Men’s Style: My Favorite Tips and Tricks

By Sani Karkar ‘28

Photo by Sani Karkar

Are you looking for a guide on how to style your wardrobe as a man? Here are many of my favorite color combinations, tips for your consideration, and looks my friends and I love.

First, just a bit about me: I’ve loved fashion since I was a little kid. Whenever I’d go to the mall with my mom, I would always browse around the different clothes stores like Ralph Lauren, Canada Goose, Banana Republic, J-Crew, and Hugo Boss. Though I don’t think spending huge amounts of money on your fashion is always necessary, it is important to make your outfits shine, no matter what brand you’re wearing. My love for men's fashion has continued as I have become a young adult, and I continue to search for more pieces to help craft outfits.

First, I’m going to talk about the 3-color rule. You don’t have to follow it all the time, but the 3-color rule can help you make a stylish and cohesive look. For men’s fashion, it is recommended to pick one dominant color, which is 60% of the fit, a secondary color as 30%, and an accent color, which is 10% of the outfit. I usually opt for shoes, sunglasses, or a hat to accessorize. For outfits to be striking and cohesive, you want to focus on a few colors. There are exceptions, though, like floral shirts and costumes. You can’t go wrong as long as there is intentionality behind your outfit choice. On the note, one thing to remember is that any amazing wardrobe can really succeed with a base of good neutral colors like black, gray, navy, white, and beige, as they mix well with many other colors. Using one of these neutral colors as your dominant color in an outfit is a great idea.

Another one of my favorite ways to style men’s clothing is by “sandwich dressing” or “sandwiching”. By this, I mean sandwiching colors in outfits. One of my favorite examples of this is wearing a classic white t-shirt, black pants, and white shoes. Another good example of sandwiching is having tan-colored shoes and white pants with a tan or brown colored shirt. For this look, your top doesn’t need to be the exact same shade as your shoes; it just needs to be close.

The last color combination that I really like is a tone-on-tone outfit. This essentially means wearing a shirt and bottoms that are similar colors but have slight variations. This can be done with shades of gray. For example, I love to wear my gray sweater with a good pair of light gray pants. Having multiple tones of the same color in one outfit is a very classy look.

Another one of my all-time favorite looks is the overcoat. I have an overcoat that I got as a gift from my mom last year, and I wear it nonstop. It’s a piece that can elevate your wardrobe so much. You need to make sure you style it correctly, though. One of my favorite outfits with the overcoat is deep blue jeans, a white or beige t-shirt, and shoes that match the shirt. If you want a more formal look, you can always wear it over a suit. 

Now I’m going to talk about how to style a white T-shirt: a versatile piece to have in your wardrobe, as it is one of those classic looks that will never go away. You can pretty much wear it with anything and look good. I love to wear a darker jean jacket with a white T-shirt—I think the look is immaculate. 

You could also do a classic black and white look. Black chinos or jeans with a V-neck white shirt (V-necks are the best in my humble opinion, as a crew neck shirt can sometimes look like an undershirt). A white t-shirt also works great with light-wash jeans. For shoes, I think that a good pair of sneakers works well ( I usually wear my light pink Reeboks or a pair of gray sneakers). 

Other than focusing on bottoms to wear with white shirts, another good choice is to pair one with a nice sport coat. On a cool day, a black or brown leather jacket also looks great with a white shirt. Another stylish option for the white T-shirt is the overcoat. I sometimes wear my tan overcoat with a white shirt and gray pants. This gives you a more casual look. 

One more outfit I like is colored bottoms with a neutral top. An example would be good pink or salmon-colored pants paired with a beige top. I also like doing the opposite and wearing a neutral-colored bottom with a colored top. For example, I love wearing khaki pants with a dark blue sweater or shirt. 

I hope these tips and outfit ideas will help you in your fashion journey. Always remember that these are just tips and opinions on my favorite looks. The beautiful thing about fashion is that you can craft an outfit using any colors you would like.