So this happens to me at the Kroger last week. I’m in line at the deli getting my half pound of turkey for lunch sandwiches that Jessica whips up for me, when who comes walking up to the counter but guy dressed almost exactly like me. Dark wash jeans, gray henley, navy jacket, white sneakers. We matched.
There was some serious over-coordinated limbo going on when we locked eyes at the same time. He promptly began adjusting his jacket sleeve cuffs like he needed to shake my hand, I frantically pretended to check my teacher email like I was expecting some important student emergency or something. But here’s the thing – we were both wearing almost the exact same “formula” of outfit, but his just looked exponentially better than mine did. Same building blocks, but different results.
Our Whole-Corey-Howard-basic-workwear uniform is something I’ve noticed a trend towards among guys’ style lately. Jeans, tee/henley, jacket, boots/sneakers. Occasional sweater or knit hat. It’s comfortable, it’s universally acceptable, and honestly it works 99% of the time for most dudes. The problem is, when 99% of dudes are rocking this same formula, how do you avoid dressing like every other dude?
I’ve been thinking about this for years now. Ever since I first started caring about what I wore. You obviously can’t drop three grand at Spencer Hart like some rappers and you DEFINITELY don’t want to look like you’re trying to drop three grand at Spencer Hart. But there has to be some happy medium between looking like you slept in your clothes and actually woke up wearing them and looking like a staged Men’s Health photo shoot.
Over time I’ve learned that the answer isn’t changing what you wear, but rather how you wear it. Tons of small details most people won’t notice outright but that all add up to looking way more put together in the end.
About three years ago Jessica and I were wandering the aisles at Target. For some reason I was picking up one of those packs of Hanes t-shirts (I’m talking WHITE tees here people). You know the ones – come in a three pack, cost like fifteen bucks, and have been my go-to tee since college. She picks one up, feels it, and says to me “Wayne, this feels like tissue paper.”
Thought she was crazy right up until she dragged me across the store to the Goodfellow brand and made me feel one of their version. Took me about two seconds of running my hand over the materials to know she was right. The Target shirt felt thick, substantial. It’s collar wasn’t already standing up at attention halfway. When I tried one on it FIT LIKE A SHIRT. It didn’t feel like an undershirt trying to pass for real clothing.
Cost? Twenty bucks more? Sure. But do those cheap-ass Hanes shirts stay white? Look good after three washes? No freaking way. They fade, the neck stretches out, and start looking grey when you know damn well they’re white. And that Goodfellows shirt I tried on? Still looks like new, washes after wash even though I’ve had it for two years. So which shirt do you think actually costs more in the long run?
Got me thinking what else was I wearing that I could step up without spending my life savings or totally overhauling my style. Turns out you can upgrade A LOT of stuff you probably wear on the daily.
Jeans are kinda the basis for most guy’s casual outfits. I used to buy whichever Levis were on clearance at Kohl’s because “all jeans are pretty much the same.” So not true, my friends. So not true. Aside from just how your jeans FEEL while you’re wearing them, the better stuff stays FAAAAANTASTIC all day long. You put your jeans on in the morning and they look like you just bought them that afternoon. Spend forty bucks on somecrap-brand jean and by lunchtime they’re baggy in the knees and hanging off your butt because mom jeans are real, guys.
Another huge game changer is fit. Fuck comfortably loose clothes, amirite? I didn’t realize how badly my jeans were fitting me until I started wearing ones that actually fit my body instead of some model’s magically perfect proportions. Got your butt measured for jeans that actually fit your butt? World will seem that much bigger.
You wouldn’t believe how many shirts I owned that were too big in the shoulders, too boxy in the torso, and too long in the sleeves. To the point where I would roll up my sleeves and call it good. Then I started buying shirts that weren’t sized for Hercules but normal people. Literally my first Uniqlo shirt blew my mind. Shoulder seams actually stayed on my shoulders. Body of the shirt FIT MY ACTUAL BODY instead of trying to squeeze me into some man-shaped balloon. Sleeves ended at my wrists instead of dragging halfway down my hand.
Helps to look for shirts that have a bit more texture to them too. Stop reaching for those ultra smooth (read: plastic-y feeling) oxford button ups. Try a nice flannel with some weight to it, a chambray with actual weave, or an oxford that feels like cotton, not cotton’s stepchild.
Footwear is where I think you get the most “oomph” for your upgrade buck. Same cheap skateboard-style canvas sneakers I’d worn for years. Yeah they were forty bucks but they looked that way too. A couple months in they just start FALLING APART. Then I tried on a white leather sneaker. Same brand, same exact model. Except the upper was leather instead of canvas.
Can’t even describe how much of a difference just one minor material change made. Not only did the leather pair look better DAY ONE, but months down the road they still looked WAY better. Canvas sneakers just FALL APART with wear. Leather sneakers get better with wear. They develop CHARACTER. Still look intentional, not just beat up.
Same deal when I upgraded from Nordstrom’s “works for belt loops” desert boots to an actual leather pair from Clarks. Then from there to some RED WINGS I found on clearance (same style, just different colors). Again, each time I stepped up the quality I found the shoes lasted WAY longer than the cheap stuff AND looked better throughout their entire life.
Jackets/layers are a bit more finicky since a lot of that’s subjective to your body type and preference. But for the most part look for stuff with HEFT to them. All those thin,cutter ABOVE-FREEZE synthetic bomber jackets that every freaking trendy store sells? They LOOK like they’ll be good in the photos you instagram of yourself wearing them. But put them on and they feel like crap. Get a wool bomber or something made from ACTUAL cotton and the weight alone immediately makes your outfit look more expensive.
This may be TMI but pay attention to how you’re washing/drying your clothes. If you’re like me you just chuck everything in the washer on hot and call it good. Dry everything on high heat to make sure they DRY. No wonder my clothes always looked kinda worn out after a few months!
Now I actually READ the care tags (hi mom! ), hang up on knit shirts instead of tossing in the dryer, and wash my jeans once every few weeks instead of every time I wear them. It really doesn’t take that much more effort and your clothes will look exponentially better longer. Students have actually commented that I “always look fresh” to me. News flash kid, it’s because my clothes don’t look like they shrunk three sizes and faded after five washes.
Take your colors off of PRIMARY. Instead of navy and white, go navy and cream. Gray and black? Try charcoal and olive. Bright red? Dark red. Or maroon. Bright green? Olive. You get the picture. Don’t avoid bright saturated colors completely, just ATTENUATE them a little.
Lastly, proportion everything. If you wear slim jeans, maybe skip the gigantic hoodie to layer under your jacket – no shirt armor plating. If you’re wearing boyfriend jeans, go with a fitted shirt instead of another baggy option. It’s all about balancing out your silhouette.
Cropped this jean/pair photo super short cause my friend Dave rocks a similar style to me and we wanted to show you guys our starting points. Same jeans+henley+boots formula but Dave had been upgrading pieces slowly over the past couple years. All subtleties, nothing crazy different. But enough that his girlfriend told Jessica he always “looks put together.”
Jessica about died laughing because dudes are literally wearing the exact same outfit Dave and me wore three years ago. We’re just wearing upgraded versions of those pieces. Nobody’s gonna notice how nice your boots are but they’ll definitely notice your clothes all look like crap.
It’s going to take awhile since you obviously can’t replace your whole closet overnight. Even if you could, you shouldn’t. Been doing this for about four years now and I’m STILL constantly finding pieces to replace as they break down or I find awesome sales. Started with t-shirts since I live in them, then jeans, then button ups, worked my way through my whole wardrobe.
Will it cost more? Kind of, yeah. But when you spread that cost out over multiple years of wearable garments that LOOK good the entire time you own them? Suddenly that $80 shirt isn’t so bad.
Trust me I made a ton of mistakes along the way. Got duped into buying “quality” versions of clothes that ended up being bad in different ways (looking at you $130 jeans from Nordstrom’s). Went through a phase where I thought polo shirts with crazy fun.details would spice up basic tees and jeans (WRONG). If there’s one thing I learned from slowly curating my wardrobe, it’s that basics beat bold EVERYDAY.
Nobody’s going to be able to identify why your shirt looks nicer than theirs. But they’ll notice that your clothes don’t have faded knees, stretched out necklines, or missing buttons. It all comes down to the little things most guys ignore that really make your outfit look better.
Same formula everybody else is wearing, just executed a little better than the rest. Not flashy, not overly trendy, just straightforward improvements to the stuff you’re likely wearing already.
So next time you’re rounding the corner at Walmart and spot your style doppelganger? Don’t try and sneak away and pretend like you’re not wearing the same thing. Ask him where he got his jacket. How does his jeans fit versus yours? How does it feel when he tugs at the fabric? Want to know the difference between his outfit and yours? It’s those questions him.
Cause if we’re all gonna wear Monday’s Through Sunday’s anyway, you MIGHT as well wear the GOOD version of them.
