Date Night China: Men’s Guide to Dressing for Winter

This article comes from Date Night China (WeChat ID: datenightchina), your guide to dating in China, from love to lust, first dates to worst dates, hilarious stories, and top tips to avoid (or steer into) disaster. Single in the city? Season 2 of their podcast is out now. To connect with others in the DNC community, add co-host Rachel to join their WeChat group: rachelweiss22

If you live in North China, you may have just gone through a sudden and very dramatic break-up with your summer wardrobe. Personally, I think autumn is the sweet spot in rocking out the best outfits for guys. A t-shirt and a light jacket, from zip-up hoodie to leather jacket, can look cool AF. Alas, RIP the light-jacket days, because now we’re balls-deep in winter!

I’m writing this because I’m worried about the guys that are certain their summer t-shirts and a big winter coat are all they need when it comes to looking good. Since the summer, Date Night China has run several events where we’ve had a surprising number of guys be flummoxed as to what to wear. Be it a casual affair or a fancy cocktail bar formal, guys typically are not sure how to dress. It’s ironic for guys to be so stumped at this hurdle because guys are fortunate to just get away with a nice ironed shirt and some jeans – that combination will see you through many scenarios. 

But guys needn’t be so passive when it comes to their fashion choices. You can take control and make some simple choices to look sharp for any occasion: work-casual, coffee date, dinner date, club night, poker with the lads… 

Here are some style combinations that are perfect for the guy who’s looking to upgrade his winter wardrobe.

Color

Let’s start on the basics: understand the color palette of the season. The colors of the season don’t change and once understood, help you make solid choices on how to stand out in a crowd. It’s not as easy to say “in winter wear black or blue and in summer wear white or light colors”. It’s broadly true i.e. in spring, light and bright colors work really well, Summer allows you to go for cooler colors, like pastel hues. 

Autumn starts to get really rich, so now we’re talking a burnt orange jumper with some black jeans or a forest green shirt with some navy blue jeans or burgundy chinos. 

Winter, you can offset some black jeans with a deep purple cardigan or a checkered shirt and that’s enough. In fact, winter is a great time to experiment with different shades of grey, i.e. light grey pants, darker grey cardigan or sweater, white shirt underneath, black scarf, and black overcoat. But, you don’t want to be too monochrome – I personally think it’s a little lazy. 

Jumpers A.K.A. Sweater

I’m British, so to me, it’s a jumper but I know it’s widely accepted as a “sweater” so I will refer to it as such. Damn yankee-doodles. 

Know this, the sweater is your friend. You can rock so many different looks with a good sweater or cardigan, especially when you’re mixing with different color pants (blue and black jeans is enough for a fair range of variety), and then mix with some sneakers or shoes. Consider the sweater/cardigan as a “feature piece” to your outfit. 

The jeans and shoes may be standard, but a vivid colored sweater can make you stand out. For me, different colored sweaters reflect my mood. Different cardigans reflect my attitude towards my day. 

If this is too simple for you, try to experiment with complementary accessories like a beanie hat or a scarf. Confused as to what colors work? Look at the color charts above. 

Pants

This part is real easy: blue jeans, black jeans, and two different-colored chinos. Now, chinos aren’t, as some people may say “Khakis”: 

• Khakis are thick, straight-legged, and typically pleated (although plain fronts are available from most brands these days). They have cuffs at the bottom hems.

• Chinos are lightweight, tapered so that they narrow as they go lower on the leg, and can be either cuffed or uncuffed. They are generally flat-fronted.

• Both styles are made from cotton twill and are traditionally dyed somewhere between a very pale cream color and a dark tan.

Chinos tend to be more fitted and you can dress them down with some dark trainers and a sweater, or dress them up with some shoes and a sports jacket. Furthermore, a good pair of chinos are universally great any season because they compliment the brighter colors you wear. 

Shoes

Some people say the first thing that women look at it is a man’s shoes. If that’s the case… you ugly. Ha! Jokes. I don’t know If they do, but it’s good to have a few different types for variety. In winter, it can be fairly easy for guys. Buy a good boot (possibly dark tan or black), have a nice pair of black Oxford’s or Derby’s, and then a dark down brogue. 

Along with that, I would generally choose a trainer that can provide a little lift to the colors of your wardrobe. A simple white trainer, or color trainer with a white sole can look quite sharp. 

Hair & Beard

Living through COVID-19 in China saw a lot of people having to deal with minimal or infrequent access to their hairdressers. 

For the first time in 13 years, I have longish hair and I am still navigating the pitfalls of trying to look presentable each and every day. I don’t have much advice to offer about hair other than this: Every day I look in the mirror and ask myself, “Do I look homeless or eccentric?” If I look homeless I wear a hat. 

As for beards – trim it, buy some beard oil because it keeps your hair looking silky smooth and it acts as a natural barrier to food grease and crumbs. Also, beard oil stops your beard from flaking dandruff when you stroke it. 

Cologne 

Buy some. If you don’t have any and think your Lynx or Right Guard body spray is enough, please let me tell you bro… it isn’t. Go for one of the known brands, it can be quite pricey but it lasts, you only need a little. 

Ideally, men should apply their cologne to the pulse points or warmest areas of their bodies. Thanks to their heat, these areas, mainly the neck and wrists, can project scent more efficiently, meaning that less fragrance is required. 

It’s a good confidence boost because people generally tell you when you smell nice. On a budget? Sometimes places like Abercrombie and Fitch, Zara, or even UNIQLO have some really masculine aromas on offer. 

I hope this helps some guys look at their current wardrobe with a little more scrutiny. As always, we’d love to have you write in to tell us what you think. Finally, my wild card piece of advice… 

It is always, always, always acceptable to wear an obnoxious Christmas sweater until Jan 6. 

Happy Shopping! 

READ: Date Night China: Finding A Trans Community in Beijing

Images: Quinten149 (via Unsplash), DNC Podcast