Justin Timberlake: Your Fashion Guru

Justin Timberlake is the juggernaut. His pictures plaster building sides and the pages of magazines, his tracks booms out of every club and lingers on the lips of passer-byers; let’s face it, even you’ve found yourself strutting to SexyBack once or twice. These days, the former N’Sync Musketeer is advancing further on the fashion stage, not only building quite a savvy collection of clothing lines and setting the catwalks ablaze, but also emerging as one of the most famed fashion icons and couturier’s of our generation. His style is classic yet constantly avant-garde, simple yet captivating, and his traditional suit/vest/tie collabo with rougher leather pieces put the nouveau Gatsby-ian trend on the cultural map. He could probably cut his nose off while wearing a chicken suit and it’d look sexy. While JT explores various and vast fashions, in most any kind of gala, he is found wearing a dress shirt. Whether is paired with selected accessories and garments, or worn solo, he looks hot and collected. This image speaks readily for the dress shirt in general: simple, versatile, timeless, and above all, clean. If worn effectively, anyone can pull the JT-dress shirt look. So, why does Justin Timberlake so good in a simple dress shirt?

1. His Clothes Fit: Although this sounds like a given, there are so many men out there who wear clothes that just don’t fit; it is always too big or too small. Timberlake’s clothes fit perfect, and the key is to keep it on the slimmer side. If your shirt feels like it could inflate or house a family of three, it’s most likely to fail. Try a palm’s width from your armpit to the shirt’s, that’s about as much leeway you can have. If it feels a slightly tight, then it probably looks perfect.

2. He’s Got His Colors Right: Rather than choosing risky patterns or colors (pinstripes, turquoise, neon pink, neon pink and turquoise pinstripe, etc), JT opts to wear simple, classic colors like black, gray, and white. There’s no going wrong. To spruce things up, JT adds a more elaborate tie or suit that is of varying colors and fabrics. Either way, owning the neutral tones make you look confident and dignified, and not just a yuppy that is riding the currents of a fleeting trend.

3.  He Mixes and Matches: Just because you are wearing a vest and shirt doesn't mean you can’t throw a leather jacket or scarf in. Timberlake collaborates his shirts with jeans, a casual outerwear, a sweater on top, tucked in or out. He never overdoes it or gets sloppy, but he manages to get his money worth out of his shirts.

4. He Accessorizes: Now, this may be a little dangerous, but definitely worth a try. JT is often seen trimming his shirt with a neckerchief or a bow tie. Granted it IS Justin Timberlake, so there is an aspect where he gets away with wearing such items on a daily basis; however, if it’s a night out and you want to make a trendy impression, choose a neutral tone shirt and add a vibrant tie, or grab a vest and put a fun handkerchief in the breast. Little details of fashion stand for greater fashion.

5. He’s Confident: I won’t even elaborate. The importance of staying confident and trusting your look is bigger than you and me.

Justin Timberlake is the juggernaut, but you are a juggernaut in the making. The success that JT gained isn’t from miracles, it was derived from effort and luck, something we all possess. So, on you’re way to becoming the next Justin Timberlake, dress for success and start from the wardrobe up! Then you can bring sexy or cool or whatever you want back.

[Image Source: Joe Shlabotnik]

This post was written for Blank Label's Co-creation Blog by Youmi Park, a new co-creator of custom men's dress shirts.