A word on your britches

 

Two friends recently asked me to do a post on dress trousers (or pants as the unwashed masses sometimes call them). Trousers are a good topic for an early post here on FD because everyone has to wear them. Even if you don’t wear a suit to work, the odds are you wear business casual many – if not all – days. Here are some basic tips on buying trousers.

First, let’s talk about fit:

Waist and rise – A happy medium for a twenty something is to make sure the waistband of your trousers is comfortable (neither snug nor loose) just above your hip bone. Dress trousers should never come anywhere near as low as most of you wear your jeans, but they don’t have to ride high like Urkel’s either (although the natural waist is actually much closer to the navel than most people think. “Old man” trousers – those worn seemingly too high on the waist – are actually “correct” even though most of us think they look dumb). Choosing a proper rise (the measurement from the waistband to the crotch) should ensure a good fit; those between 5′ 8″ – 6′ should choose trousers marked as regular rise. If you are shorter or taller than those heights choose short or long rise respectively.

Length – “Break” refers to how much the front crease of the leg is disrupted when you stand straight. My advice is to go with something between a very slight and medium break – the trouser should just touch the top of your shoe. A heavy break causes your trouser legs to puddle around your ankles and makes you look like a complete slob. The other extreme, zero break, is having a moment right now with guys that like the whole skinny, retro-mod look. I’d rather see zero break than a heavy break, but it too can look comical. Stick with something in between. 

The left shows no- to very slight break. The right shows a break that is way too heavy.

Pleats – Pleats are a matter of engineering; if you have a big gut from chugging Bud Heavy all the time pleated pants will be more comfortable. Pleats can either be forward (facing the fly) or reverse (facing the pockets). Personally, I recommend avoiding pleats on odd trousers or chinos because they will make you look like you’re from 1985. They are perfectly acceptable on suit trousers, however. If you don’t like the way pleats look on your suit trousers, but you are fat from aforementioned beer and need the extra room, try a clean single pleat.

Cuffs – In my opinion, a very simple rule. Flat front trousers can be cuffed or un-cuffed, your preference. Pleated trousers must be cuffed. Personally, I like to mix it up and get half of my (always flat front) trousers cuffed. Its one of the things that makes me fresh dressed. Bear in mind, however, that cuffs make brushing your trousers more difficult (we’ll cover brushing in another post).

Now lets cover sources for fresh trousers. Like any clothing, there are myriad sources. I can’t cover all of them so I’m going to throw out a (very) few high value sources:

Wool dress trousers – Two words – Brooks Brothers. Brooks is an easy store to find, they have high quality swag, they have a great website and return policy, and they regularly run sales. Brooks also has a wide selection. I can personally vouch for their gabardine odd dress trousers as a good option for a young working stiff. They come in three fits; I suspect most of you will like the “Regent” fit, which is trim without making you look like a Brooklyn hipster or a girl. An added bonus of almost anything from Brooks Brothers is that you will never, ever draw evil glances from the partners at work. You will simply look like you know how to get dressed. Just remember that you can’t wear navy odd trousers with a blazer because you will look as stupid as humanly possible; shades of grey and brown require very little thought. Some other sources for cool trousers are www.ehaberdasher.com (Benjamin and Incotex brands – both are usually trim) and www.howardyount.com, a super cool site with all sorts of fresh-looking classic gear.

Chinos – J. Crew. Go for the classic cut. About 60 bucks, hard-wearing, and a good casual cut. Bill’s Khakis’ M3 model is also very nice, although they run about $100.

 There is my short primer on odd trousers. Notably absent from this post is any talk of material. Just trust that the recommendations I made come in decent materials. Fabrics – wool in particular – are a complex beast. Hell, you can get a masters degree in textiles. I don’t have the time to talk about them now. I will do a post on the basics of selecting good wool sometime in the future. When it comes to cotton, just get something that is noticeably substantial and you’ll be OK.

Shoes

I think that many of the initial posts on FD will serve to answer the questions that I typically receive from my friends. That is, after all, the reason I decided to write this blog in the first place.  

Shoes are an easy place to start. Most young (and old) guys I see would wind up with drastically better looking shoes if they kept a few basic things in mind.  

1) Leather soles. I can’t stress this enough. Try to avoid buying “dress” shoes with clunky rubber soles. They don’t look nearly as nice as leather soles, and they generally can’t be repaired (more on that later). There are a few shoes out there with slim, good-looking rubber soles, but they are the exception, not the rule.  

2) Classic shape. Square toed duckbill shoes are not classic. Sorry. If you want to step things up with your shoes, get a pair with one of the classic styles/shapes. For lace-ups stick with cap toes, wingtips, or basic plain toes. The toe should be round – never pointy or overly square. For loafers do the same. Penny loafers, tassel loafers, and bit loafers are all usually safe bets. Again, nothing with a pointy or square toe.  

3) Quality. You are going to have to spend a little on your shoes up front. A good “yardstick” brand is Allen Edmonds, whose main-line dress shoes usually cost about $325 when they are made of basic calf leather. You may balk at this price, but keep in mind that you will actually save quite a bit of money in the long run when choosing quality shoes over those rubber-soled duckbills you’re wearing. For one thing, good shoes can be repaired easily. When the soles go, have your local cobbler replace them for $35 and you’re good to go for another few years. Leather soles can also be protected with sole toppers and taps if you so choose, further adding to their durability. Ask the salesman if the shoes are Goodyear Welted. This would mean that they have a leather or synthetic welt that serves as a mounting point for the sole on the upper. Welts allow for accurate and easy replacement of soles. (When rubber soles go, the shoe usually needs to be trashed). The shoes I’m wearing as I write this are six years old and look like new. They will no doubt last at least another six years (burn through two pairs of $150 duckbills in two years and you’ll see where I’m coming from with the whole value argument). You’ll also want to look for good quality calfskin. Avoid anything that has an artificial, plastic looking shine. These shoes are called “corrected grain” and are treated with a plastic coating that evens-out poor quality calf grain. They won’t last very long and can’t be polished very easily. Of course, if you are still uneasy about spending north of $300 on your shoes look for something quality on sale. Ebay and the internet make sale shopping easy (I picked-up a decent pair of penny loafers for 65 bucks this summer online). There are also hidden sources like the Allen Edmonds Shoe Bank (Google it), which sells the company’s discontinued and second-run models for approx. half their MSRP.  

These three points certainly don’t cover everything there is to cover regarding shoes – time for that later. But follow these points and you’ll end up with something good-looking and long-term durable. Quality accessories are the first step to being fresh dressed.  

Allen Edmonds' Park Avenue reeks of class and will last a lifetime

 

Obligatory Intro

Welcome to Fresh Dressed. This blog is intended to touch on menswear-related topics. More specifically, many of the posts here will (hopefully) serve to educate young professionals looking to freshen things up a bit. A lot of menswear blogs give good advice, but they tend to get wrapped up with things like bench-tailored suits and bespoke shoes. None of that here; things will be done with a nod toward value. My goal is to educate you on ways to dress better than all of your friends – in a timeless and classic manner – while making investments for the long-term. In the interest of full disclosure, this is just a blog. It is my own arrogant ramblings. A lot of the stuff that I pretend to know about menswear was learned from wasting hour upon hour reading other blogs, websites, and books. I am not a professional and don’t feign to be an expert. But I am more freshly dressed than you are; that should be enough.

Updates to the blog and a meaningful first entry will be available soon.

– God Speed.