<<Print>>

There is no shame in making a fashion flub every now and again -- even celebrities regularly featured on best-dressed lists have been known to do so. You can however drastically reduce the number of fashion mistakes you make by eliminating a few bad style habits. Here we have listed in ascending order the top 10 most common errors men make when it comes to fashion. Read them, adjust your wardrobe accordingly and you will be that much closer to having a clean style record. 1. Socks with Sandals It is shocking how many men persist in wearing socks with sandals despite how horrendous it looks. This monstrous fashion mistake could perhaps be forgiven if there were a practical purpose for pairing socks with sandals, but there is not any. If it is cold enough to warrant wearing socks, then your feet will feel warmer in shoes. Moreover, at the beach, getting sand in your socks is simply uncomfortable. The point here is that if you are guilty of committing this heinous fashion crime, do yourself and everyone else a favor and just stop. 2. Not shaving tricky areas While unintentionally leaving a patch of facial hair untouched is something that has happened to even the most conscientious of groomers, it is never attractive, and for men who tend to rush through their morning routines, it is an all-too-frequent occurrence. To make sure you get all those hard-to-reach spots like right beside the back of your ear lobes, install a shaving mirror in your bathroom next to the sink. Then invest in a very good razor and, above all, slow down and enjoy the art of shaving. 3. Overt branding There is nothing wrong with being a label-lover, but discretion is the name of the game. After all, you are aiming to look like an incredibly handsome version of yourself, not like a walking advertisement. Invest in a label because you love the fabric, quality and fit. Spending your life savings on pieces that feature prominent logos or branding only shows others that you're more concerned with status than substance 4. Wearing running shoes outside the gym Active wear should not be daywear. This rule holds true especially when it comes to wearing running shoes in any environment that is not fitness-oriented. Even if they have no obvious scuffmarks, the fact that you wear your runners at the gym during heavy sweat sessions makes it nasty to even consider donning them on any other occasion. 5. Backpacks on professionals When you are a student and you need to schlep around 10 pounds of books each day, a backpack is precisely the bag you need. Once your college university days are over and you enter the job market as a professional, you will need to ditch your rucksack like you did to your beer bong. To complement a work wardrobe of blazers, dress shirts and the occasional suit, you need similarly polished accessories, so splurge on a leather messenger bag or briefcase and save your backpack for camping. 6. Mismatched suit and shoes Making a blunder with regard to the color of your shoes practically defeats the purpose of suiting up, which is to look your most presentable. Unfortunately, men too frequently select shoes in shades that do not complement their dress clothes, like brown-hued footwear with black trousers. Follow this advice in order to avoid common fashion faux pas: pair black suits with black shoes; gray suits with black or camel shoes; brown suits with brown or camel shoes; and navy suits with black, camel, tan or oxblood-colored footwear. 7. Oversized clothes One of the greatest male fashion fallacies is that loose clothing looks better than more fitted threads. The truth, however, is that even on larger men, body-skimming styles are more flattering. Of course, "body-skimming" is not synonymous with "skin-tight." What we are referring to are clothes that glide comfortably over your body and show your physique to its best advantage. If you are not sure whether you are supersizing your clothes, try going one size down from what you normally wear next time you go shopping and compare the difference. You will know your clothes are too big if you have trouble discerning your body shape in them. 8. Stuffed pockets Your pants pockets are a place to put your hands, some spare change and perhaps a slim wallet. They are not a place to keep a bulky wallet filled with cash and two-month-old receipts, your cell phone, three sets of keys, and a stash of business cards. Bulging pockets detract from an otherwise streamlined look, so if you notice any square lumps in your pants, it is a sure sign that it is time to get a bag. An all-purpose bag that translates easily from work to play is a messenger. Briefcases for business-minded people and carryalls for active men are additional options. At the very least, rather than stretch out your pants by filling your pockets to the max, you should consider donning a blazer with interior pockets to distribute your daily necessities over a larger area and maintain a sleek appearance. 9. Buttoning blazers incorrectly Even with a well-made suit, fastening the wrong number of buttons on your blazer can cause it to pull and stretch in awkward directions, making it seem ill-fitting, so pay attention to the advice that follows. Double-breasted jackets should nearly always be buttoned. With a two-button suit, fasten the top button and with a three-button suit, you have a choice between fastening the top two buttons or the middle one only. In addition, no matter what kind of blazer you are wearing, always unbutton it when you sit down. 10. White socks with dress shoes Teaming white socks with dress shoes may have enjoyed brief popularity as a quirky style statement in the mid-'90s, but there is a good reason this combo has failed to make a strong comeback. Dress shoes should only be worn with dress socks, which are wool or cotton socks in dark hues like black, blue, gray, and brown. White socks, in contrast, should be reserved solely for pairing with athletic shoes and track pants. Coats, blazers and jackets are attires people wear a lot. The difference between these attires is not really clear. Sometimes, a blazer is called a coat and a coat is called a blazer. In Ghana, the outer garment worn on the long sleeved shirt, popularly known as coat is a 'blazer'. Coats are not usually worn here because of the weather condition.