Be the best dressed

My father has good advice when it comes to furthering your professional career. Above anything else, he completely knows what he’s talking about in this arena and I’ve benefited from it many times. I on the other hand have good advice about fashion and being cool, which my father has no idea about. Over the years I’ve found that much of his advice could easily be converted into my world. One if his best and my favorites: “Find out who the rainmaker is, the man who gets the job done, the man who everyone looks to as the best at what he does. Find out who that is, what he does to gain respect and you do the same thing, but do it better”.


*Steve, not a fashion plate. Shirt and pants - Brooks Brothers

The same can be said for fashion. Find out who everyone considers to be the best dressed or has the coolest look. It could simply be someone you think looks great and just one up them. Be the one they talk about by doing what they do only just a little better.

Strive to be the best dressed man in the room. This doesn’t always take money; it takes effort and care. Take stock of your own style, take care of your garments, making sure they fit and do what style guru Tim Gunn always says, “Make it work”.



Being the best dressed has a lot of perks. You stand out but in a positive way and look respectable. A man taking pride in his appearance is just as impressive as when you see a woman doing the same. To the winner go the spoils.

As for selecting your style front runner, you’re picking a “real” person to emulate. This way you have a better chance of actually accomplishing that look. When you pick celebs there’s a pretty good chance you’ll never be able to look like them only adding to your frustration. You don’t have the money, the time or the staff to pull it off. Jimmy in acquisitions is mortal, Brad Pitt is not.

Keep in mind that this can be done over time and doesn't need to be an everyday occurrence. Don't get it twisted; I don't look my best everyday. I don't have the time or the money to truly be the best at every meeting or personal event. However, what I make sure I do is select pieces that go well together so even if it's a slow fashion day I still look presentable with some sort of flair. You can do the same.

Why Ed Hardy SUCKS!

Ed Hardy describes themselves as Vintage Tattoo Wear and the entire line of clothing, stores and accessories are flat out nauseating. The in-store experience seems like a crappy tattoo shop threw up all over the walls. The clothes are just as bad, adding little to further fashion or style. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about the look they create. Under no circumstances should anyone that has self respect let alone can see wear clothes that look like this.

Let’s take a look at their website.

Aside from the page not being created correctly (the alignments are off, they use too many different fonts for consistency’s sake, images aren’t working properly, etc.) it’s one red flag after another. Frankly after seeing what they have to offer and the way it’s presented I can’t imagine a person with any sense going on to purchase.


Let’s focus on the places circled in red.

Strike one: The hat looks ridiculous on this douche. It’s too high and really, you want a flaming skull on your head? Really?

Strike two: They are already marketing and selling their crap to kids. Didn’t they learn their lesson from Von Dutch?

Here’s why the kid thing is bad: A trend will start with a very small demographic of trend setters and influencers. These influencers are viewed as such and the masses strive to be like that small demographic thus spreading the trend. The original idea then becomes watered down and less authentic usually getting mass produced by a crap brand like Ed Hardy. They have the money and distribution to fill the demand. The true trend setters and influencers that started the look in the first place have already left at this point.

So, by making it available to kids you have already alienated your target market, in this case blind, semi-mentally challenged young adults. No one wants to see the same hat on a 10 year old that you’re wearing to the club. There is a reason Gucci doesn’t make suits for kids.

Strike three: Any time you have an option to purchase something with rhinestones you should immediately walk the other way. Yes this goes for embodiment on jeans; we’ll address that later.

Strike four: Three strikes you’re out but the forth comes in the form of the unappealing image of douche-ness that is these two yahoos modeling the clothes. Don’t look directly at the image; you might burn your retina.

In conclusion, an open letter to the Ed Hardy enthusiast: I hope you are very happy with your existence in mediocrity. You are truly living up the dream of being unoriginal and down right ridiculous. Pat yourself on the back big guy, you deserve it.

My exact thoughts on the brand brought to you through the majesty of photography.

When trends die

When I lived in NYC I was lucky enough to inhabit the Lower East Side in Chinatown before it was overrun by white people. When that happens, the flavor of the neighborhood always changes and rarely for the better. It was still gritty and untouched. This made it great for watching to see what ‘cool’ trends would immerge.

Some of the best examples of how trends start are written about in The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Check it out for further info as he does a far better job then me.

You could walk down the street and see a few teens chillin’ on the corner dressed a certain way and you just knew that in 6 months you’ll see that same outfit at the Gap or American Apparel. I saw some of the best and worst trends during my time in the city. The leggings under skirts trend well before Lindsay Lohan picked it up. The trucker hat phase (please go away). Skinny jeans.



I try very hard to not follow what usually ends up being a 6 month flash in the pan. You also don’t want to look back at pictures and truly say, “What the fuck was I thinking”? Pretty much the entirety of the 80’s falls into this category. I can’t wear skinny jeans because I’m built like a normal human male and trucker hats are the one of dumbest things ever created. I actually like the leggings thing on chicks.

The thing you need to do is be able to spot when a trend is on its way down and don't get on. Usually the best way to know is if Middle America is following a trend, it’s already done. But, there are many other things that tell you the end is near. Here are some sure fire ways to tell if a trend is dead:

If babies/toddlers are wearing the trend (remember Von Dutch?)


The trend starts to get parodied (remember Von Dutch?)


You’re mother and father start wearing it!

In general, when old people try rockin’ the cool kid wears it’s time to move on. Please see the below picture for an example.


This guy was at the bar over the weekend. This dude was weighing in at a solid 350lbs and was well over 50. The little sprite next to him known as Corley was kind enough to get a picture with them so I could prove my point.

This guy has no business wearing a wack-ass Ed Hardy trucker hat for a few reasons. It looks ridiculous, trucker hats stopped being cool in ’03 (6 months after they became cool), he’s OLD and Ed Hardy might be the worst thing to happen to fashion, ever.

Be honest, after you look at this picture, you want to retire your Ed Hardy hat (and hit the gym), don’t you? Of course you do because it looks like shit and this is where the brand is going. You better get off that plane before it careens into a mountain. Keep this look up and you deserve to be on it when it crashes.

My Advice: Don’t chase trends people. Sure, you’ll “fit in” with the crowd but is that really what you want? Take a good hard look before you purchase that piece you saw all the kids on MTV wearing and ask yourself, “Is this really going to last”? Frankly, if a brand/look is clearly a trend, like Ed Hardy or Von Dutch are, it’s best to skip it and continue to dress like an adult.

Please see tomorrow’s post on Why Ed Hardy SUCKS

The not so standard office

Like most of you people and the rest of America, I work in a typical office. However, I do not work in an industry that requires the "standard office uniform" of dress pants and button-downs. This trend is ever expanding.

Recently, fields such as finance, where typically a suit is required are falling prey to this trend. This can be a blessing to us free-style thinkers but a real demise for those out there that have no idea what to wear. The office uniform is an easy look that most people can master with little effort.

Schools institute uniforms so everyone looks the same and helps to eliminate competition/distraction. The same can be said for offices. A standard work uniform can give a company’s employees the illusion of put togetherness. Clients like to see the people they are paying looking respectable. The uniform can also save people from style mistakes.

So what happens when you don’t have that mandated style path to follow?

Don't freak out, you have two options.

Option 1: You give yourself a uniform. Maybe you become the dress pants and button-down guy or pull a Michael Kors and wear the same outfit every single day (black t-shirt, black blazer and jeans). Don’t get me wrong, Kors looks good and put together, but everyday? Pitfalls of this practice are pigeonholing yourself as a one trick pony or being flat out boring. If I wear a suit to work my boss assumes I have an interview. Yeah, it’s like that.

Option 2: Pay attention to what you wear and mix classic standards and styles with updated fashion ideas. Try these quick looks:

* Black dress pants with a simple light striped button-down, tucked in of course, but rock with a pair of bright white sneakers. Go old school like Adidas or Converse.


* Throw on a simple black t-shirt (no, there can’t be anything printed on it) with mid-tone wash jeans and a black blazer. No, don’t tuck in the t-shirt. Top it all off with a pair of shined, black classic cap-toe lace-ups. This outfit looks grownup because of the blazer and the classic shoe but the jeans and simple t-shirt bring up the cool factor. Professional but stylish. A man pushing a look like this is assumed to have his shit together. Michael Kors does it for a reason.



* Pair dark jeans with a button-down. Roll up the sleeves above the elbow and throw on a loosely tied tie. You can go with anything on your feet as long as it’s matching your belt.

It all comes down to paying attention and looking like you care but aren't trying too hard. You don't want to dress way above your other co-workers and you don't want to look like you got dressed in the dark. Find that middle ground where you feel comfortable as well as being proud of what you're presenting to your peers.

Dean Week – Day 3

Lovely readers, this might not have been the best week for "Dean Week". Dean has had clients in the office nearly everyday this week making his outfits the standard uniform. They are pretty simple and he’s got it down well enough we don’t need to do a daily critique. That and we all know the only thing that Dean changes day to day is the shirt.

The beauty of Dean is his normal work attire so we’ll wait until his schedule slows down and he gets back to the man we love. That said, below is a little taste of what’s to come. Stay tuned and enjoy.


*I think this picture of Dean next to the “women” sign is bad ass.

This entire outfit is one infraction after another. Let’s go top down.

Shirt: A shiny Nylon/Polyblend golf shirt. It’s clear it’s a golf shirt because the embroidered golf club on the breast pocket tells us so. The words “appropriate work attire” would not have a picture of this shirt next to it. We’re happy you played that course, and I’m sure you had a great 18, but save it for the weekends.

Dean is far from the only person guilty of this infraction, he’s simply being used as an example. Dean's here to help us learn!

Is an undershirt really needed with something so casual, lightweight and loose fitting? No. At least today it’s a similar color to the shirt.

The sleeves are way too long almost covering the elbow. The shirt sleeves should fall at mid bicep when arms are down. You’ll look taller because you’re not cutting off the site lines. Showing more skin here is a good thing, helping you look taller and more toned.

Also, this might be the longest polo ever made. It should fall right below your belt, not completely cover your crotch.

Jeans: Where to start? I didn’t know they still made a wash that light. I thought we learned our lesson in the mid-90’s. They fit well around the legs and are the right length; they’re simply a terrible color. Darker is always better. Dark washes give you a more grown-up look, and it helps eliminate the casual element of the polo.

Shoes: Brown hiking boots are for just that, hiking. Outside. The amount of rough terrain in the office halls is at a minimum these days, so I’m confident the walk to and from meetings can be dealt with a simple black dress shoe.

Not shown: The belt, which is black and we all know it should be brown if the shoes are brown. Swing and a miss.

Rule of thumb: Black or grey on top? Wear a black belt and shoes. Just do it. It looks better.

Redeeming aspect: The belt has a hidden zipper compartment on the inside where you can store money, drugs, print outs of this blog, etc. That’s just "man cool".


Overall assessment: I don’t want to say this is the Bill Buckner of outfits but it’s close. Can’t wait for what’s next!

Dean Week – Day 1 & 2

This week Dean has a client in town. This makes a button-down and ‘client pants’ (as we’ve all come to know dress pants by) a necessity. Overall, not that bad in the style department, but it’s hard to mess up this standard outfit. Here’s how this could be a whole lot better:

First, the shirt is tucked in, which is the most important piece of this ensemble. If you care enough to wear a button-down with dress pants, tuck it in. It looks sloppy otherwise. You gain huge ‘put together points’ if you’re tucked.

Blue shirt. The shirt is at least 1 size too big. Dean has a small waist but he creates a boxy look if the shirt's shoulders and upper back are too big. The shirt will blouse too much out of the pants, and makes him look bigger then he is in the middle. Another downfall: The shirt is buttoned up too much, for my taste. The undershirt is sticking out. Either button to the top and slap on a tie, or loose the second button and put on a v-neck undershirt.

If you think the tie is too stuffy or formal for the meeting, you can always roll up the sleeves with a tie. This automatically makes the look less formal and carries a certain level of swagger. “I care enough about this meeting to wear a tie but I’m rolled up showing you I’m a little too cool for this meeting”. Pulled off correctly, this is a powerful look.

Take a look at the picture of Dean in the yellow shirt. This fits much better on the shoulders and thus slims him down a lot. It easily drops him 10lbs making his waist smaller, shoulders broader and flat out sexier. See how much better you can look when your clothes fit? Get yo shit tailored!

I don't know why he has his eyes closed in each picture. That wasn't planned.

Pants: Not bad. It’s part of a suit, jacket not seen. I don’t love the texture of the fabric or the color, but they are the right length. It could be a richer color.

Side note, when can we all move away from pleats? One is OK sometimes but let’s move to flat front only, even for a suit. Seriously.

Belt: It matches the shoes. Thank God.

Shoes: Dean’s from West Texas so the ostrich cowboy boots are completely on point for this outfit. They show off his personality and look cool enough to wear with dress pants. Not everyone can pull this off, but he can. Also, you can’t go wrong with black.

Overall assessment: This outfit works. The major issue I have with it is it’s forgettable. Except for the boots I don’t remember what he had on. In everything you wear, something should be the standout. You want someone walking away thinking about something you had on. “Those shoes were bad ass” or “I wish I could pull that shirt off”. Yes, guys think about that. Keep it tucked in, pick more aggressive colors and you have a winner.

Dean Week

Welcome to Dean Week!



A new feature on the Wondergood Style Blog will be a daily look at a single person’s fashion/style choices over a 5 day period. We’ll discuss the good (if there are any) and the bad in hopes we can all learn from another's mistakes. It will also help to see real life examples as they pertain to real people.

This week’s subject will be Dean, a co-worker of mine. He’s over 30 and a handsome devil. I think his personality, his looks and athletic physique help him get away with having, lets just say it, no style at all. Unfortunately, not everyone has the skills to pull off bad looks.

I believe that Dean is the perfect person to be showcased first. He knows little and cares even less about fashion and has a lot to learn. There are easy steps even Dean can follow to step us his game. We’re going to investigate those steps all this week. Get pumped.