Why men should dress up and 100 things that happen when they do!

Episode 18 – In this episode, I am sharing why men should take dressing up seriously, why it matters and 100 things (you read that right!) that happen when they do dress up.

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Transcript

Welcome to the Soya Says podcast this is episode 18. Let’s talk about dressing up.

Is it shallow to dress up? Do you think more importance should be given to what’s inside and not how someone’s dressed?

By the way those were trick questions. Whether you like or not, whether you yourself do it or not, whether you think its wrong, the fact is people look at others and make snap judgments.

Let me give you an example. You are on your first date. You are shabbily dressed because you know what matters is what’s inside and not the clothes.

How long do you think the person you are dating will take to know what’s inside? How pure of a heart and how golden of a person you are? Is one date enough? 2? 3? What makes you think the person you are dating will be willing to give you 2 or 3 chances and invest so much time into you just to find out what’s inside?

Actually, let me up the ante some more. Scrap this first date example. Assume you are appearing for a job interview. Will you dress up or would you want the interviewer to figure out the real you and how skillful you are? How much time do you think you have in this situation?

I assume you will cut the BS and actually dress up. That is because you want to make an impression. Someone who is generally dressed well is considered as someone who has his act together, is well organized in life and pays attention to detail. You can communicate all that by simply dressing up.

So what I want to propose today, is for you to give a damn about dressing up. It matters. There is loads of research and quotes and social experiments and other inspirational stuff out there that talks about dressing sharp but we are not going into it, we are just talking about the 100 reasons why you, Sir, need to dress up!

So in no particular order and with due respect to themodestman.com,

1. Women check you out
2. Men check you out
3. Cars stop to let you cross the street
4. You smile more!
5. Strangers ask you for directions
6. Friends start asking you for style advice
7. Random people ask for style advice
8. Your boss let’s you slide on that deadline
9. You get the job (even though it wasn’t your best interview)
10. People bring you into their inner circle. They want to collaborate with you and be around you because they like the way you make them feel. You project confidence and goodwill.
11. People inherently trust you
12. Some people dislike you
13. People laugh at your jokes (even when they’re not very funny)
14. Your friends make fun of you for being “metro” or even “gay”
15. Your friends start copying your style
16. You sometimes feel silly when experimenting with new looks
17. You notice style mistakes everywhere
18. At hotels, you sometimes get upgraded to a suite.
19. You try hard not to judge people for making those mistakes
20. You give (and receive) that small nod of approval to other well-dressed men
21. People smile at you more
22. You detest clothes that don’t fit
23. All of the sudden, half your wardrobe doesn’t fit
24. You cringe when you see old pictures of yourself
25. You’re not as impressed with other well dressed people.
26. You see collar gap all the time, everywhere (especially on celebrities)
27. You have mornings where you effortlessly just nail your outfit
28. There are days when you’re late to work because you can’t figure out what you want to wear
29. People compliment you regularly
30. You resist the urge to tell random strangers to get their pants hemmed
31. You expect more of yourself. Other people expect more of you.
32. You start to expect the occasional compliment
33. Women who never noticed you before notice you
34. You feel the urge to get (or stay) fit
35. Suits become comfortable
36. You acquire accessories (sunglasses, watches, belts)
37. You acquire more accessories (bags, ties, pocket squares)
38. Your apparel budget triples
39. Women mind less when they catch you checking them out
40. You notice the style details (good or bad) in everyone you see. You become an expert people watcher.
41. Men become jealous of you
42. People expect you to act like you dress
43. People expect you to be well spoken
44. Everyone says ‘hi’ to you
45. You ask random men for advice on style forums
46. You critique outfits for random men on style forums
47. Acronyms like MFA, OCBD, DB, and MoP mean something to you
48. People assume you’re the boss or work at high end establishments, they assume you have money, that you own the Lexus or Mercedes parked out front.
49. Older people assume the best about you
50. Superiors at work take you more seriously
51. Cabs always pick you up
52. You realize that going sockless can be delightful
53. You get comfortable with people looking at you
54. You give half your clothes away
55. Baristas and servers remember your name
56. You start hating business casual (you’d much prefer just casual or dressy)
57. Bartenders serve you first.
58. You stop wearing sneakers
59. Every time you wear loafers your friends say: “Oh, you’re dressing up? Now I have to change!”
60. You’re girlfriend becomes proud of you in a new way
61. You begin to understand the power of appearances
62. Shopping becomes sport
63. You constantly receive packages in the mail
64. You always have something that needs to be returned
65. You consider moving just to get more closet space
66. Your dry cleaning bill quadruples
67. It all starts to make sense. You can make smart, confident decisions about what goes with what. You start trusting yourself when something doesn’t look right, and you know why.
68. You hate being underdressed
69. You overdress sometimes (but it’s better than being underdressed)
70. You know your measurements
71. You understand why women love walk in closets
72. In meetings, people let you speak
73. The top drawer of your dresser fills up with buttons, collar stays, pins, sewing kits and cuff links
74. You start following style blogs…lots of style blogs
75. Sunday becomes wardrobe maintenance day (laundry, shoe shining, ironing)
76. If you’re a young guy, people assume you’re older. If you’re an older guy, people assume you’re younger.
77. Grooming becomes much more important
78. You experiment with different hairstyles
79. Women value your opinion about their style
80. You look forward to cold weather (layers!)
81. Packing becomes more difficult
82. You always want to dress appropriately for the occasion
83. You get your shoes shined
84. You inspire change in those around you. Your friends and colleagues see how confident and put-together you look, and it gives them a (positive) kick in the pants to up their game.
85. You get to know a cobbler
86. And a watch repairman
87. Outfits and hairdos that you assumed you couldn’t pull off become viable options
88. You learn how to iron
89. You ditch your college jeans
90. You realize just how versatile a good pair of chinos is
91. Your wardrobe expands significantly
92. You long for a lean, versatile wardrobe
93. Your posture starts to change.
94. People assume you’re wealthy
95. Cardigans and Henley shirts become wardrobe staples
96. You feel guilty when you hang a nice shirt on a cheap wire hanger
97. You acquire wooden hangers and shoe trees
98. You get noticed. People remember you as the guy who’s ‘always dressed up’.
99. You become happier
100. You keep pushing yourself, because it’s a journey, not a destination

So here’s the thing. Are some of these points total BS? Absolutely. But do some of them make sense? Absolutely. The one thing that I want you to take away from this podcast episode is to start giving a damn about how you are dressed and realize the fact that it matters.