Throughout history the amount of energy, money, and time spent by men in pursuit of the opposite sex has been extraordinary. These days it ranges from the obvious (wearing your money and driving a sportscar) to the creepy (the whole Pick Up Artist scene – super creepy) with several stops at pathetic along the way. What’s amazing is that for every man sitting at home on a Saturday night wondering why he doesn’t have a date there aren’t more men realising the single most powerful weapon they have at their disposal: Tailoring. For everything.
The Man Child Cometh
In the Western world, there’s a disturbing trend towards a childish existence on the part of men. Men well past the age of minority still obsess over video games and entertainments designed for their much younger peers, and still dress with an adolescent resistance to style, fit, and finish. Now, we’re not suggesting that men should never ever play video games – but part of the maturation process is recognising better and deeper pleasures than gibbing aliens. There was a time when men grew up, left behind childish things, and went out to fight wars and build the world. These days men are just as likely to move into their parents basements and shuffle about in baggy, ill-fitting clothing.
Tailoring Makes Clothes Look Good
The simple truth is compelling: Tailoring makes clothes look good. That’s it. Tailoring makes clothing look like it was designed for you, and thus the subtle message of tailored clothing is that you don’t just take what the world hands you and meekly wear it like some sort of awful Gamma Man, you go out and demand clothing that fits properly, feels better, and lasts longer. You take charge of your existence.
Tailoring isn’t just for suits, either. Every single item you wear on a daily basis can be fitted to you, and then adjusted if you lose weight or gain weight or finally start working out. Although the sheer sexy power of a well-tailored suit – think Daniel Craig in the James Bond Films, or Robin Thicke in the Blurred Lines video – should never be underestimated.
Does that mean you can’t have a few pairs of sloppy weekend clothes? Of course not. Have them, and wear them when you play video games, by all means. But when emerging into the real world, why not wear adult garments that have been fitted to you, and look like someone who makes the decisions in his own life, instead of someone whose parents still buy all of his clothes?
And here’s some proof: Arden Reed recently teamed with dating service OKCupid to test the tailored Vs. Off the Rack question. They created identical profiles for models, except in one version the man was wearing an OTR suit that fit like a cardboard box, and the other featured the same model in a tailored version of the same suit. And overwhelmingly women using the site (who had no idea they were being experimented upon), chose the tailored man to seek a date with.
So, next time you’re sitting at home watching something below your intellectual standards whilst wearing baggy jeans and a huge T-shirt, consider whether tailoring might get you out of the house more.
Vari is an online writer who has recently taken over the Glitterstore blog (an ecommerce store in the UK) and specializes in fashion and lifestyle articles. Her topics vary in content and style from how to apply the latest Manic Panic to the history of cosmetics and anything in between. Follow Glitterstore on Google +.
