Megan K. Collins

I have a friend who won’t stop talking about his new Dyson vacuum cleaner. “It runs so smoothly, Megan!” he enthuses. “Look at that ball joint. This thing turns on a dime!“ “I don’t even need to put it in a broom closet, it’s so sleek!” He speaks in reverent, hushed tones, usually reserved for a Monet painting or $1,000 bottle of wine.

I sometimes get asked why I don’t write more often about sales, alerting readers to the latest and greatest steals both in this column and on my website (www.stylegirlfriend.com). A recent commenter said, “These posts are great and all, and I enjoy finding out about new places to get clothes…but everything is at full retail cost. In my opinion (and probably many other guys’), paying full price for clothes is a waste of money.”

I hear from a lot of guys who want to start dressing better; they’re just not sure where to start. These men don’t want to go from zero to Fashion Week’s front row overnight with a complete closet overhaul, but they realize that what’s in their wardrobe is no longer working. So how can you start dressing better without your friends and family thinking you sneaked off to appear on one of those cable makeover shows?

On Style Girlfriend, I’m usually discussing all the ways guys can improve their look – tips, tricks and shortcuts to becoming a more stylish man. Maybe it’s time to take a step back to remind ourselves, why all the fuss? After all, dressing well takes more effort. To arguments of, “But my jeans are so comfortable!” and “No one dresses up anymore!” I say: Sure, your broken-in jeans feel good, but so does the feeling of admiring glances when you wear a suit cut just so for your body. As for Casual Friday stretching into Casual Everyday, I ask: Why go along with the herd? It’s more fun to be a well-dressed leader than part of the poorly dressed pack.

Sometimes, a stylish look is as much about what you don’t see as what you do.

One of the reasons I like talking about guys’ style is that, a lot of the time, I think like a guy myself. Take shopping. A Saturday afternoon spent wandering the mall in search of socks and a new pair of jeans is not a Saturday afternoon well-spent in my book. Thankfully for the fellas, a few services have sprung up to remove the searching – even the thinking! – from the shopping process. All with just the click of a few buttons (and in one case, a Skype chat). If you’re interested in outsourcing the process of getting dressed in the morning, read on to find out how these companies are helping guys minimize their mall walking:

This week, we’re talking about the connection between activewear and an active romantic life for guys.

In the past few years, grooming has become an equal opportunity exercise in vanity. Thanks to the pioneering steps of the metrosexual; it’s now OK for a guy to be more concerned - and proactive - about his appearance.

It’s not often that an article of clothing incurs my wrath. I want guys to feel encouraged to test drive different trends and styles, not scared away from trying them.

Seventeen months.