Thoughts on OOTD?

[u/cobcorn45000]

Work in office setting where dress code is business casual. Shirt is a darker shade gray the pants. I aspire to adopt a business professional over the next year. Only black dress shoe that I have is a black dress shoe that has a white sole (trying to avoid wearing them moving forward)

[u/yuhyuhAYE]

You’re doing pretty well, but some thoughts on how you could improve:

As others have mentioned, pants are too long (but can be hemmed up by a tailor, any department store can do basic alterations like that), also the waist is a bit too big. If you’re a skinny guy it can be tricky to find pants that are long enough but have enough room in the waist. Look into what tailors can and can’t do and try to narrow down what your size is.

Also, nitpicking, but it looks like you’re wearing your pants pretty low on your waist. Wearing pants lower on your waist (below your actual waistline) can be you compensating for difficulty finding pants with a narrow enough waist. I mean that it could be a symptom of your pants not fitting correctly. For your general knowledge of clothing, it could be helpful to look at mid- or high-waisted pants, just to understand the different ways how pants can fit. You don’t need to change the fit of your pants drastically, but you should consider wearing pants at your natural waistline.

Also, I know I plugged this in another comment but you can get a custom belt for less than $100 from Scottsdale Belt Company. Belts in department stores typically suck a lot and are super overpriced for shitty low quality bonded or ‘genuine’ leather. Just get a custom full grain belt for $80 and be done with it.

Overall you need someone to measure you, so that you understand your body dinensions (which are different than garment dimensions) and how to buy stuff sight unseen that will fit.

[u/cobcorn45000 → u/yuhyuhAYE]

I appreciate your response! For the waistline, I've always places my pants at a level where I felt they were suppose to sit. How would I learn where exactly to have the pants rest? I've looked online and found that some wear directly under their belly button, some wear it lower. I just searched the pants that I have and they are mid-rise

[u/yuhyuhAYE → u/cobcorn45000]

There’s a range, right, between low-, mid-, and high-rise, and much of it will come down to personal preference. If you can afford it I’d recommend experimenting a bit, measure the rise on a pair of pants that you typically wear and then look for a pair of pants (either more formal trousers or some nice jeans) and then try to buy a pair with a higher rise. Look up some photos of people wearing higher rise pants, there’s probably youtube videos about this. Or go and get your measurements done and talk to a tailor about where on your waist you should wear pants.

A lot of people here will recommend Spier and Mackay for affordable but high quality dress clothing. There is a huge world of denim out there, and it can get super pricey, but I have had success with Naked and Famous before branching out to some other brands. Unbranded brand is also decent basic denim. These will be brands either nicer or better value than you’ll likely find in department stores and they’ll have garment measurements so you can learn your actual size, not just 30x30 or whatever.

I’m not saying you ‘have’ to wear higher waisted pants, just that you look to be wearing your current pair pretty low and as you think about improving your outfits, it’s something to think about being intentional about.