ashley Archives - Ashley Weston

10 Ways You’re Killing Your Style | Men’s Style Mistakes

Once you’ve got the basics of style down, it’s important to focus on those little things that can make or break your personal style and everyday look. Something as simple as a little mistake can totally throw off your look or ruin otherwise good style choices. Oftentimes its something as simple as how you present a particular choice. No matter what it is, focusing on the proper details and nailing those can save you from potential disaster. Some of these mistakes might be obvious but some you may not even know you are doing!

So, here are 10 ways you may be killing your style!

Being Overly Self-Conscious

Trying too hard can be as bad as not trying at all. Wearing trendy items that aren’t you or not wearing things that make you feel comfortable and confident are quick ways to ruin your overall style. People notice how you feel and if you’re feeling good about what you’re wearing and looking good, it will stand out.

Wearing Clothing That Doesn’t Work for your body type

Working with your body type is a huge part of getting well-fitting clothing. Choosing items that will flatter and fit well is crucial. Some easy items to avoid are henley shirts if you’re not fit or muscular, Chelsea boots if you’re a bigger guy, and classic straight-legged jeans if you’re a thinner guy. Check out all of our Fit Guides for tips about different body types and how things should fit.

Over-accessorizing

Yikes, this can go wrong so easily, over-accessorizing can be a huge problem. Johnny Depp, you are not. Go easy on rings, bracelets, and other flashy items and go for more subtle, refined accessories to show some personality or flair. Stick with 1 or 2 items max, like a pocket square and a watch.

Wearing too much cologne

A little goes a long way, and there’s nothing worse than smelling someone from 5 feet away. Nobody (especially women) wants that. If you can smell yourself, it’s too much.

Not paying attention to the details

Again, the little things matter, so take care to focus on them. Things like not lint rolling your clothing (especially dark shirts, suits, and jackets), wearing wrinkled clothing (just get our recommended steamer), and not tucking in your shoelaces really matter with your overall look.

Speaking of tucking in shoelaces (something Ashley is always super focused on as a stylist), our friends at Straight Laces have an ingenious shoelace set up that creates a clean, tucked look and basically turns all your shoes into slip on’s. It’s such a smart, useful product and we’re using them on all our shoes personally and with Ashley’s clients. Seriously, they’re that good. Just for our readers and viewers, we’ve got a deal for 40% off 3 or more laces! Shop here and use code AshWeston40.

Not dressing your age

We’ve discussed how to dress well in your 40’s before and a big part of it is embracing your age and wearing items that are classy and age-appropriate.

Wearing dirty, old shoes

Hopefully, this goes without saying, but a bad pair of shoes can absolutely ruin your entire look. Keep them in good condition and shined up.

Not Grooming Regularly

Overgrown hair, beards, and fingernails are no bueno. Make sure you’re taking proper care of your grooming and putting your best foot forward. Especially important in professional environments. We’ve got a ton of tips in all of our grooming guides.

Not taking care of your skin

Just like your grooming, proper skin care is an important part of your overall routine. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated but you should find a morning routine and an evening routine that works for you. Focus on moisturizing, good shaving techniques, and using the right products.

Wearing faded, ripped or pilled items

When items are faded (especially shirts, pants and sweaters), it’s time to send them off to the donation bin and get some replacements. If your sweaters are pilled, you just need to get a sweater shaver (we like this one best) to remove the little balls and get it back in good shape.

Best Men’s Denim | Jeans Under $100

Denim is the absolute foundation of your pants rotation and the importance of stylish, well-fitting denim can’t be overstated. It’s so important, in fact, that we’ve covered it multiple times before, in our Dark Wash Jeans Essentials piece and in our Jeans Fit Guide. So, before you go any further, make sure you check those out, the basics we cover in those articles are critical in knowing what to look for in your denim.

These days jeans come in a huge range of price points and while many people can get snobby about their jeans, we believe that great denim doesn’t have to be expensive. The picks we have below offer you everything you need at an affordable price. One thing to remember, when it comes to denim colors focus on dark washes first, so dark indigo and black, and then grey and medium blue.

DSTLD – $80-$85

DSTLD offers great fit and quality for the money. They have great black and grey options and we also love their dark indigo wash, it’s a nice rich color and the subtle grey stitching blends in.

DSTLD Skinny Slim Fit

DSTLD Straight Fit

Banana Republic – $98

Banana Republic offers a range of fits and styles but we really their basic version the most. At just under $100 the quality is great and there are fits for every body type. Just a solid, all-around classic pair of denim.

Banana Republic Slim Fit

Uniqlo – $49.90

We’ve always been big fans of Uniqlo’s budget-friendly style. They always do clean and versatile very well and like their awesome chinos, their jeans are no exception. They’ve got two great fits, and we love the black jeans they have in stores and online right now.

Uniqlo Slim Fit

Uniqlo Straight Fit

Levis $50-$60

You can’ talk great denim without talking about Levis, they still make awesome jeans. We recommend the 511 Slim Fit and the 514 Straight Fit as the two to look for. (The 513 slim straight is also a nice in-between option too.) Stick to the dark and medium wash indigo or their black and grey options. At around $50-$60 these are classic and affordable, you can’t go wrong.

Levis 511 Slim Fit

Levis 511 Grey

Levis 514 Straight Fit

Levis 514 Grey

513 Slim Straight Fit

Welcome To Our Studio and Office!

We previously gave you a tour of our new home and now it’s time to give you a sneak peek inside AWxInc HQ! Our studio/office is where Ashley has fittings for all of her clients, where we run our business, and create all of our videos for you!

Welcome to our Studio and Office, enjoy the tour!

Head to squarespace.com/awxinc to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Thanks to our friends at Squarespace for sponsoring this video!

Ashley’s recommended steamers:

Stand Up Steamer

Portable Steamer

Our video camera:

Panasonic

How and When Should Men Wear A Tie?

Ties are a fundamental accessory in a man’s essential wardrobe, they can add personality, elegance, and formality to many types of looks, no matter what your personal style is. Rules about style and formality, in both work and social settings, are changing so quickly that it can be tough to know when you should and shouldn’t wear a tie.

So, in this episode of 2 Minute Tuesday we’re discussing when and how men should wear a tie! For a full breakdown on our favorite ties and specific tips, make sure you check out our tie article!

With What?

A key thing to remember about ties starts with what you should be wearing them with. Dressier looks like suits and sport coats are definitely options you can and should wear a tie with. For more of a hybrid look, try wearing a tie with a bomber jacket, it can give your casual look a cool dressy vibe. One word of warning though, you don’t want to wear just a tie on its own without a jacket, it just doesn’t look right.

With What Types of Dress Codes?

When to wear a tie can also be determined by the dress code or how formal your place of work happens to be. Dress codes like “Formal”, “Cocktail Attire” or “Cocktail Party” often call for a suit and a tie. Business casual tends to lean slightly more casual but a tie can be appropriate given the right scenario. One tip we love, try a knit tie in those less-dressy situations, they’re not as dressy as a silk tie and will give your look a cool vibe.

If you aren’t totally sure about dress codes, ultimately you want to go with the crowd and let that dictate when a tie is appropriate. Always being stylish and a bit more dressed up is a great thing most of the time. But, you don’t want to be significantly overdressing for occasions or workplaces that don’t call for it. It can seem like you’re trying too hard or attempting to stand out, and not in a good way.

New House Update & Tour

Since we’re finally done remodeling and have moved in, we thought we’d give you guys an update and a tour of our new home!

Extra special thanks to our friends at Bevel for helping make this video happen. Dorian’s been testing the Bevel shave kit and absolutely loves it. Follow the link below to learn more and for your chance to win a free kit from Bevel!

Check out Bevel!

Everyday Carry With Ty Severe

For this edition of our Everyday Carry series, Ashley sat down with her friend, Ty Severe, to discuss his go-to EDC items and what helps get him through the day as a successful menswear and lifestyle influencer.

Thanks to Ty for joining us for this video and thanks to IWC, one of my favorite watch brands of all time, for helping make this video happen!

Featured Items

Apps

Instagram

Photo Editing

Apple Mail

CNN App

Follow Ty

Ty’s Site

Ty’s Instagram

7 Accessories You Should Get Rid Of Now

We’ve talked about how important it is to regularly clean out your wardrobe of items that are old, out of style, and no longer worth it. This goes for your accessories too. Accessories are a key part of your overall style, and a few wrong choices or out of date items can easily ruin an otherwise great look.

1. Wide bracelets

My position on this is well known, it’s time to ditch the stacked bracelets and wide leather straps. Their time has come and gone.

2. Too-wide ties

It’s important to keep an eye on your tie’s width. Not everyone should wear a skinny tie (it should be proportionate to your body type and suit style) but anything wider than 3” is just going to look out of date and out of style.

3. Belts with big buckles or large logos

Another item I’ve talked about before, get rid of ‘em! Belts should be minimal. The same goes for super-wide belt widths and contrasting stitching, definitely a big no.

4. Lapel flowers/pins

I don’t mind a bit of flair, like a thoughtfully chosen pocket square or tie bar, but at a certain point, less is more. You don’t need to add on a lapel pin/flower in addition to all the other accessories you’re wearing, it’s too much.

5. Extra-wide tie bars

If your tie bar goes past your tie, you’re in trouble. Additionally, anything more than 2 inches wide, (unless you’re a broader guy with a 44” chest or larger), is just too long.

6. Colored shoelaces

Another trend that had its day, simple and understated is the way to go with shoelaces. You want that nice pair of shoes to do the talking, not the brightly-colored laces.

7. Big, chunky metal rings

A simple band or signet ring is just fine, but large bulky rings just look dated and over the top.

4 Colors Of Denim You Should Own

Denim, it’s an absolute staple, and you can wear jeans just about anywhere these days. But, it’s important to have the right colors for the job. I don’t recommend all colors of denim for every occasion so you should not only know what 4 colors you need to have, but also the right and wrong times to wear them

For more, don’t forget to check out our Jeans Fit Guide and our tips on how to take care of your denim!

The four colors of denim I recommend owning are dark indigo, a lighter wash of blue, grey and black.

Dark Indigo

If you own just one pair, a dark wash indigo is the one to own, so buy these first! It’s the most versatile and can be worn dressed up with something like a blazer and loafers or with everything casual like sneakers and a t-shirt. If you work in a business casual office dark indigo jeans are a great alternative to chinos on casual days.

Light Wash Blue

Not as versatile as a darker wash, I recommend a lighter blue for more casual situations. Be careful not to go too light on the wash as the very light shades tend to be a bit too trendy and can veer a bit too young.

Grey

While not as important as dark wash jeans, grey jeans can be quite versatile. Stick with a medium to darker grey wash and don’t be afraid to dress them up. Think of them kind of like a pair of grey chinos in terms of how and where you would wear them.

Black

I love a good pair of black jeans and they’re almost as vital to your wardrobe as dark indigo jeans. They have a little bit of a rocker vibe to them and look great for nighttime occasions. You can never go wrong with a pair of black jeans, a white or grey shirt, and a pair of sneakers or boots.

Denim Picks