How to dress your age, no matter how old you are
Because dressing age-appropriate has never been more important
Words: Gentleman's Journal
One of the biggest issues men and women of a certain age face when buying (and wearing) clothes is whether or not a specific item is acceptable for them to wear because of their age. Trends come and go and while some of them stick around for far too long (here’s looking at you, skinny jeans), it’s essential to get to grips with what’s generally accepted – and what’s not. Here are the questions you should be asking yourself.
If the answer is yes, you shouldn’t have even picked it up in the first place. If someone more than a decade younger than you would wear it, you really shouldn’t be considering it.
If you’re picking up a pair of skinny jeans when the rest of your wardrobe contains tailored chinos and slim-fit shirts, something’s inevitably wrong. Stick to pieces that actually emulate your personal style and are in line with everything else you own.
Are you in your 40s but have seen Kanye West wearing a hoody that you quite like? Put it down immediately and start to consider people your own age (and with proper personal style) as your style icons.
Bespoke suits, shirts and outerwear need to be essential pieces of the puzzle within your wardrobe once you reach a certain age. Do you need to wear a suit everyday but are still squeezing yourself into something off-the-peg that doesn’t quite fit? It’s time to make the investment and change things up, gentlemen.
The key to building up a solid wardrobe with the incredible pieces is to make sure that you’ve invested in decent basics and neutral tones. Past a certain age, only specific colours (navy, black and grey being core) should enter into your life, and anything too bright, too patterned or too bold will look wildly out of place.
If something’s branded or has a ridiculous logo or slogan, you shouldn’t have even picked it up in the first place.
The only pattern any gentleman should be wearing is a subtle stripe or something similar and no matter how old you are, outlandish patterns such as camo should be completely off-limits forevermore.
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