First makeover breakdown of the year with Matthieu, a young web project manager recently promoted to head a team. He believes that his lack of sartorial knowledge is proving problematic among his colleagues and is determined to take control of his image in 2012.
Matthieu before: basics on the fit and cut of clothes, but as often a slightly bland outfit for fear of taking risks.
A few words about insurance when shopping
Several things blocked Matthieu and made him go around in circles (we are speaking in the past tense ^^):
“I always feel like I'm a little lost. I often browse (discreetly :)) the BGB in stores, but what seems obvious when reading becomes much more difficult once I look at the shelves. And when I happen to find something that I like, I realize that it is a clone of an item in my wardrobe. I don't yet have enough confidence or experience to see a piece and imagine it in an outfit.
Consequence: for the first time in several weeks, I finally have a free Saturday afternoon, and I spent it between the Galleries and Printemps... moving hangers! »
“Initially the goal of the day was to go try on a wool trench in the small boutiques, but I'm still so impressed at the idea of walking in [...] dressed in an outfit that I don't feel comfortable in comfortable. »
“Last point that is important to me, I cannot manage to make my look more masculine. I feel like I'm always reaching for the V-neck sweater and the shirt underneath, but can't get out of it. »
Matthieu is not necessarily the shy type, but what he says is quite common: I find these sticking points in half of the men who take the step for a makeover with us.
Feel more confident in store
As I said: Matthieu has a positive attitude, but it is true that we often feel watched by the salespeople when we enter for the first time in stores other than the usual Célio and Zara.
More disturbing, we sometimes feel the feeling of not being in our place in a store that is more qualitative than usual: and that should not be the case . Because you're just as legit as anyone: everyone has had their stylistic hesitations when they first started out (starting with the BonneGueule team) and it's perfectly normal to feel self-conscious at first. The only thing that does n't have to be: it blocks you.
To help you take the plunge:
- Visit the stores in your best outfit : the one in which you feel the best. Or wear something neutral but well cut: Uniqlo raw jeans and Monoprix T-shirt if you immediately need decent and accessible clothes.
- Set a goal : try on 2 jeans or 2 coats before going out, and not before.
- And don't buy anything !
You read correctly: it is very important to try pieces without buying them : because some of you go to the purchase a bit as if you were using your “released from prison” card in Monopoly … They have so eager to leave the store (and at the same time afraid of appearing “illegitimate”) that they end up committing the basic error: hasty purchasing.
Well we don't want to see that anymore! Only buy an item of clothing if you need it, if it meets ALL the criteria (you can re-read your BonneGueule Book ) and if it pleases you. And this is even more true during sales…
For our part, we of course made purchases: the aim being to lay the foundations for Matthieu's new wardrobe.
-> The central piece is this Sandro trench (I was positively surprised by the quality of certain pieces this season: this is not usually the case).
-> However, I wasn't worried about the fit.
Remember that on coats in particular, you need to fill the shoulders well. And try the pieces with a blazer/sweater underneath to make sure you can wear everything with them.
-> Bottom: Edwin jeans and All Saints sneakers (more quality this season too).
-> The end result is a fairly simple outfit but well suited to Matthieu's social and professional life: he can come to work like this, but it is also versatile enough to go for a drink with good company.
And we completed the outfit with a COS t-shirt and a pure wool blazer from Sandro. He can wear the two pieces together, but also replace the t-shirt with shirts for professional meetings.
How to virilize your look and think outside the box?
Matthieu did not make hasty purchases but fell into the opposite excess: the fear of making a bad purchase .
So I directed him towards two purchases that he would not have made on his own, to get him out of his comfort zone (V-neck sweaters and Converse). But also to make him understand that the rules are made to be twisted, like with this oversized sweater or the association of sneakers with a seemingly formal item of clothing like the trench coat.
With straight cut jeans, a chunky oversized knit doesn't hurt (found at American Vintage). In addition, we have an easy contrast between the wide cuts and the more fitted ones.
And whatever happens, the scarf (found in a thrift store) comes back to give shoulders to the large sweater that camouflages them (but you know that now).
The shirt was found at Isotery, a young brand that has just launched and which makes pretty decent basics.
Little anecdote : To encourage Matthieu to be more independent, I sent him to scout the last store alone for 5 minutes (Finsbury, a fairly quality shoemaker). With instructions to choose and try on a pair of dress shoes. He did very well; and the thing to remember is that visiting a beautiful boutique is overwhelming the first few times, but ultimately it's something simple.
Matthieu's return to men's makeovers
"Geoffrey has managed to integrate pieces into my wardrobe that I would never have imagined wearing or even trying: an oversized cardigan or even high-top sneakers. Everything is done gently: if a piece doesn't win over after reflection, it is simply abandoned and replaced by an alternative. Despite everything, the outfits created remain homogeneous and in accordance with the implicit desires of the coachee - those formulated upstream via the questionnaire.
[…] Geoffrey has enough experience and confidence (that of determined people) to gently push aside sellers who are a little too zealous. From the first store I visited, he was able to create a bubble of trust around me which allowed me to acquire a quantity of versatile pieces. And to my surprise, they even match my current wardrobe, giving it that much-awaited element of personality.
Beyond the pieces acquired during the day, my goal was to gain confidence in my ability to build a balanced wardrobe, which reflects my personality and in which I feel comfortable. Obviously, this kind of change doesn't happen in a day, but I'm happy to see that I now have a more critical eye on fashion and that I have the basic skills to detect and avoid big mistakes. I feel more legitimate in high-end stores, and don't hesitate to go there to try on new outfits.
On a personal level, Geoffrey is someone who is very open and truly passionate, who manages to transmit his knowledge as an equal, without creating in the coachee the slightest feeling of embarrassment or inferiority. And if, like me, you take a long time to decide, he will naturally slip away to chat with the seller, without making you feel the slightest pressure.
Last point of detail for which I had not really prepared myself and which pleasantly surprised me: the way people look. Not necessarily expected or hoped for but all in all a very nice way to end this day."
