Mens Style Advice - Fashion Tips For The Club

As much as membership cards and celebrity status are factors for making it past a club's bouncer, looking good can also be your ticket inside. Most bouncers and club staff will look at how a guy carries his fashion instead of his credentials, and then will use that to decide whether to let him in or not. Here's how to amp up your style and improve your chances of getting beyond the velvet rope.

Wear Clothes That Fit Well
If you don't follow this fashion commandment on a daily basis, at least do so when going out to do some partying. Nothing makes you look less desirable than clothes that are too loose or too tight. And because you have to show those bouncers that you know how to dress, anything other than the most flattering fits should be left at home.

Jacket, shirt and jeans should all fit properly on you. Jackets should hit at the shoulders, end somewhere around your crotch and have just enough sleeve at the arms. Shirts follow roughly the same rules, only remember to tuck them in when worn with jackets. Jeans should hug your tush a wee bit, but should otherwise fall away from your legs. And feel free to leave your top shirt button open, but only if you have great pecs to match.

Live by the Code
Almost all of the mid-level to upscale clubs enforce some sort of dress code for patrons, and it's something that bouncers enforce with impunity. Unless you're an A-list star, be prepared to wear a jacket and tie should your party venue call for them.

Start with a good clean shirt and dark denims, which should get you into most clubs and even into the upscale ones, if you're friends with the guy at the door. Plain white shirts work best because they're so universal and easy to find, but black, navy and burgundy are just as good. Look for the darkest jeans in your closet that are either straight, slim or boot cut; anything else (like a skinny fit) will make you seem juvenile and out of place.

Neckties might be a good idea for slightly more upscale places, only not in the way you'd wear them in the morning. Regular neckties, the ones you see and wear at the office, should be left in your cubicle. You'll want to go with something more modern at the club like a simple bar necktie in black or white, or else a solid knit tie to top off your outfit.

Set the limit at wearing a jacket; anything more and you may as well be going to a formal dinner. But just because you'll be wearing a jacket doesn't necessarily mean you'll have your office suit on while you're working the dance floor. A separate blazer in black or navy should get you past the door, after which you should hang the jacket on a chair and then proceed to party the night away.

Comfort is King
You should have realized by now that the clothes you wear to the club are the same ones you'll dance in and wake up wearing the next morning. But beyond that, the bouncers and staff at the door check out how well you carry your clothes. If you end up wearing high-fashion but low-comfort pieces you can barely walk-in, you're not improving your chances of walking in the door.

Ultimately, it'll be all about how well you can work the clothes you've got on. Even a nobody can get past the rope as long as he can carry his anonymous jeans and unbranded shirt well. So put together a good outfit, but never forget to add a dash of confidence.