No matter your experience level with clothes, these are the mistakes that you just can't afford to make. Ever. If you're doing any one of these, we have a simple, but strongly worded message for you: Stop immediately.
Cargo shorts will make you look like a carpenter.
We've written a lot about cargo shorts. We shouldn't need to spell it out for you. But in case we do: They look sloppy, and ruin your leg's silhouette with baggy pockets that flatter no one.
An untucked shirt at a formal event will make you look like a slob.
Another obvious one. When going to a formal — or even semiformal — event, it's best to play to the dress code. Even if what you're wearing is not up to the code of the event, the least you can do is tuck your shirt in. Come on, Quentin.
Socks with sandals will make you look like a vacationing dad.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. You have two options here: Wear sandals without socks, or don't wear sandals at all (our personal recommendation). The same goes for flip-flops.
A tag left on your jacket sleeve will make you look like a newbie.
From time to time, we encounter a man who just isn't aware that the tag on the sleeve of a suit jacket is meant to be snipped off. Don't make that same mistake.
Wearing both a belt and suspenders will make you look clueless.
Suspenders are designed to hold your pants up. Belts are designed to hold your pants up. You don't need both to do the same job. Pick one, and stick with it. Not many men wear suspenders anymore, so it's best to just leave them at home.
A super-shiny patterned "going out" shirt will make you look creepy.
Your "club" shirts aren't doing you any favors — trust us. The shiny, patterned shirts you wear when you go out aren't looked upon as favorably as you might assume. Ditch them for some plain-colored clothing and get with the times.
A fedora will make it impossible for anyone to take you seriously.
Fedoras are never coming back. It's time to accept that and start to move on.
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Wearing socks with anything other than athletic shoes at the gym will make you look like your mom dressed you.
White socks are versatile and comfortable. They also look pretty silly when you're not sweating your butt off on a treadmill.
Square-toed shoes will make you look like a square.
Round-toed shoes give your feet a nice silhouette, enveloping them with an eye-pleasing rounded shape that looks slimming to the naked eye. Square-toed shoes make your feet look clunky and monstrous, like an unintentional clown. We know which ones we'd rather wear.
Dress shirts tucked into jeans will make you look confused.
Are you dressing up? Are you keeping it casual? When you tuck your dressy shirt into your jeans, we can't really tell.
Department store shirt-and-tie combos will make you look like you're going to a middle-school formal.
Those matchy-matchy dress-shirt-and-tie combos sold in department stores are for clueless dudes who don't know the first thing about matching a tie with a dress shirt. They usually include a bit of the color of the shirt, giving it a strange look that is just a bit too on-theme. We don't recommend the colors that these shirts come in anyway. Best to avoid the whole situation.
