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Dressing Your Babe

 

Valentines is the best holiday for me. It is when the fashion industry quietly unleashes the new spring season looks for men. In the name of love I shop for the most irresistible of men’s fashion. I present to you the beauty of men’s fashionable shirts because there are tall men, averaged men and short men out there and let’s face it women do go shopping for their men.

For me, men’s shirts are just as fascinating as buying a dress. All women have bought their special guy a nice dressy shirt or a regular one. For the sake of keeping the spirit of St. Valentines, I will focus on how to buy the perfect shirt whether for your dad, uncle, brother, boyfriend or husband.

Men do not publicly admire fashion as openly as women do. They don’t go to each other’s apartments and talk about Calvin Klein’s latest double breasted suit while watching a Giant’s game. Are you kidding?! Men secretly read GQ, Men’s Journal and Detail magazine while they’re in the bathroom perusing the latest fashions that are being sold at Lord and Taylor. Men do care about their appearance as much as the next fashion femme fatale. I’ve caught my dad posing in front of a mirror while trying on a dressy shirt. He’s an old school Latino so he never buttons the top three buttons. I save a lot because I don’t have to buy ties. I’ve even noticed my brother admiring Tommy Bahama black leather jackets from my catalogs. Men regard fashion the way women do, a means for self esteem and to impress. When it comes to fashion, men and women share the same exact levels of importance. It is so we can be noticed, checked out, salivated over because we all want to be wanted.

There are six categories when considering buying a man’s shirt: designer, design, material, cut, size and price.

Designers like Calvin Klein, CK, Geoffrey Beene, Kenneth Cole, BCBG//Attitude, DKNY and Van Heusen are known to make the most comfortable, sexy and beautifully tailored shirts a man can wear for any occasion. These labels can be found in Macys, Lord and Taylor, Bloomindales and even Century 21. Their attention to stitching, fabric and design make these designers the best in the industry because they care how a man looks and feels in clothing.

Depending on the occasion, I have a myriad of designs to choose from. If I am shopping for my loved one to dress for a wedding, I would buy a nice point collar or angle cuffed shirt so he can look clean cut. Satin twills or sateen shirts which make a man look sexy are perfect for parties while a pocket less button collard French cut shirt compliments any man at the office. Remember, women dress for various occasions and so do men. Don’t we want our men to be decent, respectable and hot. You’re damn right we do.

Feeling material is the best way to know if you are buying quality that will last with every washing or dry cleaning. Wrinkle free or non-iron, 100% shirts are the best to buy because they can withstand massive amounts of man seat. This is where buying certain designers pays off. Kenneth Cole makes the best shirts I have ever molested because they create shirts with different hues from vibrant colors. Remember, I’m Latina so I love color. Vintage blue, blue topaz and blue frost are distinctive blues that make any man look handsome. Honestly, every man looks good in blue. A series of different pin stripped shirts have been designed for Kenneth Cole. In January the Neoteric shirt in vintage rose and purple dusk was released which look amazing on any man. The Current shirts will be featured in February are smooth earth tones while the Moderne shirts in March display various thin blue pinstripes in 100% cotton. These are just the beginning of the Kenneth Cole excellent 2008 collection. My wallet is already popping out of my purse.

One can have the perfect shirt ready to be purchased at the counter but do you know your loved ones cut or fit? The cut in a man’s shirt is the length and width of a shirt. It is not the size. A regular fit is the overall largest size. It is the standard traditional silhouette equal to a one size fits all type of fit because it is perfectly square and boxy. The modern fit is a shorter cut and more tailored to fit a man’s sides. A slim fit is usually mistaken as the smaller size to buy. It is contoured to fit a man’s body giving them a slimmer shape but it’s the fitted shirt that is the smallest and shortest cut size. An important rule, men are not referred to as petite, they are to be referred to as short. Never call a man small, men take personal offense to that. A fitted shirt will still make a short man look just as desirable and sexy as a large guy wearing a modern fit shirt. Fitted shirts are tapered at the waist so we can try to see abs if we want to and they have a shorter cut so men don’t find themselves tucking in their shirts down to their knees. Geoffrey Beene makes great fitted shirts for short men. They are made of excellent smooth material.

Now that you are aware of what cut you need to buy the next question is what size do you buy? It is much simpler to understand men sizes. All you have to know when buying a shirt is the neck and sleeve size. Basic neck sizes run from 14-18.5.
14 is an x-small, the 14.5-15 is small, 15.5 is medium, 16-16.5 is large, 17-17.5 is x-large and 18-18.5 is xx-large. Men like to have neck room whether they wear a tie or not. Men don’t like to feel choked so make sure you know his preference. It’s not just about fit it’s about comfort. Sleeve size usually defines a man’s height. To find what a man’s height is you start directly at the edge of a man’s shoulder and end at the top of his wrist bone. This is how you measure the shirt length for a man and have fun doing it. Remember the spirit of Valentines.
 

32/33 is the shortest length for a man 34/35 is for an averaged man. 36/37 is for a tall man.

When you buy a shirt you have to be aware of these sizes and not just the neck size. If the man in your life is averaged height and thin you can get a 15 or 15.5 neck size at 34/35. The following grid is a standard guideline to help you.
 

As with women’s petite clothing not all short sizes are made available for purchase. 32/33 – 14.5 is hard to find and some stores do not even carry them. You have to hunt the shelves early in Macys for this size.

When you finally get that perfect shirt in your hand make sure you check pricing. The most expensive and amazing shirts that are worth spending money are perfectly tailored, soft yet durable, mouthwatering shirts. This may be a Sex in the City cliché but every woman should try wearing nothing but your man’s shirt and notice how sexy you will feel. Geoffrey Beene and Van Heusen are labels that Macy’s always puts on sale and these shirts are moderately priced at $30.00 - $45.00. Always use coupons when shopping at Macys so you can buy 2 shirts instead of one and make your loved one a happy man.

These are the best tips I can give regarding buying something simple but equally important to a man. It’s all about taste and style satisfaction. A man will always remember who gave him what shirt. Shirts are personal for them. If you don’t think so just watch him with the shirt on while he’s flexing his muscles in front of a mirror. That just speaks for itself.
 

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