Ask Captain Dapper: How Do I Craft a New Look for Myself? Advice for a Reader Who Wants to Find His Inner Captain Dapper

When Captain Dapper says he's on a mission to make everything a little more stylish, he means it.

I often field questions from friends and strangers alike who want to know how they can overhaul a look. Or from folks who are looking for ideas to style to their home. Enter Ask Captain Dapper - a new post that will answer reader questions. The first question comes from a reader who wants to know how he can make his own life a little more dapper.

Dear Captain Dapper: 

I'm at a strange crossroads where I recently relocated to a new city for work, bought property and for the first time in my life feel like I'm ready for an overhaul. I'd like to swap some threads and trick out a space that right now looks like a mental institution with its white walls and little furniture?

I don't have a job that allows me the time to pour over websites finding perfect pieces as fast as I'd like and I also am a little more thrifty now that a bank let me purchase a condo!

Any advice you can give to someone who recognizes there's a need to shape things up but doesn't yet know where to start/find inspiration/chart out a course would be wonderful! I'm a pretty immediate guy, and I imagine stepping back, taking a breath and realizing like Rome I won't be built (or rebuilt) in a day. But I don't even know where to begin and where one finds the ability to patiently build on this idea of Captain Dapper that really resonates with me. 

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

A Dapper Neophyte

Dear Mr. Neophyte,

First of all, congratulations! The first step in creating a more dapper style is recognizing that you want it. It's a lot like addiction in that way. Captain Dapper has the advantage of having been born with an eye for fashion and design and yet it has taken years of experimentation and growth to become the style icon he is today. You know what? It's because you're right - Rome wasn't built in a day. And that's OK. Life is a process.

You are about to take a style journey, Dapper Neophyte. Some roads along your sojourn will be straight and narrow. You may find a look that suits you and your body type right away. But other roads will be long and winding. You may start down a path with a particular look and quickly realize it's not for you. Don't be afraid to hang a U-turn if that happens.

Here are a few tips for crafting, creating and sourcing a new look:

• Out with the old. Start where you can - by cleaning out your closet. Purge anything you don't like. Don't be afraid to live with just a few pieces in the meantime. It's better to have a few pieces you love than a whole wardrobe of pieces you hate. 
• Create a few Pinterest boards. Find you own style icons, the people who have looks that you'd like to emulate. Now, be sure to pay attention to body types here. While I'd love to look like Ben Affleck, I'm actually more of a Neil Patrick Harris. 
• Shop one day a week. Take a couple of hours after work or on a weekend to visit the stores that sell the styles you like. If you see things you like but can't afford, be patient and wait for them to go on sale. 
• Talk to other stylish folks. You know that dude you see on the train who has some mad style? Talk to him. Ask him where he got his shoes. Finding your style involves more than learning about yourself - you need to learn about others as well. 
• Be patient. Yeah, it would be great if we all had unlimited incomes that allowed us to completely overhaul our homes and wardrobes on a whim. But we don't. Pick up a few things at a time and be willing to wait for the things you love instead of filling in voids with things you only kinda, sorta like. 

Good luck on finding your new look!

Have a question for Captain Dapper? Email it to him! 

Image: Jason Loper