10 Things We Wish We Knew About Style 10 Years Ago

Suprise! More expensive doesn't automatically mean a better product. When you don't know much about brands—and don't take the time to do your homework, it's easy to get fleeced paying a premium for branding as opposed to something that's actually made well. For every brand like Engineered Garments that strives for quality products designed and built well, there are items like Givenchy T-shirts that sell for hundreds of dollars—that unfortunately aren't that much different from say, the Everlane tees you can cop for much less. But hey, if you acknowledge you're paying for Tisci's design prowess and hype rather than fabric quality and construction, you obviously have no problems lying in your self-made bed.

In the early 2000s, "premium denim" brands marketed themselves with their ornate pockets, rockstar/rapper co-signs, and high pricepoints. But that didn't mean the denim was actually any good. Hardly any of it was raw, most of it wasn't selvedge, and Levi's was among the companies still making jeans that were actually high-quality. We're glad that guys got hip to the game and acknowledged artisan brands like Skull, Somet, and 3sixteen, small labels who showed the difference between "premium" denim and "good" denim is quality of the fabric, not back pocket design.

Anyone who equates liking clothes with being gay is an idiot. There is only one requirement to being gay—and it's liking dudes. Developing a sense of style won't make you realize "oh god, I've loved the dick all along!" Rather, it might make you feel more confident in yourself enough to actually get laid (by whichever sex you prefer). Shows like 2003's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy perpetuated the "gay dude knows all about clothes" stereotype, but it's nice to see that men have come a long way since then when it comes to taking style into their own hands.

Hipster culture is defined less by brands and more by why you dress the way you do. Most people don't understand that. In 2003, any guy who wore trucker hats, vintage T-shirts, and slim jeans got labeled a "hipster." Ten years later, more guys have discovered a sense of personal style, but that doesn't mean they're doing it to be ironic, they just want to look good. That doesn't make you a hipster—that makes you someone with self-respect.

Having a popular brand is often a case of putting lightning in a bottle. Whether you get a high-profile rapper like A$AP Rocky or Kanye West in your gear, or just developed a successful following, if people can't get enough of your stuff, it's a boon for your business. That said—not all popular labels are necessarily good ones. Case in point: Von Dutch. Before Christian Audigier was hawking gawdy Ed Hardy shirts and making a mockery of tattoo culture, he was pushing hundred dollar trucker hats and T-shirts to unsuspecting people who paid the ridiculous asking prices in order to feel cool. Trust us when we say that ten years from now, we'll be looking at some of the "it" brands now and asking ourselves "wait... we really thought that was cool?"

Even if you can afford to drop stacks on new gear each week, having the most clothes isn't a contest. Chances are, you have a uniform and don't even know it. Maybe you have a bunch of navy blue shirts, or are subconsciously predisposed towards white oxfords. There's nothing wrong with knowing what you like, but why not make sure the stuff you wear the most is well, the best? That whole "buy less, but buy better" thing is actually sound advice. A $200 shirt you wear 20 days a month pays for itself in no time when you factor in cost-per-wear. So splurge carefuly and avoid the impulse buy, or risk ending up with buyer's remorse.

Think about the stuff you keep reaching for each morning. Chances are the majority of those clothes include broken-in jeans, soft T-shirts, and basics like hoodies and sweatshirts. Menswear isn't complicated. It's no secret that given the choice between an Italian-made three-piece suit and jeans and a white tee, most guys will go for the latter. Those trendy trousers and colorful chinos might hold you down for a little, but chances are they'll go to the giveaway pile much sooner than your reliable jeans.

Forget what the hypebeast commenters say and be your own judge on whether or not a certain shoe is worth copping or if a certain brand is dope. They don't like it? Good! That means more for you, and even better, it means corny keyboard warriors won't be running around Instagram and Tumblr taking hashtagged selfies of (insert "it" brand here). Sometimes the dopest brands are the ones you see actual cool guys wearing in person rather than the ones getting endless reblogs on the Internet.

That whole spiel about navy blue and brown, socks matching your belt, and white pants after Labor Day are usually nothing but myths. Spoiler alert: Different things look good on different guys. You can pull off things that guys with bigger bellies or broader shoulders can't. Find out what works for you and what makes you feel confident, and go with that.

What celebrities wear isn't necessarily a bonafide exhibition of good style. After all, one day they could be wearing leather shorts and the next they're suddenly rocking Marcelo Burlon shirts. These guys have plenty of money to burn, and what they wear is a good barometer of what their stylists want to tell people is cool, rather than what's actually hot in the streets. While it might be dope to see Kendrick Lamar rock a brand you're into, the moment guys like Justin Bieber and Rob Kardashian hop on the bandwagon, it might be time to be on to the next thing.