Men’s style: Five easy ways to step up your look (without buying new clothes)

These simple style hacks will have you looking your best, with zero trips to the dreaded dressing room.

Philips Steam Iron

These simple style hacks will have you looking your best, with zero trips to the dreaded dressing room.

Every now and then, you’ve got to take a good, hard look in the mirror and figure out if you’re still putting your best shoe forward. If it’s been a while since you last scoped your look, here are five top tips to get back on track – no new clothes required.

Invest in a quality iron

Let’s face, it there are better ways to spend a Sunday evening than ironing your work shirts for the week – Sunday night football and that secret MAFS addiction to mention just two – but investing in a steam iron will have you looking sharp with minimal effort. And you can even watch TV while you do it. The Philips Azur Elite steam iron makes it easy to multitask, because you don’t even need to change the temperature when switching between fabrics, thanks to its OptimalTEMP technology. It also has a turbo steam pump that pushes up to 50 per cent more steam through fabric for faster crease removal, and those who love a bit of tech will appreciate the added smoothness of the SteamGlide Plus soleplate. Oh, and it comes with a no burn guarantee, perfect for when the MAFS action gets distracting.

Improve your posture

You’ve heard it before and there’s a good reason. It really is the fastest and cheapest way to dramatically improve your look. Why? Because slouching looks… well, slouchy, whereas standing and sitting up straight exudes confidence, adds poise, and reduces how much cash you’ll contribute to your chiropractor’s retirement fund/dream holiday/kids’ school fees. Start with simple exercises to build up your core strength, and work on being more mindful about how you’re holding yourself throughout the day.

Show some ankle

Give pants that bunch around your ankles a more modern look by getting them tailored to a cropped length or pinrolling them. Pinrolling is a nifty technique that tightens and shortens the cuff of your jeans by pinching and folding the inner seam before rolling them up. It’s often done to dress up a look or to show off great shoes. A quick online video search for pinrolling brings up about 30,000 results, so for step-by-step instructions on how to nail this one, just have a look around. Bonus tip: Pinrolling is also an easy way to give to give T-shirts with baggy arms a stylish new look.

Clean up your kicks

Do you slip on your shoes, day after day, then one day look down and see that they’re almost beyond repair? It’s easy to ignore your shoes until they need to be replaced, but it’s also a shortcut to looking scruffy. At least once a month, give your shoe-drobe a good once-over. Canvas shoes and sneakers can be spot-cleaned with a toothbrush and a mixture of baking soda and vinegar and leather shoes just need a quick rub with a leather-conditioner. Magic erasers work wonders on light-coloured rubber soles, and grimy laces can be pulled out and hand-washed. Frayed laces need replacing. No getting around that one.

Ditch the lint

Don’t underestimate what eliminating lint and pilling can do for your look. No matter how expensive your clothes are or how perfect your outfit is, it’s no good if it’s covered in mini fluff-balls. Sticky lint rollers are readily available – you can pick them up at supermarkets – but dressmakers (fabric’s real MVPs) use lint brushes, or electric or battery-operated lint shavers. They’re more effective, and the Philips fabric shaver will make them look almost new again. If you’re unsure of how to use these items, search for how-to videos, spend a few minutes watching, and you’ll have a valuable skill for life.

What if you could iron easier, faster and with no burns, guaranteed? To discover how the Philips Azure Elite steam iron makes ironing effortless, visit philips.com.au.