Beige
Don Juan
- Excuse me, hi, could you take a look at this jacket on me and tell me what you think about it?
- What? - (Laughs)
- Oh, it's that bad? I'll better take it off then...
(Laughs some more) - Hah, no, just noone has ever asked me this. Take a step back so I can look at you..
The art of buying clothes
I went to a shop once and I told the salesman that I want something for summer. He gave me a striped shirt and short, blue jean pants. I put them on. "That's great", he said. I looked in a mirror, I didn't wear this kind of outfit before so I wasn't sure. Well.. it looked ok. I bought it.
Clothes manifest your personality. When you let someone else, especially salesman, choose your outfit then even If he makes you look good - he may choose clothes that have different style then you. You want to be seen as a rich, ronfident fellow and this guy gives you something that gives you an independent artist look. Sure, you'll still look good, but that won't show your personality and that won't attract chicks that are your type. Even if salesman has a great sense of style, he doesn't know your personality so he can't choose your clothes.
Other thing - many salesmen will say anything to make you buy some piece so you can't really rely on them.
So, what to do?
Remember, you've got the taste, you just haven't discovered it yet. Go on and try many different things. You may ask a salesman for an opinion, but only in form of "Do I look good in this? Does this tie match? May I wear this jacket with those pants?", don't let him choose things for you.
Also, put the outfit on, approach some girl that is in your type and ask her on opinion. Remember - she must be in your type, the one you want to attract. If you ask a punk girl if your GQ outfit is fine then her output will be worthless.
Although girls are generally more reliable than salespersons because they have no bussiness in selling you the clothes, it is good to know how to ask them. If you just ask if that looks good on you then you'll most likely hear "Well.. yes". It will help to know what questions will give you an honest answer:
- How do you rate my outfit, in the 1-10 scale?
- What would you change in my outfit?
- Would you tell your bf if he would come home in sth like that?
- Would you buy this for your bf?
- Do you think that I should buy this, or do some more searching?
Remember, don't ask just about jacket, pants, shoes, they may look good but they've got to compose with other things!
It is cruicial to not rely completly only on your opinion nor only on other people's. Don't rely only on your opinion because you can force yourself to like the outfit or to decide that it's not right only because you're afraid of trying something new. Don't completly on others' opinions because even if your outfit gives good vibes - those vibes may be other than the ones you want to send (eg. bussinessman vibes instead of a bad boy vibes).
The sizes.
When you buy a shirt - make sure that you feel good in it. When you stand straight you will always feel right, but what if you begin moving your hands? Try to scratch your back, your head, sit, move!
My few first shirts were too tight, when I stood straight they were fine but when I began moving my hands I felt them pressing my chest too much.
Sleeves - make sure that they're not too long. Right after you put your shirt on the sleeve doesn't fall all the way down, so make a few moves with your hand. Then extend your hand as if you'd like to shake it with someone, imagine yourself doing that, if sleeves are too long then at this moment they will cause problems
Pants - don't wear them on your belly. That's pretty obvious for many people, for me half a year ago - it wasn't. Now - sit down, put your leg so your ankle is on your the knee of your other leg. If you can see your skin between the sock and pants - they're too short. Remember that socks tend to slide down a little, don't pull them up now so they can reach pants!
Above is crucial. The look of a skin between a sock and pants is awful. Make sure you've got long enough pants (or socks so that never happens.
Money
Two simple rules - don't spend everything on one day or in one shop and always check the prices before you put something on.
Finally...
I hope that this will help someone avoid mistakes I made. I believe that after some practice everyone figures this out anyway, the question is - how much will it cost him.
Stay positive,
Beige out
P.S. The girl from the begginning of this post called her friend over too look at me too. In a brief conversation they managed to souavely tell me that they've got boyfriends even though I had no intention of picking them up (they were too old for me). First one said that she was looking for something similar for hey bf, the second one fixed my collar and said that she loves when her bf wears it like that. I find it interesting how much information people give out without even realising it.