With an idea that started, in her words, “as a favor to a friend” and has blossomed into the influential menswear blog Style Girlfriend, founder and editorial director Megan Collins has been urging guys everywhere to put in a little more effort into what they decide to wrangle out of their closets every day.
Megan kindly agreed to help us, help you – so we asked readers to submit their best work outfit and let Megan do her thing. Pay attention, because the look she saves could be your own.
DANIEL
I wish we could see the shoes in this photo because footwear goes a long way towards telling me more about this overall lewk. Are they chukka boots, for a relaxed yet professional “I may be the boss, but my door is always open” vibe, or are they dress shoes, suggesting an enforced Casual Friday that he’s none too happy about thankyouverymuch?
Aside from the phantom footwear, the shirt collar looks great – nice and stiff. And obviously I appreciate that only the top button on the jacket is buttoned. Remember: when standing, you always button the top button of a suit jacket, sometimes button the middle (if the jacket has three buttons), and never button the bottom button. Life lessons!
The jacket sleeves themselves are a little long, as we’re not getting any shirt sleeve peeking out, or the hint of a watch or other wrist accessories, so I’d like to see those taken up just a smidge. This isn’t an exact science, but aim for about a half inch of shirt cuff to show below your jacket cuff.
From there, a pocket square would give us some more personality, as would a smile.
13/10 would invite to a tissue session in the conference room
JUSTIN
I love this look! First of all, always smile when you’re having your picture taken. Or at the very least, smize. You know, smiling with your eyes? It’s an America’s Next Top Model thing. You can google it if you need to.
Anyways, even if it’s for a passport, or a mug shot, everyone looks better when they attempt to convey happiness with their facial muscles when being photographed. Or at least contentment. Definitely not anger. And probably not sexiness, unless you’re posing for the cover of GQ. We can’t all be Emily Ratajkowski. Or, I don’t know, Armie Hammer.
Beyond that, we appreciate a layered look at Style Girlfriend HQ, so the pullover sweater over the oxford cotton button down is definitely #SGapproved. The sweater looks a little rumpled, so maybe toss that thing on the tumble setting in your dryer before the next wear.
From there, the jeans do a great job of being slim but not too tight, and sit right at the tops of those stellar Bean boots.
12/10 would take funny pictures together, with props, in a wedding photo booth
MATTHEW
Looks like this fellow is wearing a uniform, rendering an assessment of his personal style pretty difficult. You can’t very well march into your boss’s office and tell him or her that Style Girlfriend said this color shirt doesn’t flatter my skin tone, so produce an option in meadow green, or I’m walking!
That said, the shirt tucks snugly (but not too snug) into the pants for a clean overall line, and the ensemble’s cohesive dark colors, including a dark-hued undershirt, offer the illusion of height.
This is always an added bonus when it comes to the overall effect of an outfit. Did you know fully ⅓ of our male population stands 5’8” or under? In a society that values height as an indicator of masculinity (not saying it’s fair or right..just saying it happens!), whatever you can do to suggest extra inches from head to toe can be a good thing for guys on the shorter side.
I’m also very intrigued by the hand positioning of this photo. I don’t even understand which finger this photo is being taken with. So this fellow might also be an engineer of some sort, or maybe a magician who’s rigged his phone to take pictures with just the power of his mind.
11/10 would ask him to tell my fortune
SPENCER
We’ve got another smiler!
Sure, okay, he might simply be squinting in the sun, but this guy looks happy to be…wherever he is, which is always nice to see. Plus, nature! Okay, plants in planters. Practically the same thing to this big city girl.
The jacket is a little boxy; I wonder if that’s also a work-issue item. If so, it would be great to see it one size smaller. Guys have a tendency to order up when it comes to outerwear, but you’d be surprised at what a difference it makes to go a little more snug in your last layer…so long as you can still zip or button the coat comfortably. And no, “comfortably” doesn’t mean “I want this coat to feel like I’m wearing my most ancient and oversized hoodie sweatshirt when I put it on.”
One other note: While this guy looks pretty tall already, his pants and shoes are in the same color family, which helps to extend the line of his body. Like the fellow in the last photo, this shows how going monochrome in your look (or even just parts of it!) is a great option for guys who might want to add some height when getting dressed.
And no, monochrome doesn’t mean boring, so long as you play with layers and textures in the individual pieces you’re wearing.
14/10 would go for a nature walk together
JAMES
I have concocted a whole backstory for this guy, and it’s that he’s at a work conference in Fort Lauderdale, from somewhere in Minnesota..maybe the Twin Cities, maybe Duluth. He’s excited because 1) the conference is going really well and he led an awesome breakout discussion yesterday that had something to do with innovations in Excel, and then he and some buddies from the satellite office in Bloomington, Indiana went to dinner after the happy hour mixer, but he still woke up early enough to put some time in on the stair climber in the hotel gym this morning. Tomorrow, his wife gets into town (the kids are staying with their grandparents in St. Cloud), and they’re making a whole weekend out of it. He wants to go on one of those airboats with the big propellers on the back, out in the Everglades, but his wife is nervous because she’s afraid of alligators.
Oh, and the sunglasses are great, though he could size down in both the polo and the chinos. The less break in your pants, the better!
14/10 would go on that airboat tour with him and his wife
TYSON
Chainsaws, so hot for Fall/Winter ‘18.
11/10 would hire him to landscape my backyard
USHAN
This is an example of when it’s okay to not smile in a photo. This guy is giving me fire Emily Ratajkowski/smoldering Armie Hammer vibes, and honestly? I’m here for it.
This is the power of confidence, fellas! You can be on a break from your construction job, listening to a podcast in the cab of your truck, not even bother to take your hazard vest off, and still give straight-up Blue Steel vibes to the camera so long as you believe in your lewk.
12/10 would nominate for a Barbizon modeling school scholarship
