Ohhhh, fellas. This look hurts me so much:
This is SO frumpy. Ties do not belong with shapeless short-sleeved shirts. Even if “NYPD Blues” was your favorite show, it’s still not cool.
Right? Does this EVER look good? No, it does not.
If you’re bound and determined to wear short sleeves with a tie, it CAN be done. You just have to update your proportions.
Here’s a club collar with a great fit (yes, you have to be decently fit to wear this look) and a skinnier tie. In plaid, even! Very snappy. Love it.
Not a short-sleeved shirt, but another example of the skinnier ties that are in now.
If all of this confuses you, just remember: if you look like all you need is a pocket protector to complete your costume as PeaceBang’s 8th Grade Shop Teacher, change your shirt.
I think this is so sad and unfair! I know of men who can never find (or will never find 🙂 long sleeve shirts where the sleeves are long enough for them and, whether or not they do, just end up rolling up the sleeves for the day anyway – which is not as comfortable as short sleeves. I totally agree with you about how this looks – I just dream for it to become a case where the PEOPLE take back fashion for the sake of (slightly) greater comfort and practicality, and make these poor shirts BE stylish! Possible? [No. Just… no. Sorry, bunny. – PB]
PREACH. THE. WORD, sister. I’m printing this out and hanging it on my Dear Husband’s side of the closet as gentle reminder of sometimes forgotten fashion advice.
The Simpsons beat you to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP4ibNIZIDc
[ZOMG! I just died laughing! – PB]
Whatever a “club collar” is, I think that guy with the shirt with the weird sleeves (what ARE those things?) looks awful. Even worse than Dennis Franz, who at least looks like he’s just been up all night tracking down criminals, not like he tried to look cool and failed. The only thing that saves Mr. White Collar from utter nerddom is that he’s obviously buff. (So buff that his shirt doesn’t fit, looks like to me. Ew.) [Oh honey. It’s called fashion. I know it can hurt your tender eyes but that’s what it looks like for men these days, pinky swear. – PB]
I can kind of see the skinny tie on the guys in those photos, but generally I think the skinny tie is the male equivalent of leggings and the short skirts/long shirt-tails that go over them; if you wore back in school when it was in the last time, you’re probably too old to wear it now.
And nothing says “wedding reception at the fire hall in a one stoplight town” quite so much as a short-sleeve shirt with a tie. I don’t care if it’s comfortable; it looks terrible. If you need to wear a tie, wear a real shirt with it. If your situation is casual enough for short sleeves, wear a polo shirt and leave the tie at home.
I love the movie “Office Space” but I think for some men it has been more of a fashion inspiration than a satire and cautionary tale. So sad.
Thanks, PB, I agree with your no-short-sleeves-with-tie rule, but I worry about the pictures that you chose: 3 larger men for the “absolutely not” category and 2 skinny men for the “if you must, this is okay” category. Were there no pictures of skinny men with this fashion faux pas? [Well kiddo, I do the best I can with Google Image searches. And the answer is “no.” The one thin guy in the look was a hot model with great hair and hipster glasses. – PB]
In my opinion, once you are out of eighth grade there is no such thing as a short sleeve dress shirt. There is simply no way for the sleeves of these things to end gracefully — they just droop like batwings (NYPD Blue photo). If your employer makes you wear it and there is no discretion on your part, it is a uniform — grin and bear it. If it has short sleeves, it is a sport shirt.
As La Peregrina pointed out, the photos for the “absolutely not” category show men of a certain age with significant protruding counterweights perhaps necessary to offset the girth of their seats (and indeed, as I get older I am begining to resemble that remark). The awkwardness of the image is exacerbated by the fact that their ties are not tied to the proper length. It is a small detail, but it does significantly indicate the care, attention and consideration with which they want to engage the world.
For the hard to fit gentlemen, it may have to become a case of less is more — either getting one or two custom made shirts and laundering more frequently or, perhaps arm garters are a possibility?
LOL! I’m cool with fashion for men, but I missed the moment when it got as unflattering and uncomfortable as fashion for women! I guess the shift should’ve been obvious when teenage boys started wearing their pants around their knees. It’s quite amusing to see them hobble like a woman in a pencil skirt and heels. Maybe in a generation or so men will realize they don’t have to wear things they hate in order to be fashionable.
Gentlemen, there is a solution to the overheating in long sleeved shirts problem. If your cuffs are neatly pressed they can be folded over and over without turning into an uncomfortable roll around your upper arm. If you do it slowly and mindfully in a business meeting you can embrace your inner burlesque dancer and make your current office crush drool. (Guess how I know this?) Best not take your cufflinks out with your teeth, though.
My father, who generally groomed himself at the level of Dennis the Menace, and took about as much notice of fashion, thought short-sleeved dress shirts were a Godsend in comfort. It’s about the only comment I can remember him making about his own clothing. But then, that look does sort of say “70s high school teacher” (math) – which he was. Maybe he was more style-savvy than I realized.
On another topic, what do you think of the whole casual work clothes trend – which is pretty rampant in corporations – for male clergy?