Dressing The Part

"And as long as I've got my suit and tie, I'mma leave it all on the floor tonight."
Justin Timberlake, Suit & Tie

   As a guy, I followed the stereotype that I don't care what I look like half the time,….for far too long. Growing up, I was your typical boy. Dirty and mismatched fairly often. One year in middle school, I wore Bermuda board shorts the whole year round, even in the cold and rainy winter. In high school, I went probably two years without any new shoes, as I just inherited hand me downs that either my older brother didn't want or ones that were left behind at a weekend party. Yeah, I kind of just didn't care. It's a miracle my wife ever saw past that.

   Fast forward to present day, and while I've taken more notice of how I dress, it's not gotten much better. I dress the part for my job, as I need to look a certain way in the medical industry. I also have a few nice casual shirts, and a pair of jeans I like. The rest of the time, it's whatever is available. Health issues for the past 5-7 years have caused weight gains and losses that have made it hard to want to make future purchases, so things have either been tight on me or threatened to fall off. My work clothes and suit currently look I'm a child trying on my old man's clothes. A recent turn of events caused me to take a closer look at that, and a trip to buy some new threads was in order.

   The result was convincing. I've ignored it too long, and I wonder how many of us guys need to take notice. I decided a "before and after" was needed to show what I WAS wearing, and what I will be from now on. I made do with what I had, but my concern not what people think about me in terms of popularity. I'm more concerned with not being taken seriously, viewed as a professional, and things of that nature. So with the wife, we took the time to find my current measurements, with room to grow in case of some small weight gain. She actually dedicated a "date night" to the cause. Amazing!

Our end product is shown here as a before and after. Pretty darn cool. 

J.

P.S. As an added bonus, here's Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie"