My Recent Accomplishment

As I have mentioned, I am married. As a part of my marital unit, one of my self-designated jobs is being my husband's stylist. While this should seem like a rather easy job for those of you who have picked out things for your boyfriends and husbands who don't necessarily like fashion, this is not easy for me. My husband is rather picky about his clothing and he hates to shop. It is truly a nightmare of a situation. If it were up to him, he would wear a striped or solid polo with jeans every casual day and a button down solid shirt with whatever tie he has at home each work day. This kind of bugs me when we shop because he is not generally adventurous at all.

Today I am going to give you my newest secret to getting your stubborn guy to try some more adventurous work clothing.

First step, break him in gradually. Maybe six months ago my husband (David) was going on an interview and desperately needed a new shirt and tie combo. His other shirts were fading and as you know, first impressions are key in getting a new job. So, we went to Carson's (aka Bergner's or Bon Ton). Normally, my husband is kind of weary of ties, he doesn't want them to be too flashy. However, I found a gorgeous paisley Michael Kors tie. It is actually prettier than this picture, but the lighting used to take this photo is pretty crappy. It is a shimmery gold with a shiny pastel sky blue. It really pops, which is perfect for my husband because he is African American. He has more red in his skin, so this was a really complimentary color for his skin tone. To go with this shirt, we picked out a sateen Van Heusen shirt in a pastel or sky blue.

I think this picture has far better lighting. The tie has this color blue. So, If you think about the intensity of this color and use it to picture what the gold would look like, it is a better representation. He tried it on and it looked very, very sharp.

Oh, some key tips about shirts. A properly made shirt will never really change sizes from color to color. While I think Van Heusen makes pretty good off-the-rack men's shirts, they are pretty bad sizers at that company.  David tried this shirt on and a second one in egg shell and the sleeves were an inch different in length. So, be careful with this. You can't just assume that because you picked the shirt out in one color, it will fit in another. You will have to ensure your guy tries them all on. Also, a shirt that fits properly will not pull at the buttons or feel tight in the arms, chest or back when you move your arms. I call my test for this the arm/sitting test. After trying something on in a dressing room, sit down and move your arms back and forth like you were going to row a boat. If you feel any pulling or pressure of the fabric on your skin, the shirt is probably too tight and you could use a size larger. Also, the seem of the shoulders should hit on top of the shoulder rather than on the sides. For instance, in this picture these shirts fit the manikins properly.

As the arrows indicate, the seem of the sleeves does not fall below where the shoulder ends.

Okay, so next step. This one is kind of maniacal, I admit. David loves sports, he is always watching ESPN. As a supportive wife who makes him sit through some of my television shows, I will reciprocate on occasion and watch games with him. I hate most sports, but I figure, hey, this is how you show a vested interest in your significant other, so it is worth it. If you do this, you will notice that they often show the commentators who are always dressed in suits. Many of these suits are awful, but some of the combinations of ties and shirts are quite nice. I started planting the seeds then. "Oh, look at what Avery Johnson is wearing (I know, I know, he hasn't been on ESPN in a while if you are paying attention, but he used to be)." By doing this, you are getting him acclimated with newer looks on the better dressed guys. You can also use this time to pick apart what the poorly dressed men are wearing and start to comment on how your guy would look good in certain looks or colors.

Now fast forward to a couple of days ago. We were at Carson's yet again looking for a new shirt to go with his paisley tie. The choices for that tie were somewhat limited because it is truly just gold and blue and gold would look kind of stupid because the main color of the tie is gold. So, I found this blue and white striped shirt by Statements.

He was so apprehensive about it too. We were in the store far longer than anyone needs to be. In fact, I made a comment that we had been there so long that I had heard the same song on their satellite radio twice. However, after trying on the shirt and tie combination (always bring the tie or a thread from a shirt with if you are going to try to match something for a men's suit) it started to grown on him. This is what the combination looked like together.

Again, I apologize about the poor picture quality for the tie, but it was really sharp. He went to work wearing it today and e-mailed me with the subject line "You are good at your job." Apparently a couple of the women in his office complimented his outfit. I knew I was picking out the right outfit, and he was a bit apprehensive, but I was very happy when he told me this. He even said, "next time I should just shut up and wear whatever you tell me." While I appreciate the comment, always remember not to force things. He is a great guy, but somewhat stubborn and I wouldn't want to change this about him. Becoming a "we" is tough stuff and it can be hard on a guy when you start trying to make him do things, so sometimes it just takes some patience and finesse. I hope this tip helps. If not now, maybe in the future!