So let’s get into the five men’s wardrobe essentials. 

 Versatile Footwear: The Right Shoes For the Job

Every man needs at least one pair of casual shoes, one pair of dress shoes, and one pair of boots.

• Casual Men’s Shoes: When it comes to casual shoes you’ve got a lot of options. Sneakers are a good pick but if you are only going to have one pair of sneakers, what colour should they be? Definitely, white sneakers work with a wide variety of outfits but they really show the dirt. If you want to avoid scuff marks go for a solid black sneaker with a black sole or if you want to stand out from the crowd, pick a two-tone sneaker in two neutral colours, like blue and brown. I will go with everything. A navy suede looks particularly great with jeans.
• Men’s Dress Shoes: This brings us to dress shoes. The question to ask when choosing your first pair of dress shoes is, ‘How dressed-up am I going to get? If you don’t dress up much, a casual loafer is a great option.

• Men’s Dress Shoes: This brings us to dress shoes. The question to ask when choosing your first pair of dress shoes is, ‘How dressed-up am I going to get?’ If you don’t dress up much, a casual loafer is a great option. If you wear a suit sometimes, you want a dress shoe that’s going to work with your suit. Double monks are a stylish option that stands out. If you wear suits often, your first dress shoes should be the classic formal shoe – the black Balmoral Oxford.
• Men’s Dress Boots: Now let’s talk boots. Again, there are tons of options, and it largely depends on formality. For the suit-wearing city guy, consider a Chelsea boot. If you’re more of a jeans guy, maybe go with a chukka. Blue suede chukkas will get attention. If you want a chunkier casual boot, look for something with a combat boot design. This looks great with jeans, and you can also dress it up with a sports jacket if you give it a nice shine.

Versatile Trousers:

Next up on the list of men’s wardrobe essentials are the right pants. There are a lot of options here too, so let’s break down the details.

Start with two pairs of dark-coloured denim. You can dress jeans up or down, making them incredibly versatile in most parts of the world.

It’s very important to choose the best jeans for your body type and make sure they fit. Next up you want two pairs of slacks. Here are some options to pick from:

Gray flannel is a great option for cooler climates. This will match pretty much any shirt, jacket, and pair of shoes in your wardrobe.

Khakis are more casual but can work if they fit you well. Chinos are smarter, lighter-weight, and often made in lighter colours like tan, red, and blue.

Commuter pants are slacks in a hi-tech stretch fabric that you can wear on your cycle commute as well as at work. The key is to make sure they’re not made in too casual a style. Finally, you can have one pair of shorts. Just the one. Shorts are extremely casual and don’t look good on most body types.

If it is hot where you live, instead of multiple pairs of shorts look at tropical weight wool trousers. They’re just as cool, comfortable and infinitely more stylish.

Seven Collared Dress & Casual Shirts:

Every man should have at least seven collared shirts. These men’s wardrobe essentials come in two flavours: dress shirts and collared button-downs.

Your non-collared shirts include t-shirts and henleys. These are made from stretchy knit fabrics unlike your collared shirts, you can’t get them tailored to fit. So make sure you buy a size that actually fits your body type.

Do not wear graphic tees – they are ultra-casual and a very young man’s style. Go for plain colours like black, white, navy, maroon, or dark green.

Also, try a v-neck to give you more of a masculine ‘v’ silhouette. If you’re in decent shape you can wear a well-fitted v-neck t-shirt by itself with nice trousers.

The Perfect Jacket – Two Suits, Sport Jackets, or Blazers:

Every man should have at least two of these three men’s wardrobe-essentials. If you wear a suit every day, of course, you are going to want more than just two.

Published on HOLR Magazine.