the shoulders, makes you look taller, allows the eyes to go up and down and it slims up the silhouette. On top of that, lightweight jackets give you options. You can always take it off or if it gets cold or if your lady is cold, you can actually loan her the jacket. Now, guys, really quick, a lot of guys make a mistake. They think that just watching a video like this on YouTube is somehow going to make them an expert. Straight up, gents, you have to take this information and put it into action. And one of the best ways to motivate yourself to take action is to put yourself in a community, in a group of like-minded warriors taking steps to improve their image, their presence, their presentation. And you can find all of that over at our community at School.com. Over in our school community, we've got detailed classes, we host challenges, and you can meet and engage with like-minded men taking steps on a daily basis to become their best self. So, gents, instead of saying someday, how about you say day one and join our community? I'm putting the link down in the description in the comments or you can just go directly to School.com. Your shoes are your foundation of your outfit. Make sure that they are clean, make sure that they look good, they work with what you're wearing. If that clothing sends the message you want to send the world, then you want to make sure you've got a pair of shoes that work with the formality of that outfit. That being said, instead of going with canvas sneakers, go with a leather. Not only is it going to be more resistant to actually getting dirty, it just has more of a premium feel. That being said, if you're a little bit more dressed up, if you're sticking with jeans, occasionally throw one in a sports jacket or just wearing clothing, you know, that leather jacket, don't be afraid to bring in a pair of Chelseas or suede, something like this. It's going to have a little bit more style, it's going to give – be a little bit more of a statement. But, I love a pair of shoes like this. Again, your shoes are the foundation upon which everything else is built, so you want to make sure you've got a pair that send the message you want to send the world without you even opening your mouth. Talked about it before, whether you're going to be wearing boots, whether you're going to be wearing sneakers, whether you're going to be wearing dress shoes, make sure you take care of them. They shouldn't be beat up, they shouldn't be ragged. And your clothing in general should never have stains, holes, or be dirty whenever you're making a first impression. We don't zero in on shoes like the ladies do. Now, again, you could go with Air Jordans, it could be something that, hey, you want to bring in some boots and you like the way they give you a little bit of height advantage, which is another thing that can, you know, boots are never a bad thing, except in a really dressy situation where you could bring in a pair of Chelsea's. Point being is shine. If they don't take a shine, then just simply make sure they are clean. They're nice and wide if they're sneakers. Now, really quick, I want to show you something. Look at these boots right here. What do you see? A scuffed up toe. Now, I can tell you these are great quality boots, but the fact that they're not polished, the fact that they have a scuffed up toe, that's what people are going to notice. Gentlemen, the same thing applies to you if you don't take care of your grooming, which brings me to the next unbreakable rule is never neglect grooming and personal hygiene. Now, there are eight areas you want to pay attention to. Skin care, hair care, facial hair, body care, oral hygiene, nailed care, fragrance, and personal hygiene. So, with skin care, keep it simple. You want to have just a morning and evening routine. Next up, we've got hair care. And this one should be pretty simple using a shampoo and conditioner. And you do want to use a conditioner even if you have short hair because basically what it's going to do is if you use too harsh of a shampoo, the conditioner should come in and it should actually coat the hair follicle and protect it. Next up, we've got facial hair grooming. So, if you've got a beard, you probably already know a lot about taking care of it. You want to keep this trimmed, you want to keep it on point. You don't want to be letting that thing grow wild unless I guess you're working as a real lumberjack not dressing as one. Point being is maybe look at a beard oil, some great smelling ones out there. But, if you are shaving your face, one of the things I recommend is to work on your technique. A couple of quick tips here. Use a shaving oil and then use a shaving gel on top of that. Those two layers are going to provide more protection. In addition, check out this shaving map. As you can see right here, your hair on your face grows in different directions. And I highly recommend when you're shaving to use shorter strokes. Seriously, gents, you don't want to have that razor going from one part all the way to the other. Instead, take very small strokes. Guys, follow those simple tips and you will have a lot less irritation. Next up, body care. I am of the camp that you should shower daily. I find it just wakes me up in the morning, but I get it. Some of you guys only shower when you get dirty. Hopefully, that's once a day. Point being is, yeah, you want to shower and wash off the grime. Oral hygiene. Guys, brush your teeth twice a day. And I highly recommend you invest in an electric toothbrush. I've talked about Brio, not the sponsor of today's video, but I love their electric toothbrush. In addition, using floss. And only floss the teeth you want to keep, which is hopefully all of them once a day and use a mouthwash before going to bed or before you're going out. Nail care. This seems simple, but so many guys mess this up. And if you go on to Reddit, there are entire threads dedicated to women that are talking about how, yeah, they were getting frisky with a guy and all of a sudden they saw his nails and they're like, yeah, those are not going near me. Guys, take care of your nails. Once a week, cut them. Now, you've got options. Scissors, clippers, a file. The best is filing your nails and go in one direction. But, if you're going to use scissors, that's a great option as well. Clippers, understand they are if they're not good quality, they're actually crushing the nail and they're the worst for your nails. But, in any case, simply cut your nails, maybe clip them if you're going to use clippers and then go over them with a file. The style theory of value states that the value of a piece of clothing is equal to the number of wears times the way it makes you feel divided by the price. So, as an example, let's look at two suits. One of them is $200, the other one is $1,000 suit. Now, let's say the $200 suit, it doesn't fit very well, but you can afford it today, it would get the job done. The $1,000 suit though, it looks great. You're so excited, it was more of a painful purchase, but you were able to actually make it happen. So, which one was the better deal? Actually, a lot of people are going to say, oh, the $200 suit was cheaper. But, don't just look at that, look at how many times did you wear. That $200 suit, you wore it ten times because and every time you wore it, you didn't feel great about yourself. That $1,000 suit, you ended up wearing it a hundred times. Why? Because you absolutely loved that suit. So, a hundred wears versus ten. But, let's also look at the way it made you feel. Every time you wore that $1,000 suit, you got compliments, you felt like a million bucks, you performed better. So, clearly the higher value suit is the $1,000 suit. Life has seasons, so don't be afraid if your style is going to evolve. In fact, when you're younger, experiment, have fun. I had a friend in college, Scottie J. The guy would go from cowboy to preppy to goth. He changed every single year, every few months, his style changed. And I'm not saying that, you know, we actually kind of made fun of it, but he still went out there and tried it. Point being is you're not going to know unless you try it. And as you get older, again, your style continues to evolve. Maybe not as fast, but you may say, you know what? My hair is changing color. Maybe you lose your hair, okay? Maybe change the image. Especially as your skin, your hair starts to change in color as you get older, definitely you're going to find you're going to go towards different colors. But, even young men can find that, you know what? I've got kids now and I know for me, I've defaulted to darker clothing. Why? Well, dirty little hands don't stain as much on darker clothing, so it's just something I go to. Yes, at some point, I will start wearing white shirts and a lot of light-colored clothing again. Life has seasons and don't be afraid to move with them and let your style evolve. So, the most important rule when it comes to style is quite simple and it's that you need to give a damn. You need to know what your why is, you need to know what you stand for to become the man you know yourself to be. I talk about this a lot on my channel, but understand that this is just an outfit, this is just clothing. It doesn't matter, what matters is you and your core values, what you stand for, what you want to achieve in life. And clothing is a tool to achieve that success, to achieve that goal. And you need to know what that is because you're going to spend a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of effort putting your best foot forward. But, what's more important is that you can use it as a tool to accomplish your mission. And maybe something simple that simply you think you deserve this. You know, you've worked hard, you're a single guy out there just simply trying to be your best self to make yourself and your family proud. Well, great. And with that being said, gents, let me know in the comments what you thought of today's video. I had a lot of fun with it. I'd like to make more like this. But, let me know. And if you want to watch another video that I think I had a lot of fun putting together, boom, I got you covered right here. Go check it out. Oh, yeah. Boom. Click right there.