025: Unlocking Style Secrets - The Shirt Edition

Welcome to Episode 25 of "I'm Not A Gentleman," where we unravel the art and science behind men's style. In this episode, we delve into the crucial details of shirt selection – from colors that strike the right balance to the often underestimated importance of collar point length. Discover why your shirt should be a sophisticated canvas, not a distraction, and get insights into avoiding common fashion pitfalls.

Join us for a candid discussion on shirt choices that elevate your style, free from the noise of attention-grabbing trends. "I'm Not A Gentleman" is your space for unfiltered fashion advice, where we share practical tips and bust style myths. Tune in, refine your wardrobe game, and embrace the journey to becoming refined and effortlessly stylish.

Get my eBook "The 7 Style Mistakes That You're Making Right Now" for FREE here.

Discover the 7 Style Mistakes and how to correct them once and for all.

Transcript

Vlad (host): Are you a guy who's feeling lost in these menswear streets and wants to build a timeless wardrobe that turns heads? If you're nodding in agreement, then I wanna link with you for a complimentary Step Up Your Menswear discovery call. In this informative 20-minute session, I'll dissect your current fashion choices and identify what you might be missing out on opportunities to enhance your style game, all while staying true to classic menswear principles. Whether you're a professional, a businessman,

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or simply someone seeking to upgrade your style game. The step up your menswear discovery call is tailor-made for you. Book a slot on my calendar today by going to imnotagentleman.com and click on the work with me tab. Peace.

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Announcer: I'm Not A Gentleman is a production of chaceandryder.com.

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And you don't have to agree with me in the comments, but maybe take what I'm saying and think about it. Take a few steps back and ask yourself, why is he saying that? Like, is there any sense to what he's saying? And then come to your own conclusion instead of automatically jumping down my throat in the comments and telling me that I'm wrong because you feel like I'm hurting your feelings. Oh man, social media, you gotta love it man. But it is what it is man. You gotta take the good with the bad, you know?

01:16
Yo, what up? Welcome to I'm Not A Gentleman, the show designed to help you look stylish without following trends. I'm your host Vladimir Riché from chaceandryder.com and your favorite menswear YouTuber's favorite menswear YouTuber. I've helped dozens of clients and hundreds of students and viewers feel more confident by looking their best and always making a great first impression.

01:48
So in today's episode, we're going to be talking about the unsung hero of menswear. And I'm talking about your shirts. One thing with shirts is they hardly get a mention. So people will talk about their suits. Some will talk about their shoes. You will get guys talking about their ties, their accessories.

02:14
but hardly ever really mentioned their shirts. And I can understand that even with myself, I never really get compliments about my shirts like that. Well, guys will mention something about the color. Like I like the color of your shirt, but it's never the shirt itself that gets the compliments. But I guess that makes sense because if you're getting compliments on your shirt, it could be that you're doing something wrong.

02:44
because the shirt is really the blank canvas that allows everything else to shine. So if people are talking about your shirts before they start talking about other things, it might be time to look to see why exactly is that happening. So this is exactly what we're going to cover in this episode. Entro.

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Intro music: Bag in that bag in that bag again, whoa!

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So welcome to episode 25 of I'm Not A Gentleman. I don't know if you guys got a chance to catch episode 24. Every even number episode is going to be a wardrobe audit episode. So the last episode that I released on Friday was the very first wardrobe audit. This is something new that we're going to be doing going forward. So definitely be on the lookout for that. And if you aren't familiar the way that the wardrobe audit works, I'll be bringing in a guest every week.

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and then we'll solve one major pain point that they're facing. It should be about a 20-minute episode or so. So it's not one of those things where I'm looking to solve every issue that they have, but we're going to attack whatever the biggest issue is and give you guys a window into how I work one-on-one with my clients. Now the people that you'll be hearing on these episodes aren't necessarily my client because anybody can just click on the link, get on my calendar, and then we can do a wardrobe audit episode.

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The only requirement to get on the wardrobe audit episode is to agree to be filmed and recorded because I'll be using the content for social media and YouTube. And also if you are wondering because you wanna come on but you don't really wanna be judged for what you're wearing, just know that you don't really have to be wearing a suit or a tie or anything like that. You can come in a t-shirt. It doesn't really matter. We're going to be discussing how we can have you look better going forward. So don't worry about how you look now.

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If you have an issue that you want to solve, just click the link in the show notes and let's do a wardrobe audit episode. And this is 100% free coaching. There's no pitching going on in the wardrobe audit episode. Of course, somebody wants to work with me further. We can definitely discuss that off air, but this is not one of those things where I'm going to pitch you at the end. So I do have my discovery call. You know, somebody want to work with me one-on-one.

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That's what that's for. We'll talk to see if we're a good match. And then I'll tell you, here's exactly how I can help you. But the wardrobe quality itself is 100% pitch free. Just a 20 minute call to help you look better. All right, so let's get into the episode. So as I was saying, your shirt is not really something that should get a ton of compliments because it's supposed to be a blank canvas.

05:40
But at the same time, if you start to get too many compliments, it could be because something is wrong. And I'll tell you what I mean. If your shirt color, let's say is orange, purple, burgundy, yellow, black, there's a good chance that people might mention your shirt when they're talking about your outfit. Your shirt should be the blank canvas that allows everything else to shine.

06:11
it shouldn't be the topic of conversation. If you find that your shirt happens to be the topic of conversation, then you are doing something wrong. And I remember, it was years ago, maybe around 2013, 2014, I saw a friend of mine who posted a picture on Facebook where he was at somebody's wedding and he was wearing a red shirt. And I was so put off by the picture.

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because I'm saying to myself, you know, you have someone's wedding where all the attention shouldn't even be on you. But he was sitting there with your jacket off and a bright red shirt. I was so disappointed in him. So yeah, man, your shirt should not be any of those colors that I just mentioned. A light yellow could possibly work, but a really bright yellow, definitely not.

07:05
And the reason why I'm saying a light yellow might work is because there are some people due to their skin tone, white shirts really wash them out. So in that case, I'd recommend maybe an ivory or even a light yellow to take the place of white, but definitely not like a bright yellow. Now recently, maybe a week ago or not even, I put out a video on Instagram.

07:33
And it was me talking about something that I wish that I learned sooner. And it was about how important your shirt colors are. So speaking of shirts, the most visible part is going to be the collar. About a week ago, I put out a video on Instagram where I was saying how I wish I knew that shirt colors were so important. Your shirt color is going to be the most visible part of your shirt when you entail a clothing.

08:01
And a lot of guys get that part wrong. But here's something funny that I've just realized about Instagram. Well, I don't know if I just realized it, but it really came to the forefront this week. By the way, I just hit 10,000 Instagram followers earlier this week. And as of the time of recording, I'm almost at 11,000. So it's been going pretty fast. And one thing that it really brought to the forefront is

08:30
Let's use menswear as an example. So let's say a guy who's famous, maybe he's an athlete, but he's not a menswear guy, but he's an athlete, let's say, right? He'll post up a picture in a suit looking horrible. It'll be the craziest suit you've ever seen.

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And I bet if you go through the comments, they'll be 99% positive with people telling them, you know, where'd you get this suit from? I want the same one. And you really pulled this off and all these things, right? And let's say someone like me who's not known, but I don't just dress in Taylor clothing. I actually do this as a career where I help other guys dress better.

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And if I mentioned something, especially if it's something that they never heard before, or it's something that they actually doing, and I'm saying that you shouldn't be doing that. Oh my God. The hate is crazy. It's wild, man. Social media is really, really wild. They'll take somebody's word because it's known as opposed to taking someone's word who actually does this for a living.

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It's ridiculous, man. It's so crazy. And I've been getting that so much. And I understand it. It doesn't really bother me because I've been getting a ton of followers and I know that some guys will tell me how much my content have helped them. And I know also a lot of guys who don't say anything, they're still being helped by the content that I put out. They're just not vocal about it versus the ones who disagree. They're going to be the loudest.

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and I understand that so it doesn't really bother me.

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But at the same time, it's like, man, this is ridiculous, man. I'm really out here trying to teach you guys something. And you don't have to agree with me in the comments, but maybe take what I'm saying and think about it. You know, take a few steps back and ask yourself, why is he saying that? Like, is there any sense to what he's saying? And then come to your own conclusion. Instead of...

10:51
automatically jumping down my throat in the comments and telling me that I'm wrong because you feel like I'm hurting your feelings. Ha ha ha. Oh, man, social media, you gotta love it, man. But it is what it is, man. You gotta take the good with the bad, you know? So once again, I don't really let it get to me. It's all good. But I just find it hilarious. So I wanted to talk about that real quick. I'll give you another example.

11:19
Steve Harvey had made a video, well he didn't make a video, but I guess they were asking him fashion advice one time while he was hosting his show, Family Feud, and the content went viral because a bunch of TikTokers or so-called menswear influencers were acting out the parts. And one of the things that really bothered me about that video was when Steve Harvey said, you should have two cream colored shirts.

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if you were to get six shirts. So he's telling you one third of your budget should go towards cream colored shirts, you know? And I'm saying to myself, cream colored shirts, like what the hell is that? Like I was saying before, I can understand some guys can't wear white, but you're really going to tell regular people who are just starting out that one third of their budget should go towards cream colored shirts. That advice was so bad.

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And I made a video about it. That was last year, maybe a year ago. And it didn't really go viral or anything, not even close, but it did get some views on TikTok and some of the comments were so bad. Like I remember one guy said, who am I gonna listen to? Steve Harvey or unknown guy? Like being sarcastic as if, of course I'm going to listen to Steve Harvey. Who the hell is this guy for me to listen to him?

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It's crazy, baby. People are taking advice from famous people who happen to be wearing a suit, then taking advice from someone who actually does this for a living. This is crazy. Anyway, back to shirts. So the two most important parts are going to be number one, the color of the shirt, and number two, the color of the shirt. So let's attack number one first. So as I was saying, you wanna stay away from those crazy ass colors.

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because those are the colors that are going to attract the most attention. You don't want your shirt to be competing with your tie. Your tie should be the focal point as it sits right below your face. And if you haven't heard episode 22, definitely go back and listen to that episode where I was saying how important ties are and the ones that I recommend. So ties are very important. So the last thing you want is for the tie to be clashing with the shirt.

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So the shirt should always be a blank canvas that allows your tie, your suit, and your pocket square to shine. It's not about the shirt. But at the same time, the shirt should still be nice because just like the tie sits right under your face, so does the shirt and the shirt collar. So you can't hide your shirt. So I'm not saying you shouldn't pay attention to your shirt. I'm saying the opposite. You should be paying attention to your shirt.

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just don't wear any crazy colors and make sure that you're wearing a nice color. We'll get to colors a little bit later. So what shirt colors do I recommend? So of course you have to start with white because there are certain occasions where only a white shirt would do.

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And once again, remember I just said some people can't wear white. So I'm not talking to that small minority. I'm referring to most guys should be able to wear white shirts and white shirts are going to be the ones that are going to be worn in the most formal of situations. So for example, if you're wearing a tuxedo, of course you're going to be wearing a white tuxedo shirt most of the time.

15:03
If you're going to a wedding, you should be wearing a white shirt. You know, if you go into a very serious event, you should be wearing a white shirt, a summer event, you should be wearing a white shirt. So this is why we're going to start with white. So every man should have a few white shirts in their closets. And the reason why I mentioned a few is because you can't really wear a white shirt more than once.

15:32
So you should have more than one in case if you have to wear your white shirt again, then you can just pull out another one. So I always recommend that you have a few white shirts in your closet for that situation. Now with that said, the white shirts aren't the most versatile because they are so formal. Personally I wear white shirts probably 10% of the time.

16:01
For the most part, I really wear them when the occasion calls for it. But the other times, I'm wearing other colors. So 90% of the time, or maybe not 90, probably 80% of the time, I'm in a light blue shirt. Light blue shirts are my favorite. You really can't go wrong with a light blue shirt. Doesn't matter what your complexion is. The light blue shirt is always going to work.

16:31
Now they are levels to light blue shirts. Not all light blue shirts are created equal. So you definitely have to make sure you're wearing the right color of light blue. If you're not sure, watch any of my videos and you see exactly what I'm talking about because once again, I'm always in a light blue shirt. But I'm talking like a pale blue, like very light blue. Other shirt color that I recommend is light pink.

16:59
In a lot of situations, a light pink shirt from a distance will actually look like a white shirt. So that's the type of shade of pink that I usually recommend, like a really, really light pink. Another shirt in my arsenal that I wear all the time also, besides just plain blue or striped shirts, and most of the time it's going to be a combination of white and blue. But I also have white and red, which is a...

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Oxford cloth button down collar shirts or more casual shirt. I have white and green, which is also a casual shirt. What else do I have? I have a white and brown stripe. Those are all button down collar shirts, but all my formal shirts are going to be, as far as stripes, are going to be white and blue.

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I actually have a white and gray also that is formal, but I tend to have a bit more colors when it comes to my button down collar shirts. So those are the colors that I would recommend when it comes to shirts. I think a lot of guys would think that those colors are boring, but the blueprint is already laid out for you. You really don't have to do much, man. So it's not really the time to overdo it. And so thinking about what's the best shirt color I could wear and try to think of the most outlandish colors.

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You don't have to do that, man. So just stay away from those colors. Now let's talk about the second part, which is the shirt collar. So I've heard someone say, I can't remember exactly where I've heard it, but if your face is a picture, then the shirt collar is the frame. So it's very, very important. Once again, I always say that the tie sits right below your face, so does the shirt collar.

18:56
So this is one thing that people do mention to me. They'll ask me, where do I get my shirt from? And they're basing it off the shirt collar. So people do mention my shirt collar a lot of times because it's something that's right there, right under my face. So they can't miss it. And when it comes to shirt collars, what you want to make sure is that the collar points are not visible when you're wearing a jacket. And what I mean is,

19:25
The tip of the collar should be tucked under your jacket's lapels. And the way that you accomplish that is by having your collar points be at least three and a half inches. Three and a quarter might work, but there's a chance that if you're moving, the tip might become visible. And that's what you want to avoid. So I'd say three and a half is really where you want to be.

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Personally, most of mine are around three and three quarters to four inches even. But three and a half should do you just fine. The problem with that is you're not going to find a ton of the rack shirts that are going to be three and a half, unfortunately. So companies that I recommend would be Spia and McKay. I know some of the shirts now, it wasn't always the case.

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but some of their shirts now use some of the same colors as their custom program shirts. So you'll find shirt colors of the rack with them that are three and a half. A company like Proper Cloth has some beautiful shirt colors that are going to be in a three and a half or longer range. But for the most part, you want to go custom to really get the right shirt color that you need.

20:51
Now I've had some guys push back and say, I wear button down collars and mines don't have to be that long. Well, what I'm referring to for the most part, I'm talking about shirt collars that are regular. I'm not talking about point collars. I'm not talking about button down collars. I'm talking about regular semi spread to a spread shirt collar. But at the same time, if it's a button down collar,

21:21
the collar points should still be around three and a half because this was going to allow for the shirt collar to have that beautiful collar roll when we're talking about a button down collar. So yes, even though it's not because the collar point should be hidden under the jackets of the pelt, but you still need longer collar points on your button down collar as well to have that beautiful collar roll. To me, an Oxford cloth button down collar doesn't make any sense.

21:50
if it doesn't have a nice color roll. And that's something that I see a lot. Some of these skimpy colors that I see guys wearing and they think that it's nice, it's really not. And once again, I got a ton of pushback from guys. Some of them are saying, well, I never heard this before. Just because you never heard it, does it make it wrong? That's how I know that my message is reaching a lot of people because I'm getting so much pushback.

22:17
My job is to get the word out there. So I can lead a horse to water, but I can't force him to drink. So it doesn't really bother me if somebody doesn't want to take my advice. I actually feel relieved if you don't want to take my advice because the few guys who do take my advice are going to look better than the guys who don't. That's cool with me. But yeah, man, your shirt collar should be long enough to be hidden under your jacket's lapels.

22:47
So those are the two things that are going to be the most important part when it comes to your shirt color. Other things that are also important, obviously is going to be the fit. So you definitely want the shirt to be comfortable. I've seen some crazy slim fit where they might look nice if somebody is just stationary, but what happens once you start moving around? Like there's no way that's practical.

23:14
So you definitely don't want the shirt to be skin tight. You do want to have some room in the shirt because eventually your jacket is going to come off. And if it's too tight, that's just not really not a good look, man. So definitely pay attention to the fit of the jacket. Obviously it shouldn't be too baggy, but just make sure that you're comfortable and you have all range of motion in your shirt. And...

23:41
I couldn't really talk about shirts without talking about this one mistake that I see all the time and that's the monogram placement. And this one I do understand it because a lot of guys that you'll see, they wear their monograms on their shirt cuffs. And as a novice, when I was coming up, I would see that and I would say to myself, man, I can't wait till I can get a custom shirt so I can have my monogram on my cuff.

24:09
Because, you know, I thought it made sense, but it's really tacky if you really think about it. Number one, nobody really cares about your initials. I'm just being honest with you.

24:23
And number two, there are a lot better places to put your monograms if that's what you're into. Personally, I'm a monogram guy and I know a lot of guys who aren't. Very sharp guys, they're like, yeah, I don't like monograms. And that's cool. I don't think there's anything wrong with monograms. It just depends on where you put them. I put mine on my left torso. So nobody can really see it unless I take my jacket off. And in the case of my white shirts,

24:53
Even when my jacket does come off, you still may not be able to see it because the monogram itself is also white. So it's white on white. So unless you're very close to me and you're staring at my torso, you may not even see that I have monograms if I'm wearing a white shirt. So monograms are cool, but just make sure it's in a place where nobody can really see it. It's really only for your eyes to see. So having monograms on your cuffs, yeah, not cool.

25:23
That's probably the biggest mistake that I see guys make besides the shirt colors and the short shirt color points. So to recap, your shirt should be a blank address. If you're getting way too many comments about your shirt, it definitely means that you're doing something wrong. For example, wearing a shirt color, that's really, really crazy. So stay away from burgundies

25:53
reds and purples and those type of colors and keep it in the family of blues and whites and light pinks and those types of colors. Something that's not going to bring too much attention to itself but that's still going to look classy. And the second thing is you want the collar points to be at least three and a half inches that way they're long enough to fit nicely underneath your jacket lapels.

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So thanks for tuning into episode 25 and come back again next week for another five episode of I'm Not A Gentleman. Peace!

26:38
Outro music: Back in that bag, in that bag, again
Whoa, whoa, yeah, yeah (Hey)
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Back in that- yeah
Tell 'em to watch it...