When it comes to men’s style, it’s all about dressing with confidence. Which is why I love Mizzen+Main’s “Look great. Feel even better.” mantra. The brand combines performance fabrics with modern silhouettes to create stylish clothes to help you dress for the job (and life!) you have. Their style standout, IMO? What they’ve dubbed  “the best damn dress shirt.” 

Talk about confidence!

So, I’m sharing more of the best (damn) picks for men in 2024, from style to skincare to social media follows for your best year yet:

1. The Best Damn First Date Move

… For ultimate flirty vibes.

Don’t sit at a table!

I feel so, so strongly about this. For better and for worse, you figure out really quickly if you like someone when you’re sitting in close proximity. A table acts like a natural barrier, and in my opinion, feels way too formal for the ideal first date conversation.

Instead, make a concerted effort to grab bar stools, or sit on the same side of a booth so you can sit next to your date and read each other’s body language easily. If you’re both leaning in, going for a casual arm graze or knocking knees a bit? Great news, you’re vibing!

2. The Best Damn Tailored Dress Shirts

… For anytime you need to pull on a collared shirt.

The Mizzen+Main Leeward dress shirt. Listen, I know you have so many options when it comes to shopping for workwear. Arguably too many—it gets overwhelming! Which is why you come to Style Girlfriend. Because you want someone to cut through the noise and just tell you what to get, right? Our vote is for a Mizzen+Main Leeward Dress Shirt.

It comes in all sorts of prints and patterns as well as various fits and lengths, and all of them do that amazing trick where you feel like you’re wearing workout clothes (comfortable, sweat-wicking, good stretch) but you’re dressed up for the office (nicely fitted, doesn’t wrinkle, tucks nicely).

Plus, an easy spread collar cut and tailored fit ensure you look polished and professional… And honestly pretty hot. Especially in the “Bel Air Blue Banker Stripe” because yeesh, even that name sounds hot. Two SG thumbs up.

3. The Best Damn Skincare Hack

… For transforming the texture of your skin.

Use a face mask once a week. I have been a devoted user of this mask for a couple of years, and recently got my dad to try it when he complained that his skin was feeling rough and dry after a long international flight.

After washing your face (you are washing your face, right?) scoop a couple small dabs of the jelly-like product onto your fingers and apply it to your face to create a nice film (sounds pleasant, right? I swear it’s not that bad). Leave it on for 3 minutes, then rinse it off! You will be amazed at the smoothness. Amazed, I tell you!

Just be sure to follow with a moisturizer to lock in all that skinprovement.

4. The Best Damn TV Show

… For binging with your significant other.

Bad Sisters. I was recently felled by a nasty cold, and spent a full day curled up on the couch sniffling and generally feeling sorry for myself. My best friend recommended the Apple+ series, Bad Sisters—the whole of which is available now, with 10 1-hour episodes.

The show opens at a wake, the husband of a woman who is one of five sisters. Immediately, something is fishy. I won’t spoil what goes on from there, but it’s a delicious adventure of dark comedy, family drama, and gorgeous Irish scenery. You don’t have to watch the whole thing in a day, of course, but I wouldn’t judge if you did, illness or not.

5. The Best Damn Album 

… For when you need to feel something.

Romy “Mid Air”

Do you need to dance? Do you need to cry? Do you want to remember how it feels to be in love at the club? Are you a fan of The XX? (Why am I asking, of course you are.) Romy, one of the  members of The XX released her first solo album in September, and it is, quite frankly, a banger from start to finish.

Much like our girl Robyn, Romy has mastered the combination of deeply emotional lyrics with undeniably catchy beats. I particularly encourage you to vibe out to “Loveher” and “Enjoy Your Life” as soon as possible.

6. The Best Damn Mantra 

…For emotional health in 2024.

“Let go or be dragged.” I go in and out of “woo woo” eras, but I always love a good mantra. It’s something you can say each morning to your bathroom mirror, keep as a note in your phone, add to your journal… Whatever you need.

I love this one particularly because it is so simple and so widely applicable. Whether it’s a grudge with a family member, an old relationship, an issue at work, frustration of any kind: Let go of it or be dragged by it!

7. The Best Damn Outfit Formula

… For looking put-together as hell no matter what your day has in store.

An Oxford shirt, 5-pocket pants, and white leather sneakers. This time of year, facing your closet can feel daunting. The sky is gray, your sweaters are gray, the mood is gray! So let me throw you a sartorial bone. Give or take a layer or two, this outfit works all year, anywhere.

And it’s not rocket science; up top, Mizzen+Main’s Ellis Oxford serves up stretch knit and tailored styling for casual comfort. And on the bottom, a pair of 5-pocket pants—aka denim’s dressier cousin—sets you apart.

Add a leather jacket or bomber, and socks in an unexpected color and you’re rocking a 10/10 look sure to impress your significant other, or the cute woman at the end of the bar.

8. The Best Damn Instagram Account

… For a hit right in the feels.

@meetcutesnyc. Nothing more needs to be said about how bad social media can be, but I think it’s always nice to hear about how good it sometimes is! I recently discovered the very wholesome account Meet Cutes NYC — a sort of man-on-the-street account where couples are stopped while walking around New York City and asked to tell the story of how they met.

That’s all!

It’s a reason to stop scrolling, and a reason to believe in love. Doom scrolling, be gone!

9. The Best Damn Souvenir

… For you or someone you’re returning home to.

A pin! I am nostalgic as hell and also suffer from an incurable case of “the shoppies” so I can never leave a place without taking a little piece of it with me.

As a kid, I was obsessed with pins. They were the thing I collected, and my parents brought them back to me from all over. Now, I find they are the cutest, most convenient, extremely affordable and ultimately the most wearable takeaway from my adventures.

I switch them out and cluster them together on my jean jacket, and really suggest you do the same!

RELATED: 5 Ways to Wear a Denim Jacket

10. The Best Damn Sex Tip

… For an even better connection in the bedroom.

If there were a college course called Good Sex 101, the whole syllabus would revolve around communication. Let’s assume you’ve taken that class, and passed with flying colors — you and your partner(s) are able to chat honestly and with vulnerability about what you do and don’t like between the sheets.

Right? Right.

So, my Good Sex 201 thesis is this: Do your gettin’ down due diligence. If your partner says they like something/somewhere/somehow, give it a Google. Look up how to make that thing as good as it could possibly be.

I’m talking: adjacent positions, ideal locations, recommended pre-stretches, whatever! Showing that you care enough to take something that’s already at a 9 or 10 and turn it up to 11 is seriously hot. You could even put on some glasses and present your findings in a sexy powerpoint.

Class, dismissed!

Thanks as always for supporting brands like Mizzen+Main that support Style Girlfriend!