Dressed For Success - by Editor

Men, get this into your heads. Women like guys who dress well. It's that simple. Not that you have to dress well only to impress women, but good, sharp dressing does create a good impression about you all around.

Here are a few tips to get you started on your way to dress success.

Where to go shopping

You don't have to go in for designer duds, but that doesn't mean you do all your shopping at cheap street. Go for a few good brands that don't cost the earth, but are of good quality. If you shop smart, you'll keep an eye out for sales, which are usually at the end of a season. So if you want to buy summer wear, go to the fanciest shop which sells high-quality stuff, sometime around October or whenever it's on sale. You'll be able to manage some great buys at half or quarter the price.

Quality Over Quantity

Remember these three golden words. Quality over quantity, always. Trust me, no one will care if you consistently wear the same three shirts, as long as they are really basic. Men can get away with it (lucky *&^#@s)! But if you wear something too flashy, it would definitely be noticed. So if you have a limited wardrobe, stock it up with really basic stuff.

Wardrobe essentials

• Your wardrobe is incomplete without at least one crisp white shirt with a collar stay so you can wear it with a tie. Invest well and buy a good brand, which you can wear at work or out at night. Go in for button-up formal shirts, and stick to basic colours like blue and white. Once you've built up your wardrobe you can go in for more dramatic shades.
• You can never go wrong with a V-necked knit t-shirt or sweaters with full sleeves. You can wear this by itself, or under a jacket.
• Instead of the traditional banyaan, wear a short-sleeved white t-shirt under your shirts. Not only does this look better, but it also prevents underarm sweat stains on your crisp shirt.
• It's better to have one pair of nice, expensive pants than several pairs of cheap pants. Repeat the mantra: quality over quantity. While men don't usually have dress pants and they would wear the same pair of work pants in the evening, one pair of dress pants wouldn't hurt. Opt for a navy blue pair.
• Get yourself a couple of khaki pants for daily wear.
• Stay away from pleats! Go in for pants with a flat front.
• And, the most basic of them all blue jeans. Get yourself a standard pair of blue jeans. Don't go in for the ripped or faded look no matter how avant-garde it is, unless the trendy jeans are just one of your 7 pairs. Even then, standard dark blue jeans look the best, and these can always be worn out at night as well. Make sure they fit you well. They shouldn't be too tight or too baggy.
• Everybody knows that the first thing a woman notices in a man are his shoes, and then, perhaps his watch. So you can imagine how important accessories are. Luckily for men, they don't need to invest in a dozen shoes as women do. Two or three pairs should do the trick. One formal pair, one casual, and one pair of sneakers are all you really need. Invest well in your formal shoes. They may be expensive, but if you wear them well they can last and last. There's just no excuse for wearing torn, worn out shoes.
• Buy yourself the nicest watch you can afford without creating a big dent in your savings. Once again, don't go in for something too flashy or too sporty. A simple watch with straight, classy lines should do the trick. If possible, avoid the leather strap and go in for a silver strap.
• Keep ties simple and basic. Don't go in for cartoony figures and the likes unless you want to look like a dork. If a certain style of tie is in fashion, get yourself one of those and wear it every once in a while.
• And finally, for heaven's sake, no jewellery! No gold chains or gold bracelets. If you're married, you're allowed a wedding ring, and cufflinks are fine. If you have a kada, that's allowed too. It's alright to wear beads or a black thread with a pendant around your neck if you're going in for the baseball or basket ball player look, which includes loose shirts and baggy trousers, but unless you're a snappy dresser already (in which case what are you reading this for) it's possible to get this look wrong. It's best to just lay off the jewellery.