By Toni Cicone
See the issue: October 2008

Whether you’re dressing for class, a date, or a college interview, don’t make it too complicated. According to fashion experts Emmett Harrell of Akademiks and Saia Makakaufaki, Jr. of LRG, mixing trendy items with tried-and-true classics can give you a clean look that’s all your own.

“Nondescript and traditional items [are] items that you must have in your closet to get by,” Harrell says. Besides athletic gear, he thinks no man’s closet should be without these key pieces: flat-front khakis; toned-down jeans; button-up shirts in either a solid, stripe, or plaid print; a fine-gauge crew or V-neck sweater; and a lightweight leather jacket. He continues, “[These are] clean things that you can wear to an interview, wear to a [party], wear out to dinner...and your parents will like how you look.”

But with every look that Harrell likes, things still can go wrong. Two of his biggest clothing offenses are jeans that are two or three sizes too big and shirts with bold logos on them. “Look clean, be yourself,” he advises. “Simple is always better.”

LRG’s Makakaufaki also favors a clean look—as shown in the company’s nearly logo-free fall ’08 collection. A clean palette lets you “do your own thing…be a leader,” Makakaufaki says. Style leaders step out in a classic ensemble of jeans that fit well, a clean shirt, hooded jacket, and a nice pair of shoes. Just make sure you “keep it nice, ironed and pressed…[and] keep your shoes nice and clean. It will make the whole outfit,” he says.

Then let your true self shine through. “I just think [if] you look good, you feel good,” Makakaufaki says. “And [if you feel good] you’re gonna do good no matter what it is, from school to sports.”

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