The Ten Commandments of Men's Accessories

[Guest]

What gets noticed often? Many times it the items that complete the look. The colorful ties, classy cuff links, the classic briefcase, the timeless watch. Every man should choose these carefully and well. Chosen well, these are the finishing touch and extra personality in the well dressed man's wardrobe. Chosen wrongly, they just look garish. Enjoy our style guide for choosing men's accessories!

[B]1.Thou shall own quality products.[/B]
This is rule number one for a reason. In fact, this applies to all of your purchases. Buy the best you can afford, and it will last you forever. With many classic men's accessories being made of leather, i.e. belts, and wallets, also need a bit of tlc from time to time. Don't shirk in this arena, or premature wear will take your pieces to an early grave. Allow your accessories to live long and look awesome.
[B]
2.Thou shall have a decent wallet.[/B]
Way too many guys own a wallet that looks like it's been fished out of a dumpster, after being run over by a truck. If your still using you nylon and velcro surfer wallet, it's time for an upgrade. A quality leather wallet is the standard. Many companies make great ones, including Coach. Ostrich, crocodile, eel, and stingray wallets exist, but are usually priced in the stratosphere. If you keep your wallet in the back pocket like most, these will take a beating before you get your money's worth. Stick with good old fashioned quality cowhide. Also, a too thick wallet can ruin the line of well fitting pants. Periodically clear out unneeded cards, and receipts.

[B]3.Thou shall own cuff links.[/B]
Cuff links go with French cuff shirts, and take your level of dress up a big notch. When a man has to look his best, a suit, tie, and French cuff shirt usually get their numbers called. Great cuff links are a conversation starter in themselves. Some of the cooler ones I've seen are made from coins no longer in circulation. The options are endless. Pick a pair that suits you, and run with them.

[B]4.Thou shall own colorful pocket squares and ties.[/B]
Ralph Lauren has said that “the last thing on gets noticed first.” Pocket squares and ties are where guys can get a bit crazy with designs and colors. Let your colors shine! (thanks to Carson on this one). A good tie collection can make it seem like you have a larger wardrobe, as these often get noticed and remembered. Aim to have at least 10, depending on how often you wear them.

[B]5.Thou shall own a quality leather bag or briefcase.[/B]
Leave the backpack to travelers of high schoolers, and the small man bag to feminine men. What you need is a great leather messenger type bag, or an old school briefcase. Halliburton makes the silver attache you see large ransom sums delivered in at the movies. as does Samsonite. Fossil and Kenneth Cole make great leather messenger type bags for men.

[B]6.Thou shall have care products for your leather.[/B]
Leather is made from a living thing, and can wear out long before it's due date by drying out, and cracking. Keep your leather products supple and in good shape using some of the myriad of products available.

[B]7.Thou shall chose the following items sparingly: rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.[/B]
The amount you can wear is usually in reverse proportion to your age. Unless you're Keith Richards, easy does it. Everyone has seen the guys in his 50's trying to hang on to his youth by dressing much younger, and getting it horribly wrong. Don't be that guy. Dress well AND age appropriate.

[B]8.Thou shall own 1 pair of killer sunglasses.[/B]
A great pair of shades will definitely enhance your suave factor. It's very hard to go wrong with classic Rayban Aviatorsor Rayban Wayfarers . Leave the sports sunglasses for the Saturday pickup game with the boys.

[B]9.Thou shall not own belt buckles the size of Texas.[/B]
Unless you own a ranch, or are a real cowboy your buckles should not be overly large. No having your name on it either. Stick with something small, no bigger than a deck of cards, and attached to quality leather. If you actually live in Texas, on the other hand.......

[B]10.Thou shall own a great watch.[/B]
Most guys wear very little jewelery. So make this a prime investment. A great classic watch can be handed down over generations, and usually hold their value quite well. Some men can pull off gold, but the safer bet is steel or silver. There can be great replicas available in the $300-$1000 range, that will appear and function much like $3000 plus watch. This area has come a very long way from the $25 Rolex most people think of when the word replica is used. If you choose this route, do research and buy carefully, as many scammers exist, and a normal retailer may not service your look -alike.

[B][SIZE="4"]What are YOUR accessory rules?[/SIZE][/B]

[Guest]

Gold is not for everybody. It was cool in the ninety's not any more.

[Guest]

[QUOTE=Cash;34469]Gold is not for everybody. It was cool in the ninety's not any more.[/QUOTE]

If you're trying to pull of a sophisticated look gold in small doses and done right can pull it off easier than silver or white gold. I think it depends more on the crowd or demographic aimed for.

[Guest]

I agree with everything except #2. Wallets are uncomfortable to sit on and are bad for your posture. I say get yourself a good money clip instead. There are only a few things a man needs to carry:

ID
Credit Card
Debit Card
Cash
(Possibly insurance card)

Leave everything else for the women.

There's no need to carry every conceivable card and every bit of scrap paper with you at all times.

[Guest]

I agree except for #2 and #10.

I have a slim wallet that I carry in my front pocket. It prevents the bulge, forces me to travel 'light,' and is much more sleek and modern than a tri-fold.

I HATE WATCHES!! Sure, they are pimp tight and look cool. But, wearing a watch is simply annoying. Period. There is no other way to describe them. I used to own really, really bad ass watches but always found myself taking them off when I was doing pretty much anything other than walking or sitting still. Most of the time, watches reek of try hard instead of eloquent status symbol.

[Guest]

Yep, watches are not what they once were. With all the cell-phones and other gadgets we carry around there is no point in wearing a watch.

Cell phones are the new watch - get yourself a good phone.

[Guest]

The only time I wear a watch is when I wear a suit or dress very similar. I wouldn't say the watch is dead, but it's definitely not as highly adorned as it used to be.

Now, the pocket watch is timeless and classy. Don't forget the monocle, either!

[Guest]

I actually wear a watch everyday, not to tell time, but because it adds a touch of professionalism and class to my work attire.

For nights out, it adds a certain something to my outfit. It's sleek, stylish and sexy; definitely a DHV and I've gotten a ton of compliments on it...

[Guest]

[QUOTE=Prodigy;34485]I actually wear a watch everyday, not to tell time, but because it adds a touch of professionalism and class to my work attire.

For nights out, it adds a certain something to my outfit. It's sleek, stylish and sexy; definitely a DHV and I've gotten a ton of compliments on it...[/QUOTE]


You want a DHV that is a source of a huge amount of compliments?

Go to your nearest optician, and buy a really cool, trendy pair of glasses that are very noticeable. I used to wear contacts when I first started sarging, then one night, on a lark, I went out wearing a pair of my aforementioned trendy glasses and the response I got was off the charts. So, that was that. Never again have I even put a contact in my eye. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that nothing else on the list even comes close to being as powerful as a cool pair of glasses.

Glasses automatically make other people believe that you're more intelligent that you probably truly are...in my case though, it's true ;)

They also give you a chance to express yourself and show off your fashion sense and style to people.

TONS of women have a soft spot for guys with the Clark Kent look...at least that's what they describe you as if you wear chunky, trendy glasses.

Finally, your glasses are by far the most NOTICEABLE thing about your person because they ARE ON YOUR FACE. You'll get substantially more compliments on glasses than you will pretty much any other accessory you can imagine.

Having glasses is so powerful, in my opinion, that even though I'm thinking about getting Lasik this year I'm probably just going to pop out my prescription lenses and put in plain glass. No one has to know that I don't need the glasses to see...of course, once they figure that out it'll probably be too late ;)

[Guest]

Haha, I agree about the glasses.

Even though I need glasses to see, I never wear them because I feel that they make me look less attractive, which may or may not be true. But if I'm out trying to meet women, I want to be (feel) as attractive as possible....