The Casual Dilemma

Walking in your new suit to work this morning and you felt like a million bucks going down the street. You step into work and everyone is giving you assuring looks as you step in. You're going out tonight to celebrate your brand new promotion that you probably got from wearing that awesome suit in the first place. What should I wear tonight? The suit? Again?

Looking great and trying to go casual can be tedious and frustrating for every man since the decision of what's okay to wear is forever looming over one's head. Going casual can be difficult as you do not know how to tackle the question but can be a cinch with the appropriate tools in your closet. Hym will give you easy to follow steps to make sure you don't look like a disappointment out of work.

The Button Up- If your a slim man stick to "slim fit" button ups and always tuck in that shirt into your pants, it's called casual not coach potato, try to look like you put some sort of effort. For those muscular or bigger men stick to "classic". It gives you the extra room you need in the chest, back, arms and stomach without making you look bulky.

Stick to one toned down color or a two-toned striped, this is not the piece where you have fun in. Unless you're wanting to make a statement such as jean on jean. Very hard to pull off but can be done with a very good sense of style (shown on right).

The Pants- Jeans or khakis are the go-to for the casual look. Dress pants can look horrible or look like you left your suit jacket somewhere. Make sure you wear your pants all the way up since your tucking in your shirt and get a nice fit where it isn't too baggy. Really dark washes, without designs, are the best to go for. Make it look structured with a nice leather belt.

The Shoes- These can be easily chosen with the earlier post about shoes below. Stick to shoes and not sneakers of course since the way you look afterwork can definitely weigh more to one's opinion than at work. With jeans and shoes do not wear white gym socks or black ones either for that matter. Dress socks are the way to go, something that goes completely away from the color of the shoe, stick to neutrals, argyle was in 25 years ago.

Accessories- Ties are always optional but preferred. Slim fit ties should not be thinner than 3 inches or wider than 4. The end of the tie should fall in the middle of the belt buckle. Vests can be worn that match somewhat with your shoes (tweed is in). Pull over V-Neck sweaters can be useful as well, make sure you get the "deep V" so you can frame the button up and the tie. Shades are always a no, unless the sun is murdering your eyes - leave the shades

at home or in your car. Cufflinks are always an unnecessary statement to make, if your trying to show off a bit try to do so with a nice tie clip. It's more the center of attention than the sides of your wrists anyway.

Hym suggests: Button ups and ties are the only two things not to skim over about while shopping. Check Zara Man for really good quality shirts at an affordable price. Ties can be given away at J.Crew with the awesome sales they have weekly on top of the student discount they offer year round. Jeans and khakis can be snatched up at Uniqlo for the price of $29.99 for a Japanese denim that'll look 3 times more expensive. Vests can be found at J.Crew, they offer tons of choices make sure you get the tweed ones though.

Go out looking casual but look casual while making a statement.