“Fashion is a playground up until a certain age, but then you have to find your own signature and your own style” –Nicolas Ghesquiere
While a small fraction of men have taken a keen interest in style, fashion and the way they assemble their clothes, quite the glaring majority is still quite clueless about it—and they are quite proud to own up to that. The fact is, most men find fashion as something only women should be good at and since they are men, they have an excuse to look sloppy and unkempt. However, this is an erroneous belief as men need to present themselves in the best light possible just as women do. Men should never take pride about their nonchalance in style and fashion as this implies they do not care the slightest bit about their appearance. Furthermore, there is absolutely no reason to take pride in the fact that you have little to no regard about your look—even if you are a male. After all, the disheveled look might work for some dudes, but even they know how to clean up every once in a while.
Appearance matter in fundamental and every real way that can potentially affect your daily life—from something as insignificant as how you are perceived by others to something as big as whether or not you will be harassed when you are traveling. While there is no need to follow every current style and trend, you do need to exercise a little bit more care in how you present yourself. We are not telling you to forego your proclivity for streetwear clothing, but every once in a while, know how to look sharp. Here are several reasons why:
1. Clothing is a way creative a good first impression
You rarely get another chance in making a good first impression so make your only chance matter. And how do you do just that? By dressing sharply of course! An excellent ensemble of clothes cultivates the idea that the wearer is someone to be respected, if not revered. Call it superficial, but the fact is this hardwired and ingrained instinct has become rather the norm. The truth is we tend to form opinions and judgments regarding someone before they even actually utter a word to us. In this regard, if you want to be taken seriously, know that your clothing has a direct effect on people’s default assumption of you.
2. It helps your confidence
If you wish to have a boost in confidence, you must feel it first. One great way of feeling confident is looking confident through your assemblage of clothes. In fact, it has been shown that people tend to perform better in life when they feel that they deserve to perform better. Spend a few minutes primping in front of the mirror and you would notice how it reinforces the idea that you deserve success as well as good treatment.
3. It increases your perceived status among your peers
Regardless of how much people try to resist it, society is visually-based in general. As a consequence, better-dressed and sharper-looking men would experience better treatment and service than their sloppier counterparts. While it may seem like a shallow concept, the truth is clothing would serve as a substitute for character in the eyes of people—especially those who do not know you enough to make an accurate judgment of your character. After all, they have little to nothing else to judge you by so it is only natural that they look for clues in the way you dress. Appearance may mean nothing to you, but it does to the people who you encounter every single day. In this regard, you should make it count.
4. It makes you more responsible
Before you dismiss this as an impossibility, know that dressing sharp requires work. You need to ensure that your clothes are well-pressed and that your shoes are shined. In this regard, you might even say that a well-dressed man is more meticulous on little details than the average man. Ironing shirts, shining shoes are usually things you do for yourself (unless you have someone doing them for you). As a result, you will become more responsible and it fosters mental habits of attention to detail which would then translate well to any skill that might be required for work tasks.
