Men’s Fashion 101
Welcome to Houndstooth + Herringbone.
We’re a New York City based fashion blog that has up until this point, focused solely on womenswear, but we’re excited to bring you our first Men’s Capsule wardrobe, complete with a year-round list of the essentials and auxiliary items you need to elevate your style. This post also includes a detailed, comprehensive explanation of color theory as it relates to fashion, and a fabric glossary, to make shopping and styling your outfits simple. Enjoy, and good luck, gentlemen.
N. Alexandra [editor]
After scouring YouTube for anything on men’s fashion, I realized that there is a giant gap in the amount of content related to menswear rather than women’s, with the majority of content being: trendy “e-boy” tik-tok-skater-cargo-hoodie-and-sneaker focused. So arguably, there is primarily content for boy’s fashion… and minimal coverage for men’s. Maybe it’s just my algorithm trying to figure out my actual age, and I know it’s a hot take, but how a man is dressed says as much about them as their demeanor, and can even be used to help elevate other’s perception of them, as well as their perception of themselves.
***This pertains to anyone who wears menswear, even though I’ll be referring to our subject as “men.”***
Why Is This Important?
“The Clothes Make the Man”
A 2019 series of 9 studies from Princeton University showed that a man’s perceived competence is directly linked to how well he is dressed. After flashing images for even as little as 130 milliseconds (making facial recognition impossible), participants rated men’s perceived competence on a scale from 1-9. Even when photos of the same man were shown, he was deemed “more competent” when well dressed, versus wearing a simple tee shirt. The studies concluded that people have an “implicit bias” about being well dressed, influencing how we vote, spend our money, and make judgements on just about everything. The link to the study Is below.
https://spia.princeton.edu/news/split-second-clothes-make-man-more-competent-eyes-others
What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
A capsule wardrobe is a collection of interchangeable clothing pieces, that maximizes the number of outfits that can be created, with each item getting a generally equal amount of use. Think of the math problem in school when they ask you:
“Johnny has 4 shirts and 3 pairs of pants, how many outfits can he make?”
Well, let’s just assume that Johnny had the foresight to make sure all his items “go” with one another because sure, he can put clothes on his body, but that doesn’t make something a cohesive “outfit” that will make you feel confident. Choosing neutral colors for your wardrobe is a way to ensure the capsule will be as functional as possible.
The Essentials
What every man needs in his wardrobe – for the entire year.
If you want to add some color to your wardrobe, know that colors that suit you are going to change depending on the undertones in your skin as well as eye and hair color. Check out the color theory section below to help you determine which colors looks best on you.
But remember, wearing what FITS you and makes you FEEL good are most important.
Basic Tops
- Light Color Basic Tee
- Dark Color Basic Tee
- Plain Collared Button Up Shirt
- Pattern Collar Button Up Shirt
- Linen Shirt
- Short Sleeve Polo Shirt
- Crew Neck Sweater
- Turtleneck Sweater
Bottoms
- Blue Straight Leg Denim
- Black Denim
- Twill/Chino Pants
- Relaxed Trouser
- Linen Shorts
Layering Pieces
- Sweatshirt
- Flannel Shirt/Jacket (the fabric, not necessarily the “print”)
- Utility Jacket
- Sport Jacket
- Linen Blazer
- Tailored Suit and Tie (this should fit you perfectly)
Outerwear
- Leather Jacket
- Wool Coat
Shoes
- Chelsea Boot
- Leather Sneaker
- Heavy Work “All Weather” Boot
- Leather Dress Shoe
Accessories
- Belt
- Watch
- Sunglasses
- Dress Socks
Auxiliary Pieces
- Cardigan
- Silk Patterned Shirt
- Soft V-Neck Sweater
- Back Pack or Messenger Bag
- Boat Shoe
- Denim Jacket
- Suede Dress Shoe
- Bomber Jacket
- Knit Beanie
- Chain
Color Theory
This is a color wheel used to show colors in relation to other colors.
Colors across the wheel from each other are “opposites,” which you’ll notice are color combos most often used by sports teams. These don’t include black, white, grey, or brown.
Colors are then most basically categorized by their “temperature,” either warm or cool.
Here you can see some warm and cool tones in relation to “neutrals,” colors or tones that don’t lean particularly in either direction of warm or cool.
This is the foundation we need for understanding tones not only for the colors in our clothing, but also in our skin tones, hair color, and eye color. This will help you choose colors that truly suit you the best. Determining one’s own skin undertone can be difficult, but tend to be pretty naturally detected by the eye when placed next colors we might try to wear.
Without even really having an explanation, or knowing anything about color theory, we know that these men don’t look good in this shade of red below.
And we can probably also tell that this grey/blue shade looks much better.
These men have “cool” toned skin. Silver-tone jewelry looks more harmonious on them.
Undertones are they key to choosing colors, not the “depth” of your skin color, meaning the lightness or darkness. Skin tones are more complex and unique than the colors used to explain color theory, with olive and neutral undertones also being included. These ideas also apply to eye and hair colors, which do not necessarily match skin tone, so as a rule of thumb, I recommend just taking skin tone into consideration.
You can see here on men with “warm” skin tones, this bronze-olive green color is much more harmonious than this cool-toned purple colo. Gold-tone jewelry is more flattering.
Here are some more examples of colors that typically suit men with cool-toned skin.
More examples of colors that suit warm-toned skin
Neutral and Olive Tones
if you have neutral (warm and cool undertones) or olive-toned (green undertones) skin, your life is both easier and harder as it takes a little more discernment to figure out which colors work for you, but you also have a wider range of colors to chose from. You can also use warm or cool colors specifically to “bring out” the warm or cool tones in your neutral skin.
Neutral colors like greys, browns, and off-whites can also lean “warm” or “cool” so be sure to be on the lookout for those too.
Fabrics Glossary 101
When shopping online or learning one’s preferences in fashion, a necessary key tool will be knowledge of fabrics. Learning to create a wardrobe is especially difficult when you don’t “speak” the language.
Cotton
Made from the fibers of the cotton plant, the lightweight, breathable fabric is a staple for all seasons. Perfect for everything from undershirts and button-downs to trousers and jackets. Tougher/tighter weaves are what create fabric off-shoots like denim, poplin, twill, and canvas.
Cashmere
A type of wool from Kashmir goats, cashmere is significantly softer than other wools, and has a price tag to reflect that. Faux cashmere, typically made from nylon (a synthetic fabric) will satisfy the need for that softness needed for a sweater that directly touches your skin, rather than a layering piece of a tougher wool.
Denim
A sturdy cotton weave, originally white, which is dyed various shades with indigo.
Leather
Made from the skin of an animal, popular types of leather include cowhide, calfskin, and lambskin. Faux or “vegan” leather, typically made from polyester or other synthetic fabrics looks pretty much as good as the real thing in 2022, but smaller genuine leather accessories like bags, belts, and shoes tend to still be reasonably affordable, as opposed to a leather jacket or trouser.
Linen
Made from the fibers of the flax pant, linen is an essential fabric and personal favorite for Spring/Summer as well as a transitional fabric for Autumn. Similarly to cotton, linen is universally fit for shirts, trousers, shorts, blazers, even full suits. While being a wrinkle-prone fabric, blends of linen with other fabrics can give you that linen look without the constant creasing.
Silk
A natural fiber produced by the mulberry silkworm or moth caterpillars, silk is an incredibly lightweight fabric with a luxurious, glossy feel, being typically used for shirts, neckties, pocket squares, suits and jacket linings.
Suede
A type of leather, suede differs in its finish, with a rough appearance, it’s used mostly for shoes and jackets.
Viscose
Viscose is an airy fabric made from wood pulp. It holds its shape, making it drape well which is more flattering on the body. Viscose can mimic the feel of many other fabrics, it’s absorbent and doesn’t trap heat, making it a great blending fabric to add to cotton or linen to make it behave/look more like silk.
Wool, Tweed
Typically from sheep, wool is a natural fabric with an incredible ability to trap heat, making it an absolute staple for Autumn and Winter wardrobes. Used for coats, hats, jackets, sweaters, trousers, socks, scarves, and probably anything else you can think of, wool is a pretty universal fabric. Tweed is a rough, woven, wool textile with either a plain weave, or with either a twill or herringbone structure.
Polyester, Elastane, Spandex
Synthetic fabrics can be used to add stretch or structure to other fabrics in a blend, or are best used in sportswear, which we won’t be covering in this capsule, because frankly, as long as you can move in it, it doesn’t really matter what you wear to the gym or playing sports.
Conclusion
I hope this served as a proper introduction into the world of men’s fashion. Be sure to follow our instagram for updates on blog posts and styling tips.
As always,
Much Love, XOXO
