HE-446
SELECTING MENSWEAR
Cooperative Extension Service • Purdue University • West Lafayette, Indiana
Body Proportion and Wardrobe Coordination
More and more people need to dress for their job because semi-professional and professional positions are on the increase. More than two-thirds of the U.S. population are employed in positions associated with the production of services rather than products. Although some employees can wear uniforms or career apparel for work, many others find most of their clothing is for the job rather than social occasions or pleasure.
As the type of occupations has changed so has the manner in which people are appraised. Your appearance is frequently used to make first impressions, as well as evaluate potential and capabilities. Ninety percent of what employers see when they first interview a person is what they are wearing. That ninety percent is a major part of the first impression. Appearance is an index to what people think of themselves and what they are striving for. As Will Rogers said, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”
Clothing is a communication tool. But clothing doesn’t do it all; ability, drive and goals have a great deal to do with success. While good-looking clothes don’t always make you a success, the wrong clothes can definitely detract from your best efforts and prove to be a major stumbling block.
Realizing the importance of personal appearance, many business firms have called upon clothing consultants to assist their employees. With the breakdown of established dress codes in the 1960s many businessmen were freed from a prescribed way of dressing. The dilemma consumers face is a bewildering array of choices with very few guidelines for wardrobe coordination.
Clothing is expensive—clothing mistakes are even more expensive. Researchers in a study of men’s clothing purchases found that unworn suits and sport coats were discarded because they were out of style, boring, not suitable, not needed or had been replaced by new items. The garments were not worn out but realistically had become unwearable. The quality of the fabric far outlasted
the garments’ fashion life. “Planned obsolescence” can empty your wallet and fill the closet with outmoded apparel. What guidelines can be offered that will help build a wardrobe which will make a man look his best and give him the most mileage for his clothing dollar?
The purpose of this guidesheet is to provide a basis for men to evaluate their body build so they can select clothing that will enhance their appearance. The second purpose is to provide some basic guidelines in wardrobe coordination using color, line, texture and style to one's personal advantage.