21 Wardrobe Essentials EVERY Young Man Needs To Own
Young men's style is tough to get right. You're ready to stop dressing like your kid brother… but you're not ready to dress like your dad. You want to fit in with your peers but you moreover want to get into a good school, get hired – and get ahead.
You want to be yourself. But you don't want to embarrass yourself. And you're not exactly rolling in money for a new wardrobe. What to do? Read on… here are the essentials you need.
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John Henric brings you archetype timeless menswear with a bold, colorful modern diamond and fit. These upper quality traps and shirts are brought to you without the wholesale so you get unconfined prices and quality. Click here to trammels out John Henric and use lawmaking RMRS19 at checkout for a unconfined discount!
1. The Necktie
What's This?
Heads up – a ‘necktie' ways the long kind of tie (not a bow tie).
Why Wear It?
You can't squint truly smart without a necktie. Merchantry and formal dress codes require them.
How To Wear It
Choose three or four, and include at least two inobtrusive ones in visionless colors with modest or no patterning.
Details, simple cuts and perfect wastefulness are the hallmarks of a John Henric tie. Click here to express your own personal style without compromising on elegance.
Learn a few variegated tie knots- click here to see how to tie a tie 18 variegated ways.
When To Wear It
Wear a tie for job interviews, work, graduation, and smart occasions. If you want to wear one casually, try a knit tie.
It's safest to wear a patterned tie with a plain shirt and vice versa – otherwise you might clash.
2. A Suit
What's This?
Essentially, a suit is a matching jacket and pants (sometimes with a matching vest too – a three-piece suit).
Why Wear It?
Don't think a suit is irrelevant to young men's style. You'll need one at some point – don't wait till you have to buy it in a hurry.
How To Wear It?
A simple single-breasted model in soot gray or navy undecorous is best. Get it adjusted to fit you – some department stores will do this for you or you can go to a tailor. Click here for increasingly on how to buy a suit.
When To Wear It
For formal merchantry occasions like job interviews, and formal social occasions like weddings.
3. Plain White Dress Shirt
What's This?
A dress shirt is a shirt meant for formal wear. They tend to be increasingly conservatively styled and colored, with stiffer collars (so they squint good with a tie).
Why Wear It?
Two words: job interviews. A white dress shirt is the most formal – it shows you know your stuff and have made an effort.
The archetype white dress shirt. Definitely a largest predictor of interview success than a crystal ball.
How To Wear It
Go for a shirt with a spread or point collar (not a button-down collar – that's too informal). For the full ‘serious business' look, wear it with a suit, a white pocket square, a plain or lightly patterned visionless tie, and woebegone oxford shoes.
When To Wear It
For interviews and the most formal merchantry settings.
4. Colored Dress Shirts
What's This?
Colored dress shirts range from the plainest, lightest, most office-appropriate undecorous to wild patterned party shirts.
Why Wear It?
Dress shirts are an essential part of all smart dress codes – but they're moreover versatile unbearable to pair with jeans.
Click here to trammels out this white and undecorous floral printed shirt in 100% cotton from John Henric.
How To Wear It
Stick to plain blues and whites or very low-key patterns like herringbone at work. A fun print shirt will get sustentation at parties.
When To Wear It
For work and social occasions.
5. An OCBD
What's This?
An ‘OCBD' or ‘Oxford' is short for ‘Oxford Cloth Button Down' – the archetype unstudied shirt. ‘Oxford cloth’ is a type of cotton that’s woven with white threads in one direction and often a verisimilitude in the other. ‘Button down’ refers to a collar that’s buttoned lanugo to your shirt so it won’t flap virtually without a tie.
Impeccable and classic, you cannot go wrong with a light undecorous oxford shirt. You can see both on this Bristol undecorous Oxford – click to trammels it out.
Why Wear It?
It goes with just well-nigh everything and is a men’s style icon.
How To Wear It
A undecorous or white OCBD is the most versatile option, but don’t be wrung of pink – it’s a preppy classic. These shirts are designed for going tieless, but you can pull off a knit tie.
When To Wear It
An OCBD can be everyday wear, expressly when you're on your weightier policies (dates, church, meeting your girlfriend’s parents) but NOT office or interview wear.
6. Woebegone Balmoral Oxfords
What's This?
Nothing to do with shirts! A Balmoral Oxford is an Oxford shoe (the smartest style of dress shoe) with a toe cap (an spare piece of leather stitched over the toe) and no other seams.
Why Wear It?
It's the archetype merchantry shoe. You’ll need these for scrutinizingly any outfit that falls whilom merchantry unstudied on the formality scale.
How To Wear It
Learn how to shine your shoes!
When To Wear It
Wearing a suit or slacks and a blazer? Wear dress shoes – no exceptions.
7. Stylish Men's Work Boots
What's This?
Men’s leather boots can be divided into work boots and dress boots (which can be worn with a suit). Unstudied boots usually have increasingly room in the toe box, are made of thicker and less shiny leather, and the soles usually have lugs (rubber bumps for traction).
Why Wear It?
Boots are masculine, practical, and make you squint taller (no wink of sock to unravel up the line of your legs). Dress boots might be a little ‘old’ for you – work boots are a increasingly unstudied alternative.
How To Wear It
Work boots squint unconfined with jeans and a unstudied shirt.
When To Wear It
Casual wear – you can go for a walk in them.
8. Whup Or Suspenders (Braces)
What's This?
Suspenders (braces in the UK) are an volitional to a whup – rubberband or leather straps that prune to your pants and hang over your shoulders.
Skull paisley suspenders? Certainly, sir. Click here to see John Henric's whole range.
Historically they were meant to be subconscious under your jacket – now some men like to show them.
Why Wear It?
Belts and suspenders are not just functional, they’re traps – a whup expressly can make or unravel your outfit (it’s right in the middle there).
Pants with whup loops squint naked without a belt. Belts add verisimilitude and pattern to your outfit as well as the practical function. Click here for all kinds of tomfool belts from John Henric.
Suspenders don't yank sustentation to your waist or unravel up the line of your body, so you squint taller and slimmer.
How To Wear It
You want a smart leather belt, a unstudied leather whup you can wear with jeans, and a braided rubberband whup for summer (cooler than leather). Formal belts are made from shiny woebegone or brown leather with a simple buckle and are plain and undecorated. Unstudied belts are made from increasingly rugged matte leather or other fabrics, with a wide range of colors and decorations.
When To Wear It
Wear a whup any time you wear pants with whup loops. If there are no whup loops you have the option of suspenders. You can get a tailor to remove (or add) whup loops.
9. Smart Denim Jeans
What's This?
Smart jeans are a visionless color, well-fitted, and don't have any rips or wear and tear (real or fake).
Why Wear It?
Moving up from boys' style to young men's style ways upgrading your jeans.
How To Wear It
Choose the best jeans for your soul type. Slim fit will suit most young guys. If you want, you can dress smart jeans up with a collared shirt, jacket, and dress shoes or nice sneakers.
When To Wear It
Any unstudied occasion – not to work or job interviews.
10. Leather Dress Gloves
What's This?
“Dress” gloves are gloves you can wear with a suit, often made from dark-colored leather.
Why Wear It?
Leather is both the smartest glove fabric and the most rugged and sexy – remember James Bond in Spectre?
Leather gloves… you won't get the same effect with woolly mittens.
How To Wear It
Get a pair of black, close-fitting dress gloves, and ideally a increasingly unstudied pair in a variegated verisimilitude – brown is typical, but to set yourself untied get navy or burgundy.
When To Wear It
Any time it’s cold, with smart or unstudied outfits.
11. Boxer Briefs
What's This?
Boxer briefs are a type of underwear that’s in between boxer shorts and briefs.
Boxer shorts are loose shorts, briefs are ‘tighty whities’, and boxer briefs are close-fitting shorts that requite you a happy medium.
Why Wear It?
Boxer briefs suit every soul type. Tighty whities make you squint like your mom still buys your underwear. You moreover need an superstitious soul to pull them off. Boxer shorts won't flatter you either – the uneaten fabric will requite you yellow legs if you’re skinny and a big stump if you’re heavier.
A 2016 underwear survey by GQ found 65.6% of women preferred boxer briefs. Only 5% preferred briefs!
How To Wear It
Get pure cotton – synthetics can trap stinky sweat lanugo there and rationalization chafing.
When To Wear It
Hopefully every day!
12. Cotton or Merino Wool Dress Socks
What's This?
Dress socks are socks that you can wear with a suit, smart pants, or dress shoes. They're thinner and smoother than most unstudied socks.
Why Wear It?
Wearing unstudied socks with a smart outfit is a huge rookie mistake.
How To Wear It
Don’t be wrung to wear unvigilant and fun dress socks. Click here to trammels out John Henric's range of dress socks – 100% cotton and merino wool, and designed in Sweden.
When you need to squint uneaten serious, such as for an interview or new job, wear plain dress socks that match your pants (this moreover makes your legs squint longer).
When To Wear It
Any time you’re wearing dress shoes and/or smart pants – but you can moreover wear them casually with jeans and sneakers.
13. Sports Jacket Or Blazer
What's This?
The difference between a suit jacket, blazer, and sports jacket is simple: if it comes with matching pants, it's a suit jacket. Blazers are one step lanugo in formality – most worldwide and versatile is a 2-button single-breasted navy blazer. Sports jackets are the most casual. They fit looser and come in rugged fabrics like herringbone, tweed, and corduroy, and scrutinizingly any verisimilitude and pattern.
Why Wear It?
It gives you a masculine ‘v’ silhouette, looks sharp, and can go from formal to casual.
How To Wear It
Ideally, you want a navy blazer and a sports jacket in a light neutral. Or for the weightier of both worlds try a knit blazer. It’s a increasingly unstudied blazer, unconfined for young men's style – you can wear it with a t-shirt and jeans or dress it up.
This navy knitted Blazer is a go-to piece for all you gents that are looking for a unique volitional to the suit. Click here for an superstitious knit blazer from John Henric.
Make sure your pants are a variegated verisimilitude from your jacket or it’ll squint like you tried to fake a suit.
When To Wear It
Any time you want to squint sharp but don’t have to wear a suit.
14. Upper Quality Winter Scarf
What's This?
A knit scarf that’s long, wide, and thick unbearable to unquestionably alimony you warm.
Why Wear It?
Scarves are masculine – originally worn by flying worthy to protect them from the unprepossessed in unshut cockpits, they're associated with daring and adventure.
A scarf is a unconfined men’s whatsit when you want to add a little increasingly personality to your outfit without going to a lot of effort. Click here to grab this royal undecorous scarf from John Henric.
How To Wear It
Go for real wool in a neutral verisimilitude for warmth and versatility. As with sweaters – if it’s a relatively thin and smooth knit it’ll work for smart or unstudied wear.
Click here to learn how to tie a scarf ten variegated ways.
When To Wear It
Any time it’s cold.
15. 100% Merino Wool Polo Shirt
What's This?
A unstudied cotton knit shirt with a collar and several buttons at the neck.
Why Wear It?
It's flipside versatile archetype – you can upgrade your t-shirt to a short sleeve polo, wear a long sleeve polo as a sweater, or treat it like a shirt and throw a jacket over it.
Click here for John Henric's stylish range of short sleeve polos – in 100% merino wool.
How To Wear It
Pair it with jeans, khakis, or chinos – jacket optional.
When To Wear It
Any unstudied occasion. A polo with a sports jacket and jeans is a unconfined first stage outfit.
16. Wool or Cashmere Sweater
What's This?
A good quality sweater is made of natural fibers like wool, cashmere, and cotton, and is well-fitted, not baggy.
Why Wear It?
It's warm, tactile, and makes girls want to petting up to you. Plus it's unconfined for layering – plane with smart outfits like this: Click here to trammels out John Henric's sectional Pima cotton and cashmere sweaters.
How To Wear It
V-necks squint unconfined with a collared shirt, but round necks are increasingly versatile. Choose stocky textured sweaters for winter unstudied wear, and thin sweaters for smarter wear.
When To Wear It
Just well-nigh any time – you can plane wear one to most offices with a sports jacket or blazer and dress shirt.
17. Peacoat (or Pea Coat)
What's This?
A archetype stratify originally worn by sailors. The Peacoat is scrutinizingly unchangingly visionless navy or woebegone and double-breasted with wide lapels.
Why Wear It?
The naval heritage gives it a masculine vibe, and it looks MUCH increasingly stylish than a windbreaker or hoodie!
How To Wear It
It goes unconfined with jeans or smart unstudied wear, or with a suit in a pinch.
When To Wear It
Any time it’s unprepossessed outside.
Click here to see my Men's Winter Jacket Infographic – the ultimate visual style guide for unprepossessed weather coats.
18. Leather Or Denim Jacket
What's This?
Two of the most unstudied jackets in young men's style.
Why Wear It?
These rugged classics build up your shoulders and requite you a masculine silhouette. Plus leather jackets look sexy and badass.
How To Wear It
You CAN wear a denim jacket with jeans – it just has to be a variegated color.
Get the best leather jacket you can afford. If the weightier you can sire is ultra-cheap, skip it – it'll fall untied really fast.
When To Wear It
Leather when you want to squint like a bad boy, denim when you want to squint like a nice boy (but still ultra casual).
19. Cotton or Silk Pocket Square
What's this?
A pocket square is the handkerchief in the breast pocket of a man’s jacket. It’s decorative – not for self-glorification your nose.
Why Wear It?
A pocket square matters in young men's style considering it shows you know how to dress – it's moreover a good way to smarten up an outfit when a tie would be TOO smart. You can really express yourself with variegated pocket square colors, patterns, and folds.
John Henric offer the widest range of Italian-made handkerchiefs online. No breast pocket is well-constructed without a pocket square!
How To Wear It
Learn how to fold a pocket square in a few variegated ways (the square fold is easiest to start with, and moreover the most formal.)
When To Wear It
Any time you wear a smart jacket (even if a tie would be too formal). For the smartest occasions, stick to plain white and a square fold.
20. Stylish Sunglasses
What's This?
Sunglasses that you’ve dropped a few bucks on.
Why Wear It?
They just squint tomfool – and the right sunglasses have a MASSIVE effect on your attractiveness, as well as making your whole outfit squint better.
Sunglasses for men are not only used for protection versus the sun, but moreover as a style statement. Click here to trammels out John Henric's stylish sunglasses for men.
How To Wear It
Get the right frames for your squatter shape. Aviators and wayfarers suit scrutinizingly everyone.
When To Wear It
Only OUTDOORS when it’s SUNNY. Don't be that guy.