Trends come and go and it’s easy to get caught in the tide of the newest craze. (Chubby guys and skin-tight skinny jeans are not a good combo) Having a strong personal style can help you avoid common pitfalls but it’s something that takes time and attention. The best way to achieve a strong personal style is to have specific rules that guide you like a fashion moral compass. I decided to share my own personal style rules so you can see what such a thing looks like. However let me make it absolutely clear that these are not rules everyone should follow. These are the choices that work best for me and your own list will probably look very different. The point is to think about your own style do’s and don’ts. What colors look bad with your skin tone? Are you a hat person? Do you hate your legs so much that you still wear pants in 100 degree heat?

1. Brand Logos Are Tacky. A brand logo is advertising for that company and I refuse to be their walking billboard. Sports companies like Nike are well-known for plastering their logo over everything they sell. Even high-end brands like Louis Vuitton tend toward tacky with their logo obsessed purses. Because I am super selective the only logos you’ll ever see me wear are Ralph Lauren (and all sub-brands), the American Eagle eagle, and the Adidas triple stripe.

2. Patchwork Madras is a Summer Staple. This is a good example of not being too concerned with trends. I LOVE anything that is patchwork madras and I don’t care if it’s on trend or not for the season. No matter what fashion experts say, I’m going to rock madras every year as soon as the sun starts to shine. Over the years I’ve owned patchwork madras shoes, shorts, a wallet, a bag, and quilt for my bed.

3. No Henleys. I’m not against them in theory but they don’t look right on me. I think my neck proportion is off and therefore the buttons look out-of-place.

4. Ties are a problem. My neck is large and disproportionate to the rest of my body. Therefore wearing a tie is a problem. A shirt that fits my neck it’s often a circus tent and when the shirts fits my body there is no hope of buttoning my top collar button.

5. No Leather sandals. This one is tough to explain other than to say I just simply hate them. They make me gag.

6. Color! I hate wearing anything solid black. This goes mainly for tops and pants but truth be told I’m not a huge fan of black shoes either. I’ll even say no to a creative graphic on a black shirt. I choose navy and gray as my neutral bases. I also tend to gravitate away from white shirts however white pants, shorts, and shoes are acceptable. In all cases I’ll choose the color option every time.

7. Crew Neck= Yes. V-Neck= No. When it comes to tee-shirts, I try to always stick with crew necks. For some reason v-necks always look sloppy on me and I feel like I’m wearing hospital scrubs.

8. Kill Vacation Souvenir Clothing. This referrers to clothing that announces where you went on vacation in huge block letters. Picture all those sweatshirts that have Provincetown emblazoned across the chest. One of the best observations I ever heard was “You always know a guy has a partner when you see him wearing a P-town sweatshirt.” P-Town isn’t the only perpetrator. There is a special place in hell for all the Disney theme park clothing that is worn in everyday life. It’s all hideous but what’s worse is that you know the person spent a fortune on it because we all know Disney= overpriced.

9. Graphic Glory. While I don’t like brand logos on my shirts, every tee needs some sort of graphic. Whether it’s a funny saying or a picture of a sassy hippo, I only like tees with a design on them. I’ve tried to go outside of my box and buy a solid color shirt but they end up just gathering dust in my closet. When I do wear solids it’s often a ringer tee. I love me some ringer tees.

10. Just Say No to Black Jeans. Black denim makes me think of horrible things. You know that drunk angry guy who is beating his wife with a wife beater on? Guess what he’s also wearing black jeans. Rock stars are the only people who have a chance of pulling this look off but even they end up looking dirty.