Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we talk about 10 menswear gimmick that you absolutely don't need.
Have you ever wondered if those collar stickers, sock garters, and shirt stays, are worth their
money?
In today's video, we go through the most overrated menswear gimmicks that are simply not worth
their money.
Now if you know the Gentleman's Gazette, you know that we like classic things but that
doesn't mean that we're against any form of innovation.
There has been some great innovation in terms of fabric technologies and we embrace that
and think it's a good thing.
At the same time, there are lots of gimmicks out there that just cost a lot of money and
they're more like a band-aid, not really fixing a problem but just covering it up so you're
much better served in turning off the tap of water and fixing a problem at the source,
it will cost you less money down the line, it's less annoying, and more comfortable.
The first gimmicky item is pouch style underwear.
You may be have heard of Saxx underwear that comes with mesh sides or sheath that has an
entire pouch and it's underwear that's meant to keep you more comfortable and less sticky
down there.
Personally, I like underwear made out of innovative micromodal or other fibers that are really
soft and comfortable on your skin.
We actually tried the pouch underwear and we had one pair with a pouch and we cut out
the pouch on the other pair simply to try it out and figure it out if there was a huge
difference.
In my experience, there really isn't.
Yes, the underwear may be comfortable but it's because of the general fabric that is
used, not necessarily because of the pouch.
Personally, I prefer boxer briefs or trunks so I like them tightly fitting to my skin
and maybe that prevents it.
If you find that you need the pouch that's great go for it but I suggest you really test
it yourself and don't just believe in the marketing because oftentimes, they just want
to sell you a product not really solve a problem.
Feeling uncomfortable?
Time to upgrade to newer materials, skip your 100 % cotton and maybe switch to blends that
include micromodal because it's a lot softer in your skin and just more comfortable all
year round.
To learn more about different kinds of underwears in all kinds of price ranges please check
out our underwear guide here.
The second gimmicky item are sock suspenders.
Don't let anyone tell you that sock suspenders are actually fixing a problem.
If you have proper over the calf socks in the first place, there is ZERO need for sock
suspenders.
So what are sock suspenders?
They are little bands that you can put on top of your knee or below your knee that clip
onto your socks and are supposed to prevent them from falling down.
Now, I give it to them.
They actually do the job and keep the socks up but they're extremely uncomfortable and
just think about being on a date and when you're ready for action, you'll show your
sock suspenders that simply kills the mood.
On top of that, you really only need them if you have mid calf socks that slide down
all the way or cheap over the calf socks that simply don't stay up.
I've always hated socks that would slide down and because of that I designed over the calf
socks that stay up all day, if you want to take a look at our selection of over
the calf socks, please head out with our shop here.
Of course, we have all kinds of guides such as our in-depth sock guide, we talk about
quality as well as our PDF guide which is free which talks about how to combine shoes
socks and pants for a stylish outfit.
The third gimmicky item goes into the same vein as sock suspenders but is even worse.
It's kind of a sticky tape that you glue onto your skin and the socks so you don't see it
unlike the sock suspenders unless you take off the socks then you have some sticky tape
there that you need to rip off along with the hairs and that must be extremely uncomfortable.
Again, it really fixes a problem that shouldn't be there in the first place.
Get right socks, get quality socks that stay up and you don't have to worry
about anything else.
The fourth gimmick are shirt collar products.
Now the problem many men have is that the tip of the shirt collar points up or it curls
at the very end and so there are multiple solutions on the market to fix that.
It ranges from glue products that supposedly don't leave any residue behind and includes
products with magnets and most of them don't work.
One thing that does work that's not a gimmick are regular shirt collar stays.
A lot of shirts have the option to remove your collar stays which are either little
sticks with a point made out of metal or plastic and those really help to keep your color look
straight and neat, at least at the regular part of the collar.
If you go down to the tip, oftentimes, you see a curling in the shirt and that's not
something a collar stay can prevent, that's actually just poor workmanship on the shirt.
Because when you sew fabric together, you have two layers right?
If you sew them together at an angle, as you do in a collar, they are angled and then tightened.
Now when you wash them, they shrink at different rates because of the angle and that is a problem
in itself that a well tailored shirt will not have.
Let's say you have the ribbed polo shirt collar that's very flimsy, if you use magnetic product
or if you use those sticky products, they in fact work and keep the collar down.
Now the sticky products are consumables so they cost you a lot of money down the road.
The mechanic products are not consumables but you lose them eventually, you may lose
them in the wash or someplace else but it's just one more thing to keep in mind and one
more thing to take care of.
Instead, simply invest in a polo shirt with a shirt style collar that is not flimsy and
stays down all day every day so you don't ever have to think about it, everything looks
neat and proper, and you don't have to make any additional investments.
Also if you want to wear your shirt collar without ties, there are shirt makers who cut
their shirts specifically for the purpose so you don't need any magnets or sticky items.
Honestly in my experience, a quality dress shirt fixes all those things and yes, they
cost more upfront but then you don't have to worry about it down the line.
The fifth gimmicky items are shirts stays.
Now those are little devices that are similar to suspenders that you clip at the bottom
tail of your shirt and on the top part of your sock so they're connected.
Yes they do the job, they keep your shirt tucked in, and they keep your socks up, but
it's extremely uncomfortable to wear them and I would never want to do that.
It's something that's popular with the military because they wanted the ultimate look and
they're willing to sacrifice comfort however, when it comes to everyday situations, I think
getting a shirt that is probably tailored with small arm holes will mostly alleviate
the issue of having a shirt that comes untucked and having quality over the calf socks solve
both of these issues.
The sixth overrated and gimmicky item are sleeve garters.
They are a thing that became popular in the 20s and 30s when shirts were oftentimes sold
in just one sleeve length especially the more inexpensive ones, that's all someone could
afford.
The sleeve garter would help you to pull up that shirt sleeve so it wouldn't hang down
and get soiled.
Sometimes as you watch old movies or photos, you can see men wearing them when they have
their jackets removed.
Now if you want to go for a vintage look, they are a legitimate item, at the same time
today, it's very easy to get shirts either custom tailored to be exactly your size or
many shirt makers offer different sleeve lengths so you can find exactly the right one for
you.
So there's really no need to have that extra sleeve garter.
On top of that, a proper dress shirt should fit snugly around your wrist so even if the
sleeve was slightly longer it should never dangle past your hand and get soiled that
easily.
Again please check out our in-depth shirt guides and sleeve length guides where we discuss
the details of this.
The seventh overrated items are tie holders.
If yo have ties that are made of printed silk and very slim, they are likely to slip down
more on the knot than let's say a knit tie or a
grenadine tie simply because there's less friction because there's less texture.
Now, years back, I tested a little device it was called a tie tack and you actually
clipped it in behind your tie knot and it did the job for most of the time unless it
didn't when it slid off and eventually, the company folded because they simply couldn't
market it enough and sell enough of those.
What I found is if you have issues with slipping tie knots, maybe tie a tighter tie knot if
possible otherwise, change your ties with a slightly different texture and if that's
not an option, I suggest to go with a tie bar because it helps to fix your tie here
so it pushes up a little bit and it prevents your tie from coming loose.
Now there's no solution that remains a hundred percent effective and over the course of the
day, your tie knot will likely loosen even if your shirt collar is exactly the right
size but that's when you simply go to the bathroom and just readjust your tie, pull
up the knot, so everything looks neat and dapper.
The eighth gimmicky item is a shirt iron.
The idea is it's a little travel iron that you can bring along and that is specifically
meant for your shirt collar.
Now it's true the shirt collar is one of those things that are immediately visible but if
you need to iron your shirt collar, you also likely have to iron at least the front of
your shirt if you wear a jacket so it looks neat.
So my question is, why is it worth carrying around an extra weight just for your shirt
collar if most hotels and Airbnbs offer an iron, I simply don't know the answer to that.
A company once sent me one of those short irons, I try them, I use them, and they heat
up quickly but they don't have any steam so you don't really get out wrinkles out of your
shirt body or collar anyways.
Instead, iron your shirts with a regular iron and invest money into your ironing table.
To learn more about ironing and how to iron a shirt slacks or your jacket like a pro at
home please check out our in-depth ironing series here.
The ninth gimmicky item that's popping a lot more recently is laundry detergents and soaps
targeted specifically for men's clothing.
I get it, the more specific you can target a customer the better it is, that being said,
the difference in laundry detergent for men or for men's clothing is usually just the
fragrance.
So at the end of the day, the soap is no more or less effective for your men's clothing,
it just has a different scent.
Now why would you want scented laundry detergents?
Honestly, I don't know.
I much rather choose a scent that suits my style and my skin tone and I want my laundry
detergent to be as neutral as possible.
What I do care about though is that it gets out the stains.
Regular laundry detergent does the job just as well as any other marketed laundry detergents
and it's really nothing that you should spend extra or additional money on simply because
it doesn't have an additional benefit other than the fragrance.
If you want your clothes to at that specific fragrance go for it
last but not least, the 10th gimmicky item in menswear is the pocket square holder.
Now I get it, most pocket squares out there are too small to actually stay in your pocket
and over the course of the day, it will slide down.
The issue here is that the manufacturer cuts them so small because that way, they get the
most yield out of the fabric width.
Now obviously, the manufacturer is interested in making as much money as they can.
You, as the person wears the pocket squares, simply wants to
look good.
Because of that, at Fort Belvedere, we decided to actually look at each fabric individually
and cut the size exactly right so it's perfect for your pocket square.
Because if the square is too big, it looks very bulky.
If it's too small, your pocket square will disappear.
So if you buy a properly sized pocket square, you don't need any pocket square holders.
You can have interesting folds every time and if you want to learn how to fold a pocket
square please check out this video here if you want to see the pocket squares that we
offer in exactly the right size please head over to our shop here
in today's outfit I've incorporated zero gimmicks I'm wearing a suit with a rope stripe from
Ralph Lauren purple label other people think it's from the 30s because it's a very bold
striped suit it's the favorite suit of my wife and I also like it because it's different
than the other ones I have the over up is slightly larger it has nice wide lapels that
are peaked and so I can wear a slightly larger boutonniere with them again that's not a gimmick
that simply meant to be decorative and it serves no other purpose of course it's from
Fort Belvedere and you can find it in our shop here just like these chartreuse green
silk knit tie that you can see my pocket square is solid white linen which you also can find
in our shop here and it works well with my white dress shirt that is tailored for cufflinks
it has a collar that is not too widespread not too classic it's a very medium-sized collar
that you can wear today and ten years from now the tips stay on the shirt it is not curved
in a weird way because it's a quality dress shirt from Siniscalchi in Milan the suit trousers
feature turn ups or cuffs which help to pull the weight down for a better line my socks
are very understated Navy and blue shadow stripe socks from Fort Belvedere and my shoes
are dark olive green which pick up the green tones in my tielast but not the least, the
cufflinks I'm wearing are malachite green from Fort Belvedere in sterling silver and
I matched them to my pinky ring which is also with malachite
and sterling silver