Baby Steps: How to Start Having Style

Every time I am impelled by work or circumstance to set foot in those dens of iniquity known as conventions, I am horrified all over again. Geeks--those people, my people--have absolutely no sense of how to dress or present themselves. The vast majority are either hulking (or shrinking) monstrosities in Valve t-shirts, tangled goatees, and wireframe glasses. The white socks, the belted khakis, the month-old black dyejobs with mousy brown roots...thick, viscous tears of rage and sorrow are budding in my squinty eyes at the very memory.

I love you, I love games and tech, but admit it. Geeks are a mess. This wouldn't be a problem, except that geeks are just as lonely as they are unkempt. And the link between the two is not, my dear readers, ethereal.

So I've been meaning to do some sort of nerd fashion writeup for about a year now, but through the parasitic power of blogging, now I don't have to! Huzzah! Fashion4Nerds.com is a primer I can (almost) fully endorse. Behold:

*While creating Fashion4Nerds.com, we interviewed over 30
young women between the ages of 18 and 32 about their likes anddislikes when it comes to guys' fashion. We even asked them to givespecial attention to why they consider us Nerds unfashionable. *

*Here are their Top 10 responses, ordered by frequency of occurrence. *

[ed. note: list is cropped to the actual list items; for their complete explanations go to their link below]

10. Always wear a belt
[This is the only one I'm going to quibble with. If you're not going to tuck your shirt
in, as a future list item will instruct, the belt won't be visible anyway. Belt is
optional.]

9. White socks are only worn during athletic activities

8. Make sure nails are trimmed and clean

7. No facial hair [I'm looking at YOU, Joel!]* *

6. Pants - no pleats or tapered legs

5. If it has a hole, tear or discoloration throw it out*

4. Running shoes are for the gym ONLY*

3. Do NOT wear free or company t-shirts*

2. Do NOT tuck in your shirt (unless at a formal event or when layering)*

1. Never wear socks with sandals*

Keep firmly in mind that this is advice for beginners. Fashion, like any other art, starts with a set of rules to learn and abide by until it comes time to start breaking them. And just between you and me and your pants, I'd start with #6. For men, pants often will make the outfit. So acquire a variety of them--including pleats, and if you're Iggy Pop, tapers--and mix things up a little.

The big item that didn't make this list is more generalized: wear clothes that fit. This is hard. Most men's clothing is built for bagginess, and escaping it is a daunting task. But you can do it. You can wear tailored, well-fitted stuff. I believe in you.

Oh, and get some cool glasses while you're at it. With all the outstanding possibilities for face hardware, pussing out with wireframe is just sad.

The accompanying photo for this article is from another post on geek fashion here. I'm not a big fan of bluejeans in any situation, but in this case I realize I am strange. And other than the chinfringe, this guy looks pretty good.

Top 10 Fashion Suggestions for Nerds [Fashion4Nerds]