Dressing Identity

Okay, okay get this - 



Two men meet at a party. They're both wearing identical logo tees. 


What happens next?








They both go "DUDE WE LIKE, HAVE THE SAME SHIRT!!!" 


"LIKE, TOTALLY RAD!"


*high five* 




*chest bump* 




*beer-mug-clinking*


and perhaps an ensuing celebratory photo to commemorate this moment, the memory of which both men will cherish for generations to come. 

Typical straight guy scenario.






Two women meet at a party. They're both wearing the exact same dress. 

Recipe for disaster

What happens next?






Nothing much... except -












ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.
















A mystery of life: why in the world do women make such a big deal of wearing the same dress, donning the same shoes or carrying the same bag at the same time and at the same place?














Because every woman understands this cardinal law of style - 


Dressing well also means dressing exclusively. 




That means wearing a dress no other woman else has, sporting a pair of Manolo Blahniks that no other girl owns and carrying a Hermes Birkin that no other lady within the vicinity is likely to be able to afford. 






Where a majority of men see domino-dressing as nothing more than an entertaining quirk, many women see it as nothing short of a 2012 caliber catastrophe. 




Therefore, to be a good dresser, not only in the eyes of man, but also (very importantly), in the eyes of a woman, the word of the day is to be unique - to have, what I call a "dressing identity".  


Take for example the gingham shirt phenomenon. The gingham shirt was the in-thing about 6 months back, and is slowly falling out of trend circles as we speak. 




Don't sport the gingham shirt when every alternate man on the street is wearing one. Dressing well is not about being a trend-following, gingham-shirt wearing zombie. It's about having your own individual sense of style, and sticking by that look regardless of what's in and out of style. Truly outstanding dressers (from James Dean to Johnny Depp) all sport a distinctive style that is truly theirs. 


When Grease bell bottoms were tres-chic, not only was every John Travolta-wannabe on the street wearing them, every Travolta-wannabe on the street was also looking like a douche in the process. Sure, the man himself may have looked somewhat... forgivable in bell bottoms, but that doesn't mean every other Tom, Harry and Dick will. 




The mere fact that something is a trend does not make it stylish by default. 




Think popped collars. Think cat-eyed visor sunglasses. Think carrot-cut trousers.






At the end of the day, it pays in massive dividends to find a look that suits you and your personality and to stick by it. 




Are you a geek? Embrace the way of the black rimmed glasses. Rock the buttoned-up-all-the-way-to-the-collar shirt.

More of a man about town? Keep a good variety of well-fitting oxford shirts and polo tees at arms reach.

Does rock flow through your bloodstream? A timelessly well fitting leather jacket never fails.

The gist of dressing well is to be supremely comfortable in your second skin, ie. the clothes you're wearing - in the sense that what you're wearing is what you are. Ultimately, a man only looks good in nice clothes if he feels good wearing them.


Trends will come and go and are not for everybody, but once you find a look that represents your identity, a look people come to associate you with, you'd have taken yet another huge step towards well-dressed-man nirvana.