Guide to T-Shirt Style

"The difference between style and fashion is quality." - Giorgio Armani

The very first impression you are going to give to another person is what based on what you wear. Be it a T-shirt or a tux, if you got style handled, chances are people are going to have a better first impression.

Rules to wearing T-shirts are very simple and yet most people commit faux pas related to T-shirts. Here are the following rules to T-shirt wearing:

1. If you are skinny, do not wear body hugging T-shirts.
This is the most commonly made mistake by small guys. Body hugging shirts are meant to emphasize your physique. So if you’re small and thin, congrats on just emphasizing that fact. Wear a T-shirt that is not too tight fitting and gives some allowance. If you are muscular, by all means wear body hugging T-shirts. You earned it Show Off.

2. If you are thin, do not wear plain T-shirts.
Another mistake most oftenly seen. Everyone knows the guy that doesn’t work out, wearing a plain colored T-shirt with a pair of jeans. Classic. Thin guys should not wear plain T-shirts. Once again, plain T-shirts emphasize your body structure. On the other hand, if you are muscular, then by all means wear it. The plain T-shirt emphasizes your muscular definition.

3. If you are muscular, do not match skinny jeans with your T-shirts
This one is a killer. Ever seen a muscular guy with scrawny legs? Or a skinny jeans that looks like it is about to explode? Skinny jeans and muscular people don’t go together, it makes them look funny. But if you are lean or thin, go ahead, skinny jeans would look great on you.

4. Thin: Get shirts with bigger sleeves. Muscular: Get shirts with smaller sleeves.
Smaller sleeves emphasize arm size. If you are thin, bigger sleeves would make your arms look bigger. Just don’t overdo it. If you are muscular, smaller sleeves would draw more attention to your arms and make you look bigger and leaner.

5. V neck or Round neck?
If you are lean or muscular, you can fit in both. The thin folks should opt for more of the round neck.

6. Shirt length
If you are muscular, opt for a shorter shirt. If you are thin, get a longer one. Just don’t over exaggerate. The shirt must be long enough so that when you sit and bend over, it does not show your butt. If it is longer, it must not be long enough to make you look like a rapper wannabe, unless your whole gig is hip-hop.

7. Cutting
T-shirts have various cuttings too. A straight one is the safest bet. A tighter cutting would fit muscular guys. Thin guys should always opt for straight cuts.

8. Stripes
Horizontal stripes make you look broader in size. Vertical stripes make you look thinner and taller. Muscular guys should opt more for vertical stripes if the latter over emphasizes their body. Thinner guys should go for horizontal stripes.

9. Shirt Colour
Darker colours make you look thinner. Bright colours make you look bigger. If you are dark opt wear more brighter colours and vice versa.

10. Shirt Design
This one is one of the most important and complicated aspect.

Ever noticed how girls these days like to wear shirts that read: “Stop staring at me. I know I am hot.”? And the worse part is, they are not really hot… For the information ladies, men do not like shirts like that. It shows immaturity and attention getting behavior. Guys that are mature would tend to not go for that kind of girl.

Messages and designs on your shirt convey messages about you to other people. If your message is offensive, it puts people away. Messages that involves vulgarities puts people off. Messages that involves degrading yourself also puts people off, eg: “Mister Masturbate T-shirt”. This signals to people that you are weak, probably desperate, not getting the women he wants, doesn’t have his act together.

Messages that involves sex puts people off too. Picture of sexual positions, or “Honey are you wet?”, “I can fuck your brains out” kind of thing totally puts people off. The best one I ever know was this guy in the supermart who wore this shirt which says: “A thousand of my potential children died on your daughter’s face last night.” And he met his girlfriend’s folks in the supermart. Epic.

Surprisingly, messages that give sexual connotations are well received. Sexual connotations mean giving sexual messages subtlely. For example: Women dressed skimply, a men kissing a women, figures and silhouettes of women. T-shirts that read “You are so going to get it.” Great.
Want evidence of it working? Everyone likes T-shirts from French Connection. FCUK T-shirts were a big hit, simple because it was a sexual connotation, so close to explicit but also subtle.

Messages that have meaningful quotes, religious connections show people that you are connected to the higher power. But don’t overdo it. If you wear “religious” shirts everyday, you give people an impression that you are totally engrossed in religion. I don’t mean that being involved in religion is bad. But women and people want to know that there are more aspects to you.

The best bet would be to wear shirts that represent you. If you are involved in music, wear shirts that have a guitar on it. If you are involved in sports, wear shirts that give sport messages, eg. Nike. Try to mix and match. Don’t overdo anything. Eg. Wear music on 3 days, religious stuff on 1 day, maybe sports on 1day. Variety but consistent messages is a key. Don’t send false messages like eg. wearing hip-hop when you don’t even like hip-hop. It would only show people that you are attention seeking and needy.

Remember that the shirt shows who you are first hand. So make it a good one.

“First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible professions or studied actions. A man's look is the work of years; it is stamped on his countenance by the events of his whole life, nay, more, by the hand of nature, and it is not to be got rid of easily.” - William Hazlitt