Normally most men don’t suffer from the ‘mirror mirror on the wall’ syndrome every morning. They are generally realists and despite their best attempts they don’t end up cajoling the mirror into flattering themselves! By and large they are resigned to the way nature has constructed their face; therefore paying scant attention to their looks. Although I do know of some men who use whitening creams! Having said this, it doesn’t mean that men are not conscious of the way they look, if not more, they are equally particular about it as women are!

Today, we live in an era where the market caters to men’s manicure, pedicure, spas and a variety of whitening and skin care facials in salons mushrooming around us. There are a host of colours and hair dye shades available for highlighting those super gelled stiff tips or spikes which are supposed to look ‘cool’. Not to forget that men have started to compete in the race of ‘fairs and lovelies’ once only reserved for sultry women who wanted to find a suitable match!

When skin cleansing and protein hair treatments are totally acceptable for men then why ignore the most obvious article in their personality or attire. The fact remains that we are judged by what we wear, whether we like it or not. Our clothes and our appearance speak volumes about us before we open our mouths. It either contradicts us or compliments us! The choice of course is ours.

Men’s wardrobes are as important as those of women, only the technicalities are different or let’s say less mind-boggling and generally not too time consuming. However, as a cardinal rule, a fundamental practice must always be kept in mind that picnic attire cannot be worn to the office and office attire cannot be donned for a mehndi! Beauty lies in the appropriateness of dressing as per the occasion and audience. Anything out of place and one is just short of looking like a joker.

Men’s attire can range from formal to casual and semi-formal depending on the destination ch, party, office or theatre! Attire that spells business is undoubtedly prim and proper with formal undertones. Regardless of the industry, a white collar job must always be nothing short of formal clothes. Dressing should not only be to kill but to please oneself too! Men’s wardrobe boasts of accessories that can look extremely classy provided done tastefully. Studs, earrings, tattoos, friendship bands and chunky chains look good when you are head-banging in an underground jam session. Sport the same get up in the office and you end up looking like a junkie short on drug money! Any professional wouldn’t want to label himself as such.

It’s a good idea to invest in decent brands for office wear although not to make a pompous statement but to ensure that what one is carrying is of substance, promises durability and speaks of quality. Tacky items only leave a debatable impression and in business, reputation is very important. Touching upon the specifics of attire, men must always wear dark suits such as black, steel greys, dark browns, shades of blue i.e. Navy blues and not sky blue please! Jackets must be well fitting and so should be the trousers. It is understood of course that the colours of the jacket and trousers must match or complement one another.

Dress shirts should be clean and crisply ironed. Preferably in white or any other light shades of blue would do. On occasions, a light pink shirt can do the job while pinstripes on shirts can look decent as long as they are narrow and not as broad as jogging tracks! The cuffs must be clean and peek out from under the jacket sleeve with suitable studs in the form of cufflinks. Avoid the temptation of wearing multi-coloured links which look like tutti-fruity icecream, instead they must be in sober colours. Also comical cufflinks like ludo dice and Superman are to be set aside for fancy dress shows only!

Neckties add all the personality to the suit. They must be plain when the shirt is striped and printed or striped when the shirt is plain. The colours must gel with shades of the suit and shirt. Loud colours and neckties with polka dots are disastrous. Please don’t forget to button the collar right up to the top when wearing a tie. The length of the tie should comfortably reach the middle of the belt i.e. the buckle.Belts can be in colours such as black and brown. Very rarely grey looks palatable. However, the colour of shoes and the belt must exactly be the same as a fashion rule. The belt buckle must not be too pronounced and should be in subtle metal colors and not glaring in the face. As a standard practice they say that the colour of socks must match the necktie — imagine wearing a red necktie! On the contrary the colour of socks must work with the trousers. As a note of caution don’t wear white socks with a black suit lest people start thinking you are from L.A.!

The choice of shoes should be limited to browns and blacks only. Shades of browns depend on the colour of the suit. But grey shoes are out and you don’t want to be caught dead in white shoes unless you dare to wear a white suit to work (At your own fashion peril). Tie-pins are optional, they can be a classy item to put on and have been quite popular. Kerchiefs look extremely suave provided they are in silk and not polyester.

In casual clothing, one must not forget that class and style still dominate the outfit. In office, jeans are not the best garment to wear; instead one must give preference to semi-formal clothing. Polo shirts, corduroy pants, Dockers or even dress pants with semi-formal shirts. The colours should be light. In summer jackets of light material can be worn. Chequered jackets can look pretty presentable provided the cloth is worsted.

Dressing is an important part of one’s personality being the first point of eye contact. It deserves due attention certainly. One must not dress not for the position they are at but for the position that they want to be in. Also, the fashion statement that one makes must suit the age bracket rather than the vogue barometer. If your age doesn’t permit then avoid wearing pointed toes. Jumping on the style bandwagon and having a mob mentality doesn’t make you trendy. Being chic is carrying oneself according to the age that one falls in, with the right element of poise and grace. One’s clothes must exude elegance and panache.

Having established this, clothes are just one dimension of the kaleidoscope of the persona. What appeals to be eye candy can be a great disappointment at times. So it is equally important to groom and cultivate oneself intellectually. Develop and harness your thinking so that you are not only alluring to look at but also charming to converse with — a killer combination.

Grooming is all encompassing when it comes to personality. The mind and the body need to be in shape however nothing can beat a dab of well selected cologne and neatly clipped nails.