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Home / Blog / Clothing and Style

2 Simple Ways to Upgrade Your Business Casual Style

Published on March 21, 2017 by Brock McGoff · Clothing and Style May contain affiliate links (what's this?)

Style is all about the small details that can make or break your outfit. This post reveals two ways to upgrade your style without buying any new clothes.

Good to great style

Note: Thanks to KK&Jay and Million Dollar Collar sponsoring this post.

I was watching a clip from Shark Tank the other day and couldn’t help noticing the impeccable style of my favorite shark, Daymond John – who happens to be 5’7″.

Daymond John and Mark Cuban
Daymond John (5’7″) sitting next to Mark Cuban

Sure, he was wearing a suit, but so was Mark Cuban. So why did Daymond look so much better than Mark?

Because he nailed the details.

If you search for photos of Daymond John, you’ll notice that he doesn’t make many style mistakes.

Daymond John style

And that’s the difference between “good” style and “great” style. It’s all about the little details that most men either don’t know about or simple don’t care to address.

See Also: The Complete Guide to Business Casual Style

But you’re not most men. You care about the details, and you’re willing to do what it takes to get them right. That’s why you’re here right now!

Luckily, there are some simple, affordable things you can do to take your style from good the great.

The best part is, you don’t even have to buy any new clothes! Let’s talk about two specific methods.

If you prefer reading, read on!

Method #1: Tuck your shirt in properly.

The goal here is a clean, neat tuck that stays in place throughout the day.

But if you’re like me, you’ve been through the frustrating experience of having your shirt come untucked when you reach your arms up, which leads to the dreaded “muffin top” look.

Shirt comes untucked

Now, if you have trouble maintaining a perfect tuck all day long, I suggest you watch my video about how to keep your shirt tucked in.

Trust me…it’s a great tucking video!

If you watch that video, you’ll see that there’s one technique that works best, which is using shirt stays (also called “shirttail garters”).

Shirttail garters

These are stretchy bands that connect your shirttails to your socks, and if you haven’t tried them, I suggest giving them a shot.

Even if you only use them for super special occasions, it’s nice to have a pair on hand. My go-to brand for shirttail garters is KK&Jay.

Method #2: Wear your button up shirts properly.

Not all button up shirts are the same. There’s a difference between casual button up shirts and dress shirts.

Casual button ups are designed to be worn untucked. These are shorter in length than traditional “dress shirts” and typically have a straighter hem, soft collars and cuffs and (sometimes) button down collars.

Casual shirt vs dress shirt
You shouldn’t wear dress shirts (right) untucked.

Dress shirts, on the other hand, often have stiff collars and cuffs, as well as a curved hem. They’re longer than casual button ups and are meant to be tucked into your pants (often with a jacket and tie).

Now, you shouldn’t wear a tie with a casual button up shirt. It will create a weird, mismatched look that just seems…off.

But you can wear a dress shirt without a tie. Just think of the quintessential business casual outfit – trousers (or chinos), button up shirt (no tie) and a jacket.

Gagliardi blazer

It’s a good look, but there’s one thing that can ruin the business casual getup: a sloppy collar and placket.

A sloppy collar happens when your shirt collar won’t sit nicely against your body. This can be easily solved by using metal or plastic collar stays.

Removable collar stays

Sloppy placket is when the weight of your jacket or collar causes your unbuttoned shirt to fold at the placket and droop down away from your neck.

Sloppy placket
NOT a good look…

I know you’ve seen it, and maybe you’ve even been a victim of it yourself. Most guys don’t even know when sloppy placket hits them, and the vast majority of men don’t know how to prevent it.

Obviously, you can prevent sloppy placket by wearing a tie, but if you don’t want to wear a tie, I recommend using Million Dollar Collar inserts.

Million Dollar Collar placket
MUCH better!

These are little plastic strips that get sewn into your shirt placket to keep it standing up perfectly, even if you like to unbutton the second button (which I highly recommend).

How Million Dollar Collar works

Here’s the best part about Million Dollar Collar inserts: they’re a permanent solution. You can even wash or dry clean your shirts, just like you normally would.

You can install them yourself, go to your local tailor or do what I did: use a service called Air Tailor to install them for you.

I signed up for Air Tailor, which took about 90 seconds to do, and I simply texted them about installing MDCs in two of my shirts.

Air Tailor texting

They sent me a link to pre-paid shipping label, I put the shirts in the bag (which they also sent me) and dropped it in the outgoing mail.

Air Tailor pre-paid label

Five days later, my newly tailored shirts showed up on my doorstep, ready to wear.

Air Tailor delivery

As a guy who gets pretty much everything tailored, this is a game changer.

The hardest part about dressing well is making sure your clothes fit. And the hardest part about making sure your clothes fit is finding a tailor and then going to the tailor.

Air Tailor makes getting your clothes altered way easier, no matter where you live. I plan on using them for many different alterations in the future.

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to be a big shot celebrity business mogul like Daymond John to dress impeccably well.

Even if you don’t have a million dollars, you can look like a million dollars. You just need to get the details right.

Luckily, companies like KK&Jay, Million Dollar Collar and Air Tailor exist to help us do just that.

Questions? Thoughts? Leave a comment below!

Clothing and Style business casual, KK and Jay, shirt stays

Related Posts

Business casual outfits
The Complete Guide to Business Casual Style for Men
Enzo custom suit review part 2
What to Wear to a Job Interview (For Men, With Examples)
Shirt-comes-untucked ft
How to Keep Your Shirt Tucked In
How to Fold and Store T Shirts
7 Ways to Fold T-Shirts for Storage & Travel

About Brock McGoff

The Modest Man founder, Brock is an aspiring minimalist who enjoys working out, spending time with his family, discovering new brands and creating great content.

Background: Brock McGoff has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a professional background in digital marketing. He believes that men's fashion is just one facet of self-improvement, and he started The Modest Man to help regular guys feel more confident by improving their appearance.

An east coast native, Brock currently lives in Arizona with his wife and daughter. When he's not working, he spends time with family, training BJJ, reading/listening to books and podcasts, and unsuccessfully trying to decide which movie to stream.

Expertise: Brock has built a men's lifestyle YouTube channel with over 400k subscribers. He's also worked as the creative marketing manager in a men's apparel startup. Brock has been quoted in, mentioned by or featured in publications like Esquire, Huff Post, Men's Health, WWD and Forbes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    Ask Me Anything Cancel reply

    Got questions? Want to share your opinion? Comment below!

  1. Joe says

    January 29, 2018 at 12:29 am

    Where is the casual button up shirt pictured from? I have a hard time finding casual shirts like that without button-down collars.

    Reply
  2. Jeffrey D'Silva says

    March 21, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    great article! And love the million dollar collar!
    Now that spring is on its way, i need to get cracking on revamping my style!

    Reply
  3. Jason Nitzberg says

    March 21, 2017 at 4:09 pm

    Nice ideas! It does make me smirk to think about wearing a man-garter … but the struggle is real! Thanks for keeping me in the know … hmmm, what should I send in/get first …

    Reply
  4. The Elegantologist says

    March 21, 2017 at 3:01 pm

    Love using the magnetic collar stays. They work really well. I tend to stay away from the shirt garters unless I’m in evening clothes with silk socks. But they do work!

    Reply

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