Anyone either got any tips or can direct me somewhere I can learn about mjatching clothes? I want to know what looks good together, so I can broadcast to women either that I have style or that I have guts. To do so I need to know the basics of how to match clothing.

Most of matching clothes is in the colour. If you don't want to make drastic changes to how you dress, then the best thing you can do is to learn some colour theory. I have written fairly long posts about this in other threads, so won't do so again here, but if you want a basic overview, just type in "colour wheel", "colour theory", or "match clothes colour wheel" into google. You'll get loads of hits on how to match colours.

As for what actually looks good together - this isn't anywhere near as important as colour. If you've got the colours going well together, most things (within reason obviously) will look alright. Of course, if you're wearing tracksuit bottoms but with a button up shirt, tie and top hat, then that's taking it to an extreme that probably won't look good. But most fairly normal clothes will look ok if the colours are matched properly.

To look good, make sure your clothes fit and that they suit you - make sure the colour suits your complexion, hair colour and even eye colour, but also that it reflects your own personality - don't just go out and buy "fashionable" clothes because they look good on someone else or because they're popular at the moment. Instead, go out and buy things that reflect who you are - if you're a skater, buy skate clothes. If you're more preppy, then buy preppy clothes. Whatever.

Really, if you can get items of clothing that suit you, fit you well and compliment each other through good choice of colour combinations, then you'll already look more fashionable than most guys.

Two tips I like to give to further enhance your style - and this is dependent on your own style, but it works for most 'normal' styles - are firstly to picture a scale of how formal the occasion you're attending will be - if it's casual, go one step above it and try to slightly over dress. If it's formal, go one step below and try to slightly underdress. This has to be only a very small step (and should be ignored completely at very formal occasions or if your work has a strict dress code). But, for example, say you're going to the park with your friends and they'll all be wearing scruffy jeans and a tee shirt, why not wear a smarter dark pair of jeans and a polo shirt - looks smarter than the rest of your friends, but will still fit in. And if you're going to a big party or something where people will mostly be wearing trousers, shirt and tie, why not maybe ditch the tie, and go with a pair of chinos, an open collared shirt and a blazer - slightly 'underdressed' for the occasion, but is still smart enough not to get you kicked out, will look good, and will make you stand out.

The second tip is very much like the first, but rather than focussing on the whole outfit, why not tweak just one or two little bits? So if you're dressing casually, why not wear one item that is smarter? If you're wearing a smart suit to a family party, why not wear something like a bead wristband (fairly casual) along with it; you're still dressed formal, but this one very small casual accessory lights up the whole outfit, makes you stand out and - as long as it's still matching with the outfit in terms of colour etc. - will make you look damn stylish!

Edit: Oh and I've just had an afterthought. Shoes! Very important. Need to be good, as most women looooove shoes and notice them, whilst most men are happy with functional shoes that do a job but don't look great. If you're employing my second tip below, shoes are actually a pretty good way to incorporate this. Wear a smart pair of dress shoes with a slightly more casual outfit, or a pair of vans with a smarter one, something like that - but they still need to look good. They should also compliment and match your outfit in terms of colour etc. Shoes and accessories are a good way to compliment the clothes you've got in the main bulk of your outfit and can also top off an average outfit. I said it somewhere else, but a good outfit with bad shoes will look average at best. But an average outfit with good shoes can look amazing. One of my favourite combinations is brown shoes, a brown leather watch and a brown belt, which I will wear with maybe a dark pair of jeans and a nice polo shirt. The brown goes well with the dark blue jeans (and I usually wear a light earthy green top with it as this suits my complexion etc and also goes well with the brown) and what is a pretty bog standard outfit (jeans and a polo) suddenly looks quite snazzy.

This has made me remember one other point actually - buy clothes in outfits. You don't need to buy a whole new outfit every time, but don't just go out, see a nice top and buy it. Stop and think what it will go with. This stops you buying clothes that you'll never actually wear. You might see a really nice top but in a colour that doesn't really go with anything else, so instead you buy the same top but in a different colour that will go and you're sorted!

Thanks for the tips, 7000. I will definitely do those google searches later on.

I have been trying to get some style knowledge for a couple of weeks now. I am a pretty skinny guy (55kg and 176cm, which is about 120 pounds and 5ft9), so I had pretty much given up on finding clothes that fit me. Last week I discovered that it was definitely possible to find nice clothes that fit me, as long as I know what to look for and what sizes I really need. I now own tewo pairs of pants that fit me so much better than anything I have owned in the past, both bought very recently. Does me being skinny affect my fashion choices a lot, or can I just select approprioate sizes and fits of the same clothes a heavier guy would wear?

I went to some clothing stores to see if I could find out something about style from the employees there. One tip I got was to select pants first when composing an outfit, making sure the other items go with the pants. Another tip was that open shirt with T-shirt under can look great if the T-shirt has a more powerful colour or pattern than the shirt. Would you agree with these tips?

Also, I hear that matching your shoes and your belt is important, and that many women notice this straight away. Right now I only have one belt and one pair of day-to-day shoes, but I will be getting some more once I know what I need. How do I know that my belt and shoes go together? Just having the same or similar colours?

The last few days I tried to compose some outfits suing new and old items. Not sure I succeeded, but at least I am learning. I think I need a shopping-wingman, so to speak, so I have someone to talk about clothes with and to give me a second opinion on what looks good on me. Might get this part of my outer game sorted, and the company would be nice as well

You seem like you're on the right path, a willingness and awareness to want to learn is usually enough to set you apart from most guys. Even a lot of guys on here - even those who are good at pick up - probably won't dress too well. It won't make your game, but it can certainly help by both making you look good to attract the females and by making you more confident! So keep up the good work! Ok your questions;

1) Your weight and size affects the fit of your clothes - as you seem to have figured out already. When comparing what a skinny guy can wear compared to a heavier guy, in theory you can wear exactly the same things just a few sizes smaller. However, there is also an element of personal taste. For instance, if you know Russell Brand and you like to dress in that sort of skinny jeans, baggy tee shirt style, a skinny guy can pull that off far easier than a bigger guy (even though I'm not a fan of that sort of style on anyone - I'm just using it as an example). Also bear in mind some things like vertical stripes supposedly being slimming whilst horizontal ones may make you look bigger.

The only other point of difference worth bearing in mind is that some skinny guys might make more use of layering than a big muscly guy - layers can help buff you out a bit, whilst muscly guys might wear a skin tight tee shirt and not a lot else to show off their muscles. But that's more of a personal choice thing. Bottom line is you can wear exactly the same as a bigger guy (but in a smaller size) as long as it's something you like and meets all the rules I mentioned in the first post.

2) Yes, I'd agree with both of those. Most 'normal' pants (blue/black/grey jeans and chinos) go with most colours, so you don't need to worry TOO much. Especially if they're dark blue. I'd always go darker as they look more mature as a rule, but if, for example, you've got some stone washed jeans, then you may need to bear in mind the lighter colours on the pants. And if you're wearing coloured chino/shorts or something like those, then you need to be very conscious of what colour the rest of your outfit is.

If you're wearing a tee shirt under a shirt, I'd go with a vneck not a round neck. And yes the colour should be more powerful. But, a note on colour here, if you've got a fairly light complexion and blonde or light brown type hair, then you don't want flourescent type colours. This means that you will need to wear "earthy" colours- as such, the shirt on the outside is almost vertainly going to have to be a neutral colour. if you've got a dark complexion, you can wear brighter clothes more easily and can maybe get away with two brighter colours.

Also, make sure it fits the occasion - maybe a cardigan/wooly type jacket/sports jacket or similar would look better than a shirt, sometimes a shirt on it's own, sometimes a tee on it's own. Don't get stuck wearing one sort of outfit (ie shirt on top of tee shirt) just because one of them looks good.

3) It's a rule that I stick by, but not everyone does. I class shoes alongside accessories as they should complement an outfit rather than be a core piece of it (don't get me wrong - they're still extremely important, possibly THE most important bit, but they should finish the outfit, not be over bearing of it).

I stick to a rule that all of my accessories should match. So I wear brown shoes, a brown belt and a brown watch, for example. The accessories can have more than one colour - but at least one colour must match. A nice touch would be something like this; if you're wearing a polo shirt that has green trim on the sleeves you could wear brown shoes, a brown watch, and a belt that is both brown and green. The brown matches with the accessories and the green matches with the trim. That's an example, but you get the idea. Bottom line though, yes, shoes and belt should match at least to some extent (in my opinion).

And similar colours are usually ok, but sticking with the brown theme, if you've got a very light brown belt and a dark brown (almost black or maybe even ox blood reddy brown) pair of shoes, then they may not have the right effect. Try to keep them within a shade or two of each other if possible.

Get yourself a good looking female wingwoman! Women tend to (massive generalisation that is probably a bit sexist as well, but hey ho!) have a better eye for this stuff than us, so they can help you with that. If she's good looking, then even better

Find the type of woman that you wish to attract then use it as an opinion opener of what you would look good in. They will be more than happy to advise you.