Choose to Take the Journey

I’m a nerd. I love nerds. But the last thing anyone wants is to actually look like a nerd. Your looks (your face and body type) is not so important as your look (your grooming and style). How you look has a direct impact on not only your own emotions, but also the emotional responses of others. How people respond to a disheveled guy in a wrinkled t-shirt, wearing big, round, grandpa spectacles is very different than to a well-groomed man in a sharp blazer, sporting sleek, modern-rimmed glasses. Trust me, you don’t lose nearly as much peripheral vision as you think you do.

Here are a few fashion faux pas you want to avoid if you want to go from invisible to notice-worthy:

1) Oversized clothes

I see it all too often and it’s something I used to be guilty of as well. Like me, maybe you had frugal parents who insisted you would “grow into” your new hand-me-downs. Not gonna happen. The shirt either fits now, or it never will. It’s particularly common with the overweight and the scrawny. In the first case, you try to hide the body you have. In the second, you try to hide the body you don’t have. In either case, it communicates to your subconscious mind as well as to the subconscious minds of other people that you lack confidence. Never a good thing.

Keep in mind that American clothing brands tend to label one size smaller, to the psychological benefit of our increasingly hefty population. As for jeans, if you are a little on the shorter side, you’ll want to opt for the low-rise variety to avoid that “baggy crotch” look.

And you don’t need a lot of money. A custom-tailored suit from Hong Kong will look better than a brand-name Italian import that may not be right for your body.

2) Lack of versatility

Speaking of suits, get one. You don’t want to have to scramble to the nearest Men’s Warehouse and get ripped an arm and a leg because you have only 2 hours before that wedding, job interview, or black-tie event you got invited to. Unless you’re Eminem, you can’t just show up anywhere you want in a hooded sweater and stone-washed jeans. It demonstrates a lack of refinement and a lack of social awareness.

3) Neutrality

If your closet is nothing but an array of gray, dark gray, light gray, and navy blue, you need to go shopping, my friend. Try bolder colors like red, purple, or teal. Consider accessories like hats, scarves, rings, earrings, wrist cuffs, or cufflinks. Wearing something because it’s necessary communicates neutrality (translation: boring). Wearing something just for the sake of ornamentation conveys sexuality (translation: I didn’t go to senior prom with my cousin).

4) Not looking presentable

Even if you’re just picking up a few fruit at the grocery store, or picking up your grandma at the pharmacy, you want to always look presentable. If you look crummy, you’re going to feel lousy. You should not look like you just rolled out of bed (unless you’re intentionally going for that look), and you should look decent enough to meet your grandma’s friends. Maybe you’ll thank me one day when you meet your future wife at the local laundromat.
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Stick around.  Next time I’ll share what I’ve learned about intangibles like decisiveness, and charisma.

//Can you think of any other fashion foibles that nerds are notorious for?  Comment below.