hollywoodsloce:

Ladies and gentlemen, I am Christopher Tavren Sloce, son of Christopher Michael Sloce and Machelle Denene Mullins, grandson of Ray and Judy Sloce and Otis and Juanita Mullins, I am 19 years old, a Virginia Commonwealth University student, and I am a dandy.

Or at least I like to think so. Compared to most men, I am a dandy. My over all clothing aesthetic is actually conservative. I wear oxfords, blue jeans, loafers, slip ons, chinos. My ties are of normal width. I don’t dress very quirky. However, when you’re part of an age group that thinks a button up shirt is a necessity to avoid except when you have to go to court, this is an issue.

I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on the way I dress. My suite mate Parag called me the white Andre 3000. Believe me when I say I was beaming.

There was also the time I walked out of our building and somebody smoking a cigarette said, “GODDAMN!” And the time that random girl complimented me on my clothes.

Point is, people think of style and clothing as a secret language. It’s not. When you get down to it, it’s fairly simple if you take the time to learn. Blue and white shirts. Flat front khakis. Dark washed jeans. Black or brown, pick one. What’s so lovely about clothing is that once you know the ground rules, you can begin breaking them and really forming your own aesthetic.

And another myth about clothing: you have to buy expensive stuff. Bullshit. You have to buy quality stuff. Quality stuff more often than not will be expensive. But if you know what you’re doing, you can walk into a thrift store and develop a good wardrobe off of that.

The clothes I’m wearing right now are a J. Crew shirt, a pair of Levis jeans, and a pair of Allen Edmonds loafers. New, you’re clocking about a $200 outfit. However, with what I’m wearing today, I spent $18. The J. Crew shirt was $3. The jeans were $15. The shoes were free (Lions Club of Norton, Virginia what up). And I feel pretty confident in how I look.

So don’t let the bastards get you down. GQ is essentially style porn: don’t think of it as entirely realistic. Learn the basics. Learn how to treat girls, so to speak. Then, sooner or later, one day, you won’t need what you thought you did, you’ll have built up enough beauty to sustain yourself.