life.of.sp0rk

I have a few meetings Monday that will be helping to determine my college-bound future. So, I went on a little search to find some sporty, professional outfits I could wear without much avail. So, I’m going to create my own new professionally chic look and we’ll call it the “Sp0rky, Yet Professional, Look.”

Professional-wear used to be defined as a suit. Without a suit, you had no power. However, the 90’s dot-com boom sent a shock through the fashion world. Many offices started allowing a more lenient dress of a shirt and khakis, this is especially prominent in offices where the employees aren’t in the public eye.

We’re gonna take the Sp0rky look from the bottom up. Let’s start with shoes.

Even though shoes are near to the ground and out of sight, they’re still a very vital part of a professional, well put together outfit. Thankfully, the trend is moving away from feet-hurting dress shoes and on to the much more comfortable slip-ons. Steven Madden has an excellent collection of dress slip-on shoes of various styles and colors. Stop by Buckle in the mall or go to Zappos.com to grab you a pair or two! They’ll run you about $75 unless you’re lucky.

Remember when picking out your shoes, always get weathered leather. Leather is a time honored symbol of power. Weathered leather shows power that has been around the block a few times and has the experience to show it. Anytime you have the option, go weathered leather.

Socks matching your pants is essential. Keep the socks thin and above your calves. You’re trying to create the illusion that your pants continue down to your shoes, not the other way around. Also, showing legs with ankle-less socks is tacky and isn’t very gentleman like.

For the pants, go with plain-front pants. Black and earthy tones like brown, beige, khaki, or tan are preferred. Keep the fabric patterns to a minimum, unless we’re talking faint pinstripe. Also remember that your pants’ fabric needs to match your blazer (fyi: tweed and cord DO NOT go together).

To hold your pants up, use a belt. I can’t stress how important it is to use a belt. It’s distinguished and part of a traditional outfit. Get a leather (remember the symbolism!) brown or black belt so it will match with anything.

To have a more professional, clean cut look: get a plain (and not-so-weathered) belt with a gold or silver buckle, depending on the color scheme (gold goes with brown and silver with everything else). For a more sp0rky look, you can grab yourself a studded belt with a brushed silver buckle.

A lot of guys refuse to wear anything but boxers because it isn’t manly enough. If you’re basing manliness off underwear, you’re not manly. Personally, I go for boxer briefs: they don’t bunch up causing an unsightly ring around my waist and they keep things where they lie.

Regular thin, white undershirts are essential parts of outfits in today’s fashion world. But they’re not only fashionable, they’re functional: they catch the sweat—which causes awful “pit stains”—that your anti-percipient doesn’t stop.

Over your undershirt, wear a colorful button down shirt (pending the need of a tie). I recommend a solid color since the shirt sets the color scheme of your entire outfit. And don’t forget to tuck it in your pants!

If you’re not wearing a tie, unbutton your collar and first button of your shirt so you don’t get choked. Wear a tee under it that contrasts to the rest of the outfit.

If you’re outside the office and want to go for the ultra sp0rky look, wear a thick, fitted, regular tee. It should still match your outfit and be tucked in, but it’s excellent for those after 5pm outings in SoHo.

To me, a blazer shouts professionalism. And a fitted blazer made out of extraordinary fabric like corduroy makes it sp0rky. However, remember to keep it dark (but matching) so it doesn’t take away from your shirt.

It’s time to accessorize! Watches are a must for any professional, it shows that you are aware of your time so you can be on time. I recommend just a silver band watch with a face color of blue, green, or white.

Personally, I hate cufflinks, so you’ll never catch me in them and I’m definitely not recommending them here.

Your wallet should be (you guessed it) leather. A well chosen leather wallet can show you have class, as well as power.

As a final tip, don’t over use your cologne. Co-workers would rather breath clean air, rather than your cologne no matter how good it smells to you. Save it for SoHo.

Ciao,
Logan

PS: If you have any personal tips of your own, send them in! And keep in mind, these are just my recommendations… You don’t have to follow them.