Plaid. Plaid. PLAID!

OK, after a long break since my first post I decided I need to get things going with this blog. So, my first tip/personal discovery will be regarding plaid. If you haven't been hiding under a rock for the last 5 years, you noticed that plaid was bound to make a comeback. And if you live in Brooklyn, you must be tired of it already. 

Yes, plaid is more mainstream than ever. Even if your are neither a hipster nor a lumberjack (or Joe Miller,) plaid might work for you. Apparently, I've been waiting for this day for too long. When time came to empty out my closet (according to one of my rules I laid out in my first post), the few items that are actually presentable were plaid shirts.

Plaid shirts go really nicely with dark-colored jeans and casual shoes (colorful shoes, something that goes with the pattern of your shirt.) Plaid as a fabric is also warm, which makes it is a really good option for fall, winter and spring.

Plaid shirts are dorky and comfy. My guess is now that they are mainstream, we will see a lot of fewer hipsters wearing them. They used to wear them when they were cool, man...

Yet another blog

I am one of those who vows not to ever care about fashion.  A man's character should be more than enough to define him, right?  Wrong!  A man is the collection of his ideals, feelings and experiences, but his image also tells others just as much about himself.  Looks alone convey whether you are rich, poor, sad or happy before you are even engaged in a conversation.

So here I am.  I decided to take on a journey from dressing like a total slob to looking like someone from those fancy schmancy fashion catalogs.  This is not going to be easy, because I have absolutely no fashion sense and I have been dressing myself awfully all my life (some would say that is the only thing I am really good at.)

In order to help me with this, my good friend Debbie is psyched about becoming my personal fashion quasi-consultant (there is no way I can do this without a woman's perspective.)  She and I will be spending a considerable amount of our time and my resources building me a new wardrobe.  And, of course, while we do this I will be documenting the whole process for the enjoyment of complete strangers.

Before I can even start planning for project I have to set some basic ground rules:

• Never leave the house under-dressed.  I don't have to look fabulous every time I go to the grocery store, but I should always be looking at least presentable.
• Plan ahead.  Way ahead.  Not all pieces of clothing go with each other (that is a really hard concept to grasp, if you are a man) and it is important to always know what to wear with what.
• Don't be lazy.  Well, this one is self-explanatory.
• If it is old, it has to go.  It doesn't matter if a piece of clothing from 5 years ago still fits.  It is occupying space and it has to go.  The only exception to this rule is if that specific piece of clothing works with the rest of your wardrobe and is still in style.
• If it is new, but it is ugly and it serves no functional purpose, it has to go.  If I can't justify having a piece of ugly clothing in my closet, the Salvation Army will gladly accept it.
• Don't give up and never say never.  This is sort of an extension to the "Don't be lazy" rule, but I need to remind myself of those truths every day.

All right. I think those are enough for now.  Changing my wardrobe is only one of the symptoms of how my life changed in the last few months.  Creating a fashion sense out of nowhere will be hard, but I am hopeful and hoping I can have fun during the process (and post some funny stories in here.)

Stay tuned!