“What are you dressed up for today?,” the inevitable question that comes your way every time you put some extra effort into the way you look. A majority of guys' answers are simply “I have an interview” or “I’m going to a formal dinner”. Not very many men today are comfortable with dressing nicely without a good reason because our generation has deemed it unacceptable.

There was a time when it was not only socially acceptable to dress nicely, it was expected. Let’s take a peek at the history of men’s fashion from the 20th century. The early to mid 20th century, practically every man owned a suit. Men casually wore suits during the day, just as they would on nights out on the town. In today’s day and age, if a man wears a suit without good reason, he is considered to be “frat” or worse, a f- - -boy (a topic for another day).

The designs from the early to mid 1900s are still prevalent in modern high end men’s fashion. The winged-tip oxford shoe, the notched lapel jacket and the classic three-piece suits, all originated in this era and are still widely popular among fashionable men today.

Now, let’s look at two different men in a hypothetical scenario: Bob is a computer whiz whose wardrobe consists entirely of graphic t-shirts, jeans and some sneakers; John is an ambitious entrepreneur whose wardrobe is prominently made of dress shirts, ties, two-piece suits, chinos and quality dress shoes. Which man is going to make more professional connections that may help him expand his horizons? If that’s not enough motivation to dress like a gentleman, I hear the ladies love a guy in a suit, too.

Don’t be afraid to dress it up every now and then. You don't need to wear a suit every day, but I do think you should switch out that Elmo t-shirt for a nice button-down. Not only will you look great, you will feel better about yourself and boost your confidence. And in the end, isn’t that what we all want? Confidence is sexy.