19 Things Men Should Never Wear - Men's Fashion & Menswear Style Mistakes & What Not To Wear

Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we discuss 19 things men should never wear especially if you're stylish or dapper. I know some of you will say, in this day and age, I can wear whatever I want and you're quite right. Today, you can wear whatever you want, at the same time, you can also inhale asbestos or you can drink water from lead pipes but just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Now that we got that squared away, let's dive right in. The first thing you should never wear as a man are sandals. They look particularly bad when you combine them with socks but even on their own, there may be something that people who are really into outdoor stuff wear. However, if you consider yourself stylish or if you care at all about your outward appearance, sandals will always make you look less smart and immature. The same goes for flip-flops. Unless you're at the pool or at the beach, a self-respecting man should never wear flip-flops in public. It's always easy to say what not to wear but what should you wear instead? Well, for summer, I think an ideal shoe are Alpargatas. They're actually shoes that are originally from Mallorca and they have a utis sole which is some kind of a straw, sometimes they have some rubber added to it, and then it's fabric. Sometimes it's woven, sometimes it's very thin, in any case, it's a summery shoe, it's airy, it serves the same purpose as sandals or flip-flops, yes, it's a lot more stylish. If you want to go a notch up in formality, go with perforated punch hole leather shoes or maybe even linen because it absorbs the moisture from your feet and looks very summery and elegant. The second thing you should never wear are cargo shorts. They just make you look like a douchebag and I know some people love them because they're functional. Having items in your cargo shorts pockets make you look asymmetrical and because of that, it sends a subconscious signal to others that you're just not as well put together and they can't put their finger on it but in any case, they will think less highly of you. My third men's style pet peeve is wearing a matching tie and a pocket square. Oftentimes, they come in sets, usually in ugly shiny satin and sometimes, they're even pre-folded pocket squares or pre-tied ties that you clip on and if you wear this, it just looks so cheap and like you don't know what you're doing that you're better off skipping it altogether. Of course, wearing a tie and a pocket square makes you look dapper and you should do that however, you should always tie your own tie and fold your own pocket squares. If you're not sure on how to do that, we have a whole series on different tie knots and how to tie them as well as how to fold pocket squares the easy way. Please check them out. My fourth style pet peeve is wearing a suit with short socks. No one wants to see your hairy calves and even if you shave them, it's just not appropriate especially in a business setting or an office setting and if you go with a suit or with long pants or trousers or dress pants, you should always have over the calf socks. If you want to learn how to combine pants with shoes and socks so you look dapper, please check out our guide on this here. The very thing you should never wear is a necktie with a dress shirt when the top end of the dress shirt is unbuttoned. It just looks sloppy and the sole purpose of wearing a tie is to make you look more dapper and elegant. There's no functional, no practical reason why you wear a tie. Having a top button unbuttoned just looks like you don't care about what you look and you should either wear the tie and wear it properly or not at all. So if you find yourself in a situation where it's too hot or you feel uncomfortable around your neck, take off a tie, roll it up, put it in a pocket, and unbutton the buttons. That looks much better. My sixth pet peeve are shirt collars that are too big. I see them all over the place and sometimes people wear them with neckwear which leads to puckering because when you tighten your tie knot, there's too much fabric and it just leaves unsightly waves. The golden rule of thumb that you read all over the place is that you can put two fingers in your collar and it should comfortably fit. The problem with that is I've never found a collar where I couldn't put two fingers in because your neck is flexible. Because of that, you should wear a collar that doesn't leave any visible gaps when you stand still. Usually if your collar is too big, you'll find that there's a gap in the front and it should sit snugly against your neck. That will give you a proper look and it's just dapper. The seventh thing you should never wear are square-toed shoes. Usually that's what you find in lower end shoes under a hundred dollars and they're just plain ugly and they show to everyone around you that you have no clue about dressing well. When I grew up in Germany, there was a company named Lloyd's and they sold tons of ugly shoes and they were actually a little more expensive so people considered them to be quality dress shoes and for that reason, that style was perpetuated. Fortunately, there are lots of other good companies out there that offer a nice round toe or if you want something a little more square, go with a chiseled toe, that's very elegant. My eighth style pet peeve are tennis socks. Unless you're at the gym, there's really no reason you should ever wear them. Wearing white tennis socks with brogues or with long pants or even with shorts in a public setting that is not the gym make you look like a peasant. The ninth thing you should never wear is the Windsor tie knot. I know it's one of the most popular tie knots around because it's symmetrical and it's big. The problem is most people wear it with cheap shiny ties and it makes you look like a used car salesman or an insurance salesman that is just very sleazy and not very competent. Instead, I suggest you look into the many different tie knots that are out there including the half Windsor that look much better in my opinion and are much better suited to an elegant gentleman. You can check out our video series here. The tenth thing you should never wear are satin silk ties especially not for day wear. Maybe if you want something for the evening or you want a little bit of shine, I could see that but most of those ties you get at Walmart or a cheaper outlet like Men's Warehouse, Josset Bank, you name it, just look like it and it will always identify you as a man who doesn't have a clue about dressing well. I'm sure you've seen those ugly striped ties in multi colors and they're just so plain ugly I can't even find words for it. Instead, go with a tie that is silk, maybe wool, maybe cashmere, maybe some texture. If it's all silk, go with a jacket weave or a print. Look for something more matte that is timeless, will stand the test of time, and will always make you look dapper. Case in point, the tie I'm wearing here right now is vintage, I've had it for years, it's probably 50 years old but I can still wear it because it's not shiny, it's a classic small paisley pattern and it just always looks dapper. My eleventh style pet peeves are sports sunglasses. Yes, you know what I'm talking about, those mirrored sunglasses that you maybe wear when you're outdoor in the woods and you have a physical activity. Usually they're mirrored, sometimes they have rainbow colors, they're just not something you should ever wear with a formal wardrobe in public. Instead, go with classic sunglasses that have stood the test of time such as maybe a pair of aviators, maybe wayfarers, or maybe you want to be like Steve McQueen, the king of cool, and to learn more about those sunglasses, please check out our guides here. My twelfth pet peeve is when grown men wear jerseys in public. By that, I mean sports jerseys that you usually only wear if you go to a sporting event and you want to support your team, otherwise, they're wholly inappropriate and just always make you look very immature. Instead, go with any other kind of shirts you can find but a jersey is just bad. Thirteenth, in the same vein, go slogan t-shirts. They just make you look like a 13 year old boy who wants to express himself but doesn't know quite how and it's not just immature but it makes people laugh about you and that you actually wear this shirt. I have stuff where men actually wear t-shirts that say douchebag or haters will always hate and while that may be the case, it's just better to not wear it plain in bold colors on your shirt but to rather talk to people in person. My fourteenth style pet peeve is when men wear regular neckties for black tie events. You see it on the red carpet in Hollywood every year around the Oscars and it's just plain wrong. This is a formal dress code and it looks like you don't know what you're doing. If you want to learn more about black tie and why you have to wear a black bow tie, please check out our in-depth guide here. We even give you a free PDF guide with cheat sheets so you can always look your best when it's black tie time. I also created a video about how to find the right black bow tie for your tuxedo and your situation. Please check it out here. The fifteenth thing you should never wear is a belt with a vest. A vest should be either worn with just side adjusters or suspenders because a belt will create a gap between your waistband or your pants and your vest and it just looks unsightly. You should also never have a tie that peeks out underneath of it or maybe a shirt that pokes underneath of it when the vest is too short and the rise is too low because that simply shows that you don't know what you're doing. My sixteenth style pet peeve are backpacks. I think only schoolboys should wear backpacks otherwise, there's no place for them in public unless you go hiking or to an expedition where that's kind of the only practical thing to carry. Otherwise, with backpacks, it's very easy to hit people without even noticing it which is not just rude but just not polite. At the same time, it makes you look like a schoolboy and you rather want to look like a grown man so get a leather satchel instead. A briefcase, maybe a canvas one or something that suits your style and leave the backpack with the schoolboys. My seventeenth style pet peeve are men who wear ties that are way too long. The problem is they come underneath your jacket and if you don't wear a jacket, they even accentuate your balls which is just not what you want people to look at. Ideally, they look at your face and not at your crotch. Now I get it, a lot of ties are too long and especially if you're a shorter guy, it's very hard to find a tie that actually works for you because otherwise, you have to have this gigantic tie knot with your tiny head and it just looks goofy so instead, buy ties in the right length for you. I think we're one of the only stores that offers the entire threefold classic neckwear range in short, regular, and long so every man, no matter the height, can find a tie that works for him. My eighteenth pet peeve are large armholes in a suit or a jacket. Not only do they make you look like a football player but they're also uncomfortable and they restrict your movement. Instead, go with smaller armholes and I suggest to watch our series on how a suit should fit so you get it right. The nineteenth thing you should never wear as a self-respecting man are big gaudy wristwatches that just scream for attention. I know they're really popular these days but a smaller watch is just more sophisticated especially if it's slimmer and it serves the same purpose and it's just a hallmark of an elegant gentleman. In today's video, I'm wearing a custom-made three-piece suit which is special in the sense that it has a peak lapel and an action back. It's a combination you find very rarely because peak lapels are more formal and usually a notch lapel would be the right lapel for this kind of a suit. However, I intentionally went for it because I knew the rule and I wanted to break it. I did that because it's kind of a city suit style that I've seen in a magazine from the 1930s and I just wanted to recreate that style and feel. The vest I'm wearing is quite unusual in the sense that it has a shawl color but it's made for day wear which means there's not a deep cutout but just like a regular cutout. I also have a self fabric bag and the lining only on the inside which is something you only see custom usually. The pants have inward facing pleats because of my big thighs. I like to have some cuffs because they pull the pants down because of the weight and the shirt I'm wearing is a white fine herringbone shirt from Siniscalchi with a club collar. The tie is vintage, I found it at a thrift store for a few bucks. It's very old but it's still very nice and it goes well with the yellow lining of my suit. The fabric is from Holland and Sherry, it looks like a blue pin dot but upon closer inspection, you can see that it's actually blue, light blue, and a black that creates a pin dot effect and a very nice depth of color that changes with light. If you pay attention to details, you'll see that usually, I have the bottom button on my single person vests undone, however, this vest has only three buttons so leaving the bottom one undone would be disproportional. The pocket square is from Fort Belvedere and it picks up the yellow tones but it adds some orange, some purple, just to break up the entire look and make it harmonious. The cufflinks I'm wearing are also vintage. It's an octagonal shape with cloisonne enamel which means it's enamel that you can actually see through. The enamel creates a very nice effect especially if you have light that falls on it. As you can see, the colors of yellow and blue go well with my suit and my tie. In the same vein are my socks which are shadow strap socks from Fort Belvedere in navy blue and yellow. While it's not the same color as my suit, the two-tone effect really helps to tie everything together. The shoes I'm wearing are single monk straps with broguing on them and a wingtip. They have less broguing than a regular full brogue. They're made by Crockett & Jones and are from their higher end bench grade. The buckles of my shoe are silver which matches my sterling silver ring which is a lapis stone which is a nice blue with very few inclusions and it matches my cufflinks as well the blue tones overall. That way, everything is tied together and it still has an accent in the form of my tie, my shirt, as well as the pocket square, it just looks dapper, classic, and timeless. I know this video may be too extreme for some but sometimes you have to take a stance and I firmly believe in that and if you enjoyed this video or you want to learn more about classic men's style, please sign up to our free email newsletter and we teach you how things evolved, why to wear them, why not to wear them, and you can take it from there and do whatever you want.