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STYLE ESSENTIALS
INTRODUCTION
10 MASCULINE STYLE
ESSENTIALS
This information is for men who want to use their clothing and appearance
as a means to improving other aspects of their lives.
It is for men who will treat their appearance like an investment. An
investment that will continue to accrue value and pay o dividends for
years and years to come.
Unlike most style essentials, the list included in this book does not consist
of particular articles of clothing. Rather, it contains ten essential approaches
necessary to establishing a healthy relationship with appearance and how it
can be used to benefit a mans life.
Before diving in, I do want to share the most fundamental tip I can right
from the get go.
Dress Intentionally
There should be nothing haphazard about a mans approach to any aspect
of his life, and this includes his dress and grooming habits. Intentionality
doesnt require a whole lot of time, but it does require some upfront
investment.
All ten essentials build o each other and work independently. Read them
one at a time, start to finish, or in any order you like. Just be sure to apply
them.
WRITTEN BY
TANNER GUZY
1ST EDITION, JUNE 2015
COPYRIGHT 2015 MASCULINE STYLE
ii
iii
ESSENTIAL #1
AN UNDERSTANDING OF
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A
MAN
While this book is available for everyone, its primary audience is men.
We as men distinguish ourselves from two other groups of people women and children.
This is not to say that either women or children should be
distinguished from because they are inferior. Far from it. However,
distinctions are necessary. Men, women, and children are biologically
and socially suited to dierent tasks and proclivities. There are
exceptions but sometimes painting in broad strokes is necessary for
establishing the necessary foundation.
One of the ways we can and should separate ourselves from women
is in our appearance. Nature does this biologically through secondary
sexual characteristics such as body and facial hair, muscle and fat
composition, and others. These dierences serve as more than just a
visual distinction, but that doesnt mitigate the validity of visual
recognition.
other men.
Most cultures have used one form of visual recognition or another as
a way to indicate the status of the males. Some Native American
tribes would wear dierent feathers on their bodies as a way of
demonstrating acts of bravery or skill in battle or on the hunt.
In the 21st century, masculinity is considered to be an outdated and
unnecessary relic from a rougher time (at best) or an outright threat to
the peace and prosperity many believe only women are capable of
leading civilization towards (at worst). And, while men have always
been concerned about what it is that makes them worthy to be called
men, there currently seems to be an earnestness to that concern that
didnt exist a decade ago.
To truly better understand what it means to be a man, information
should be taken from two great resources, Brett McKay and Jack
Donovan.
Brett is the author of the Art of Manliness - a website that explores all
facets of modern masculinity and how to be a man in the modern
world. His series on the 3 Ps of masculinity is a great primer on his
underlying philosophy.
Socially men have been separated from women and children by their
appearance as well. The vast majority of human cultures have had
dierent forms of dress and grooming standards for men.
ESSENTIAL #2
style are all tools that other people use to better assess who we are as
men. We can actively avoid using those instruments, only use them to
their bare minimum, or choose to master them like we attempt to
master any other tool in the belt of masculinity.
Having a positive
relationship with
clothing is having
an understanding
that this tool, like
all others is amoral.
It is an instrument
that doesnt have
to merely prevent
negative
consequences, but
can actively build
positive results.
To properly use appearance and clothing as a tool, it must be
considered appropriately. Many men, once theyve realized the
positive results that come from an intentional approach to improving
their style, can overcorrect and be overly focused on their
appearance. Just as a hammer isnt the only eective tool in building
a home - clothing isnt the only eective tool in building a man.
There is a saying that clothes make the man. It is a statement with
which I disagree wholeheartedly. There are plenty of good men in the
world who wear bad clothing. Equally so, there are myriad bad men in
the world who wear dress well. Our goal should be to become good
men who dress well.
ESSENTIAL #3
either hire him himself, or help him establish connections with other
companies in the field. Our fictional man would be communicating to
his neighbor that he is lazy, not detail oriented, and unconcerned with
the impact his actions have on others. He may instead be incredibly
busy, hyper-focused, and concerned with internal, rather than external
details, but he is not perceived as having these qualities when his
appearance comes at the cost of his focus.
Other than the rare hermit who is able to safely ensconce himself in
the woods, away from all other human beings, the vast majority of
men in the world are reliant on other people. We have family, friends,
co-workers, neighbors, acquaintances, and numerous other
connections.
A WILLINGNESS TO
EMBRACE THE NEED FOR
OTHER PEOPLE
Many of these relationships are shallow and simple, while others are
deep and complex. However, each of the people in our lives has some
way of being able to aect us.
A man may have a neighbor who runs a small start-up and is looking
for new help. When they see each other mowing the lawn they may
give a friendly wave with a brief good morning and leave it at that.
However, when the man is looking for a new job in his neighbors
industry, that connection could quickly deepen and the nature of the
relationship could drastically change.
We never know who will have a solid impact on our lives. This doesnt
mean a mans should by hypersensitive to the way all people around
him perceive him, but it does mean hes always aware that others can
help or hinder him in accomplishing his goals.
With simple acquaintances and deep friendships, a mans appearance
can and does matter. If the neighbor who owns the startup were to
perceive our fictional man as a slovenly bum who had no concern for
his own appearance or that of his yard, he would be less inclined to
ESSENTIAL #4
A WILLINGNESS TO
EMBRACE TRUTH
The human brain is designed around the concept of eciency. We
take in so much information each day that having to thoroughly
process all of it would overwhelm our minds to complete exhaustion.
As a result, the brain creates as many shortcuts and patterns as it
can.
Clothing and appearance are huge triggers for these shortcuts.
Whether we like it or not, people judge us based on our clothing. We
can always supersede of override the shortcuts created by the brain,
but its much simpler and more eective to trigger them in our favor. A
man can either complain about this reality, or use it to his advantage.
Men are dierent from women. Regardless of how much the current
culture of academia wants us to believe otherwise, human beings are
a sexually dimorphic species. Men and women dierent in ways that
are determined by primary and secondary sexual characteristics,
physical attributes and proclivities, along with social channels. There
are always exceptions to the rules, but - for the vast majority of
people - the dierences between men and women are traceable.
Because of this dierence in nature, men and women have evolved to
use the shortcuts of appearance to accomplish varying goals. For the
most part, women dress primarily to build attraction while men dress
primarily to establish respect. From makeup and high heels to suit
lapels and ties, men and women use our clothing to accomplish
dierent purposes and trigger dierent brain shortcuts. It behooves a
man to understand this and build his wardrobe accordingly.
ESSENTIAL #5
ESSENTIAL #6
A WILLINGNESS TO
EMBRACE SOCIAL RISK
Once a man decides to make life changes, many of the people around
him will chafe at his desire to improve himself. It shines a light on their
own failure to do so. Many men experience negative reactions from
friends, family, and co-workers.
More often than not these negative reactions are no more than goodnatured teasing. A change in appearance is often so easy and so
drastic that a mans loved ones cant help but have a little fun at his
expense. This should be embraced as part of the process and, sooner
rather than later, these same people will begin to see his
improvements as the new default. Its a small discomfort with a large
payo.
On the other hand, other people genuinely resent a man for making
improvements and try to drag him back down to his previous level.
They are crabs in a bucket and dont want anyone else to escape the
same fate they believe they are destined to experience. If any person
in a mans life has a genuinely negative reaction to him dressing
better, this person should be abandoned for the dead weight he is.
On top of the social risk that comes from friends and family, success
in dressing well will lead to positive attention from co-workers,
acquaintances, and complete strangers. I get approached daily by
both men and women who have some sort of comment to make on
what Im wearing. Most will just pay a compliment or ask me where I
found a particular piece. Others have even asked to take pictures of
or with me (thankfully thats the very rare exception and not the rule).
ESSENTIAL #7
A MENTOR
There is no need to reinvent the wheel when it has already been finetuned.
There are dozens of men who run sites and businesses dedicated to
helping men improve their appearance. I know many of these men
and can vouch for their desire to genuinely help the men with whom
they work.
The following list is a group of blogs, YouTube channels, and online
magazines whose proprietors have proven themselves experts in
helping men improve their appearance.
The Eortless Gent
Primer Magazine
Gentlemans Gazette
The Modest Man
Real Men Real Style
I Am Alpha M
Articles of Style
Ryan Magin
Having a mentor can help interpret mistakes and successes so the
former can be avoided more and the latter can be built upon. A good
mentor will also push his protege when he is unwilling to push himself.
The mentor/protege relationship has a proven track record across all
industries. From finance to fitness, business to boxing, all men can
stand to learn from a man who has walked the walk before, is willing
to hold his protege accountable, and is able to apply the right balance
between pressure and encouragement to ensure the success of his
student.
ESSENTIAL #8
A WILLINGNESS TO MAKE
MISTAKES
Making mistakes in inevitable. It doesnt matter what endeavors a
man pursues, he will be incapable of executing them perfectly at the
beginning. Small men use this an excuse to avoid attempting anything
new. Great men embrace the discomfort that comes from making
mistakes and become uneasy when they find themselves going too
many weeks without committing an error.
Sartorial errors are no dierent. Many men will attempt to improve
their wardrobes after seeing a character on a TV show, a spread in a
magazine, or a well-dressed friend wearing something they like.
However, through a lack of experience and understanding, their
attempts to replicate the idealized style will fall short and, often, look
worse than had they not tried to approve their appearance at all.
Rather than letting this discourage him from improving his
appearance, the deliberate man will push through, learn from his
mistakes and improve on them.
As a man gets better at dressing well, he will continue to make
mistakes. In late 2014 I decided I wanted to grow my hair and beard
out longer than Ive ever had them. Wearing a suit and tie every day,
but not working in a corporate environment, I believed the contrast
between the rugged barbarian on top and the rakish gentleman below
would be a great look. For months I endured the awful in-between
stage required to grow ones hair out. I hated it. There was never any
consistency to how my hair looked and I often had to scramble for
something that would look appropriate for events like weddings and
family pictures.
ESSENTIAL #9
man that isnt true and is incongruent with the way in which he
interacts with the world. It is flashy and attention seeking while the
man wearing it is one who prefers to simply dress well. It
communicates an aversion to the rules of social convention while the
man wearing it may be a stickler for manners and decorum.
Along these same lines, as a man starts to dress better he will start to
see himself dierently. His posture may change, as might his selfrespect, his confidence, and the authority in his voice.
As a man starts to dress better people will start to treat him dierently.
Attractive people are perceived as more successful, kinder, and more
intelligent.
As a man starts to dress better his clothing will feel dierent. It may be
tighter in some places and looser in others. It follows his natural
movements dierently and can feel completely foreign.
All of these changes are unfamiliar at first. Both the social and
physical dierences associated with dressing well take some time to
adapt to. Rather than resisting the unfamiliarity that comes with these
changes and claiming discomfort, it benefits a man to push through
the unfamiliarity until it becomes familiar.
Eventually that better-fitting shirt will feel like a second skin, the
improved posture will become second nature, and the increased
receptiveness from other people will be welcomed - not avoided.
However, it is easy for a man to push beyond unfamiliar into
uncomfortable or inconsistent territory. This is where understanding
the communicative value of clothing becomes so crucial.
For a shy introvert, an overly gaudy peacocking style is both
unfamiliar and uncomfortable. It communicates something about the
ESSENTIAL #10
A SENSE OF SELF
Dressing well is ultimately about a man knowing who he is, what he
wants from the world, and what he can provide to those around him.
He dresses in a way that communicates all of these values and virtues
so people can quickly and accurately assess him for the man he is.
All of the nine previous essentials hinge on this final piece. A man
cannot willingly embrace risk and mistake, submit himself to a mentor,
learn to accept unfamiliarity, or even know what he wants to
communicate as a man if he doesnt have a sense of self.
A man of Masculine Style is one who lives and dresses in a way that is
both deliberate and intentional. Neither of which is possible if the man
doesnt know who he is, where is roots are from, and the destination
to which his goals will ultimately lead him.
CONCLUSION