Why you should take the time to find your own personal style

November 1, 2010 · 14 comments

in Apparel, Classic, Tips

The other day we had a farewell party for a friend at work. One of my coworkers had a brilliant idea: considering Halloween is around the corner, she suggested we should all dress like him and slowly linger around his workspace to see if he’d notice. All of us pulled together similar getups that somewhat resembled his everyday style: a t-shirt, dark skinny jeans, a hoodie, and some accessories like necklaces and a coffee cup.  Eventually he did notice and we had a good laugh about it.

Afterwards, the whole idea of dressing as someone else had me thinking. If everyone threw me a goodbye party, how would people dress to imitate me?

How you see yourself can be vastly different from how the world perceives you and your style.

Do you think your peeps would be accurate in their interpretation of you? More importantly, how do you want to be perceived? What’s the image you ultimately want to be associated with? Laid-back casual dude? Smartly-dressed, v-neck sweater dude? Daily denim and blazer dude? There is no right or wrong look, of course. Only your own.

All the more reason to find your own personal style and be the best dressed man you know, on your own terms.

If a group of your coworkers or friends were to dress as you, would they be spot-on in their impersonation of you? Or would they dress in a manner that you don’t see as your own?

Just a little something to think about.

About

Barron is the founder and editor of Effortless Gent, a site dedicated to helping dudes figure out what looks best on them. He also co-founded Fifth&Brannan, a menswear label based in San Francisco. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.

  • http://twitter.com/RachelABrooks Rachel Brooks

    This is a great way to put style into perspective- and actually pretty funny. Def food for thought.

  • http://twitter.com/TBTYH Tommy V.

    That is really interesting to think about…

  • Dan

    Yeah, very cool perspective here. Still working on my wardrobe, of course, but I love the tips for affordable items like the watches before and the jeans – both at Target.

    Curious about what the answer was for you Barron – how would your friends dress to imitate you?

  • http://effortlessgent.com Barron

    Ha! How dare you question me like that.

    Actually I don’t know… good question. I have a feeling my coworkers would go overboard with the imitation; apparently I’m too dressed up for the office most days. I work at an internet company though, so that might be why my idea of casual seems dressy to others.

    Glad you found some of the tips within the site helpful.

  • http://effortlessgent.com Barron

    It’s one thing to assume what you look like, but it’s hard to say how others see you, right? Mind-boggling! Somewhat.

  • http://effortlessgent.com Barron

    Thanks Rachel. You think it works the same for the ladies? Men’s outfits can be somewhat predictable but women’s seem to have so many variations.

  • David

    I definitely have a distinctive style, nearly everyone in my city, including my friends still wear mostly t-shirts, hoodies, flip flops, etc. What’s interesting is that all my friends always remark on how sharp I look yet they still stick to their typical American style plan. That being said, they know my style for sure, but at the same time I don’t think they would know how to put it together.

  • http://www.mybriefcases.com Kara Fox

    This is a great question having a personal style is important. I definitely adhere to classic American/European influences. And I err on the side being a little too dressy.

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  • http://effortlessgent.com Barron

    Hey Kara,

    Overdressed is definitely a good side to err on. :)

  • http://effortlessgent.com Barron

    Hi David,

    It’s easy to say one looks sharp, and easier to admire it. It takes effort in the beginning to know what looks good on yourself and how to adapt and integrate your own style. I commend you for doing your thing despite what the masses may be doing.

  • Anonymous

    man this was a great post! got me over here thinking…

  • http://effortlessgent.com Barron

    Thanks my man. When I sat back and thought about what had happened, had me all reflective as well.

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