Shopping For Blokes/Dummies

Shopping is not something that comes naturally to us blokes. This would especially be the case with shopping for clothes. If it were up to us we would get around in track pants and t-shirts everyday. While very comfortable these outfits don’t present you in your best light.

There are benefits of dressing well. It gives a good impression as it shows you want to look your best and that you take care of yourself. Looking more presentable to the opposite sex is not a bad by-product either.

But us blokes need some help. From someone who knows what looks good. Someone other than your mother as there comes a time when she shouldn’t be selecting your clothes. Although my options were scant until this year when I found Val.

Val is a friend I met a couple of years ago when I joined her bible study group. She used to work in advertising but is currently making cakes. As a stylist she is so good that she may have to start charging. She’s very stylish herself, I don’t understand how she chooses her outfits sometimes but this is due to male ignorance, as she always looks great.

Val read my very random blog posts on fashion (A Fashion That’s Growing On Me 19/7/07, Girls In Skirts 11/3/07, Fashion Beefs 13/11/06) and was impressed with what I had to say, despite the rebuttal from others. It came up again in conversation then, surprisingly, she agreed to be my fashionista stylist for a day of shopping.

Some tips for blokes in preparation for a day of shopping:

• Do a cull – offload stuff that you don’t wear or is worn out. Send good stuff to op shops, while old t-shirts make great rags.
• Know what you want/need – for me I had a lot of daggy polo shirts from when I was teaching and needed more smart casual pants, shirts and shoes.
• Know how much money you have to play with – you have to be willing to drop some dosh. Although it is possible to shop economically, you just need to pick the right shops. I took a liking to shops like Just Jeans, Jeans West and Cotton On.
• Go with an open mind – some suggestions might never have crossed your mind due to your shopping novice status. I was surprised with a few articles that Val chose, yet she was right about all of them.

Who knows, you may even enjoy it and learn something.