2 Simple Ways to Upgrade Your Business Casual Style

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.

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″.

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.

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.

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”).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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

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!