To Tuck or Not to Tuck?

The general rule is that un-tucked shirts appear casual and tucked shirts lean towards smart-casual. However, there are certain situations where it's black or it's white - either you tuck in your shirt or you don't.

Without further ado, let's get to the gist of it.

Shirts (Button-downs)

Some shirts are born to be un-tucked and some just aren't. As a general rule, if the hem of the shirt is longer than your crotch, tuck it in if you don't want to look like you're wearing a dress. If it's shorter, un-tucking is an option, especially if you're at an event where you want to convey a more relaxed casual style.

Tee Shirts

Unlike button-downs, there is virtually no occasion to tuck in a tee shirt. Look at it this way - your dad is probably doing it. Enough said.

Don't do it.

Polo T-Shirts

Polo T- shirts on the other hand, are in a very special category of their own. Polo shirts can generally be worn un-tucked or tucked, the latter being subject to certain conditions.

To look good in a polo and to qualify to wear a polo t-shirt tucked-in, you (and your shirt) must fulfill the following criteria:

• The shirt has fitting, ribbed sleeves
• The shirt is slim fitting and contours to your body
• You do not have a short torso
• You are reasonably well-built

Consider the following graphic illustrations:

Exhibit 1: Short torso, ill-fitting shirt, sleeves exceedingly long.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2: Again, sleeves rather long and not contoured to the fit of the arms.

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3: Members of The Gay Polo League

Exhibit 3

Exhibit 4: How a polo-tee should fit - contoured to the body of the wearer with short, ribbed sleeves.

Exhibit 4

Epilogue

When it comes to the art of tucking, there is an advanced, sacred technique that only a few are consciously aware of. I'd like to call it the "tuck-untuck". The tuck-untuck occurs whereby the shirt hems are deliberately partially tucked in so as to make it seem like it was indeliberate. In other words, you're purposely tucking in part of your hems to make it seem like it was not done on purpose.

You have no idea how many hours he spent getting it right.

The tuck-untuck works best with shirts and polo-tees with a shorter hem. If executed flawlessly and carried well, it conveys a sense of cool and collected aloofness. If not, it conveys the sense of a stockbroker who just lost his life savings at Wall Street.

At the end of the day, whether to tuck in your shirts or not is akin to your underwear color preferences - very individual. My suggestion is to go with what makes you feel comfortable, because when all is said and done, looking good boils down to feeling good.

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The Four Shoes You Must Own

Studies have shown that the average cosmopolitan woman will own approximately 67 pairs of shoes over the course of her lifetime.*

It's good to be a man though. To live in a world of practicality. Of elegant utility. Of minimalism. Your magic number is four.

Behold - the four footwear gems you absolutely need to get you through life.

Black Leather Laceups

You probably already have a pair. It wouldn't be a blown-up statement to say that every man owns a pair. But it wouldn't be a crime either to say that very few men own a decent pair.

When selecting black leather shoes, my personal recommendation is to opt for laceups over slipons. Laceups add a touch of cool sleek elegance over the typical plain slipon and also add versatility by being casual enough to pair with dark jeans.

Be sure to keep em' shiny.

It's also an advantage to choose a shoe that is slimly constructed, ie. not too wide and bulky. A common misconception is that wide bulky shoes are far more comfortable than slim pointy shoes - when in reality, a well-constructed slim shoe can cradle your foot more comfortably than a bulky ill-fitting pair would. Ronald McDonald may be able to rock clowny shoes and still have the adoration of millions of women worldwide, but you're not Ronald McDonald.

A personal favorite of mine is the cap-toe variety, which is usually built slightly pointier than the average black leather shoe. But when it comes to pointy, think aircraft cockpoint pointy, not pencil pointy. An overly pointy shoe only works if you're attending a costume party as an evil moustached sorceror.

Wear them for:

• Work
• Formal events (e.g. Black Tie)
• Dressy nights out

Dark Brown Leather Brogues

If I were president, I'd make sure every man would own a pair of dark brown leather brogues - the rebellious fashion-forward brother of black leather footwear and the smart yet casually hip distant relative of the cowboy boot.

Wear it to work. Pair it with a gray suit (an excellent look). Wear it to the mall. Pair it with dark indigo jeans (instant cool). Brown leather brogues are so versatile they can practically be used for any occasion ranging from smart casual to even formal gatherings (in select circumstances).

Impeccable.

Possibly the most subtle yet statement-making way to stand out in a crowd is to tastefully complete an outfit with a dark brown leather shoe-belt-watch ensemble.

Wear them for:

• A wide range of any smart casual to semi-formal soirees

Converse Sneakers

When I was 16, an acquaintance came up to me and said "I think you're cool. Because you wear Converse."

They're called classics for a reason.

I wish he would've just stopped at the first sentence, but it almost seemed like if you looked up the defintion of the word "cool" in the dictionary, there you'd find it - an accompanying picture of a pair of classic black-and-white colorway Converse sneakers. There is arguably no other shoe that can epitomize coolness like a pair of Converses.

Dress them up or dress them down - there is seemingly no role you cannot play with a pair. The classic black and white colorway works best for ease of mixing and matching and also provides you leeway for getting them dirty as you go about your daily business.

Originating as a basketball shoe, Converse sneakers also play a dual role in that you can bring them along with you on short trips not only as a casual walking shoe, but also as a substitute for atheltic shoes for trips to the gym.

And if you think you're really hip, wear them with a suit.

Wear them for:

• Any occasion you dare to.

Flip-flops

Told you I was practical. Go nuts.

p/s: Special thanks to Sreekanth for inducing the revival of SEFTSG.

*Fictional study

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Style Tip #255: Mandigans

If you've ever looked at yourself in the mirror and thought "Gee... my outfit looks so... incomplete", boy, have we got a tip for you!

I'd like you to meet a friend of mine - the mandigan.

Apart from being a worthy climate-control solution, the mandigan (because the word "cardigan" just isn't man enough) is an extremely versatile article of clothing which can be used both for casual and business dalliances - pair it with a V-neck tee to up your "prep factor" on a day out to the mall or with an oxford shirt to stand yourself out from the masses of similarly dressed drones in the workplace.

The mandigan subtly tones down the formality of the corporate outfit and adds a touch of aloof elegance to a casual getup.

The shining virtue of the mandigan is in its aloofness - it's not as pretentious as a blazer yet carries itself with an air of maturity when compared against say, a zip-up jumper.

Choosing a mandigan is relatively simple - a good starting point would be to select plain solid tones such as gray, black or navy blue - shades you can effortlessly match with. Secondly, you'll want to make sure your cardigan fits you like how a good shirt would - tapered, but not too tight. I know the straight guy in you is thinking "Shouldn't I buy it two sizes too big so I can, you know, wear layers under it?" Trust me brother, you don't want anything more than one layer (excluding innerwear) under your mandigan.

The ideal fit.

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"Metro-sexual"?

Personally, I feel the term "metrosexual" sounds like a title for somebody who enjoys gettin' down in front of other commuters on the train. But jokes aside, it is a global crisis that many cannot tell the theoretical difference between a metrosexual and a homosexual. This, in my humble opinion, is one of the most significant barriers for heterosexual men to begin taking an interest in their personal grooming and aesthetics, for fear of being labelled incorrectly.

A metrosexual, as defined by Dictionary.com, is an adjective used to describe "a heterosexual male who has a strong aesthetic sense and inordinate interest in appearance and style, similar to that of homosexual males".

Thus, while it may be that a metrosexual and a homosexual share the same "aesthetic sense" and "inordinate interest in appearance and style", the very major distinction between the two is that while the latter is sexually inclined towards members of the same sex, the former is not.

As to the question of how to tell the practical difference between a metrosexual and a homosexual... I'll leave that up to you readers. Leave a comment.

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