Today is Valentine’s Day – a faux-holiday that get’s many of us men stressed out about finding something special for the woman in our life. Certainly, always appreciated are flowers and a sincerely written card, but what might be just as important is how you carry yourself and how you dress. In fact, there is hard scientific evidence that “dress for success” not only applies in your professional life, but in your love life as well. To convince you that dressing well does matter in your love life, we created a fun video titled “Love on Bow-Tie Island”. It shows you that women love men in bow ties.

Need some more hard evidence that dressing well can help your love life? Then, our friend Antonio of Real Men Real Style has written a great article covering this topic in detail. Here is a brief summary of his article:

1. If You Dress Like a Gentleman, You Will Behave Like a Gentleman
   Simply put: Dressing well will improve your self worth. There have been numerous studies showing that how we dress affects how we feel about ourselves. If you dress like a gentleman, you will subconsciously be more polite, more charming, and more debonair.
2. You Will be Perceived as a Gentleman
   Impressions are formed within the first few seconds of meeting someone. There is strong evidence that if you dress nicely, people will treat you better. They will treat you like a gentleman.  Your date will be impressed and flattered.
3. It Increases Your Sex Appeal
   Dressing well will make you look more successful and it will boost your confidence – both traits that the opposite sex is attracted to. Additionally, she will be flattered that you dressed up to take her out on a date.

Here you have it! There is no reason not to dress up outside of being lazy. Don’t let this be you. Do you have any examples how your attire had an affect on others, how you were treated, or how you felt about yourself? Then, please comment below and share!

For today’s interview I am excited to feature men’s style expert Antonio Centeno. I have personally known Antonio for several years now, and his passion for the industry is truly inspiring. He is not only a respected menswear blogger but also the founder of a custom tailoring business. Needless to say, I am excited to feature Antonio on my menswear insider series.

Tie-a-Tie: As a military veteran, you have quite an unusual background for a fashion blogger. What inspired you to get into the menswear industry and start a bespoke clothing business?

Antonio: My introduction to custom clothing came when I got married in Ukraine in 2004. Looking around the clothing shops there I could only find badly fitted off-the-rack suits made from cheap material or very high-end luxury Italian suits, with no middle ground. I wanted something good for my wedding, but didn’t need a $10,000 novelty! Finally, I found a traveling tailor from India who rotated between cities in Russia and Ukraine. He fixed me up with a custom suit and three custom shirts for $1200, and my interest was born.

Fast-forward two years to 2006, when I was in business school at the University of Texas and found myself needing a good interview suit. Remembering my experience in Ukraine, I looked around for a custom tailor and found Jack out of Hong Kong who made three suits ten shirts for me. Jack’s situation impressed me. Here was a guy with a pretty basic education who was making hundreds of thousands of dollars and only working six months out of the year, serving a client base that was mostly located right there in Texas (although he did have some customers further afield in the United States). That got me thinking that there was room in the tailoring industry for someone who could bring a business school education and some creativity to the market. I founded ATailoredSuit.com at a time when there were almost no custom tailoring businesses online, especially for men — looking back on it, I think I remember looking and finding exactly one other business trying it out around the time I was getting started.

So the idea was novel, back then: you could take your own measurements, send them to me, and have a custom-tailored wardrobe delivered to your door within weeks! Realizing that my clients needed to trust my judgment and my understanding of style to make that investment (my suits are not cheap), I started putting some articles up on ATailoredSuit.com outlining the basic principles of menswear.

When I realized how much traffic those were drawing, I decided that there was a market hungry for information as well as for clothing, and that’s how I ended up creating RealMenRealStyle.com and getting into the business of fashion writing and style education. So it’s been a fun journey — but if I had to pin it down, it started with my wedding in Ukraine, and with a pair of traveling tailors making custom suits!

Tie-a-Tie: Since you founded A Tailored Suit we’ve seen lots of new companies emerge in the online bespoke menswear sector. Do you think there is still potential for new companies offering custom menswear online? Or is this now an oversaturated market?

Antonio: I do think it’s more saturated, but I don’t think it’s oversaturated. If you can bring in a unique offering, you can make it. What I don’t see is enough companies leveraging unique advantages to make their companies easy and tempting to use.

My twist on custom tailoring for ATailoredSuit.com, in addition to the online ordering, was to focus on complete wardrobes. The goal was to make it easy for a guy to come to me and to have all his dressing-up needs taken care of in one go, without much thought or effort on his part.

That has a lot of appeal to a section of men that wants to look good but doesn’t want to spend years building a painstakingly selected wardrobe from many sources. If I could convince customers that I was a reliable designer of menswear — which is what the style articles were originally for — I could become a one-stop shop, and that was my unique advantage.

So there’s still room for new companies. But they need to be looking for a specific customer base, and they need to be thinking about how they’re solving a specific problem for that customer base.

Tie-a-Tie: How would you describe your own personal style?

Antonio: Simple, understated, and functional. No need to go into too much more detail there — I stick to the classic look and let it speak for itself. A lot of suits and jackets, of course, but I do wear jeans and more casual sweaters and coats as well.

Tie-a-Tie: After launching ATailoredSuit.com you started a successful menswear blog at RealMenRealStyle.com, which offers style advice. What made you branch out from a business offering physical goods to one offering information?

Antonio: Once the site was up, I found myself receiving tons of phone calls and e-mails from people who wanted to pick my brain for style advice. And as much as I wanted to help people, I didn’t have time to answer them individually.

When I put a few basic style information articles on my website and saw traffic go way up, I realized that there was a lot of appetite for information, even from people who could never afford one of my suits or wardrobe packages. Around that time I was also approached by Brett McKay over at ArtOfManliness.com to be one of his first style writers, and I saw how successful and popular the business of information was for him.

That was when I started giving out a free e-book of my best writing to site visitors. From there I moved to setting up RealMenRealStyle.com, which started out offering nothing but free advice. Since then I’ve been slowly introducing new ways of delivering information, like online seminars and college-level courses in men’s style. And they’ve all proven popular — there’s still a huge demand out there for good fashion advice presented in an easily accessible manner.

Tie-a-Tie: What do you think is the biggest faux pas or style sin that men commit?

Antonio: Not caring. If they don’t understand why it’s relevant, they’re never going to make any other changes. I can tell when a guy doesn’t care. It’s very easy to spot. Most men you see look completely generic. They’re not making any effort to set themselves apart from the crowd.

My target customer isn’t a guy who wants to blend in. I sell my products to men who want to be great and do great things. Those are the men who can use the power of clothing and style to get what they want out of life. If you don’t care about something as basic as your own appearance, it’s like you’ve already given up on life.

Tie-a-Tie: Why do you think dressing well is important?

Antonio: I don’t think it — I know it. There’s tons of science that backs this up. Google “the halo effect” and you’ll see how a general positive opinion based on first impressions will color everything people think about you from that point on.

It doesn’t have to be a rational impression. Think about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates: everyone always loves to praise Steve Jobs as this huge innovator and creative genius. No one ever says that about Bill Gates, or at least no one outside the tech industry. When he’s not vilified, he’s made into a cartoon stereotype of a computer nerd.

None of us actually know these guys. But we have emotional impressions from their products that we associate with them: Apple is sleek and futuristic-looking; Windows is colorful and cartoony. Steve Jobs wore minimalist black; Bill Gates had big glasses and frumpy pants. So those impressions spill over into how people talk about the men and their personalities, even though the visuals don’t have much to do with how the men’s brains worked.

Clothes do the same thing. Strangers look at our clothes and think of them as either “good” or “bad” looking. Then they associate those good or bad qualities with us, and their minds are very resistant to changing that impression. Well-dressed men get the benefit of the doubt where the rest of their character is concerned. Poorly dressed men just get the doubt.A good style lets you say great things about yourself before you even open your mouth. That’s very important.

Tie-a-Tie: What are your favorite clothing stores, either online or brick and mortar?

Antonio: Well, when you manufacture your own clothing, you don’t do as much shopping as other people. I wear a lot of my own suits, jackets, and dress trousers. Shirts I also mostly make for myself, but I do have some from 5th & Lamar, out of Austin, TX. I wear Lee and Levi jeans, and I highly recommend the company Brown, Diem for guys that can afford custom denim.

For shoes I like Paul Evans, and I have an amazing pair of winter boots from ShoePassion.com — a great company for men who can afford some serious footwear.I like the look of the guayabera shirt, which is a Cuban / Mexican style, and I get mine from DaccordInc.com.

Luggage and bags I mostly get from Blue Claw Co. and Saddleback Leather Co., and smaller leather items I like to get from handcrafter Kenton Sorensen. I also like Rogue Wallets for their slim, RFID-shielded wallets. And lately I’ve been keeping an eye on Satya Twena of New York for headgear and classic men’s hats. Finally, it should go without saying that I like Bows ‘N Ties for neckwear!

Tie-a-Tie: What are your plans and goals for RealMenRealStyle.com in 2014?

Antonio: The big thing will be putting out more videos and starting a podcast. There will also be more online courses and other ways of packaging information — I’m all about finding new ways to get information out there, since every man has his own preferred learning style.

Tie-a-Tie: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

Antonio: I’ll probably be focused more on military issues and working with veterans. I’ve really enjoyed building High Speed Low Drag with John Dumas of Entrepreneur On Fire. HighSpeedLowDrag.org is a website that focuses on the transition from military to civilian life. It’s a great project that we’re going to give more love and care to really get things rolling. That’s an issue I care a lot about, and helping other veterans succeed is definitely something I’m going to be working on over the years to come.

Tie-a-Tie: That’s great! Thanks again for joining me here today, and best of luck to you.

Antonio: Thank you as well!

It has been over a month since I have started my “Menswear Interview Series“. So far, I have interviewed several entrepreneurs and bloggers that are shaking up the menswear industry. Today’s feature is no different. I was able to spend some time with NYC based model, stylist and blogger Marcel Floruss who is literally the face of OneDapperStreet.com.

Over the past year Marcel’s eye for style has gotten quite the attention. He has appeared on dozens of well-known menswear blogs, accumulated tens of thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram, and is on his way to become the face of a well-known men’s clothing brand. I was able to spend some time with Marcel to ask him questions about his style influencers, what his plans are, and what tips he has for other men wanting to break into the industry.

Tie-a-Tie: Hi Marcel, thanks for joining me today for my Menswear Insider series. Over the past year or so you have made quite the name for yourself – something that is especially surprising since you grew up in Germany and just relatively recently moved to NYC. What brought you to the United States?

Marcel: Frankly, I had this random fascination with New York City, probably since I was about 13, without ever having been there or knowing much about about it. The first thing that physically got me here was dance. I came here one summer with my best friend to take classes, fell in love with the city, and discovered FIT, the school I now go to.


Tie-a-Tie: Do you think you will ever move back to Germany?

Marcel: I’m not planning on it. Even though, as the fashion industry in Berlin grows, I hope to travel there a lot.


Tie-a-Tie: Now, prior to modeling you were a hip hop dancer. What was it that got you into modeling?

Marcel: Modeling actually started with dancing, as I had my first photo shoot for dance. But it was actually in New York that I was just surrounded with fashion and photographers and I always wanted to do it – and then I kind of just made it happen. In the end, it didn’t work out on a longer term and I am perfectly happy just modeling for my blog right now!


Tie-a-Tie: In the past year or so you have made quite the name for yourself. Besides a certain look, what do you think an aspiring male fashion model needs to be successful in this industry?

Marcel: I wouldn’t go as far as calling myself a model, but instead a style blogger. Modeling is a major part of what I do, but to me one of the less important ones. To be successful in blogging, you need a solid sense of fashion, have social media skills, have an understanding of photography and design, and be persistent and eager to get where you want to go.


Tie-a-Tie: Speaking of “Social Media Skill”, you are quite popular with close to 40,000 followers on Instagram and 15,000+ fans on Facebook. How did you became so popular? Of all the social media channels out there, which one is most important to you and why?

Marcel: I don’t know exactly. All I know is that I do all of the above (and some extras) passionately, with heart and soul. Definitely Instagram, since it is the most visual. The big draw-back is that you don’t have active links though, which makes it hard to drive traffic to the actual blog…


Tie-a-Tie: Tell me about your own personal style? What inspires you?

Marcel: Nothing in particular comes to mind but everything all around me every day. In terms of my own wardrobe, I get most of my inspirations from the streets of New York, either directly or through street style and blogger’s Instagram accounts. That’s probably why my style is very versatile and changes a lot. Inspiration just comes from many directions. That’s also what inspired the name of my blog, combining both “Dapper” & “Street-Style”.


Tie-a-Tie: Featuring street-style goes back quite some time now with the works of Bill Cunningham for the NY Times, or the more recent Scott Schuman – aka the Sartorialist. Which street-style blogger/photographer do you follow? Are there any newer, lesser known ones which you think might become the next Schuman?

Marcel: Two blogs I really like in terms of street style photography are Le-21eme.com by Adam Katz Sinding, and Jak & Jil by Tommy Ton. I think their eye for art, and talent for photography will go far!


Tie-a-Tie: If you have $100 to be spend on a certain clothing store, which one would you walk into? What do you think you would buy?

Marcel: Right now: a sneaker shop, and I’d spend it on a pair if dope new running shoes that you can also rock casually once the weather gets less … Arctic.


Tie-a-Tie: What about $1,000? Different store? Different pieces?

Marcel: Definitely a different scenario. I am a shoe geek though. So probably some Ann Demeulemeesters found on Mr. Porter. Or Common Projects. Or a J. Lindeberg suit. Anything upscale. Been yearning to climb up that ladder.


Tie-a-Tie: Lastly, a question I commonly ask, where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Marcel: Ha! Hmmm, 10 years from now I see myself high up in a global fashion corporation, with my blog running on the side. I hope I’ll be on the verge of going my own way around that time – meaning starting another company, aside from my blog.


Tie-a-Tie: That is a great goal. You certainly don’t lack ambition. Thanks again for joining me here today, and best of luck to you!

Marcel: Thanks for having me!