I think I figured it out.  As a big fan of fashion and clothing, I like to look at the way people dress and I love to tear it down and figure out what I like about it.  After years of doing this, I have come across the one thing that I believe to be the deciding factor between whether I approve or reject an outfit when I see it.  The Jason Lee, Live SEXY, secret to dressing in public is effort.

A little anticlimactic I know but it gets better and more complicated, I promise.

I’ve said it before a million times, wear what is physically and mentally comfortable, and so you must wonder what the hell happened to that.  Well, think about it like this, comfort is your primary concern in the choosing of pieces to wear.  Your attention to effort is in the application.  What I mean is that you don’t want to look like you slapped something on, an you don’t want to look like you spent forever figuring something out.  Just bear with me and you’ll get it.

I guess the easiest way to do this would be to describe people who do it wrong. So let’s analyze the extremes.

People who try too hard

You know exactly what I’m talking about.  You see these men and women dressed in things that may be similar to things you own, but the look seems contrived, unnatural.  These same people wear things that are almost like the things in your sexy closet but are just slightly off.  So, while you look beautiful or handsome, these others look annoying, confused, aggressive and obscene.  See, they’re trying to hard, or at least it looks like they are.  That’s a important point.  No matter how hard you are actually trying, if you look like you’re trying too hard, there’s no difference. Things that can make you look like you’re trying too hard include:

• obsessive color coordination
• over-dressing for your situation
• too much make-up or hair product
• over-accessorizing
• generally dressing too damn loud

People who don’t try hard enough

The other end of the spectrum looks just as bad.  It may actually be even worse because while you may not annoy people with your look, you may turn people away because you just look dirty and slobbish.  The best example of people who don’t try hard enough is the guy or girl who goes to class in a loose t-shirt and sweatpants, who looks like their shower is being seriously underutilized.  Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothign wrong with bumming it, but  there’s a right and wrong way to do it.  For instance, a pair of glasses (if you normally wear contacts) is a great way to excuse your look.  You just look like you had a long night in the library and you didn’t have time to get ready.  Now, if you’re going to dress like that to class, at least make sure you shower ( and dry off, wet shower hair looks slobby when you’re dressed like this) and do something about your hair.  For girls, a simple ponytail or whatever, done neatly can also save this look.  Things that make you look like you’re not trying hard enough include:

• greasy hair
• dirty clothes
• clothes that fit just TOO loosely
• mixing bum clothes with nice clothes or accessories

You’re effort is Just Right

So, what have we learned?  You need to choose and buy clothing that you are comfortable with, but keep your mind open and experiment in the dressing room a bit.  When you dress yourself, don’t try too hard and don’t just throw some stuff together.  Try as hard as the people who look like they’re trying too hard, just don’t look like them.  It’s sort of difficult to describe what the right amount of effort is, but hopefully with the previous examples, you’ll be able to figure it out yourself.  It’s especially difficult because this does not exclude any look that you may go for.  Whatever your personal style may be, try just enough, or at least look like it, and walk around confident in the fact that you LIVE SEXY.