5 style hacks every man should know

Life’s hard. So if there’s an easy way of doing things, well, you can always colour us interested. Looking your best costs time and money, so to save you a bit of both, we’ve cobbled together a list of ways you can cut corners without sacrificing so much as an ounce of style.

1. Roll Your Shirt Sleeves Like A Marine

Sometimes it’s the little things that let your outfit down. Messily rolled shirt sleeves not only make you look like you’re about to do battle with a blocked toilet, they’ll also repeatedly fall back down your forearms. Annoying.

For a neat roll, deploy the marine’s approach:

1. Start with your sleeves fully extended and cuffs unbuttoned.
2. Bend the sleeve at the cuff, curl it upward and over itself until it’s inside out.
3. Straighten both the bottom and top of the rolled cuff, ensuring there are no creases.
4. Repeat the process as necessary, gradually folding up to the desired height on your arm.

2. Sock It To ‘Em

Nothing quite kills a carefully curated ensemble like a pair of wayward socks. Small (and mostly out of sight) as they may be, a flash of Spongebob under your glove-fit suit trousers instantly undoes any and all of your efforts.

Stop playing a game of chance with your sock drawer and stock up on styles that actually work with what you usually wear. As a general rule of thumb, match the colour of your socks to that of your trousers (a shade darker or lighter works too); or, for more seasoned players, try a contrasting colour that doesn’t clash so much as complement your trouser and shoe choice.

For more tips on this subject, check out our guide to matching your socks to your outfit.

3. Put A Stop To Pilling

Bobbles wrecking your knitwear vibes? Restore your garment’s true nap with a Sweater Stone. Simply stroke this pumice-like lifesaver gently over your pilling pieces and see the finish of your jumpers, jacket collars and cuffs instantly renewed.

In a pinch? Raid the bathroom cabinet instead. A disposable razor will do a similar de-bobbling job, but should be used sparingly as the blades can damage sensitive fibres.

4. Rotate

Not only is wearing the same thing day in, day out terminally boring, it’s bad for your clothing’s lifespan too. Leaving a day or so between wearing your favourite pair of brogues or that trusty white T-shirt allows them to absorb perspiration and dry thoroughly.

Fail to do this and your footwear’s shape warps, while your tees quickly acquire that pungent fragrance you’ll never quite be able to wash out.

5. Kill Creases With Ice Cubes

No time to iron? CBA to iron? Get rid of wrinkles the easy way by chucking your shirt into the dryer along with a couple of ice cubes and then run it on its hottest setting. Once the ice cubes melt to steam, the dryer’s hot, moist air relaxes creases, leaving your shirt smooth and fresh.

Don’t get heavy-handed, though – use two to three ice cubes max, and be sure to only run a couple of shirts, or a shirt and a pair of trousers, at a time.