I’m not going to talk about the amazing outfits that you can pull off starting with a simple pair of jeans. I’ve already done that and, if you browse around the site, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of inspiration.

Today I want to solve a different problem. Ever had a favorite pair of jeans? If you’re like me, you probably wore it day after day. How about if I told you how to take care of those jeans, prolong their life and keep them clean?

I will give you some tips for keeping your jeans’ color for longer periods of time. The basic idea is to wash them as rare as possible, not once a week or month, as some would say.

• If you’ve been to the clubs with them and they now smell like cigarettes, take them outside for a few hours.
• If you’ve stained them, try and remove the stain as soon as possible, before it runs dry. Wash only that portion, not the entire piece of clothing.
• Hand wash them in cold water. It shouldn’t take long because, in most cases all you want to do is take out the smell.

If you’re not comfortable with the idea if washing them yourself, take them to a dry cleaners. It will save you time and trouble. Yes, jeans can be dry-cleaned (unless specified otherwise on the label).

What do I do if I decide to machine wash them?

• • When it comes to washing, I recommend that you turn them inside out. This will protect the denim and thus, the color.
  • if this is the first time you wash them you should put them in the washing machine alone. That’s right, no other clothes in there! At the second wash you can combine them with other clothes.
  • Set the washing machine to use cold or slightly warm water. Cold water will help in maintaining your color.
  • Use detergent that helps preserve color.

Is not washing the answer?

Not washing them is NOT the answer, especially if they start to smell. Walking around in smelly or dirty clothes is a no-no, and I’m not even going to talk about this. It’s just plain wrong, and I hope you never-ever do it.

In fact, the moment you see that one of your clothing items has stains on it or a weird smell, I recommend you put that item directly in your laundry basket. Do whatever it takes to take the smell and/or stains out, or you’ll project a personal image that will be very hard to repair…

If you thought my advice about jeans was valuable, I would like you to take a look over the Be stylish! manual where you will find plenty of other advice, including:

• • • how to choose the right pair of jeans depending on your weight, height and proportions,
    • how to make sure the quality of the denim and the stitching is good,
    • how to remove different types of stains from clothes.

The post How to Wash your Jeans Without Damaging Them appeared first on Be Stylish!.

I love summer. Because it means I can wear a bikini top and shorts, even just to go shopping.

– David Wain

No, I don’t want you to wear bikinis to go shopping. I’m referring to a nice, stylish pair of shorts. There’s no better way to show your style in 2012 than a pair of slim-fit, cotton, above-the-knee shorts.

Let me paint you the big picture first. You can wear shorts with just about any item of clothing you can imagine:

• shirts (both long and short-sleeved)
• t-shirts and polo shirts
• sports jackets
• and even waistcoats

Most types of shoes

• moccasins
• boat shoes
• loafers
• espadrilles
• even some lace-ups (this is one of the newest trends)

And a plethora of accessories:

• bracelets (leather or metal)
• watches
• pocket squares and ties
• and even ascot ties and scarves

There are a lot of techniques on how to look good in shorts but this is something I’ve already covered in the Be Stylish ebook. The only thing I can show right now are some cool outfits that I’ve gathered on lokbook.nu

Let them guide you into finding your next pair of shorts.

Notice anything that all of these shorts have in common? Take a closer look, it’s easy to spot. Did you spot it? Here it is:

The most important thing when you buy your shorts is for them to be above the knee. I know I said it before but it’s worth repeating.

Anything that’s below the knee is not in trend right now (and won’t be for at least a few years). So make sure you follow this simple spec.

Edit:

Oops! I just found this really cool outfit with shorts right after I published this. I think you’ll love it:

I really like how the braided belt contrasts with the blue on the shirt. What do you think?

The post The First Thing You Should Buy This Summer appeared first on Be Stylish!.

Sometimes you need a break. Maybe you want to wear simple jeans and a white t-shirt, maybe you want to try something new.

How about a military summer look?

Combat shorts are the first step. Don’t be fooled that it’s easy to match them. It only becomes easy once you learn how. It all starts with a pair of combat shorts such as these:

The first outfit that comes to mind is an olive green t-shirt. You don’t want a camouflage t-shirt because you’re not going to war but you DO need to repeat some of the colors on your shorts.

If you can’t find and olive green t-shirt, go ahead and wear a khaki one. Make sure it doesn’t have any patterns on it.

Next off, add a razor pendant such as this one:

photo: kaboodle.com

And finally, wear a pair of flip-flops, sneakers or plimsolls.

Don’t go for either black or white as it will ruin the whole combination. Instead, play around with the colors on your combat shorts and try to repeat them in your outfit.

When you should or shouldn’t wear combat shorts

It goes without saying that you should wear these only in super-casual situations. Think a walk on the beach or at a barbecue. Don’t wear them if you’re going to restaurants or night-clubs, even if it’s going to be just you and your friends.

Wrap-up

OK, this is the simplest outfit I can think of if you’re thinking about trying a military look. Once you get this handled, the next step (as you can imagine) is to try and variate. Maybe add a silver bracelet to match the pendant. maybe you want a different color on your t-shirt.

Up to you, just remember to take it one step at a time.

The post Can you match combat shorts? appeared first on Be Stylish!.

Men style is so big that most guys shrug their shoulders when you tell them that shorts can be part of a preppy look. The first image that comes to their mind is Huckleberry Finn on his Mississippi’s raft ride and that’s enough to put a smile on their face. I’m here to tell you otherwise.

The right kind of shorts can draw a lot of attention to you (especially from girls) if you make sure you match them to your outfit. But how do you do that? I’m going to give you five ways to wear your shorts that will give you a style boost – guaranteed.

But just why are shorts stylish? Well, take a look at the photos in this article and you’ll see exactly why.

Don’t think even for a second that shorts are for guys under 25. Even at 50 you can still pull out a stylish yet classy look if you find the right pair for you.

#1 With moccasins/boat shoes/espadrilles

Shorts should only be worn during summer and thus should be paired with summer clothes. And what better choice is there for summer shoes other than a super-comfortable pair of espadrilles?

photo: xssatstreetfashion.com

If you’re going for a walk on the beach, a great alternative to the types of shoes mentioned above are flip-flops.

You shouldn’t wear them across town but they’re great if you’re at a beach or at a pool. Notice how the guy below is wearing cargo shorts for a more casual, relaxed look:

photo: denverpost.com

This outfit is actually A-W-E-S-O-M-E and it shows that cargo pants are extremely stylish. Be sure to also pack your straw hat for your next visit to the Cayman Islands. You’re going to get noticed.

Speaking of which, wanna know an even better way to get noticed in your summer outfit? Try matching your shorts with…

#2 … a colored canvas belt

Canvas belts are casual by nature and thus perfect to be paired up with cotton or linen shorts.

Take a look at how these white cotton shorts are paired with this white and blue canvas belt (both from Ralph Lauen):

#3 With a dress shirt

While I don’t recommend that you wear shorts + a dress shirt as part of a business-casual outfit, go ahead and wear them when going out. For an even more casual look, go a head and roll up your shirt’s sleeves.

If you’re not comfortable rolling up your sleeves, go ahead and wear a short sleeved shirt. As long as you match your outfit, you’ll be miles ahead most men.

#4 With low-cut socks

Most guys don’t know this but low-cut socks are an opportunity to color match your outfit. They’re discrete yet they can make a huge difference if their color is repeated once or twice throughout the outfit.

For instance: I wore yesterday a pair of brown boat shoes, khaki shorts, blue low-cut socks and a blue belt. The color blue from the socks was repeated on the belt. Easy as pie, yet very visually appealing.

Word of advice: never wear long socks with shorts. Either go for low-cut or no-show.

#5 Wear patterns and MATCH them with your outfit

Last but not least, patterned shorts will give you another possibility to upgrade your style.

photo: ralphlauren.com

Do you see the shorts in the photo above? Their pattern introduce give you at least 3-4 new possibilities to repeat the color. Wear them with blue, red, dark red, pink or a combination of these colors!

If there’s one thing that i want you to get out of this article is that there are plenty of choices when it comes to shorts, besides those all men wear for sporting activities.

The first step is to choose the fabric: linen or cotton will do.
The second step is to decide what to wear with them: a polo? a pair of moccasins? a canvas belt?
Finally, the third step is to color match.

Looking stylish in shorts is as easy as 1-2-3 and you have plenty of pictures above to inspire you. You just need to TAKE ACTION!

The post 5 Unique Ways to Wear Your Summer Shorts appeared first on Be Stylish!.

… I rolled up my khakis!

I’ve never done this before but, seeing other guys doing it, I just had to give it a try.

Picture this: a black and white striped polo shirt, a pair of khakis from Zara and a pair of blue and white boat shoes. I was a sailor all right.

If right before “the big roll up”, I was just a well dressed guy, AFTER the roll-up I was a well dressed rebel. I actually had to put on my new Pull&Bear glasses because even guys started looking at me.

I didn’t take any pictures unfortunately but here’s the effect of rolling up your khakis:

He looks a little like Tom Sawyer, right? You should have seen me – I was a true sailor cruising around half-naked women starting at me.

According to The New York Times, this rolled-up pants trend first appeared in 2009 when a select few were doing it. In 2010 it became extremely popular and it seems that its popularity is growing hear by year.

The good news is that this isn’t something that will go out of style soon. The rolled-up pants look is daring yet it doesn’t cross certain boundaries.

Best part: you can roll up your jeans as well, not just your khakis. Take a look:

All-in-all, this is a great look for you to try this summer. Remember not to wear any long socks when you roll up your pants. Low cut socks and no-show socks are best.

The post Should You Roll Up Your Jeans and Khakis? appeared first on Be Stylish!.

There’s one big confusion about jeans, one that actually makes some guys make the wrong choices when it comes to jeans.

What’s the difference between skinny jeans and slim fit jeans?

Before we get into that, let me give you the sad reality about how companies label their jeans: some skinny jeans collections are labeled as slim fit and vice-versa. Talk about massive confusion, right?

Skinny jeans are very tight on the body. Take a look at the photo below:

photo: a-man-fashion.blogspot.com

A little too much, right? You can see how the jeans literally squeeze the legs. Imagine how uncomfortable that guy must feel when he’s walking or sitting down.

Now let’s take a look and see how a pair of slim-fit jeans look like:

Much better, right?

Just like UGG boots, skinny jeans look girly and I don’t recommend them. Regular fit or slim fit is what you’re after, but don’t let the label fool you: some skinny jeans might be labeled as slim fit.

The best stylish jeans are the ones that are… as simple as possible. The days of jeans with fancy cuts are almost gone and the way you make a fashion statement nowadays is by matching the jeans with other items of clothing.

For instance, you can match a pair of slim fit g star raw jeans with a V-neck or a sports jacket.

Let me give you a few full outfits that I’ve worn which include slim-fit jeans.

A simple pair of jeans can either make you look average or they can be the basis of a bad-ass outfit. Up to you what style you prefer.

The post The Difference between Slim-Fit and Skinny Jeans appeared first on Be Stylish!.