I have been facing a little bit of scrunity in the office for the past couple of months. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I sometimes show up late to work or because I always sleep in my cubicle. But it was about the way I dressed to work. It was a bit of a shock because I have been wearing pretty much the so-called standard office wear to work since I started working a few years back; long-sleeve shirts, slacks and leather shoes.
So according to my boss everything was perfect except for the fact that my button-down shirts and pants are a little bit too tight. He then mentioned about how to dress up and look professional. And at the end of our little “chit-chat’ in his office he asked me to “tone it down” and try to wear something that fits.
I went back home that day and looked in the mirror. I started to ask myself. How tight is too tight?
I flipped through my GQ and Esquire magazines and found all these images from their ‘how-to’ articles about perfect work clothes. I was not surprised at all when I see the image of Taylor Lautner all smile with his muscle almost bursting out from his tiny office button-down shirts. My shirts are not as tight, that’s for sure. And then I surfed the net for some fashion runway shots of models wearing suits with skinny pants at Gucci. Well my pants are not as tight and skinny.
After a few hours of reading and researching. Here are some of the rules about tight shirts and pants that I think we should all put into consideration.
1. Always buy shirts or pants that are meant to be worn fitted and snug. Never buy regular fit items one size smaller to achive the same skinny look because it won’t work. You will end up with uneven silhouette.
2.If you can’t button down the collar of your shirt then it is not made for your body. They don’t call the shirt “button down” for nothing.
3. If you’re a buffed guy, there is nothing wrong about showing off your fruit of labor in tight or fitted office wear. Just make sure they are not too sheer and the only thing that could be seen is some slight muscle stretching under the shirt when you move. Now that’s hot!
4.Skinny office pants is not really a bad idea. Just make sure you avoid the mammal-toe situation underneath and choose pants with a little bit of stretch in the fabric.
5. Skip these whole tight, skinny office wear altogether if you’re a big guy. Stick to what look best on you but it doesn’t mean that you have to look like you’re wearing a potato sack. Have you shirt and pants tailored instead.
And as for me, I’m still going to wear what I wear. Maybe in darker colors because skinny silhoutte doesn’t look too obvious that way.
Photos: gq.com, esquire.com, healingdream
