10 Things Menswear Nerds Are Obsessed With

Going sockless is a habit of a true menswear nerd. Sneakerheads rack up on white athletic socks, and go as far as purchasing sneaker shields to prevent their toeboxes from creasing. It couldn't be more different for dudes who prefer to step out in hardbottoms. No socks? No problem. When paired with pants that have no break, you've got 50% of the standard menswear nerd uniform. And here's the thing—the wooden shoe trees they put in their kicks after each wear actually kill the odors.

To regular people, "canvassing" means going door-to-door asking strangers for donations to your cause. For suiting geeks, it refers to the layer of horsehair that allows a suit jacket to mold to your torso over time. Done by hand, it's a painstaking detail that sets a great suit miles apart from its factory made, fused counterparts. Fused suits are essentially glued together, and don't hold up as well over multiple wears. Plus, aficionados tend to care more about fabrics and details like Loro Piana wool and functional button cuffs.

Most guys who ever set foot in a tailor shop trust that he or she will give them good advice about how the hem of a pant should fall or how much cuff should show under a suit jacket. Unfortunately, they're wrong. Men's clothing nerds know that a good tailor can often cost a pretty penny, but you can also get a decent job done by standing your ground and letting them know who's boss. Just because a tailor's tastes are different from yours doesn't mean you should let them do what they want—then you'll end up paying for work you didn't want done in the first place.

Guys who pay attention to menswear know that great clothes have literally been made for centuries—you just have to know who made them. Thrift stores are a great place to come up on vintage finds from Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, Red Wing, Pendleton, and Alden. Of course, real dealhunters will scout out thrift stores in neighborhoods with an older, richer, demographic. That increases your chances of finding gently used Brooks Brothers oxfords and J. Press ties rather than racks on racks of stained Fruit of the Loom T-shirts.

Most guys have no idea what it means when something "fits." They just know if something feels "too tight"—which generally means fabric is tugging at their body in some way, shape, or form. That's why many guys end up wearing a size or two too big—especially when it comes to tailored clothing. It's all about finding a blanace between what feels good and what looks good on you, and for a seasoned menswear pro, it comes down to tiny fractions of an inch to get there.

To most of the buying public, price matters more than a piece's origin. Made in Italy? Made in USA? They don't care unless it's priced fairly. But, to the average reader of A Continuous Lean or Well-Spent, "fair" is pretty relative. $500 for a shoe made in Massachusetts instead of China could seem "fair" to an Americana enthusiast, but $500 is still $500 to the guy who'd rather spend that on an iPad mini.

A break is the length of the pants to wear the cuffs meet the shoe. Most menswear die-hards currently prefer to minimize that distance as much as possible, resulting in a cleaner silhouette because there's almost no bunched up fabric stacking at the bottom. This can also be achieved by cuffing your pants, but most dudes will still try to call you out for rocking perceived high-waters. Joke's on them though—they're the ones dressed like fools.

Brunello Cucinelli, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, White Mountaineering, Finamore, Visvim. What do these labels have in common? Most of their wares are waaayy out of the average guy's price range. Thousands of dollars for a pair of pants? A month's rent for a pair of shoes? It's safe to say there are plenty of men not willing or able to drop that kind of dough. And to be honest, neither can most menswear nerds. That doesn't mean they don't know how to appreciate aspiration though. On the flipside, should they be able to come up on something at a sample sale or get a good deal, that means they'll appreciate it even more. Regular dudes? One look at a price tag is a huge FOH.

In the world of women's wear, trends are the name of the game. Alexander Wang makes military jackets with leather sleeves? So does Zara and H&M. Isabel Marant makes sneakers with heels? Watch out for interpretations from Nike and adidas. Women will cop a similar version of a piece, but diehard menswear fanatics know there's nothing like the real thing. Just like a sneakerhead won't ever step foot into a pair of fakes or a colorway that isn't exactly right, so too goes the menswear nerd. Why else do you think a Jil Sander whale sweater would be so high in demand? Hype springs eternal.

If you roll up to a party in a shirt and tie, whether it's a swanky dinner or a raging kegger, chances are most people will ask you where the wedding is. They say you should dress like you're headed somewhere better, and the menswear nerd is perpetually heading to class at some school that is probably referred to as an "academy"—or the set of "Mad Men." Whatever, he doesn't care. That's the beauty of dressing nice—you can pretend like you forgot the fact that you managed to stunt on everyone and act like it isn't a huge deal. "Oh this outfit? I just woke up this way."