Looking more professional, a fashion thread

[cjmewett]

[ QUOTE ]

the majority of people do not know how to dress. i think giving them license to experiment with "bolder" shirts and ties is a recipe for disaster.

[/ QUOTE ]
The implication was "...once you know what you're doing."

If you're new at this, you're going to be a lot better off with this look


or this


than trying to pull off this one


or this.


[ QUOTE ]
though johnston and murphy shoes are fine, this recommendation, combined with your obvious knowledge, may lead people to believe that they are the gold standard for fine footwear, which is, of course, not the case.

[/ QUOTE ]
I thought we were doing "dressing for dummies"? For people buying their first professional wardrobe, Johnston & Murphy is pretty close to the "gold standard." A guy who's wearing a suit for the first time in his life doesn't need anything more expensive or well-constructed than this.

If we're talking about people who want to spend a little more money and get a nicer product, there are a lot of options. As I would probably tend to go with Charles Tyrwhitt


Allen Edmonds

or something custom made (assuming we're talking balla, money-is-no-object), I'll let others give the high-end shoe recommendations.
[ QUOTE ]
on the socks thing, i think "mixing it up" is never correct and is very 80's in the wrong way.

[/ QUOTE ]
Does this mean you always wear black, grey, brown, or navy? You'd never wear these, for example


or these?


I don't think there's anything 80s or "wrong" about wearing bolder solid or striped socks with a suit. I do think you have to be confident and to some extent be "guy who dresses very well" to be able to pull it off, just the same as you would with a lot of bold color shirt/tie combinations.
[ QUOTE ]
also, in most casual to semi-casual situations, no socks is a fine option.

[/ QUOTE ]Am I being leveled?

I think this is horrible, horrible advice, especially if we're talking about professional dress (as I thought we were). Maybe this is a California thing, but if you want to talk about "80s in the wrong way," no socks is it. I've rarely seen a man pull this off without looking ridiculous.