How to dress a doctor....

Paul and I circa 2000

When I met my husband he was a 23 year old college student working on his Bachelor of Philosophy and was a manager at a local book store. On our first date he wore a graphic grey t-shirt, a pair of khaki slacks and a pair of black and white Pumas. He had a Julius Cesar haircut and slightly bushy sideburns (mini-chops). He was tall and thin; He was perfection and looked like the man I always imagined I would marry.

Flash forward 12 years and Paul is now the father of 2, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, a graduate professor a the local acupuncture college and their clinic director. Graphic tees and khakis aren't going to cut it anymore.

Circa 2009 when Paul had all but given up on fashion.

My husband has always been open to assistance in style and I am so grateful for that. I know men who are defiantly bad dressers and I know women who dress their men up with little to no regard for what the men like. I think this speaks to a mutual trust that Paul and I have. He helps me pick out my clothes when we shop as well.

So here was the challenge. What, on a limited budget, were going to be the key items? What follows is the three year quest we have been on in men's fashion.


How does a woman figure out how to dress a man?


The first thing I did was look around for men who had some sort of style or belong to a similar occupation or income bracket. I liked how our daughter's neurologist dressed but it was about 10 years too old for Paul. I did note that I liked his shoes because they were dress shoes but not too dressy. I felt like Paul needed to be sharp but not inaccessible. He is not a Real Estate agent or an MD so some dress was going to be too much and he also had to be able to teach Tai Chi and Qi Gong in his clothes.  I settled on getting him two pairs of Keens from Zappos.com. One truly fortunate advantage of Paul is that he is a straight up 11 in shoes, 16 Large in shirts, and 34x42 in pants. The two pair are above and to the right. The ones on the right, the sneakers are his favorite but they changed the design this year.

Keen Coronado www.zappos.com

Next, I asked a friend of ours, whose accessories Paul had admired, if he would take Paul shopping. I don't know about you but I learned a long time ago to ask for help and to look for good examples of what I am after. I am not going to tell you who the friend was but I am going to say that his reaction was bizarre. He was adamant that MEN DON'T SHOP TOGETHER! He even asked me "does Paul know you asked me?". I was so perplexed by his reaction that I sheepishly asked Paul that night if I had done something terribly offensive. Paul was confused by the reaction as well so we just let go of the idea of a shopping buddy for Paul.

The next thing I tried was ordering Paul a ton of stuff from Zappos. I looked at a ton of shirts and slacks but wasn't really sure how to sort out what material would be good or colors or brands. I ordered him almost $400 worth of shirts and pants only to find that none of them fit or suited Paul and I eventually sent everything back. In the meantime we bought him several pairs of Dockers which seemed like the logical adult version of his standard Dickies he wore throughout college. Dockers don't wash well. They get really wrinkly and shortly they get permanently wrinkly. Ours is not a lifestyle that accommodates irons so Dockers had to go.

Next, I scoured the internet and found one website:http://thedappergentleman.tumblr.com which I absolutely love. The guy seems kinda like a d-bag but has some really good images of well styled men. From this blog and GQ's Fall 2012 Fashion guide we sought out grey-tons of grey!

What I know for sure is that Macy's has been the best luck for us for dress shirts, slacks, and jackets, Toad Road in Nob HIll and 6pm.com (where zappos items go to die) has been great for jeans and sweaters, and Zappos has been best for shoes. Here is Paul's brand new Fall Fashion 2012 Wardrobe.

These are the key season. The rest, you will see is mostly grey but this particular color and style of shoe is essential. You can dress them up with slacks and a sports coat or they can kick up jeans and a sweatshirt. Found them on sale at www.zappos.com.

Paul wasn't sure about this jacket but he tried it on a few times, walked around the store, tried on other coats, and by the end realized that he didn't want to live without it. Pair it with a white cotton button up to dress it up or T-shirt and Tom's to go out for the day.  This was 40% off at Macy's

 This is a beautiful grey corduroy by Calvin Klein. Found it for 60% off at Macy's. He had been looking for a sports coat and this seemed like the most contemporary color and cut for the right price. Again, dress up with a dress shirt or dress down with a sweater or t-shirt.

 I have a soft spot for the Obey brand by street artist Shepard Fairey. Paul doesn't care as much as I do but enjoys the left wing sentiment that Obey usually conveys in smart graphics. Got this one on sale at www.zappos.com. Also available in the mall at Zumiez or at Urban Outfitters.

 A nice, middle place between super fancy and hip. Made of soft cotton knit and waterproof lining. Macy's on sale.

Basic grey Khaki's from JC Penneys'

These are a splurge. Full price on www.toms.com. It was nice to order online because you could get the cool styles now one else had but now they have bigger variety at Whole Foods on Tom's so check there first before you pay the shipping.

Kenneth Cole Reaction from www.zappos.com on sale. Probably more shoes than he needs but I don't want him to feel left out of shoe appreciation.





This hoody(right) is probably the only thing not as easily available because I got it in Scotland. I do try and grab him a hoody or t-shirt when we travel.  On this trip I got him a fleece and a rugby shirt too.

 

This sweater was a big ticket item but you can just tell that Paul feels like a million dollars in it. Toad Road. Not pictured we also got him a pair of 7 diamonds jeans at Toad Road in Albuquerque and at www.6pm.com



Finally, the accessories are where it is at. This is the show stopper. I got the octopus socks at Toad Road, the polka dot socks on clearance from Macy's, the multi-color hideaway socks (update your socks men!) and the tie at Macy's.

The most important things to remember are: 1) try everything on-a few times if necessary, 2) make sure it is comfortable, 3) have fun looking fly. Happy Shopping!