There is a topic that is on my mind a lot, especially when I look around at my peers and hear some of the things they say. There seems to be a misconception that if a man cares about how they look or dress, they are automatically not "manly."

Some of the things that I have heard people say are:

“Look at those pants/shirt/shorts. He must be gay, wearing something like that.”

“Only gay guys dress like that.”

“If you wear that color, you’re gay.”

Can we just address something here? 1) Yes, most gay men dress impeccably well; 2) Just because someone dresses well does not automatically mean that they are gay; 3) Even if they are gay, I highly admire a man that cares about the way he looks and dresses well.

Men who care about how they look and take pride in their clothes and how they dress get an A+ in my book. I don’t care what your sexuality is, what path of life you come from, or any of that. You should care about how you look and try to dress well.

Now, by saying this, I don’t mean only wear a certain style of clothing, or a certain brand of clothing. What I mean by this is that whatever your style is, take pride in it and dress well. Dress to impress.

Nine times out of ten, if you take pride in the way you dress and dress well, you will have more confidence in yourself, and your day can go better. I know that when I take time to actually think about what I’m wearing and dress nicely, I feel at least a little better about myself and my day can go better. Now, I know there are always going to be factors that bypass this, but by doing this, it gives another chance to the possibility of having a good day.

Now, back to my original point. A well-dressed man will automatically catch my eye. I don’t even take into account what his sexuality might be, or what race he is. A well-dressed man is a well-dressed man. That’s all there is to it.

If I am going to date a guy, I would much rather he be a well-dressed man than someone who just doesn’t care what he is wearing or how he looks. Now, yes, to a certain degree, I want him to not worry how he looks; just like men usually want us to not worry how we look. I want him to be confident in the way he looks and care about the way he dresses. If a guy is wearing saggy pants that fall off without him holding them, or sag to his knees, I won’t look twice at him. I’m sorry, but that is tacky. And that is just my opinion. I know there are people who think that’s the way to dress, but in my own opinion, it is not.

Just think about it this way: Over the decades and centuries, fashions have changed drastically—in men’s and women’s fashions. For women, it mostly means less clothing and more skin. For guys—for some reason unknown to me—it means not caring how your clothes fit or look. The same can go for women, too. But, I am not talking about women’s fashions in this post.

For centuries, men were well-dressed. Even the poor people cared about how they were dressed. They couldn’t afford the fancy, rich cloth, but they still made do with what they had. Until the last few decades, if a man was well-dressed, then he was more respected. Now, it seems that if you are a guy, you can’t care about how you look or dress.

It’s part of this cultural stigma that you have to be a manly-man. If a woman likes something, a man isn’t supposed to like it, too. If a woman likes shopping, pampering herself, taking time to care about how she looks, then that means a man can’t like that, too. Why is that? What made our culture stop caring about how a man presents himself?

If a man is wearing well-fitted jeans (and I mean well-fitted, not cutting off circulation tight), it does not automatically count him as gay.

If a man is wearing a “womanly” color, it does not automatically count him as gay.

If a man likes to have his hands and feet taken care of so that they don’t get calloused and cracking, etc., it does not automatically count him as gay.

If a man likes to have his hair a certain way, it does not automatically count him as gay.

If a man is well-dressed and presents himself nicely, and takes pride in how he presents himself, it does not automatically count him as gay.

And even if a man is gay, if he is well-dressed and presents himself nicely, admire his ability to do so, and don’t just bash him because he takes pride in the way he looks.

We need to teach the younger generation coming up to take pride in how they look and to make sure they present themselves in an acceptable manner.

And you don’t have to be rich or buy expensive clothes in order to be well-dressed. There are plenty of good finds at thrift stores, discount or bargain stores, or stores like Wal-Mart. Trust me, I have found plenty of things in these kinds of stores.

What are your opinions on a well-dressed man? Or even a well-dressed woman? What are your definitions of being well-dressed?