College prepared you for this wonderful thing called a job (career if its really good).  You were beat across the brain with several theories, studies, formulas, and cases.  I can’t recall any class where a professor said make sure you were brown shoes with your navy blue slacks and light blue shirt.  However, many are faced with that realization when knocking on salary’s door.

My employer has a business casual dress code which has most of us in khakis and slacks, polo shirts and button downs, Bostonians and Johnston and Murphies.  However, the sharpest dress does not produce the most output in terms of work.  One would seem to wonder what type of talent we could get without the stressed dress code.  But on the positive side, I have friends who have to wear shirt and ties, and occassionally suits to work just to add a few numbers up.

…which bring us to today’s dilemma.  Is the business casual dress really necessary for work?  When I “work from home” in my PJs, I seemingly get more done.

I’m sure many of you have to agree that our socio-culture is drive by famous individuals or those with affluent lifestyles.  Some of the most affluent persons are those in the music and professional sporting industries.

For many music artist, music is only the beginning of a long and diverse career.  Several have had much success with coming out with their own clothing lines.

• Beyonce – Dereon
• Jay-Z – Rocawear
• P. Diddy – Sean John
• Kid Rock – Made in Detroit
• Fergie – Fergalicious

All fairly notable in their music careers and on the up and up in the clothing arena.  Today, let’s think about this and see if fashion is driven by these artists.  Each artist’s line came from their own style of dress and preference.  When many see their artist, in an attempt to be like them, they purchase the clothes like the artist.

(Queue the music…)

Michael Jackson was an icon to billions of people.  His music, his style, his mannerisms were mimicked the world over.  His clothing was second only to his amazing musical talent.

I recall having the infamous zipper jacket (with about 20 different zippers) in red and black, the glove, and of course the shoes.  As a youngster, I would put my gear on and dance to the some of the popular songs in the mirror imagining I was the King of Pop himself.

Michael Jackson can be identified with many fashion items.  So the question of the day is the following.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I had a very interesting conversation with a buddy of mine last week.  He was explaining how he got into an altercation because a guy was looking at his woman.  I asked why was he looking at her.  He explained that they were about to head out to a nice dinner and she was dressed appropriately.  She is a coke bottle shaped gal and dresses to accentuate her features.

I added that the guy was only looking at her for the same reason that he was with her.  I told him I’m sure he gave his lady the same look at first sight that this guy was giving.  He became a little irritated with me, but I told him he was with his lady because he was attracted to her and I’m sure she dresses the part.  Why would you become enraged at some guy looking at your attractive woman when you know she is attractive?  If she was ugly and out of shape and no one looked at her, I’m sure he wouldn’t be with her either.

So here’s the million dollar question…

Today’s article is a guest piece from Jane at Outletstoredeals.com .

At least 80% of the people that regularly shop think about the maximum budget they have. Besides a few the Paris Hiltons, Kim Kardashians and David Beckhams we are just living an ordinary life with sadly ordinary budgets.

That means that everyone comes to a point where they have to make a choice to buy either 3 dresses for $50 each or one beautiful dress that alone is $150. No matter if you are a guy or a girl, everyone  is interested in their clothes and how they look will eventually come to this point.

Now, you can get those $150 dresses for less money when they are on sale. You just have to wait. A few great examples of beautiful clothes that are discounted can be found in discount or outlet stores. For example regular stores with a discount section like the Tommy Hilfiger sales page (30% – 50% off) or a big online retailer like GAP 50% off) or specific outlets like BCBG outlets or Polo outlets that have discounts on their entire assortment.

One option people often forget is looking for cheaper alternatives that still look good. We found an extraordinary example at Fabsugar concerning shoes for women.

These Christian Louboutin Pigalle Patent-leather flats are $575. That’s a price that not many people are willing to spend on one pair of shoes. But what if you really liked these shoes? You can wait many years, but your chances are very slim the price will drop to anywhere around $100. But there is even better news than waiting until it is for sale. After looking around in shops or on the internet an alternative pair of shoes was found.

On the right the Xhilaration Saniya Point Toe Flats. These look-a-like shoes are only $17! How’s that for a stunning 97% discount. You can judge the difference yourself.

I grew up with a kid whose nickname was Polo.  Now that I think of it I can’t remember his real name.  Even the teachers called him Polo.  To say he earned the name is an understatement.

EVERY SINGLE THING HE WORE WAS POLO!

If polo put out a t-shirt he bought it. If polo put out a new color shirt he bought it.  His jeans and slacks were Polo.  He even had a closet full of those grotesque Polo shoes.  The kid was spending a fortune on clothes and I wouldn’t be surprised if he still did it today.

Now this is an extreme case.  Hopefully you aren’t this brand drunk.  So here is the question of the day.  Are you loyal to clothing brands or price?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

When I was in college I dressed like a college kid.  My wardrobe had the following items:

• 15 football jerseys
• 5 basketball jerseys
• 4 track suits
• 12 pair of gym sneakers
• 1 business suit
• 5 dress shirts
• 2 pair of slacks
• 2 pair of dress shoes

When I joined the workforce all of that changed.  My work environment was business casual so I had to buy clothes.  I bought 15 more dress shirts, 4 more suits, 8 pair of business slacks, and 3 more pair of business shoes.

My college clothes became useless overnight.  I found myself drifting towards my business casual clothes even when I didn’t need to wear them.  Over time I donated all of my college gear to goodwill and moved on to exclusively business casual attire.

Am I the only person this has happened to?

I’ll admit it.  There have been times in my life when I struggled with fashion.  The list of mistakes I’ve made is long and painful.

• Black watch and brown shoes
• Velor pants and football jerseys
• Timberland boots and jean shorts

There is no reason to continue as I am now a suave gentleman.  I’ve noticed several disturbing fashion trends among men these days.  Chief among them are skinny jeans, crazy print t-shirts, man capri pants, and turtleneck sweaters.  All of the above are just weak sauce.  Which one do you detest the most?

When it comes to women there are a range of body types.  Each body type does something special with the clothes that dress it up.  The categories are:

• Slim – This is a very thin and petite woman. Her clothes typically fall away from her body and flail in the wind.
• Standard – This is a normal sized woman.  She is brings about 15 more lbs to the table than her slim counterparts and she may have a few curves.  Her clothes normally show enough to be dangerous.
• Curvy – A curvy woman is the next step up.  Her clothes cling to her body and reveal her gifts.  If she is a little too big then some no so attractive rolls may also be visible.

So which type of woman and style do you prefer?