Men?s style 911

LIMA — It’s not that you want to change him, per se. But maybe your boyfriend’s sneakers are on the verge of falling apart. Perhaps your dad’s penchant for baggy sweaters makes him look older. Or your friend’s sloppy style doesn’t help him in the dating department.When it comes to personal style, men tend to fall into one of two categories, said Kristen Kaleal, an image consultant based in Cleveland: those who care about fashion, and those who just don’t get it.“There are two different kinds of guys in my experience,” she said. “(One) kind of guy is very metrosexual. He’s not necessarily gay, but he loves preening, or buying different kinds of shampoos, or he has a bunch of shoes. (The other) type doesn’t care how he looks.”More men have seen the light of fashion in the past decade, said Michelle Washington, a fashion stylist based in Columbus, thanks to magazines and television programs like “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”Even so, some men simply land themselves in fashion ruts, both Kaleal and Washington said, and getting them to change their look might be next to impossible. Still, they said, there’s hope for the style-stunted man in your life, whether he’s a husband, father, brother or son. Try a few of these fashion-forward tips to jump start the process.  1. Remember, there’s only so much you can change, Kaleal said. Chances are, there will probably be some limitations in what you can and can’t convince a guy to try.“Some guys won’t wear flat-front pants,” she said. “Some won’t wear pleated pants. Some say no to pants with cuffs. Some will only wear pants with cuffs. They are very, very picky. They envision themselves a certain way, and anything outside their box of thinking doesn’t feel right to them.”If you can’t convince your guy to try a different color or different style, that’s probably not going to change any time soon. But hey, you care about him anyway, right?2. He might know he needs some help. It’s true some men don’t necessarily concern themselves with looking trendy, Kaleal said, but for others, they might realize on some level they need to alter their appearance, especially when it comes to “getting places in life.”“Sometimes a seed has been planted that they need a change,” she said.Washington said this gradual shift can be seen in the growing number of men willing to try something new, as well as in the media.“You can notice a trend in men’s publications,” she said. “We’re beginning to see more styling tips. More magazines cater specifically to men. I think a lot of it has been spawned by (television) shows that do male makeovers. We’re also seeing more skin care and facial products for men. I don’t think companies would invest in these products if men were not more concerned about how they look.”The point? Before confronting your dude about his duds, ask him what he thinks about his personal style. He might know he’s overdue for fashion modification, but he might not know where to start.3. Involve other people. We’re not talking about his mother, either. But sometimes it helps to have someone knowledgeable in clothes, like sales clerks at certain stores, pitching suggestions, Kaleal said.“Something you might want to do is go into a men’s store and talk to the sales people,” she said. “Find someone you can trust who isn’t going to shove stuff at them they don’t want. Coax your guy to go in there and try out a few things, like ‘Hey, let’s see how this looks on you.’”4. Compromise. Newsflash: if a guy detests the color pink, there’s no way he’ll let it into his closet. Period. Men are just as stubborn as women when it comes to certain items and colors, Washington said, whether it’s caused by sentimentality or other reasons. The best way to avoid conflict? Meet somewhere in the middle.“If you have a guy that always wears plaid, and you tell him, ‘You need to get rid of the plaid,’ he’s going to say, ‘Absolutely not,’” she said. “But maybe you can find an updated plaid in a plaid shirt that might work. He’s already a plaid guy, so why not go for it? If he likes khakis, and you’re tired of seeing those multiple-pleat, baggy khakis, you might go to Banana Republic and find an updated flat-front khaki. That’s not a bad suggestion.”5. Get your guy to invest in (safe) wardrobe staples. Every wardrobe, men’s or women’s, has certain versatile items that should always be present, both Kaleal and Washington said. These basic items never go out of style, they said, and because they’re basic, they won’t necessarily blow a guy’s mind. The most important of these: a pair of dark wash jeans.“Lots of men tend to wear their jeans until they’re ratty,” Kaleal said. “But a good, quality pair of dark jeans, you can’t get away from that. Dark is more dressy, even if it is denim. They can go from a restaurant or a date to a bar, and they’re a lot more comfortable than dress pants.”Blazers are great because they can be worn in all weather, Washington said (try one in brown, black or navy, or in fabrics like camel hair or corduroy). A classic white button up shirt, a classic pair of black (or brown) dress shoes, a matching belt and a pair of retro sneakers can be added together and mixed in plenty of stylish ways.6. Grooming and skin care matters, too. Facial care might seem incongruous with fashion, but having a skin care regimen will keep men looking younger over the long haul, both Washington and Kaleal said. “Skin care” means more than a quick rub with a bar of soap, they said, but it doesn’t have to involve multiple products.“One of these things you want to get them to do is to not mind using moisturizer,” Kaleal said. “It keeps you looking younger longer and it makes shaving easier, too.”