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May 8, 2007

Ugly Andy

I dived headfirst into the men's fashion world recently (our resident fashion expert is on vacation) and wanted to post my story that leads today’s Lifestyles page. Check it out:

By Andrew Ravens
aravens@lowellsun.com
BURLINGTON — I met with clothing guru Ken Fox last week to discuss this year’s “do’s” and “don’t’s” in men’s fashion. His first “don’t” caught me a little off guard.
“First off,” Fox said smiling, “Don’t shop anywhere other than Kaps.”
Fox, of course, is referring to the high-end men’s clothing store he manages in the Burlington Mall that also has locations in Andover, Marblehead and Wellesley. With that shameless — albeit tongue-and-cheek — plug out of the way, Fox covered men’s clothing head to toe.
“Fashion has changed over the years,” he said. “Anything goes — you’re seeing stripes with plaids.”
Although seemingly “anything goes,” there are still some rules and guidelines that haven’t changed: Men should still make sure their belt and shoes match; heavy or short people should stay clear of horizontal patterns; and cuffs on flatfront pants are a big “no-no.”
“The biggest mistake people make — they don’t think — especially men,” Fox said, explaining that men should lay out a few different clothing options on their bed before work.
Consider a few suits with a couple of different tie and shirt options rather than just pulling random items from the closet and immediately trying them on, Fox said. A little extra time and creativity can go a long way.
Here are some other fashion tidbits to get you or your favorite guy back on track:

Do:
• Wear jeans with a suit jacket in a casual setting and rock a sport shirt — untucked — underneath.
• Wear your tie with a big knot.
• Match shoes with belt. A brown belt should be worn with brown shoes and a black belt should be worn with black shoes.
• Match cufflinks with your watch.
• Shine your shoes (women pay attention to detail).
• Wear colorful shirts.
• Buy a blue dress shirt because it’s versatile.
• Deviate from the traditional white dress shirt.

Don’t:
• Wear a winter ski parka with dress slacks. Try a knee length coat.
• Wear white sneakers with jeans (unless you’re out gardening in your back yard).
• Wear horizontal stripes if you are short or heavy.
• Wear true navy blue with black; however, an off-navy blue color may work with black.
• Wear button-down collars with double-breasted suits.
• Choose cuffs on flatfront pants.

Posted by Andy Ravens at May 8, 2007 10:35 AM

Comments

Posted by: Mike at May 9, 2007 4:35 AM

Posted by: Andy at May 10, 2007 1:28 PM

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