Lots of things happen in the fall. The leaves fall. New school year. Your grades will probably also fall. But you might as well look HOT AF while you’re doing it!!! A typical stereotype of gay men is that they always dress well. I totally follow that stereotype, and I’m not all ashamed about it! This style guide will help you know exactly what to wear, how to wear it, and how to put different outfits together.

Before You Pick out an outfit

1. Find what works for you!

Alright, just to preface this. There will be A LOT of outfit suggestions in this, and you might not like all of them! That’s okay! Only some of them might work! Take parts of what you do like about this list, and apply them to what you already own in your closet, and what you are comfortable wearing.

2. ALWAYS CHECK THE WEATHER

This seems quite obvious, but like, just do it. Fall is unpredictable, and it could be 50 in the morning and then 80 by the time it’s 2 in the afternoon. You don’t want to wear a sweater on a day that’s going to be 70, and you don’t want to wear a t-shirt on a day that it’s 40.

3. Keep to one color scheme

Look, I get it, colors are hard. I’ll go more into how to pair colors, but for right now, find one color scheme and stick to it!!! Fall is all about darker tones and neutral colors. I find that neutrals (white, black, gray, brown), dark reds and maroons, dark greens, dark blues and denim work well for all fall. You NEVER want to wear large amounts of white after Labor Day. Why? Idk it’s just the way it is so deal with it. And for God’s sake, please save the pastels for spring.

What to wear

1. Sweatshirt and Shorts.

If you’re from good ole mine-SNOW-ta like I am, you’ll know this is a common thing here. Is it okay to wear? Eh. Depends on how you do it. College sweatshirt and sweat shorts, you might want to rethink your life choices. If you’re doing it with Khaki’s and a solid color, nice, presentable sweatshirt, then maybe we can talk. Also, don’t be afraid to wear a short sleeve button down underneath! It always adds a touch of class to this look!

2. Flannel.

YAS KWEEN. COME THROUGH MAMAW!!! Channel your inner straight boy by wearing the classic “flannel with puffy vest” look, or you can change it up and wear a flannel with a shawl, or if it’s freezing, you can wear a flannel with a sweater! The possibilities are endless really. Most of my fall flannels are maroons with hints of blue in them. You could also find flannels with the colors stated above. Just make sure you match your colors with your entire outfit, and you’re golden!

3. Sweaters.

I LIVE FOR THIS LOOK. Sweaters can save lives. Look classy by wearing a nice sweater with a casual button down underneath. Look comfy by wearing a larger sweater and a t-shirt underneath. Cardigans are great classy looks, and can also be very comfortable. Or add a fun color sweater for the season of fall! One of my FAVORITE outfits is a large orange sweater with my dark green pants. I look like a pumpkin, and I LOVE IT.

4. Pick One Point of Your Outfit to Accentuate.

Your style for fall shouldn’t be anything crazy. You should keep your outfits very toned down with one thing that you want to show off. Some days you might want to wear a fun sweater, so wear black pants and a simple undershirt. Or you might want to accentuate a cute hat, so wear a neutral color palette. This brings me to my next point.

5. No More Than 3 or 4 Colors.

Please please PLEASE don’t be that guy that wears every single color in the rainbow. I always try to keep only two or three colors in my outfit, and I try to keep most of them neutral. You don’t want to wear an outfit that has red on top, blue over it, green on the bottom, and then brown shoes. Try to wear neutral colors with one color to stand out (refer to number 4 above).

6. Denim on Denim on Denim on Denim on Denim on Denim on Denim on Denim on Denim.

OH MY GOD MY FAVORITE PART OF FALL. YES!!! Jorts (jean shorts) ARE IN!!! And so are JEAN JACKETS!!! I’m not even kidding, I have worn Jeans, with a denim button down, with a jean jacket over it. I looked SICKENING. Jean jackets go great with simple shirts, like concert shirts

7. "Simple" Days.

Jeans and t-shirt give off the very classic, simple “hipster” look that is very understated. I have tons of shirts that look very great with just jeans. Patterned shirts that look great alone, shirts with single words on them, or concert shirts. It’s so understated, so cool, and usually, it’ll make your arms look GREAT. Do it on days that will be a little warmer, and you want to look a little sexy. If you get cold, throw a jean jacket on over that!

8. Sweatpants?

Ugh, these can look SO HOT if you do it RIGHT. NEVER wear loose bottom sweatpants. They should almost ALWAYS be tapered at the lower part of the leg, much like joggers are. I like my sweatpants to have a professional look, like no obnoxious writings on them, pure colors, or complimentary patterns. For instance, if your sweat pants are maroon with hints of gray, wear a gray top. Or gray sweatpants with a colored shirt. You can match anything really, just remember colors, and please don’t make it look sloppy.

9. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE GROUTFIT.

Groutfit – an outfit that consists of entirely grey pieces of clothing, usually all the same shade of grey, but can be different shades of grey. Literally a definition I just made up but you get the point. Groutfits are usually seen as sloppy, and not put together, but I’m telling you, you will look so hot it’s not even funny. “Oh, who is that??? Why are they wearing that it looks kinda gross, who wears all grey? I kinda like it though like how can they pull that off? I wanna wear a groutfit now. Who is that person? I wanna know them.” – literally thoughts from everyone who has ever seen someone wearing a groutfit.

10. Socks With Sandals Are Acceptable On College Campuses, And Nowhere Else

Birks have become a recent phenomenon again, after having their first burst of popularity in the 70’s they have come back. Chaco’s are the signature look for any camp counselor. If you’re trying to channel that whole 70’s dad during the 90’s look (which I support, because the 90’s fashion is starting to come back), then by all means, please wear socks with your sandals. Everyone at college will totally understand, and they’ll praise you with a great YAS KWEEN as you walk by. But literally, as soon as you step off campus, everyone will probably judge you. Just don’t do it. Unless you want to be seen as a college student by everyone you encounter, then I would advise against it.

Like I stated earlier, please take this advice with a grain of salt, however, I get compliments on my outfits like every day so clearly we all know what you should be wear (insert sassy emoji here). Wear what makes you comfortable, and while you’re at it, look FIERCE.