Men's fashion help needed, kinda soon

In My Humble Opinion
1

A very good friend of mine who is a collision repair specialist (he fixes cars that have been in accidents…years past, he would have been called a bodyman) and who is a biker is now becoming an estimator. This means he needs to dress like an office drone, but he’s still going to get dirty.

He called me today, warehouse worker and biker, asking me to help him shop for new clothes. He thinks that because I’m female, I’ll know all the rules. The poor man is so wrong, but because he promised me lunch for the shopping trip, I thought I’d ask the teeming millions so I’ll look like I know what I’m talking about.

Socks match the pants, right? He thinks they should match the shirt and I’m pretty sure he’s been watching women dress.

What do belts match? He thinks shoes and I think pants.

He doesn’t need to wear a tie, so we can dispense with that. (wipes forehead in grateful relief)

Do black shoes only go with black pants, or will they work with dark blue and brown.

If they do, does he need blue and brown socks to match the pants?

How about gray pants. What color shoes for them?

This is so complicated, I can tell a lawyer by his clothes, I know who the politicians are when I see them, but I don’t look at their socks.

When I agreed to go shopping with him, I was thinking “free food” and I get to check his butt out in new pants, but now that I’m taking it seriously, I’ve realized that I have NO idea what I’ve gotten myself into.

Please be kind about our ignorance.

2

Tell him to look at what I’m wearing, and not to wear that.

3

I hope I did the quote right and you can find my replies in there. rest assured that this is not information people are born with, you had to ask someone right? :slight_smile:

Ugh-looks like I muffed it on the quotes-hope you can read it. Sorry, I’ve been away for awhile and forgot how it works

4

I don’t think there is any hard and fast rule. I would say shoes more so than pants.

Black shoes work with pretty much everything.

Socks need to be the same color or lighter than the shoes.

Black.

5

You can’t ever go wrong with plain black cotton socks for all business attire. They’re for someone who doesn’t want to have to think about it.

belts - one black, one chestnut (dark) brown.

shoes - same as belts.

6

Here are some example basic ensembles that work:

(For ease, base everything off the trousers)

  1. (Dark) Blue trousers
    White/light blue shirt, black socks, black belt, black shoes.
    Jacket - nothing lighter than the trousers, i.e., black or blue are fine.

  2. Grey trousers
    No rules per se, but don’t mix blues with browns unless you are a card-carrying expert. :stuck_out_tongue:
    the lighter the grey trousers, the darker the jacket/shirt and vice versa. If he’s getting dirty anyway he probably doesn’t want light grey trousers though.

  3. Black trousers
    Any color shirt except black, a jacket that complements the shirt.

  4. A bit more casual
    Blue Jeans, white shirt, midnight blue jacket, black shoes, black socks, dark brown belt.

7

Sorry for the 3rd post, but in answer to your specific questions, and echoing what treis said:

  1. Socks match the pants, right? He thinks they should match the shirt and I’m pretty sure he’s been watching women dress.

We all like to watch women dress, but yes, socks should match trousers, basically that’s the rule, so that when you sit or cross legs and the pants ride up, there is no sharp contrast between where the pants stop and your leg begins. The socks can be darker than the pants though, considering that he probably won’t be wearing panama suits.

  1. What do belts match? He thinks shoes and I think pants.

You’re both right, if to him ‘match’ means ‘be the same color’ and to you ‘match’ means ‘not clash with’. Belts and shoes should be the same color, it is traditionally said (black shoes with black belt, and brown shoes with brown belt). In terms of matching with pants, I’d generally stay away from black belt with brown pants or brown belt with blue pants (unless its jeans). I don’t think this is a really major point though.

  1. Do black shoes only go with black pants, or will they work with dark blue and brown.

Black shoes go with black pants and dark blue pants. But, as a general rule, they don’t go well with brown pants. Brown pants look better with a more earthy tone.

  1. If they do, does he need blue and brown socks to match the pants?

We’re now leaving the territory of “My friend, the biker/bodyman, just got promoted” and are entering the “My friend the bank manager is interviewing for national VP” zone. Sure, matching the socks with the pants and shoes is great. But, I now have to ask, is anyone at his new workplace going to care if he doesn’t? I’d say no - he doesn’t need to do any detailed matching of the socks, unless he wants to.

How about gray pants. What color shoes for them?

Brown, probably.

Good luck helping him out. Let us know how it all turns out. And remember the most important rule - buy what looks good on him, not what anyone tells you you should buy.

8

For gray pants, generally black shoes with darker grays, and brown shoes with lighter grays. Brown with navy. And socks should match the pants! I am shocked how few people get this right.

9

Shoes must match the belt, no exceptions. And you can’t go wrong with black.

Never wear blue socks with black shoes. Once again, go with black.

No short sleeve shirts, please!

Pants and shirts should have contrast. Black pants with a shirt that is white, green, red, yellow, or fucsia is fine. Blue, not so much. Orange only works on October 31st.

To tuck in the shirt or not? Safest to tuck, but depending on how casual he can be, untucked might work. If the bottom has an uneven cut, tuck it. If it’s straight, it’s meant to be untucked.

10

Of course you can go wrong with black socks. What if you are wearing a navy suit? Or a khaki/tan colored one? You are going to wear black socks with that?

11

No, black shoes and navy pants do NOT go together. You wear brown with navy.

12

Belts always, always, always match the shoes, i.e. they’re the same color. Black/Black or Brown/Brown. NEVER NEVER NEVER leave the house without a belt. NEVER! It’s quite unprofessional. As my father put it, “Does it have belt loops? Then it needs a belt.”

Dark blue pants get black shoes, since there’s no matching color and brown shoes aren’t subdued enough. Socks match the pants in this case.

Gray pants are just “light black”. They get black shoes, a black belt, and an earthy shirt (brown, black, white) or a pastel. Don’t wear gray pants with a richly colorful shirt.

Khaki is a type of brown. Brown belt, brown shoes, brown socks. Any color shirt.
The most important part of this is that he buys tighter clothing than he’s used to. Saggy=bad. Get a shirt that hugs his chest and pants that hug his butt/thighs. Jeans and casual shirts can fit loosely, but when you’re at work, the difference between “suave” and “slob” is all in the fits.

13

Depends on how dark the navy is, and how dark the brown shoes are. If the navy is more black than blue and the shoes are light brown, you can’t wear it. This is fine because it’s dark brown and light navy. But this Navy and this navy takes black.

14

Trust me on these 3 basic rules:

  1. Belt matches shoes (same color).

  2. Socks match shoes (same color).

  3. Shoes are never lighter than pants. Black shoes are a must for black or gray pants. You can do black or brown shoes with khakis or blue pants. Avoid dark brown or dark green slacks.

Sounds like he probably doesn’t need a jacket. For the shirt; when in doubt, just be conservative.

Anecdote: I was recently at a professional colliquium where one of the presenters was wearing the classic Canadian tuxedo (blue denim jeans with blue denim shirt). For the love of all you hold sacred, do not dress him this way.

15

Me, personally? I’d kick in the captain’s door, say “fuck you Murtaugh!”, pull out the standard issue revolver from my holster and shoot myself in the face.

16

This is important because there is a woeful misapprehension out there that black shoes are permissible with khaki/tan trousers. They are not.

To restate the rules given above yet again:

• Belts and shoes match.
• Shoes should be darker than the trousers, and where possible, of the same hue.
…– Black/charcoal/gray trousers: black shoes
…– Brown/tan/khaki trousers: brown shoes (never black!)
…– Navy trousers/blue jeans: black shoes or dark brown (the color that in my parents’ day was called “cordovan”)
• Socks match the trousers. In the (somewhat less favored) alternative, socks match the trousers.
• No athletic socks (since it sounds like there won’t be any Tom Wolfe white suits in the picture).
• Socks should go, at minimum, to mid-calf.
• The most conservative shirt color is white. After that, light blue. (In very conservative industries these two are the only permissible colors.) Pink, yellow, and other pastels (either striped or checked) are a fine choice for spring and summer. Darker colors are good for autumn and winter.
• Long-sleeved shirts only! A shirt with rolled-up sleeves is vastly better than a short-sleeved shirt.
• Naturally, the shirt is tucked-in.
• No tie is necessary, particularly if he will be leaning over dangerous moving machinery.

17

I can’t believe I’m about to go down this path, but the statement above is not true. Black shoes with khaki pants is perfectly acceptable.

http://www.dressingwell.com/ask44.htm

18

Perhaps looking up some photos of men dressed in a style he likes would help? He could then simply copy them.

19

I’m not sure he’s going in the right direction if he thinks he needs to dress like an office drone but still expected to get dirty. My husband works as a construction safety officer which is sort of the same deal - he’s not on the tools, but he is always on construction sites. He wears jeans and golf shirts almost exclusively (and when I say ‘golf shirts,’ I mean that’s the style, not those Arnold Palmer old man shirts - there are tons of nice shirts in the golf shirt style with a collar and a couple of buttons).

20

Heresy! The rule of no black shoes with brown trousers has been taught semper, ubique, et ab omnibus! Fie on this innovation, this “Fashion has changed!” :wink:

Anyway, on the topic of khakis, a garment so fraught with dorkful peril, it is of crucial importance that they be flat-front (i.e., not pleated). Straight-leg and uncuffed probably best preserves clean lines, but is probably not as critical.