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Men's Fashion Part 1

If I title this article "Men's Fashion," will men read it? There is an epidemic spreading across America. Men are actually learning how to shop and dress appropriately. Even "rednecks" are catching the fever. For years, women have been the subject of television shows dedicated to extreme makeovers, but now men are joining in. Television shows like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" are seeing great success. It seems men are actually listening to the advice on the show seriously, and are dressing better these days. At least, some are.

I saw a guy getting gas in Texarkana the other day. He was in his early thirties wearing black socks with sandals and blue jean shorts. Ok, clearly this guy has avoided the fashion bug. In fact, there seem to be a lot of us who were immunized at birth. What happened to the days when men wanted to be snappy dressers? Men used to take pride in looking sharp. Everyone wanted to look like Cary Grant and men almost always dressed well and combed their hair. Unfortunately, a lot of us jumped off the fashion train and have been passed by ever since. Whoever coined the phrase, "dress for success" hit the nail on the head. If you look the part, people will treat you differently. If you dress like somebody, people will assume you are somebody. Perception is reality.

A few months ago I went into a restaurant-bar in Dallas. I had worked all day in Texarkana, then changed into comfortable clothes to drive to Dallas for the weekend. I was tired and worn out from the road. I was wearing some comfortable old khaki shorts, a wrinkled T-shirt, flip flops, and a John Deere baseball cap. When I got to the bar, it took me fifteen minutes to get the waitress to take my drink order and the place wasn't busy. Then I realized I looked like a bum or a college kid without the means to appropriately tip the staff. The next night, I overdressed. I wore black slacks, a grey dress shirt (tucked in), no hat, black dress shoes, and a black belt. I promise I did not look like a mobster. The result of my extra effort in the fashion department? I caught the eye of the hostess immediately and had a drink in my hand in less than three minutes.

This article is the first in a three part series on men's fashion. In this series we'll talk about the four S's: shoes, slacks, suits and shirts. This month's article will tackle the subject of footwear. Starting from the bottom seems to be the most logical step to building a fashion foundation. For most people,

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