If you are starting out in your professional career, switching jobs that may require a more professional appearance, or simply need a restart on your personal style, don’t worry, our custom clothing wardrobe professionals here at Jaxson Maximus have you covered.
Below is an excellent guide prepared by our team of industry experts on the top essential items every man needs in his wardrobe.
STEP 1. BEFORE YOU BEGIN HAVE A PLAN WITH AN END IN MIND
Depending upon your profession, looking professional can vary from firm to firm, your climate, how client-facing your day-to-day duties are, and other variables.
When figuring out your wardrobe essentials, we recommend you figure out answers to some basic wardrobe questions such as how many days a week will you will be wearing certain looks. For example, will you be wearing suits five days a week or two days a week? Will you be wearing sport jackets and blazers on the other days of your workweek? On the days you will not be wearing a jacket, will you be wearing dress pants and nice shirts or jeans and sport shirts?
You want to make sure the clothes that you buy are a good long terms investment. By having a healthy wardrobe rotation, this will give your clothes a good lifespan, and you receive a great value from your wardrobe investments.
STEP 2. SEEK ADVICE FROM OTHERS IN YOUR INDUSTRY
Seeking advice from other successful people within your profession that always look great and have a nice wardrobe that you and others admire will help you determine what clothing items are necessary for you to have. They will appreciate the compliment and can guide you as to what it was like when they started and how they built their wardrobe over time.
Pro Tip: Unsure of who to ask or where to start? Seek advice from professional clothiers. For example, at Jaxson Maximus, we council 100’s of professionals from legal, finance, consulting, etc., daily. Having a great experienced professional clothier that understands what you do, what type of other professionals you interact with daily, and your likes and dislikes can be super helpful to give you great advice.
STEP 3. HAVE A TWO WEEK CLOTHING ROTATION
Once you determine what types of looks you will need to have a great working, stylish and professional wardrobe, you can determine how many total looks you will need in your rotation to look amazing every day.
A good goal to have when you are starting out is to get up to a two-week rotation of the items that you need. For example, if you are wearing suits four days a week, then you will want to get your rotation up to at least eight suits. If you are wearing sport jackets three days a week, then you want to build your rotation to at least six sport jackets.
There are several reasons why a two-week rotation is important to get to as fast as possible. The first is to protect the investment in your wardrobe. Maintaining a two-week rotation ensures you will not over wear and over dry clean your garments, which will reduce the life of your garments.
The second holds true especially for your suits, sport jackets, and dress pants. These items are typically made from wool or wool blended with other natural fibers such as silk, linen and cotton. These fibers are some of the strongest on the planet, which is why we make our clothing from them; however, they need the chance to breathe and bounce back into shape.
Most professional clothiers recommend letting your garments sit at least ten days in between wearings, which is why achieving at least a two-week rotation is important.
Secondly, maintaining a two-week rotation will provide you with many fresh looks and combinations to choose from when selecting what to wear each day. Think of it as your capsule wardrobe. This will keep you looking great in front of your peers, friends, and family.
STEP 4. INVEST IN YOUR BASICS FIRST
Building a wardrobe is just like building a house. It requires a solid foundation or good bones. There are three basic foundational suits to every man’s wardrobe regardless of your profession, according to our professional clothiers at Jaxson Maximus.
Number one is a dark navy suit. Dark navy is considered to be your color of power. A dark, dressy navy solid and a subtle navy stripe are the first two right-angle pieces of your foundational wardrobe. Both are the great first impressions, first interviews, or great selections for when you want the odds in your favor.
Number two is a grey suit. Grey has long been thought of as the color of confidence. Mid-grey is a great choice for all skin tones as it’s neutral and looks great with practically any shirt, tie, and shoe color. Adding a mid-grey solid and a subtle grey stripe are fantastic building blocks for your tailored wardrobe.
Lastly is a royal blue suit. Royal blue caught on in the 1990s as a great change of pace to midnight navy and now is considered a must-have. It is thought by most to be your social blue. It’s dynamic for taking pictures in and going to networking events and is perfect for lightening your mood.
Investing in these three suiting basics first is a great way to add variety and get you off to a great start in building your professionally tailored wardrobe.
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