The Proper Blog

Even the best quality dress shirts need to be properly cared for.  Here are some tips that can really make a difference.

1.) Iron the collar right

Some dry cleaners will get this right for you and some won’t – but the point is that the collar should have a smooth curve around your neck.  If it has sharp angles – like the back is straight and it curves sharply to the front of the shirt – you have room for improvement.  Take an iron and smooth this out before you head out the door.

2.) Lightly starch the front of the shirt under the collar

If you wear the shirt with an open collar (without a tie), then the trick to looking good is to have the shirt effortlessly hang open and stay in the right place.  You’ve surely seen the guys with the top two buttons unbuttoned and the shirt sort of falling in on itself.  This is easy to beat with just a little starch and iron to this part of the shirt.

3.) Don’t leave dirty white shirts hanging in the closet for weeks straight

If you live in a colder climate, you can usually get away with wearing a shirt two or three times between washings.  (I am NOT saying this is ALWAYS OK – Be sensitive to the fact that you may have B.O. and adjust accordingly).  While you may not sweat much during the day, there’s no avoiding body oils from your neck getting on your collar.  Leaving these oils on your collar for weeks straight will cause that ugly yellow ring.  Not cool.  Wash it quick.

4.) Remove the collar stays from you shirt before washing

They’re removable for a reason.  Two actually.  First, if you put them through the washing process, they invariably become warped.  The whole point of collar stays is to keep your collar straight – so this obviously doesn’t work very well.  Second, it’s better to press or iron your collar without the collar stays installed.  Many fabrics will reveal a faint outline of the collar stay if you iron the shirt with them in.  (To remove this line, get the collar wet – removing any starch on it – and then iron it dry)

5.) Make sure your shirt fits.

There are so many fit points to consider.  Midsections and sleeves are usually too baggy, collars are too tight, lengths are too long or too short…  Let’s just say, you probably know if your shirt doesn’t fit right.  You can try having a tailor fix your existing closet or opt for custom fit dress shirts to begin with.

Stay Proper.

We recently got our hands on Esquire Magazine’s “Handbook of Style” - a cool little black book with loads of information, advice and style rules for men.  We like it – and can definitely recommend it as a suplement to closely following The Proper Blog.  Just remember – rules are made to be broken, so do your own thing.  Here are the top ten tips the book provides (and our thoughts)

1.) Know your neck size – you should be able to fit one finger between your collar and neck when buttoned up.

Yes – without a doubt.  Sleeve length is helpful to.  You should know these.  If you don’t, drop by Proper Cloth and we’ll take your measurements for you.

2.) A tie’s stripes should always be bolder than a shirts.

This is pretty sound advice.  Of course there are exceptions to this rule though.  But, if you find yourself always being the exception, then please double check if you are dressing like an idiot.

3.) It’s ok to not wear socks in summer, but only if you give your sweaty shoes a break every other day.

Ok, this one left us speechless followed quickly by WTF?  I never understood the attraction of wearing sneakers without socks- but do what you want – at least until it starts smelling.

4.) An invitation saying “black-tie optional” means you can choose between a black tie (tuxedo) and a suit, but it really means black tie.

We generally disagree with this – but it depends on what sort of parties you’re going to.  In business school we had several formal “black-tie optional” affairs and at all of them, it was often a minority wearing tuxedos.  Depending on your age and the caliber of events you go to, there’s a good chance you don’t really need a tux – but – of course, it doesn’t hurt.

5.) Know the nuances of khaki pants – don’t roll up the cuffs to your calves like clam diggers unless you are actually digging for clams.

No comment.  We don’t wear khakis, we don’t dig for clams and we don’t roll our pants up.

6.) Never put eyewear, your cell phone, an ink pen, or a bulging key chain in your pants pockets.

Hold on!  Are you serious?  We understand that having stuff bulging out of your pockets can be distracting and unappealing, but there’s NOTHING wrong with having your cell phone in your pocket!  Those clip-on-your-belt cell phone holders are so nerdy looking.

7.) There are three proper ways to tie your shoes: straight laced, criss-cross, and over-under.

Ummm – who really cares?

8.) Your wallet is for credit cards only – cash goes in a money clip in your front pocket.

I had never heard this before – always thought that men simply had the option of money clip or wallet… turns out we need both… What’s so bad about putting cash in the wallet anyways? If you have ideas about this, please share them.

9.) The five terms your barber will understand are thinned out, layered, choppy, razored, and texturized.

Unless your barber is a man in china-town that doesn’t speak English…

10.) It is acceptable to wear your jeans five to ten times between washings – but fewer if they get visibly dirty or baggy at the knee.

Thanks for approving of our dirty secrets!

Stay Proper!

I’ve kind of stopped paying attention to the news lately – been getting a little depressing.

However, I couldn’t help but overhear that last week, something like 70,000 125,000 people were laid off.  This whole financial crisis thing used to just be New York’s problem, but now it seems that ANYONE is a potential victim.  With several friends and former classmates currently “inbetween jobs”, I thought I might try to help with a list:

1.) Really (really) recognize that you HATED your job anyways

You were not happy there.  Your boss was an asshole.  You wanted to punch a koala.

You were stressed out all the time.  You never had time to date.  You never had time to exercise.  You despised flight AA4749 from JFK to Washington DC every f***ing Monday.  You were not passionate about what you were doing.  Actually half the time, you weren’t really doing anything.  An overpaid, under appreciated memo-writer.  That’s what you were. And now you’re free.

2.) Don’t stress out trying to find new work overnight

If you’ve ever been to Pamplona in July, you know that panic and stress can be contagious.  Similarly, massive layoffs and CNBC encourage panic.   Don’t fall into this trap.  It is pointless.  Keep your composure.  Becoming desperate will ruin your quality of life, and your chances of getting hired. Most companies are not hiring now anyways (they’re firing).  So, don’t get all pissed off if your buddy across the street can’t find a place for you tomorrow.  Unemployment is a marathon, so pace yourself.  You’ve got a severance package, ride it.

3.) Exercise

There is absolutely no excuse not to be in tip-top-ab-ripping-bench-press-250-lbs-and-run-10-miles shape now.  You have the time.  You have the flexibility, so work it into your week.  You’ll look better and feel better.  Exercise  brings mental clarity.  Enjoy it.

4.) Keep a schedule and stay busy

When you were still working at your dead-end job your days were scheduled for you.  Be in the office by 9:00, meeting at 10:00, meeting wrap-up at 11:00, conference call at 12:30, pitch review at 4:00… And of course there were endless emails to respond to all day long to fill in the gaps.  Now that is all gone, and you have to schedule your own day.  Do not fall into the habit of sleeping in till 11:00, watching television for an hour, sending your resume to a recruiter, checking your email (nothing), updating your facebook status (bored), checking your email again (nothing still), watching some more TV… According to Seth Godin, the opposite of happiness is boredom.  Avoid it by planning your days in advance.  Join a sports league, travel, go to the museum, network with friends, go on dates.  You have free time.  Don’t waste it.

5.) Find your passion

Since you know you hated your last job so much, why the hell are you applying for another one just like it?  The only way to find your passion is to get off of your couch and try something new.  Take a cooking class, volunteer for a youth group, run for city office, try improv, become a photographer, promote for a night club, start a blog about the price of oil, or even work for a really cool startup that sells custom clothing online.