The New Laws of Fashion for Men

Here are some of the 50 helpful hints from Esquire magazine for men:

YOU SHOULD DRESS FOR AIR TRAVEL AS IF IT WERE STILL A PRIVILEGE. Start with a collared shirt and a tailored jacket. And if you can't bear wearing proper shoes, low-key leather sneakers will do. Ditch the sweatpants, though. You're not at the gym. How to break it: Flying private gives you sartorial carte blanche.

A WELL MADE AND PROPERLY KEPT SHOE WILL LAST YOU THREE DECADES. When shopping for your feet, remember to invest in leather soles and uppers and Goodyear-worthy welts. Remember, too, that all-leather shoes are easier to rebuild. How to break it: If it's obvious that your loafers are from the seventies, retire them.

WOODEN SHOE TREES ARE A GOOD IDEA. But you need only one pair. Put them in the shoes you've been wearing all day. The shoe, warmed and wet from your body heat and perspiration, will contract as it cools over the shape of the tree and return to its original form. Within an hour or two, the tree has done its job.

BE SUSPICIOUS OF THE GUY IN THE STATE U. SWEATSHIRT. Varsity sweatshirts are usually worn by people on whom the educational establishment in question had no lasting or useful impact at all or by people who paid for their kids to go there and would dearly like to advertise the fact. How to break it: Let go of suspicion if you live within twenty miles of a Big Ten school.

IN THE NEW JEANS-AND-A-SUIT-JACKET ENVIRONMENT, A POCKET SQUARE CAN STAND IN FOR A TIE. Here's how.

Astaire: To be done only with a silk handkerchief. Begin by spreading the material across a flat surface and pinching at the center, allowing the fabric to pillow around the pinch. Only an elegant pattern will do.

Churchill: Constructed in the same fashion as the Astaire pocket square but with the additional step of folding up the corners. This style is slightly more ragged in a very purposeful way. Must still be done with silk.

JFK: The structured nature of this style can be done with almost any material: silk, linen, or cotton. Very measured and exact, it calls for a quiet pattern on the hankie and is usually worn by men you'd trust to invest your money.

Bond, James: Straight out of the 1960s comes this straight-across approach. Donned by spies, news anchors, and heads of state, this style is simple and clean. It should be done with a white linen or cotton handkerchief.IN THE NEW JEANS-AND-A-SUIT-JACKET ENVIRONMENT, A POCKET SQUARE CAN STAND IN FOR A TIE. Here's how.

Astaire: To be done only with a silk handkerchief. Begin by spreading the material across a flat surface and pinching at the center, allowing the fabric to pillow around the pinch. Only an elegant pattern will do.

Churchill: Constructed in the same fashion as the Astaire pocket square but with the additional step of folding up the corners. This style is slightly more ragged in a very purposeful way. Must still be done with silk.

JFK: The structured nature of this style can be done with almost any material: silk, linen, or cotton. Very measured and exact, it calls for a quiet pattern on the hankie and is usually worn by men you'd trust to invest your money.

Bond, James: Straight out of the 1960s comes this straight-across approach. Donned by spies, news anchors, and heads of state, this style is simple and clean. It should be done with a white linen or cotton handkerchief.

THE CLASSIEST COLOR FOR BLACK TIE IS BLACK. How to break it: If you're a maverick, you can try midnight blue or dark chocolate.

NO ONE AT THE PARTY WILL EVER NOTICE IF YOU'VE LOST ONE OF YOUR CUFF LINKS. Leave the orphaned one in.

POLISH YOUR MID- AND DARK-BROWN SHOES WITH BLACK SHOE POLISH. This will create darker shades near the seams and gradually deepen the patina all over.

NOTHING SAYS "JACKASS" QUITE AS WELL AS A CELL PHONE ON A BELT CLIP. You know who you are.

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