Confidence is King

This is a much larger conversation about psychology but let me try to break it down through the lens of someone in the men’s wear game.

At it's core confidence drives almost every decision we make every day. Jerry Seinfeld talks about how faking confidence is the same as real confidence, if the other person doesn’t know you’re faking it. He goes on to say, if the audience could smell even a little apprehension they would eat him alive. I think there is an important life lesson in there and when it comes to getting dressed, projecting confidence will go a long way with feeling good in your clothes. This carries forward too, when you feel good in your clothes you will feel better walking into the boardroom, first date, or down the aisle. Lets think, why did you wear that shirt, suit, sport coat, or ball cap? Because you thought you looked good in it…

A part of feeling good while wearing something is intangible... right? Did I have a good experience buying it? Did I over pay? Did the process take too long? All of which affect your mood while wearing it and ergo your confidence. Especially if you maybe stretched and paid a lot. Then it becomes precious and that's the one thing clothes should never be, precious. This is where a real professional clothier shines. They can be someone to guide you through all the choices from the right fit for your body to the best styling for your job or special occasion. When it comes to styling custom clothes sometimes it's about not changing anything at all.

When I’ve heard from guys that they couldn’t “pull it off” it's usually in reference to slightly brighter colors or bolder patterns. Sometimes it’s a red striped shirt, a gun-check sport coat, or a cuffed trouser. I have heard that phrase also said about what I was wearing at the time as well. What I have always said is that “it's easy.” I have always bought things I really wanted to wear and worn them. Sometimes it's to work or to a party but wearing them is the key, and not feeling bad about it. Of course I have made some mistakes and those things have found their way into the donation pile and I was confident in those decisions too.

Moral of the story is - Wear your all clothes with confidence as… vestis virum facit - “Clothes Make the Man” - Erasmus, 1400 AD

Cheers,

Jake Shields