25. Tight-arse Tip: Clippers

This modern age of corporate greed, financial crisis and forever new iphones, demands that the modern man is wise with his wallet. When it comes to presentation, many think that the quality of one's appearance relates directly to the amount of money invested into that look. For example: "This haircut cost $75 - this means it's good." This isn't always the case. If the haircut doesn't suit you, even if you threw a lot of money at it, it still won't suit you.

Clippers are a great addition to your grooming ensemble for two reasons, cost and functionality.

Cost

I've had a pair of clippers for about six months now. I bought them from Target for $20. Nothing special at all. Since that time, I haven't used a razor to shave my face. Razors these days are quite expensive, and maybe something you can do without.

Let's put it in mathematical terms:

Gillette Fusion razors are $20 for a 4 pack. This would cost $5 for one. If you replace your blade every week, it's going to cost $260 per year. Even if you get an expensive pair of clippers, it's going to  work out much much cheaper.

Remember that there's shaving cream and any other moisturisers on top of that too!

Functionality

A pair of clippers are always handy. Here's a few reasons:

- they can be used on your chest, back, pubic region and anywhere in between
- there's no need to use shaving cream, and cutting yourself with them is difficult
- they can erase shitty haircuts
- they're great at helping maintain stubble. Clippers will never shave as close to the skin as a razor, but that's a good thing. It'll place less stress on your skin, so no more breaking out.
- quick shaving

Here's a before and after of me with a quick buzz of the clippers:

Likelihood of car theft: n%

Likelihood of car theft: n-50%

If you're looking for an easy, skin-friendly and handy way to save some cash - go and buy a pair of clippers!

-Loic

P.S I don't steal cars.

24. Wardrobe essential - indigo jeans

Every man needs at least one pair of jeans in their wardrobe. This is a given, no exceptions. Let's get right into it.

Finance

Given that jeans are the backbone of your wardrobe, you've got to get a good pair. There's no point getting three pairs of jeans in different colours if they all look like shite. This means you will have to shell out a few hundred. On the flip side, don't let a massive price tag convince you that it's a good purchase. *cough G-Star cough* A good benchmark is $200-300 for your first 'serious' pair of jeans.

Fit

Unless you've lived under a rock, you should know what skinny jeans are. Skinny jeans have a less extreme and more fashionable cousin - the slim fitting jean. The difference is in how they fit. Unless you're a rapper*, you're not allowed to wear baggy jeans, ever. Straight cut, boot cut and so on are boring and should be avoided when you can.

In my opinion, skinny jeans are only ok in a casual setting and only if you have skinny legs. Slim fitting jeans are more versatile as you can dress them up and down. Automatic Emil is all about getting the most wear out of each piece of your wardrobe.

Skinny jeans are tight all over and taper in a linear, more constant way. Note at the bottom that they are really quite narrow. See below:

You're too comfortable here, Brad.

Slim jeans on the other hand, still follow the figure of your leg but there's some leeway. So they will 'frame' your legs loosely, instead of tightly hugging them. Note how they bunch up a little, and how they aren't so narrow at the bottom:

Also note how the bag matches the beer; totally on purpose.

Fabric, wash and colour

Comfort is a huge factor when it comes to denim and fabric has a lot to do with it. With a lot of the more fitted/tighter styles of jeans, they will be mostly denim with a small percentage (around 2%) of elastane to help them stretch. Go for fabric which feels strong, thick and almost sturdy. Anything thin and flimsy probably means you're in K-Mart.

With regards to 'washes',  avoid these and go for raw denim. This will mean they have not been washed during manufacturing. This is a good thing, as it allows the denim to fade in its own unique way, similar to aging leather. 

Try not to be lured with jeans that are already faded and have tears in them. You just want a basic pair of neat, dark blue jeans that we can at the pub, casual Friday at the office or with a blazer at a nice 

For a brand recommendation, I can only say Nudie Jeans. I'm a massive fan boy. Unlike most denim brands, they focus heavily on getting the right fit.

My pretties...

-Loic

*I'm allowed to wear baggy jeans if I want:

23. Building a wardrobe

I like to think that a man's wardrobe is their very own living, breathing work of art. It's subject to constant change from a variety of factors. Things go in and out of fashion, your body changes (for better or worse), your taste changes and so on. Your wardrobe is a reflection of who you are as a person, whether you like it or not. I think this is just fascinating. 

Now, onto the subject of building a wardrobe. There are two key points when building a wardrobe that need to be considered: 

a) depth

b) functionality

c) longevity

Depth

Depth can be described as the degree of which your wardrobe is "complete". You'll notice that a lot of my posts highlight versatility. You can begin by building a small but deliberate wardrobe. Get clothes which can be dressed up or down. Take care of the essentials.

Will you be ok if you're invited to a wedding tomorrow or will you have to hire a suit? Do strict door policies have you scrambling around the shops for a collared shirt? If you're attending a hip hop gig, do you have a cap with a basketball team on it? What if you don't like hip hop? Guess you won't need it - which leads me to my next point.

Functionality

There's no reason to have ten suits if you work as a plumber. It's important to understand the needs of your wardrobe and then satisfying them. If you like wearing hoodies, t-shirts and jeans, good for you. But this can't be the only thing your wardrobe is comprised of. Though you won't wear it often, you'll need at least one suit. You'll need collared shirts for nights out and dress shoes to match. You're going to need shorts for pumping out arse-to-the-grass squats and backbreaking deadlifts. 

A mate of mine, Andy has a fairly extensive casual wardrobe. Plenty of collared shirts and denim happening, but nothing in the way of sportswear. Back in the day, a few of the boys would hire a tennis court and smack some balls around. Andy would also participate but in denim shorts. See below for my thoughts on this:

Eughghghghgh

Longevity

This brings me to my final point of longevity. There are two kinds of longevity, physical and aesthetic. 

It's got to be good quality so it gets more wear.You might argue that it's expensive, but I would argue that good quality presents more value as you won't need to replace these often. Leather goods like shoes and belts fall under this category. One good suit (charcoal or navy) will also go a long way.

Onto aesthetics, when buying something, ask yourself if you think it will look good in a few years time. Maybe a fluro pink singlet from General Pants that cost $150 isn't such a good investment. But, maybe a grey coat from General Pants that cost $150 is a good investment.

Don't be afraid of spending big, but only if you can justify it with longevity rather than trendiness. Go through some of my old posts for some ideas for building your wardrobe.

-Loic