Five Ways to Banish Bad Casual Outfits

Casual and sloppy are not the same thing. Looking good on your down-time can be even harder than dressing up, mostly because you won?t even think about what you?re wearing. Here are a few simple tips to make your casual outfits less careless.

Chuck out tattered clothes

Worn out clothes bring down your entire look. You need to get rid of anything that can?t be worn- you won?t be tempted to wear something that?s not in your wardrobe. Anything with buttons missing, holes or stains needs to be either fixed promptly or thrown out. It doesn?t matter if it?s your favorite shirt and you can?t find a replacement for it- you?ll look sloppy if you wear worn-out clothes. Time to throw it out, and hope that one day you?ll be able to replace the hole in your wardrobe where it once lived.

Don?t wear your gym clothes

Gym clothes are not casual clothes. You should only ever wear them while you?re working out. Track pants, nylon shorts and basketball tops look terrible on most guys. They?re practical, with no regard for looks. Also, if you?ve been wearing them to the gym as well, they?re probably infused with sweat.

In particular, don?t wear sports shoes with a casual outfit. There is a difference between casual sneakers, and runners which are actually for running in. Better yet?

Brown leather shoes

A good pair of brown leather shoes will vastly improve your casual wardrobe situation. You might be reluctant to wear black leather with an everyday outfit, particularly if black leather is your dress shoe of choice. You should have at least one pair of dedicated dress shoes, and one pair of casual shoes. Brown or tan leather is perfect for an everyday shoe- not as striking as black, but goes with nearly everything.

Wear a belt

Your otherwise perfectly fine outfit can suffer for a lack of a belt. Jeans don?t look quite so good with half of your underwear sticking out the top- or worse, a mile of butt crack. A belt keeps your pants where they?re supposed to be, which is half the battle for most guys. It?s nice if your belt is leather as well, but even a poor quality belt is better than no belt.

Don?t wear a dress shirt

It?s a far better style decision to wear a tee shirt rather than a dress shirt, if you?re going for a casual look. Tee shirts aren?t great, but they?re more appropriate than dress shirts on most occasions. As dress shirts are long, you?ll look extra sloppy with an untucked dress shirt billowing over your chinos. Most shirts are either appropriate for formal or for smart casual- rarely will you find one versatile enough for both. Don?t mix them up just because your favorite is in the wash- you?re better off with anything that?s not a dress shirt.