Men in their 40s: what should / shouldn't they wear?

[TomPinch]

Well, life has slipped by and I have become that man.

And I guess I would be very grateful for any help in checking that my fashion ideas aren't ridiculous, out of date, too young, too old or whatever.

The reason why I am here specifically is because the Internet in general isn't much help. Articles on men's fashions are either about chiselled businessmen in black suits, white shirts and enormous status watches, or cool 20somethings from New York with massive sunglasses, ie, not ordinary people. Which is why I hope you won't mind me asking here.

My view of generally OK is:

Classic jeans
Suits with ties for formal occasions or in office, but otherwise not.
Classic haircut
No tie ever, except with a suit.
Plain T-shirts
Plain jumpers
Leather jacket
Shirts with patterns
Brogues (but not with jeans)
Lyrca if cycling, otherwise no
Any of the above that is a bit worn out.

My idea of generally risky / bad is
(maybe) baseball caps
Skinny jeans
Any trousers where the crotch is halfway to the knee
Ponytail
Football top
Corduroys
Cargo pants
Blazers
Polyester slacks
Short-sleeved shirts
Aviator sunglasses
Onesies (except in private)
Any of the above is OK for an individual if it works for him.

I'd be most grateful for any comments

Wear what you feel comfortable in and whats appropriate for the situation. (No long skirts or flowery summer dress unless you can carry it off ).

We're both retired so older than you but DH wears shorts or jeans with polo shirts, All fairly basic doesn't care about label if it fits he's happy. When he was working he generally wore a suit or casual trousers (even cords!) depending on where he was working. Outside work he was generally old overalls or jeans and polo shirt (for fans of last of the summer wine a cross between Compo & Wesley).
Generally at work wear what's appropriate for a business environment (varies on your job) outside work wear what you're happy in.

(ps. he wears sock with his sandals in cold weather)

Hmmm. DH is slightly on the old school spectrum, so perhaps I’ve been influenced over the years, but I’d say:

Probably no to jeans unless they are very nice well fitted ones and he is very youthful looking. Otherwise looks a bit Clarkson to me.

No Superdry, big logos, T-shirt’s with logos.

No crappy trainers - non logo leather ones are nice, but otherwise just looks low rent.

No walking / hiking gear unless you’re actually on a walk. Otherwise you look like an off duty actuary.

No massive watches.

No visible neck or wrist jewellery.

Wear a tie when you wear shirt. Not many do and it will make you look better dressed.

Wear a tie when you wear shirt. Not many do and it will make you look better dressed.

No really don’t. It will look dated and age you

I disagree. It looks smart.

Lycra is the right clothing for cycling if you are doing some distance. You aren't a woman, wear the right clothes for what you are doing rather than being a fuckwit.

Football shirts are the right clothes for a football match. And so on.

See, I told you.

@MobyDicksTinyCanoe

My dps 44 and lives in jeans and Metallica tshirts......i think he looks sexy as hell. 💁

Generally I think anything goes these days so long as we aren't trying far too hard to cling onto our youth.

And for the love of God don't wear lycra, even fellow bikers laugh at the lycra brigade...... If you really ust put a pair of sports shorts on over the shorts at least. There's just no. Need! 😳

I guess it depends where you live. No cyclists laugh at Lycra here because they all wear Lycra. If you see anyone wearing anything but Lycra they look super weird.

TBH, I think it's all about your body. Are you thin? Then you can wear most things you want. If you're chunky, you do NOT have the same range of choice. Welcome to the reality of a woman's perpective.

I think Xing means are you in a good shape.

That's more polite, I agree, but it means the same!

Men judge women's bodies all the time. And I do too. Usually unkindly, frankly.

Dh is 46, tall, and has always dressed the same.

Slim jeans
Checked shirt (Crew Clothing normally)
Hoody
Slim jumper
Chinos
Skate shoes
Deck shoes
Brogue boots
Chino shorts
Decent weight polos or t shirts

Sorry @xingMing, do you mean you usually judge other people/women's bodies unkindly?

@XingMing, thin is not polite for in good shape. Thin isn't usually a good look. Fit and healthy is. Daniel Craig and Martin Compston aren't thin, they are fit and healthy.

And they look good in ties.

They probably look good without tights, and in lycra, ...I'll stop there

I'm 62 and been wearing 501s, Doc Martens, Dark t shirts and a leather bike jacket for the past 30 years or so (same jacket) and see no reason to change. Since I started getting a bit baldy I added a beany hat to that.

Things to avoid? Bikinis. Men look shit in bikinis

We need a photo of you in a bikini TheSandman. It's the rules.

www.buzzfeed.com/dayshavedewi/all-of-the-nip-slips?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bfsharecopy&sub=0_6127847#6127847

...and if that doesn't get me banned from Mumsnet...

Baseball caps can look just right sometimes. But, for the love of God, not when worn backwards. Puts me off immediately.

My fiancé is 35 and he looks bloody delicious in a good jumper.

Is that you TheSandman? It didn't look too bad. There's probably a time and a place, if you wanted to wear it.

I think if this thread proves one things, it's that all this is mostly subjective and if you love it, who gives a shit what anyone else thinks?