Derek Guy, better known on Twitter as the “men’s clothing guy,” would rather men wear “chicken suits” to work than the current business casual trend: blue dress shirt, low-rise slim chinos , a Patagonia vest and a pair of dress sneakers. .
“It’s a really ugly aesthetic,” Guy said Fortune.
The ensemble — which some have called the “finance bro outfit” — is vanilla, shows little personality and is not body-flattering, he said.
Those who have recently spent time on X (formerly Twitter) may not be surprised at first by Guy’s point of view. The Canadian-born, California-based style blogger has amassed nearly a million followers on X by asking politicians and celebrities about their fashion choices. Many X users, beyond typical fashion critics, read Guy’s sartorial advice after he inexplicably went viral last year.
However, Guy is not the formality-obsessed hater his critics make him out to be. Instead, he wants men to wear clothes that give them a feeling of satisfaction and well-being, instead of wearing the same uniform to work every day.
“We live in a time where there are more options and more freedom than ever before,” he said. “It’s just that a lot of guys don’t take advantage of it.”
Most finance bros don’t like their button-down shirts and chinos, Guy believes, because they’re not supposed to look good; it’s just a superficial outfit, something you wear to look respectable. Men worry that stepping outside of these norms could lead to teasing, unprofessionalism, or appearing too formal or uptight.
Guy rejects these fears. In the post-work-from-home era, where office culture is adapting to new norms of casualness, we’ve landed on the “uglier” version of the business casual aesthetic, he said. he declares. Men always want to look formal, but are afraid of being noticed.
“I’d rather you put some clothes on and say, ‘I feel good,'” Guy said.
How should men navigate the new casual office culture, while still looking good? The answer, Guy says, starts with a tailored sports coat.
Start formally, then work your way down
“Try to incorporate a tailored sport coat into your attire as much as possible,” Guy said. The piece gives men a silhouette with broader shoulders and a slimmer waist, which is flattering, he added.
How to style a sports coat? Men should try classic, formal work attire, then adjust elements of the outfit to suit the office culture, Guy said.
The classic outfit he suggests is a button-down oxford shirt, layered under a navy sport coat, with gray wool pants and leather dress shoes.
Many men may find it too formal for the office, Guy said. So swap the pants for chinos. If it’s still too dressy, try jeans, a long-sleeved polo shirt, and simple white sneakers rather than dress shoes.
If the sport coat still feels too dressy, try a shirt with a little texture. For winter, a textured sweater: Irish fisherman, cable knit or Shetland knit. In summer, a polo shirt with a Johnny collar, a shirt with a camp collar or a T-shirt with a cardigan is “much more interesting” than a button-down shirt.
Men can find inspiration from brands or from other business people who have good style, Guy said. Classic brands like J. Crew, Todd Snyder and Buck Mason excel at offering alternatives to dress shirts, he noted.
One man who has mastered business casual is Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, Guy added. Rocking cardigans, polos and T-shirts with a sport coat, Mosseri is Guy’s style icon for new men’s back-to-work clothing.
However, if after trying on the new shirts it doesn’t feel as good as the dress shirt, fine, Guy said, but at least do it right. He recommends the online store Proper Cloth, which designs custom and made-to-order dress shirts that are expensive but worth it.
Stop wearing skinny chinos
Consider how to dress to best flatter your body shape, Guy said.
“A lot of guys squeeze into these really slim chinos that don’t flatter them,” he noted. “That’s not to say that no one should wear skinny pants, but skinny pants have to fit the aesthetic, and they don’t really work with a professional aesthetic.”
Aim for slightly looser pants, so your figure appears more rounded, Guy said.
It’s easy to test if your pants are too small, Guy added. Look in the mirror and if your hip pockets are flaring, the pants are too tight on your hips. If the pants wrinkle at your knees, they may be too tight on your legs. If you grab a three-way mirror, check how your pants fit your legs. If they cause ripples in the back, that’s another sign that the pants are too small.
“When you get the fit right and things drape well, they look better,” Guy said. “On the other hand, when men put on these tight shirts, they end up feeling tight, and it doesn’t flatter you, and it’s not comfortable.”
Above all, wear the leather jacket, or whatever makes you feel the best
There’s another path Guy would prefer financial bros to follow: wear whatever you want, including a leather jacket, like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
“Huang dresses very stylishly,” Guy said.
If we allowed true casualness in the office, which might include trucker or leather jackets, “it would be better than forcing everyone into this business casual style, which has neither the flattering effects of tailoring nor the “possible creative expression of casual clothing,” he added.
In a world of Bill Gates T-shirts and Huang leather jackets – a world in which we have given up on long-held notions of respectability – we might as well move beyond judging people by their clothes, he said. he declares. In the workplace, a person wearing a T-shirt should be expected to do the same quality of work as someone in a suit.
“A lot of guys are so afraid of exploring that they assume if they wear the wrong jacket something bad is going to happen,” Guy said. “I don’t think the world is that bad.”