10 Easy Style and Clothing Hacks For Guys

Sometimes, you’re short on time, find yourself in a pinch, and just need to get the job done. What do you do?

In this article, I’ve gathered 10 of my favorite style and clothing hacks – and I want to share them with you.

These shortcuts will keep you looking stylish and streamline your life. Need to whittle down your wardrobe or hit the snooze button a few more times in the morning? Implement a few of these and you’re good to go!

Let’s get to it, shall we?

1.) Wear a tie to work? This is the only knot you need to know.

The four-in-hand is the easiest, most straight-forward knot you can tie. It looks great and is crazy simple to learn. Plus, it’s a classic knot that won’t go out of style any time soon.

The crew at ties.com put together this great infographic and the video above.

Got an extra 3 seconds to spare?

Try the double four-in-hand knot. Also known as the Prince Albert, apparently.

It’s essentially the same as your standard four-in-hand, you’re just looping it around twice before pulling it through the top. Make sure to leave a bit more give on the wider end to accommodate the second loop-around.

And you get a cool looking knot like this:

Want to save even more time in the morning?

Tie your tie the night before! That way, you can easily throw it on, button your collar, tighten it up, and you’re ready to go.

No more standing in front of the mirror for 10 minutes trying to get the right length when you’re already late.

2.) Shoelaces come undone? You’re tying them all wrong.

I’m not sure if this technique has an official name. But for now, let’s call it the “Double Loop (with Bunny Ears)”.

Remember when you were a kid and you learned to tie your shoes by making bunny ears? Same idea here.

But after you loop the bunny ears once, you do it again one more time, creating a solid, secure knot that’s just as easy to untie as a regular knot.

Check out this video:

(And make sure to subscribe! More / better videos coming soon)

3.) Digging the distinguished salt-and-pepper look, but don’t want too much grey?

I hear ya. I definitely have some greys, and I go back and forth on if I like them or not. I don’t necessarily want to dye my hair—I’m not there yet. But I do want the option to get rid of random greys that keep popping up.

If you’re like me and getting to the point where you may want to bring back more pepper than salt, give Control GX a shot.

You can apply it like a shampoo—in fact, just replace your shampoo and use this instead. It gradually darkens your greys after a few weeks of use.

So for example, if you’re happy with the results after two weeks, then simply stop using it! And when the salt starts overtaking the pepper a bit more than you want? Start up with Control GX again.

Here’s an example of the gradual darkening on someone w/ more salt and pepper than me

It’s super simple to use (you don’t have to pick a specific color) and you’re always in control of how much coverage you want. It’ll never look like you went from salt and pepper, to just pepper overnight.

GRAB CONTROL GX HERE

4.) Socks shrink in the dryer?

The solution for this is to not throw your socks in the dryer. After the wash cycle, separate them out, stretch them flat with your hands, and then hang dry.

Not only does air drying prevent shrinkage, it will also prolong the life of the elastic in the sock.

Trying to revive socks that have shrunken? Assuming you haven’t already washed and dried them multiple times, simply submerge them in water so they’re thoroughly soaked. Wait a few minutes, wring the water out, stretch them out on a flat surface, then hang dry.

5.) Have lots of clothes, but only wear a select few?

I teach a version of this to my personal styling clients. Let’s call this one “The Reverse Hanger Trick”.

Here’s how it works:

Click image to enlarge

Reverse all the hangers in your closet (hook opening faces outward, towards you).

When you wear something, assuming it’s not dirty, hang it back in your closet with the hook opening facing inwards.

After a few weeks or months, you’ll easily see which clothes you wear the most (keep these!) and the ones you don’t wear at all (donate or sell them to a thrift shop!)

Voilá, the shortcut to closet management.

6.) pants unzip when you don’t want them to?

I once had a pair of chinos I loved, but the zipper never locked in place. Luckily, I’d catch it before I was… exposed (ahem).

One day, I realized I could use this little hack. And no one would know! Best of all, I didn’t have to throw those pants away.

Here’s how it works:

Click image to enlarge

Use a keyring to secure the zipper to the button on your pants.

Simply attach the keyring, zip up your pants, and place the keyring over the button. Then, button your pants like normal, and boom! You’re in the clear.

7.) Hitting the hotel gym while traveling?

Doing quick, simple workouts while on a trip? You probably don’t need the shoes you normally work out in, plus the everyday casual sneakers you plan on wearing.

Just make sure you have a casual sneaker that can pull double duty in place of your usual workout shoes.

Here are a few ideas:

Click image to enlarge.
Clockwise from top left: Nike Tennis Classic, $80 | SeaVees Racquet Club Sneaker, $108 | Converse Jack Purcell Leather, $79 | Nike Internationalist, $100

Most trainers are multi-colored and vibrant. The best casual sneakers (like the examples above) are muted and / or in neutral colors.

If you’re banging out a few reps in the hotel gym, do you really need a separate pair of sneakers? Just wear your everyday casual ones and save some room in your suitcase.

8.) Trying on shirts in the fitting room? You’re doing it all wrong.

The best way to see if a new shirt fits is to actually sit down in the fitting room. Hopefully there’s a chair somewhere nearby.

Why sit? Your body is much slimmer standing than sitting.

If the shirt is comfortable while seated, it will definitely be comfortable when standing, walking, etc.

Save your shopping for later

Have you ever noticed how your clothes can feel different in the morning when you first get dressed, compared to late afternoon after a couple meals?

If you can, go shopping in the afternoon, after you’ve had breakfast and lunch. Your body “expands” after hydrating and eating. So shopping for clothes later in the day is more accurate, in terms of fit.

9.) Shirt sleeves keep unrolling? Try this method.

The typical way to roll up your shirt sleeves is: You fold the cuff up once, and you keep on folding up until you get to your elbow.

The problem with this method? The sleeves almost always come unrolled (at least in my experience).

Go with the Double Fold-Over Method (there are a few names for this, but that’s what I’m calling it).

Here’s a video I made a few years ago that illustrates this. It’s the second method, by the way.

 

Essentially you want to:

• fold up your shirt sleeve until the cuff hits the crease of your elbow (elbow pit? whatever)
• from there, take the fabric that is lowest down on your arm (probably mid-forearm at this point), and fold that up towards your elbow pit

This rolling style is much more secure. To release the roll, simply pull up on your cuff (either away from your body or up towards your shoulder) and it comes undone.

10.) Sweaters smelling kinda… funky?

Since we don’t wash wool and cashmere sweaters as frequently as our other clothes, they can sometimes smell from regular use.

To get rid of subtle scents, throw them in the dryer with two dryer sheets. That will help freshen them up. Be sure to keep the heat on low.

This trick also works for pants and shirts, by the way.

11.) [Bonus!] Too lazy to iron your wrinkled shirts and pants?

Here’s another dryer-related trick: throw your shirt or pants in the dryer with a damp washcloth and let it run for 10 minutes or so.

The steam from the wet washcloth will relax the shirt’s fibers and release the wrinkles. When the cycle is finished, take it out of the dryer immediately. Lay the shirt out flat, smooth it out with your hands, and hang it up.

This should take care of most, if not all, of those stubborn wrinkles.

Running late, but your dress shirt is wrinkled?

Assuming you’re wearing a suit or sport coat, just press the shirt cuffs, the front of the shirt, and the collar.

No one will see the back or sleeves of your shirt since you’re wearing a jacket. Usually, your body heat helps release any leftover wrinkles after a few hours.

There we have it! Style hacks you can use right now

Which one is your favorite? I’d love to hear the hack you’re going to try next.

Let us know in the comments below.