Fashion basics for men

CEBU, Philippines - When it comes to getting fashion advice, men lags way behind women - safely around seven to one. Fashion gurus focus mainly on women. Some say the reason is because women are more interesting to doll up; others say women are more fashion conscious than men.

But men do need to have good fashion sense, too. And a good place to start is the basics.

First off - what makes a clothing item versatile? The important thing to consider in determining the versatility of a piece of clothing is whether it can be dressed up or dressed down, to make it usable in a lot of different occasions. A piece that one can go almost anywhere with is good to have.

Another important consideration is color. Neutral color, for example, is safe to go with different outfits. Bright colors are more delicate - thus, harder - to pair right. With neutral colors, it's easy to throw stuff together.

Now, the most versatile items for a man's wardrobe. Fashion stylists Chris and Eric, in the video on https://blog.cladwell.com, cite five items:

Those who wear clothes mostly in grays and blacks are safe to get a pair of black casual leather shoes. But if the attire is more on tans, browns, navies, and earth tones, brown casual leather shoes match right. Whichever of these color combinations is chosen, the shoes can be worn all year.

The good thing about jeans is that they can wear them for all different types of occasions.

White is great, or tan, gray, a navy, even. Something like that, with a neutral tone is. Between a dress shirt and an Oxford - since it's a casual button-up shirt, an Oxford is great to have. An Oxford is a little heavier, which makes it preferable and it's possible to dress it up or down.

These are especially great for layering. Can it be a hoodie? A zipped-up hoodie may be a little too casual, though.  With a zip-up hoodie or a hoodie, in general, is dressing up or down is very hard. But a standard crew neck sweatshirt will do just right.

Navy color is a great choice for a blazer, or gray, depending on one's color palette. Many different things can be done with a blazer - one can go casual or semi-formal in it. But does the shirt always have to be tucked in when wearing a blazer?

It depends on the shirt. With a t-shirt or a polo shirt doesn't require tucking in; it's a casual look. With a casual button-up shirt, sort of on-the-line that fits really well, no need to tuck in, either, if it's not too long, not too billowy or blousy.

What's too long of a button-up shirt? Too long is anything that hanging way past the belt line or if it's way down on the thighs. A safe bet is to tuck in a casual button-up shirt. If wearing a blazer with a dress shirt, definitely tuck it in; always tuck in a dress shirt.

With those five, a man need only buy less stuff. Those items go together really well. They're easy to mix-and-match, and with a little creativity one doesn't have to look like his wearing the same thing all time. (FREEMAN)