Monthly Archives: October 2009

If you are getting a little bored with the same old solid white dress shirt look, then you may find this article useful. Besides covering different color choices, this article will give you a good idea on what collar and cuff styles look best on you. In addition you will find tips on how to best combine non-solid dress shirts with your other pieces of clothing.

The Best Dress Shirt Colors
If you only have room for less than a handful of dress shirts, then the solid white one will be your best choice. It is a color that will match with any suit and tie. In addition it is well suited for any occasion whether it be a job interview or a formal nighttime event.

If you already have a few white dress shirts, then it is time to add a little more color and versatility to your wardrobe. The next best color to choose is a solid light-blue shirt. Similar to white, it is easy to match to almost any suit and tie. Already got one or two light blue dress shirts? Then choose some more season-specific colors. For the spring: pastel tones such as pink, salmon, tea-green, and light yellow are excellent. For the fall and winter darker shades are best such as light browns, medium-blues, gray, and even black.

Collar and Cuff Styles:
When wearing a suit and tie, the collar on a dress shirt is most visible. When choosing a collar style you should consider your body type, the type of necktie you are wearing, as well as the type of knot you are planning on tying. As a general rule, men with a larger neck-size are best suited wearing a wider-spread collar – a style that looks best in proportion to a larger neck. Narrow collars and button down collars are best for men with a smaller neck-size as well as tall and thin men. Next, think about your tie and the tie knot. Larger tie knots, such as the Full Windsor knot, are best combined with wide-spread collars. They goal is to fill the gap between the collars but not under one side causing the collar to stand up.

Your cuffs should be long enought so that about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch is showing underneath your suit jacket. If you like wearing cufflinks then choose a so-called French cuffed (sometimes also known as double-cuffed) dress shirt.

Choosing Patterns
Once you have a selection of basic shirts in white, light blue, and one or two other colors, you may want to consider wearing different patterns. If you are always wearing a suit and tie, then this is less important, but if no tie and no jacket is worn, patterned dress shirts are much preferred over the solid color ones. Most popular are stripes and checks. Combining such patterns for the non-necktie wearer is very easy. In this case, the only thing to consider is the harmony & balance of colors.

It is the tie-wearer that needs to pay a little more attention when wearing patterned dress shirts. As a general rule: Combine patterns on pieces of clothing that are different in size. If you wear a dress shirt with a larger checkered pattern, then you may want to wear a tie with tiny polka dots or narrow diagonal stripes.

One of the major differences between men and women, is the fact, that men of all ages cherish and look forward to a little alone time, for themselves, by themsleves. By no means does this suggests that women do not  need such a downtime, but for the male species, this act of what could seem as selfish or not being in tune with their significant other is important to us.

A long day at work, means dealing with many different problems that arise, interacting with many different people whether clients or staff. Many put in a solid 8 hour day, many spend more time at work. So when we think of heading home from the evening commute, we do look forward to  the fact we might get some time where we can sit back and relax our minds. It might come in the form of flicking on the TV, sitting at a computer, reading a book, working out or even hanging out in our garage, man-cave, or study.

Since working on this blog, I might be guilty of spending to much time on my own, no not might I have. But I do it because one, it is a hobby I enjoy, two, I don’t have to solve any major problems and three it lets me delve into a place where I am alone with my thoughts.

Thank god I have a very understanding wife who allows me this time and even though it has caused some ill feelings at times, the majority of the time, she knows I am doing something I enjoy and gives me this space. I love her dearly for this.

Yes we know the gutters need cleaning out, grass must be mowed, garbage taken out. We do not to try shun these duties, we just don’t need to be told they must get done, as we understand they do and will be.

Men are more visual creatures and some call us less emotionally in touch. But the fact is we do not need to go over every small detail of a subject to have formed an opinion already, right or wrong. And to us, the phrase, “no problem” stems form the fact we deal with them in our own time and hopefully to our other halfs satisfaction.

With the advent of football season upon us, this also constitutes that “alone times” I speak of. Just give us this period of time for ourselves and you will have a happy, contented man, who will give you his full attention when you need us to be there and to listen.

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