Tag: gentlemen

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Manly Skills

The Art of a Haircut: How to Communicate with your Barber

Afternoon gents! It’s Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide here, coming at you with some helpful info about one of the most important aspects of men’s lifestyle: a visit to the barber! It’s been said several times that one of the most important people in a man’s life is his barber, and I’m inclined to agree to an extent. While people tend to stereotype women as the ones who obsess over their hair care, men also tend put a lot of emphasis on keeping their locks neat and clean. That’s why so many men go to barber shops today. With this in mind, I’m going to give you four (4) steps to make your next haircut easier and all the more satisfying. (Also, disclaimer, most of what I have in this post comes from this video from the Art of Manliness, so I’m not about to claim credit for any of this.)

1. Use precise measurements

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when going to a barber shop is telling the barber they want “a little bit off the top”, which every barber will interpret that differently. As in the AoM video, “one man’s trim is another man’s close shave.” So in order to make your cut more precise, or suited to your terms, tell them a specific measurement you want cut. Say something “two inches off the top”, or if you aren’t sure about how much you want cut, just let your barber know. He’ll just clip a little bit off, ask you if you like it, and if you don’t, he’ll clip off some more, simple as that.

2. Know some general styles

Obviously, with a haircut, there are a lot of different styles you can go for. With so many out there, just telling the barber a general you want a trim can be a bit confusing to them. Telling the barber you want a specific hairstyle can help ease that confusion. To give you an idea, I’ll give you a few visuals of the most popular men’s hairstyles. (And yes, I’ll be using a few celebrity pictures, bear with me.)

Crew Cut
Crew Cut (my typical cut)
High and Tight
High and Tight
Buzz Cut.png
Buzz Cut
Flat Top
Flat Top (think military haircut)

Also, keep in mind that these can come in various lengths, or you can even ask for a hybrid of styles. But just keep these in mind when talking to your barber. He’ll know what you’re talking about.

3. Show them a picture

This is honestly pretty simple. If you show your barber a picture of the haircut you want, they’ll be able to replicate it based on the picture. This worked very well for my last haircut. I just showed the barber a picture of my cousin who had gotten a similar haircut, and it turned out perfectly. There’s really not much else to say here.

4. Let your barber do his job

Now yes, you may have an idea of what you may want your hair to look like, but remember who the expert is: the barber. He will know what type of cut will work best with your head shape, neck thickness, etc. Plus, certain cuts will also look different depending hair or skin color. So, even if the barber may have different suggestions than what you might prefer, just hear him out and let him do his job. He’ll know what to do.

So there it is! Follow these steps, and your hair will be looking as spiffy as ever! Also, honorable mention here, keep going to the same barber. If you keep going to the same barber, he’ll get to know what style you usually like to get, a general idea of you head shape, and other details of the cut. Also, this post only covered the bare minimum of a haircut. The Art of Manliness video goes into much more detail about other aspects of the cut, so I would highly recommend watching that video too.  In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s post. Please be sure to share the post, follow the blog, and follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook and Instagram. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!

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Manly Skills

A Gentleman’s Guide to Prom Night

Afternoon gents! I know I said this in my last post, but I want to sincerely apologize for the lack of posts on the blog lately. I have been completely inundated with school work and music stuff (and possible Overwatch marathons) that I haven’t been able to do much of anything! However, I do intend to do a complete overhaul on the blog now, so starting next week, expect TWO (2) posts on the blog every week, one on Monday and one on Friday. If I have enough time in the coming weeks, I may add one more post on Wednesdays, add a new admin for the blog, and possibly bring periodic updates to the YouTube channel! And to all those who have been regularly viewing and reading my content, I would like to say a sincere “thank you.” So with that out of the way, let’s move on to the topic of today’s post before this turns into a novel!

So, for those of you who are unaware, the target audience for my blog and YouTube channel are young men either in or just coming out of high school. That’s around the time when I started reading content from Art of Manliness, and I feel that it’s a vulnerable time in any young man’s life where they could really benefit from the tips and pointers I offer. With that in mind, today I’m going to speak specifically to those young gents still in high school, giving you all the pointers you’ll need for a fun and successful prom night!

Remember that you don’t have to go

The first thing to remember is that you don’t even have to go to prom if you don’t want to! While your classmates may pressure you into thinking you have to go, it’s perfectly ok if you don’t want to go. And it can be for any reason. Whether you want to save money, you don’t have a date, or just simply don’t care, it is completely fine if you don’t want to go. Your classmates may pressure you a lot to go to prom, but at the end of the day, no one will care!

You don’t need a date

If you do decide to go prom, remember that you do not need a date. While it is highly encouraged, it is of course not necessary. During my junior and senior years of high school, my school even offered singles tickets for those students that either couldn’t find a date or didn’t want one. A lot of other schools are starting to do this too, but even if your school doesn’t, you could simply purchase a couple’s ticket for you and a buddy, if he also doesn’t have a date. So unless your school officials have been set back sixty years and think that a gay couple going to prom (which might not even be the case) is a problem, you should be set for prom even if you don’t have a date.

Coordinate your outfit with your date’s

If you don’t have a date, I suppose you can just stop here. But for those of you who have found a lovely lady (or gentleman if you’re gay, I don’t discriminate!) to spend your prom night with, pay attention! Now, it’s traditional that you and your date wear outfits with similar color schemes. For those of you who haven’t read my guide to the perfect suit or tuxedo, that could really come in handy for this, so I’ll include a link right here The Gentleman’s Guide to the Perfect Suit/Tuxedo

Now, with this in mind, just tell the tailor what colored accents you want to match your dates dress. Those accents will usually apply to your tie, vest, and pocket square. Sometimes, the color of the jacket and pants may also have to change from the traditional black. When I went to my senior ball, my date wore a navy blue dress, which both me and the tailor agreed didn’t blend well together with the traditional black, so we worked it out that the tux would be gray with navy blue accents to match her dress, and it looked great! It would be smart to show your tailor a picture of your date’s dress to give them an idea. So, be sure to coordinate with your date and your tailor to get yourself looking perfectly spiffy for your prom night!

Remember it’s a social event!

Now, all of my tips up to this point have applied before prom night even happens, but my last and possibly most important pointer applies to prom night itself. Now, yes, most of you will have a date and you’ll obviously want to spend a lot of your night with them. There’s no debate there, it’s just simple logic. But this doesn’t mean that 100% of your time at prom should be spent making lovey-dovey time with your date (especially if it’s a significant other). It’s meant to be a social event, spent between friends and classmates. The whole point of prom night is just to have fun, celebrate being young, and forget about the stresses of high school for a little bit. And while we’re on the subject, do not interpret an acceptance to prom as an acceptance to sex! I can’t believe I have to say this, but I’ve heard stories of students renting a room if prom was at a hotel, and girls being deflowered on prom night. That is not the point of prom at all. Just keep it in your pants, guys, as much as it pains me to have to say that.

 

So there we have it! Follow these tips and you’ll have a great prom night! If there happen to be any ladies reading this and would also like some help with prep for prom, my friend Sara has a tutorial on her YouTube channel, showing how you can get a great look with cheap drugstore makeup, which I put a link to right here https://youtu.be/CUy8aMXzL7w

If there are any other prom tips that I missed, please be sure to leave your comments down below, and also be sure to share the post and follow the blog! Be sure to suggest topics for future posts either in the comments, or send an email to the blog which can be found on the homepage! Have fun at prom gents, and until next time, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s guide! 🙂

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Manly Skills

A Gentleman’s Guide to Proper Dining Etiquette

Evening gents, welcome back to The Young Gentleman’s Guide! Now, we’ve all gone to eat at  someone else’s house or at a restaurant before (like a real, sit-down restaurant, not a fast food  place). And I would hope that you try to keep proper table manners and common decency in mind, because they do in fact still apply past your days as a kid when your mom asked you to keep your elbows off the table. By doing that, you’ll create a much more positive self-image for your hosts, show respect to them, and it will overall make your dining experience all the more enjoyable (especially if you’re on a dinner date, fellas). So just in case you don’t keep table manners in mind for any reason, today, I’m going to give you five (5) easy steps to improving your dining etiquette.

1. When do you start eating?

This can be a difficult question to answer. Most people will say to start eating when other people do, but that can be a bit hard to gauge. I was always taught to wait until everyone has their food served to them. However, it may take a while to get for everyone to get their food, especially if you have a large group. So a good rule to follow is that if hot food is being served, if at least two (2) people are seated and served, then you can start eating, provided you yourself have been served. Of course, this is all assuming you’re eating in a group larger than four (4). If your group is four (4) or fewer, just wait for everyone to be served. In general, you do not want to be  the only person eating, but you also want to eat hot food while it’s still hot.

2. Mind your elbows

This is a simple rule. You should not put your elbows on the table while in the middle of the meal is NOT ALLOWED! It’s simply improper, plus you’ll run the risk  of getting a stain on your shirt (if  you’re wearing long sleeves, that is). However, it is perfectly ok to put your elbows on the table in between courses or during coffee is perfectly okay. It’s only when there’s food on the table that you should keep your elbows off the table. That actually brings me to my next rule.

3. Do not reach

Whether you’re eating at a restaurant or at someone’s house, there is likely to a large spread of food across the table. So there might be something you’d like to eat that’s halfway across the table. With that in mind, how should you go about obtaining that item? It’s fairly simple. If you have to reach across the table, meaning you have to get up out of your seat to get it, don’t even bother. Simply ask someone else at the table to pass it over to you. Simple as that

4. Bring the food to you; don’t bring yourself to the food

Let’s face it, we’re guys. Our natural instinct is to shovel food into our face like an animal. This is fine if you’re eating by yourself in the privacy of your own home, but if you’re out eating with someone, you’ll want to make a good impression on whoever you’re eating with. It could be family, a co-worker, or a lady friend. So if you want to leave said impression, it would be smart to not eat like an animal. A couple of good general rules is that you should not put as much food on your fork or spoon as you possibly can and to let the food to travel at least a good ten inches to your mouth.

5. Put the phone away!

It always surprises me how often I sit down at a dinner table and see so many people glued to their phones, as if they’ve forgotten what the purpose of going out to dinner is! The whole point of going out to dinner is to interact and socialize with whoever you’re eating with. And just like I said earlier, you’ll want to leave a positive impression the host, whether it be your boss, your family member you haven’t seen  in a long time, or your date. So in order to avoid making things awkward and leaving other diners feeling offended, just turn your phone off. You’ll be fine without having to check Facebook or Instagram for an hour or two.

So there we go! Follow these simple steps, and you’ll end up leaving a very nice and positive impression on your dinner hosts. As a result, they might invite you to even more dinner plans! Thank you all so much for checking in on The Young Gentleman’s Guide. Please comment down below if there are other ways to improve your dining etiquette that I missed, and be sure to follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook and Twitter. We have a pretty big announcement coming in the next few days, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. But until next time, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide signing out!

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How to Date

Afternoon gents! So, I recently read an article from the Odyssey Online called “Why We Need To Start Dating Again.” It was a fantastic article which I’ll include a link to right here

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/miami/why-we-need-start-dating-again/105125

After reading that, I instantly knew it had to become a post on the blog. So today, I’m going to give you four (4) easy steps on how to date more properly. Now, for those of you who saw the video on my YouTube channel about ways to improve your first date, some of those things may apply to this post as well. So without any further ado, let’s start the list!

1. Ask her out in person

Now this applies before the date even starts. Now, in today’s increasingly digital age, it’s easy to just ask the girl you like out on a date over text message, Facebook Message, Snapchat, etc. And it’s because of this that asking someone out to their face is practically unheard of nowadays. But there is a huge problem with this. Without that direct channel,  you won’t be able to see her reaction to your proposition! Whether she’s single, taken, or just not currently interested in dating, she will, more often than not, be extremely flattered that you want to date her. And I get it, it can be extremely nerve-wracking, but the worst she can say is no. It’s not the end of the world if she doesn’t want to go out with you. It’s not like she’ll never want to speak to you again, she just doesn’t have those same feelings that you have. (On that note, there’s no such thing as the fabled “friend zone. If she doesn’t want to go out with you, just leave it at that.)

2. Set a time and stick to it

More often that not, all you hear about when someone goes on a date is that the person’s date was late either to meet them at the place or to pick them up (and yes, being “fashionably late”, whatever that means, still counts) . This is a problem not only with dating today, but with people in general. People don’t seem to value punctuality as much as they used to. The best thing when you ask someone out, hopefully in person like I mentioned earlier, you two should establish a time either to meet at wherever you two are planning to go, or for one of you to pick the other one up. You’ll just be asking for trouble if you can’t show up on time.

3. If you pick her up, go to her front door

We’ve all experienced it; someone picking someone else  up at their house and them just texting them saying “I’m here.” To those people, I have to ask: what’s wrong with going to their front door? It’s a great way to leave an impression on your date, and it could even be a way to introduce yourself to your date’s parents. Again,  I understand. It can be incredibly nerve-wracking, and it could be incredibly awkward, but it’s not the end of the world. So one small aspect of the date is kind of awkward. So what? It’s a date, it’s inevitable that not everything will exactly as planned. Just continue with the date and have fun!

4. Keep conversation colloquial

Up until now, all these tips apply before the actual date starts. But now that you’re out on the date, you need to keep your date engaged while you’re out. Obviously, you’ll have a conversation while you guys are out, but you need to keep what you’re talking about appropriate. You’ll clearly want to avoid any sensitive or controversial topics such as religion or politics, unless you two share similar views on such things, but for the most part, it should be avoided. Just keep things simple; if you guys are both in school, talk to each other about what you’re studying or what classes you’re taking. If you’re both working, talk about your jobs, what you do, or what your schedules look like (which could really help in setting up future dates). Those are just a few examples though. You could talk about your families, your hobbies, your favorite movies, etc. Again, anything except religion and politics.

So there you go! Follow these four (4) steps, and you’ll be on your way to a great date! Don’t worry if things get awkward, just keep it natural and enjoy each other’s company. If you follow these steps, things should go really well between you and your lady friend, and you could even have more dates in the future!

Be sure to follow me on social media and let me know how any of your dates go following these tips. Until next time, this is Max from Men in the Making, and I’ll see you next time!