Hope everyone had a relaxing holiday weekend!

I am back in NYC after a busy, travel-filled week last week and am excited to tackle some big things over the next few days (more on those soon).

But first, I thought I’d let you take a peek at a few reader questions recently cleaned out of my inbox, along with some thoughts on my original advice.

Got a question of your own? You can always email me at [email protected] to get a female’s take on your style conundrum.

Bailey says:

Firstly, love the website.  Been following you for about a year now and find almost everything on here helpful.

I am currently transitioning out the Army and moving to the Austin area.  My fiancee and I are getting married in November, and I am having a tough time deciding on what my groomsmen and I should wear.

What are your thoughts in weddings about grooms parties for suits vs. tuxedos?  I was thinking charcoal suits with bow ties and pocket squares in the wedding colors.  Additionally, how important is it for all the groomsmen’s suits to match?  The bridal party will be wearing black dresses, but they may or may not be the exact same dresses for a frame of reference.

{J.Crew weddings}

(Ed. note: This response marked an evolution in my stance on wedding-wear. Read this post and see what a softie I’ve become in my old age. I still think it’s a valid point to call out that bridesmaids almost never get the choice to wear what they want, which is why I’ve always been anti-guys getting to wear a suit already hanging in their closets. My opinion on rented tuxes, however, will never change: they’re ALWAYS a Don’t.)

Thanks for writing, and congrats on your impending move/wedding!

I think what you have planned for your groomsmen sounds great. You’ll be complementing the bridal party’s colors without being too matchy-matchy (which, in my opinion, can get tacky fast).

Since your fiancee isn’t being a stickler about all her friends’ dresses being the same, I’d say follow her lead and let your guys use the gray suit of their choosing. And if one of them doesn’t have a suit, you can kindly guide him to a nice suit in their price range.

Want even more wedding style? Read all the SG posts on the topic here.

Good luck! Send me a pic from the wedding!

Terrence (very politely) asks:

Hello, Ms. Collins:

I’ve been following SG for a while, and your site is awesome. Tell me, what is the Style Girlfriend position on fragrances, colognes, shower gels and the like? What should I look for when choosing a scent? Do’s and Dont’s?  Any advice would be most appreciated.

{image, safecosmetics.org}

(Ed. note: See, here’s where the resource pages I’m working to create will come in handy. I hope to make it easier for guys to find answers to the most commonly asked questions, and general “good to know” advice on what us ladies want to see guys wearing. Which is why I directed Terrence to the following…)

I’ve written a few things on cologne and scent; you can read them here:

• Year-Round Colognes for Guys
• What’s Your Signature Scent?

Beyond that, I’d just say – keep it light! You don’t want to overpower every woman in the room with your body wash/cologne/hair gel/etc scents. It’s better to smell clean than perfume-y, and that’s especially true for guys.

So when in doubt, go for one spritz of cologne versus two 🙂

Jarrod questions:

What are the best ways to preserve that great, fresh, dark, crisp (can you tell how much I love these pants?) selvedge jeans? I want them looking as awesome next winter as they do today? How can I keep them fresh, in every sense of the word, with minimal washing?

 

{Naked & Famous Selvedge Denim – “Weird Guy” in Indigo, $135}

I love your devotion to denim, and I do have an answer for you, though you may not want to hear it. Ready? Throw your jeans in the freezer. Yes, the freezer. Put them in a ziploc bag and leave them overnight. It’ll kill the germs without doing anything crazy to the rinse in the washing machine. In the morning, they’ll be good as new.

Fellas tell me: got anything to add to the answers above? Leave your two cents in the comments section!