The majority tend to stick to the good old t-shirt, jeans and sneakers and alternate that with a suit. Granted, women have far more options when it comes to styles of clothes, colours, shoes and accessories but men definitely have a lot more than t-shirts, jeans and suits.
I have a friend (one of the guys-next-door) who says he does not wear a suit to church because anyone can wear a suit. His choice in clothes is interesting, in a good way. He tends to wear clothes that if you saw them in the store window on a mannequin you may not think much but he sees a way of working it. His taste in shoes is also atypical. I find it quite fascinating.
All the men may be wearing sneakers but his will have impressive detail. One Sunday he wore a navy sailor’s blazer with a white shirt and khaki pants and a brown pair of shoes with a matching brown belt. He could have just worn any jacket but he went the extra mile and made it a sailor’s blazer.
He looked debonair.
Yes, men, you may not have handbags, necklaces or other fun accessories to use to add spunk to your outfit but you have shoes, belts and colour.
Instead of sticking to the ordinary blue for boys wear other colours like red, green, yellow even. I have another friend with a colourful shoe collection that he matches with his shirts. The shoes come in different styles and shapes and he uses them to compliment his mood. They vary from playful to formal, to creative. Just by his choice of shoes and pick of shirt his outfits are never boring.
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Younger men, teenagers to be precise, are not colour shy. I have come across ones wearing purple skinny jeans, green and purple sneakers. Then again I have yet another friend who owns a pair of yellow skinny jeans and he is not a teenager. He reserves his for when he is in a playful mood.
Obviously as a man becomes older he may need to exercise some restraint when wearing colourful clothing but just do not develop the tastes of a geriatric. I once saw a man in the streets wearing a pair of medium wash blue jeans, a black silk shirt with a purple collar and purple cuffs worn with matching purple, four-corner, suede shoes. It looked hideous. Good idea, terrible execution.
Colour is good but plain solid colour is a wiser choice. Patterns are not bad but your entire wardrobe should not consist of patterns, mixing up your clothes becomes challenging when both your shirts and shorts are printed.
You end up with a clash of the prints. It also means that when you wear it again, it is easier to remember that you wore the red shirt with black and white checkering last week Friday and the previous Tuesday.
The case of an executive who struggles to dress casual
I have also noticed that most men in Zimbabwe look decent in their corporate wear. So if you were to see him in a suit at work, church or a wedding you would look at him and think “hmmm, not bad. I can work with him”. Until he asks you out to coffee, to a game of cricket or anywhere else and he hangs up his suit in exchange for casual wear.
When you see him in his casual clothes for the first time you cringe. The first thought that creeps into your mind is “what is he WEARING”? You cross your fingers that no one you know sees you with him. After the initial shock has worn off and you realise he is a great guy you may get over it and resolve to help him dress better. If he turns out to be a jerk or not your type, thank God you will not have to be seen out in public with him again.
We do not want you to take twice as long as we do when getting dressed but we would appreciate if you made some effort and dressed to impress more often than not.
