Random musings: Your First Style Steps: Beyond Jeans, T-Shirts, and Tennis Shoes

Hey guys, if you're a bit sartorially challenged, like me, then this article from The Art of Manliness may be just what you're looking for:

A lot of guys would like to improve their personal style, but they feel a little overwhelmed as to how to start. Men’s sartorial blogs and magazines often showcase photo spreads of male models wearing expensive, fashion-forward clothes that seem inaccessible and/or undesirable, and don’t point that helpfully towards a way forward.

Fortunately, taking your first steps towards upping your style game doesn’t have to be intimidating or involve making dramatic changes to how you dress. Instead, it requires only modest purchases that anyone can make with a minimum of effort and some very basic knowledge. Together, these wardrobe additions will significantly upgrade your look from the basics of jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes, all without breaking the bank, or making you break much of a sweat.

Think of the following items as the starter set for any well-dressed man:

A Couple of Plain White Dress Shirts
A Casual Sports Jacket
Nice Jeans
Casual Leather Shoes
A Lightweight Sweater
A Handsome Overcoat
A Good Leather Belt

These items don't have to cost a lot...maybe around $250 and up. Too much? Don't worry because you can build your wardrobe over time:

Take a quick look back over the estimates we made in this list and you’ll see that even the bare minimum investment is going to be more than $200. Depending on your current financial circumstances, that may seem like a lot.

But remember, this isn’t a package deal. You’re not going out and grabbing these overnight.

It’s easy to pick up one or two pieces per month, just by browsing around online and keeping an eye out for deals, or by swinging through the mall once in a while.

Many of these also make good gifts — relatives who don’t know what to get you for Christmas would probably be thrilled to hear that all you want is a leather belt or a couple of dress shirts.

Take it slow, and remember that the most important part of these upgrades is wearing them.

You’ll come to see that while the effort involved in trading in old blue jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers, for fitted jeans, a dress shirt, and brogues, will be minimal, the difference in your appearance and the impression you make will be huge.

So, who's going to join me in stepping up their style a little bit? I was already thinking about getting a couple of shirts, so I can start by grabbing a couple of white dress shirts,