Dad’s aren’t usually known for being fashion icons unless they’re famous and rich enough to have an army of image consultants following them around all day and managing their wardrobe. If you can’t afford to employ someone just to make sure your socks don’t clash with your tie, then never fear! It’s never been easier to become a stylish geek dad, without having to spend your entire income shopping. There are a few simple tricks you can do that won’t break the bank, won’t detract from your overall geeky vibe and won’t require hours in front of the mirror wondering if your beard really would look better if it had some choice accessories hanging from it. Becoming a truly unique and on-trend geek dad is a lot quicker than you might think, with a few choice accessories and choosing your items of clothing with care and attention.
Quality Over Quantity
The humble t-shirt is a staple of the geek dad wardrobe, but they are very easy to wear down to nothing so that instead of shouting to the world that you like a certain fandom, they instead screech that you’re too lazy to look after your clothes properly. The biggest tip here is not just to buy any old design online. Clothes that seem too cheap are that price for a good reason. Often the quality is poor, and the design will fade quickly. You might end up paying a bit more for quality, but in the long run, it’s worth it. Look for 100% Cotton products rather than those with a blended material. Also, check the hems to see if the sewing is tight. Check at the base, the neck, and the sleeves. Otherwise, you could end up with something more pointless than Jar Jar Binks.
Even Your Beard Needs TLC
Not all dads have beards, and not all geeks want beards, but they are a trend at the moment, and it’s easy to see why. The absence of having to shave your face every day is very liberating, but before you throw your razor away, let’s talk about managing the jungle hanging from your chin. For the dad that wants to look sharp, it’s worth investing in a decent razor, preferably a classic ‘cut-throat’ variety, as these offer the best shave for your buck. You may not quite trust yourself with one of those, so definitely check out your local barbers. They can offer a clean shave that won’t break the bank, and by having those beard lines tightened up will make a huge difference to your overall image.
Personalise and Customise
If you want to save yourself some time and display your fandom proudly, it might be useful to gather yourself a stockpile of iron-on patches. Available in every size and shape imaginable and bearing the insignia or imagery of pretty much anything you can think of, you can build yourself a collection of patches that require no sewing skills whatsoever. All you have to do is iron them onto your favourite t-shirt or save them for the day when your reproduction Cameron Poe jacket develops a tear, or your 15-year-old pair of Levis gets a bit too worn at the knee. If you can’t find the patch that represents your fandom well, you can even get Custom Center Iron on Patches that can be in any design you want. So, there’s no excuse to ignore that rip on your trousers or that worn area on your Tom Selleck signed Hawaiian shirt.
Size Yourself Up
Poorly fitting clothes just look bad. It’s that simple. Whether your shirt is too small for you and the buttons are being pulled apart to reveal your hairy dad-chest, ensuring that you have the clothes that fit you will go a long way to making you look and feel better about your appearance. Get the tape out and measure yourself. Find an online guide to help you work out exactly which measurements are important, and you immediately have a better idea of what size clothes you should be buying. It’s often alarming to realise that we’ve been wearing the wrong sized t-shirts for years, but once you wear something that fits properly, you’ll really notice it. When you’ve done it once, you’ll wonder how you ever had the ignorance to wear jeans that sag around your butt.
Accessorise Your Wardrobe
Your clothes all fit perfectly, you have your Star Wars patch on your arm covering that small rip, and your beard is looking spectacular. Everything fits, and you feel like a million dollars. The world is at your feet and you then you finish the ensemble with your old, worn briefcase. Nothing can ruin a look faster than shabby accessories, whether it’s a novelty tie or an outdated pair of cufflinks. You have no excuse either, as these days it’s beyond easy to tailor your accessories to anything you want, whether it’s an amazing briefcase or a tie that subtly indicates that you might not be a wizard but if you were you would certainly be a Hufflepuff boss. Take your time and build up a collection so that every day is a new declaration of your geek credentials. A James Bond set of cufflinks is just a little bit cooler than that barely recognisable t-shirt that lasted just three washes before falling apart.
With these minor tips, you won’t be having to make any serious changes to your overall ‘look’. It’s simply a matter of tightening everything up, making sure that you look the best that you can look in the style that you love. Not only is it a massive confidence booster, but it’s also been proven actually to increase your productivity. Feeling good about yourself is often a challenge in these difficult times, but these quick and easy tips will ensure that you face the day not just looking sharp, but feeling sharp too. Standing out from the crowd has never been so easy, and it doesn’t have to be embarrassing either.