6 Women On How They Feel About The Way Guys Dress

"Boys sag, men buy what fits."

Updated 10 years ago, September 11, 2014

Clothes, fashion, style — whatever you want to call it, it’s usually touted as something that women care about. But guys have to buy clothes, too, and whether we admit it or not, style offers a lot of unspoken cues when you meet someone. I rallied up six of my girlfriends (some single, some taken) and asked them what they thought about the way men (well, at least ones they potentially date) dress.

Let’s start it off generally: what do you think about the way guys today dress?

“SMH.”
“In general, mauvais.”
“They have so much potential and then they just squander it.”
“To be honest, looking ‘nice’ as a guy really isn’t hard.”
“It’s really not.”
“Get a nice button up, a pair of fitted slacks. Literally barely any effort and you’re already looking pretty good.”
“I would say there are many styles to choose from. Some guys just go with, ‘meh, I’m going to wear what I pick up from the floor.'”
“But that’s not even a style, that’s just sloppy.”
“Sloppy is their style.”

Have you guys ever tried to change the way a guy dresses?

“Yes.”
“I’ve tried to give tips.”
“Yes, by buying them clothes which isn’t as fun as buying them for myself.”
“Once it failed miserably, because I did not have the taste or financial means to execute, and he also kept mixing in his horrendous stuff.”
“I bought a really nice pair of sneakers once hoping it would nudge him into throwing out his worse shoes and develop like, a sneaker habit. Sneakerheads are born, not made, it turns out.”
“I’ve bought many a struggling young man a J. Crew pullover to no avail.”
“My boyfriend is such a woman about it. He won’t take my opinion.”
“But I finally decided to only date dudes who already had good style because it’s just too much work. Which actually ends up with my boyfriend having a bigger clothes budget than me. But that way it’s easier/fun to go shopping and stuff. Though I did throw out a few key pieces at the beginning of our relationship — short sleeve button down, black jean, etc. I could not compromise on those issues.”

Any other style choices that are unequivocal “no”s?

“I really hate a lot of things.”
“I’ve always been about only dating dudes who have good style tbh. But some of my male friends, I love them to death but their fashion choices leave much to be desired.”
“I hate cowboy boots or square toe boots.”
“SQUARE TOED SHOES.”
“The WORST.”
“Wait, I sometimes like the short sleeve button down!”
“The only time I’ve seen the short sleeve button down work is like, in a very deliberate fashion sense when the guy looks like a model to begin with.”
“I can do a short sleeve button down if it’s tight-ish and also linen. Then it’s sexy. But not like, the software engineer kind.”
“Oh. Flip flops. Done.”
“EW MANDALS.”
“Mandals are the goddamn worst.”
“Nobody needs to see man feet.”
“A mun.”
“Muns are unacceptable except on Jared Leto because he has A BIG WEENIE apparently.”
“I still say that’s a belt buckle.”
“Slouchy beanies. Have no patience for those either.”

“So okay, I don’t want to be a traitor to my generation and all but I don’t get how guys dress today. I mean, come on, it looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants and take their greasy hair — ew! — and cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we’re expected to swoon? I don’t think so.” Cher Horowitz, Clueless

So let’s talk about suits.

“A guy who can’t wear a suit properly is hard to look at.”
“Omg an ill-fitting suit is the saddest thing.”
“I agree – when it’s too big, it just looks lumpy and weird.”
“I literally cringe.”
“But when a suit is done right, I mean.”
“Kind of excited for 50 Shades Of Grey so guys see what a good suit does to a woman, honestly.”
“You cannot go wrong when you’re in a suit that actually fits you.”
“Nobody bothers with everyday suits anymore so when someone does, he ends up looking extra good.”

Is there anything you do like?

“Dudes in knit sweaters.”
“Shawl collar sweater, thick knit, patches on the elbows also a nice touch.”
“Add glasses.
“With guys, it’s all about the details since they don’t have a lot of options about actual pieces. So just focus in on the little extras.”
“You can’t really go wrong in decent jeans and a clean t-shirt.”

Is style a factor in who you’re attracted to? (Would you rule a guy out if he dressed a certain way?)

“Oh, definitely.”
“I know guys love to pull the whole Drake line, ‘sweatpants, hair tied, and no make up’ thing on girls but the opposite is just not true.”
“I agree.”
“I’ve given little nuggets of like, ‘you look really sexy today!’ or ‘I like your hair like that’ to reinforce good behavior.”
“It’s always a buzzkill when I take my time in dressing up really nice for him and he’s just there.”
“I always feel so bad when I see mismatched couples out on dates like that.”
“And sagging needs to end.”
“Boys sag, men buy what fits.”

How do we feel about guys who are way to into how they look?

“Guys who are way too into what they wear are a little like… dude.”
“I like a balanced guy, but don’t be too INTO it unless you’re in the industry I guess…”
“You don’t need to be looking super fly all the time.”
“Or they start telling you how to dress…”
“Yeah, that’s my territory. Thanks for the help, but no thanks.”