Almost nobody notices what your clothes cost. They notice whether anything fits, and a tailor charges less than most people spend on a takeaway.
Fit Beats Everything
The whole article in one line. A £25 shirt that fits properly reads better than a £200 one that does not, and most men are wearing clothes cut for a body shape they do not have. Everything below follows from that.
Use A Tailor
The highest return on money in men’s style and the one almost nobody uses. Shortening sleeves, taking in a waist or hemming trousers typically costs very little and transforms an item you already own. Two or three alterations will do more than a whole new outfit.
Get Measured Properly
Most men are wearing the wrong collar size, the wrong trouser length and frequently the wrong shoe size, because feet and bodies change and nobody rechecks. A measuring session costs nothing in most shops and corrects years of guesswork.
Hem Your Trousers
The single most visible error. Trousers pooling over the shoe make everything look borrowed. A slight break or none at all reads as deliberate, and the alteration costs less than a round of drinks.
Two Pairs Of Shoes
Rotated rather than worn on consecutive days, because leather needs a day to dry out. Two decent pairs alternated will outlast three worn into the ground, and shoes are the item people assess fastest and most unfairly.
Buy Cedar Trees
Twenty pounds of shoe trees protects a far more expensive pair by absorbing moisture and holding the shape, preventing the creases across the toe that eventually crack. Almost nobody buys them and everybody should.
Visit The Barber Often
Frequency matters considerably more than price. A modest cut every four weeks looks far better than an expensive one every ten. The last fortnight of a stretched haircut is where most men lose the effect entirely.
Eyebrows And Nails
Free or nearly so, and noticed immediately. Trimmed nails, tidy hands and eyebrows that have been looked at once are the difference between groomed and not, and they cost a few minutes rather than money.
Wear Sunscreen Daily
The cheapest anti-ageing measure that exists, and the one with the strongest evidence behind it. Dermatology consistently attributes most visible facial ageing to ultraviolet exposure rather than to time passing, and it works through cloud.
Fix Your Posture
Entirely free and it changes how clothes hang, how tall you look and how you are read across a room. Raising a monitor and putting the phone at eye level fixes most of what desk work does.
Pick A Narrow Palette
Navy, grey, white, olive and one brown will interchange endlessly. A wardrobe where most things go with most things produces more good outfits than a larger one full of items that only work once.
Replace Worn Things
Bobbled knitwear, faded black clothing, scuffed heels and stretched collars undo everything else. A razor-style fabric shaver costs a few pounds and revives jumpers people were about to throw out.
Wash Clothes Correctly
Cold water, less detergent than the box says, inside out, and dried away from direct heat. Most clothing dies from laundering rather than wearing, and treating it properly is free.
Iron Or Steam
A creased shirt undoes an expensive one. A cheap handheld steamer takes ninety seconds per garment and removes the main visual difference between clothes that look cared for and clothes that do not.
Get Your Glasses Right
If you wear them, they are the most prominent thing on your face and the highest-impact single purchase available. Spending on frames that suit your face beats spending the same amount on almost any garment.
See A Hygienist
Teeth are assessed constantly and mostly unconsciously. A hygienist appointment is not expensive and produces a visible difference within an hour, which very little else on this list can claim.
Buy Second-Hand Well
Charity shops, eBay and vintage sellers carry good wool coats, quality knitwear and welted shoes at a fraction of retail. Buying one excellent second-hand item beats three new mediocre ones, and it is where the money actually goes furthest.
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