To get it out of the way, yes, I did study abroad in Italy and now have a renewed love for Button Downs.  And yes, I am that guy that does not shut up about his time abroad and will continue to not shut up about it.

During my time studying abroad, I wore more and more button downs.  While this was because of European fashion generally being a bit more “nicer” than the average American, I also began to really like Button downs as just an individual piece of clothing.  To me, they are a great middle ground between looking nice and feeling comfortable.  There are a lot of ways to dress down a button down.  I would suggest to never fully button up the shirt.  To me, it looks a bit dorky and too Disney channel.  Also, when it is a bit warmer out, roll up the sleeves,  Again, it makes it look more casual, while still looking nice.  

I think Americans in general could learn a thing or two from European’s fashion.  No matter what they are doing, I would say the average European is almost always more dressed up than the average American.  Europeans embrace the button down, a nice Chino, and a nice jacket.  As for Jackets Americans could also learn a lot from Europeans (especially Italians).  No matter where I was in Europe, I always saw stylish jackets that looked a bit nicer than what we see in America.  

 While yes, sweatpants and hoodies are great (I am wearing sweatpants and a hoodie as I write this), “dressier” clothes are great too!  And again, there are many ways of dressing down nice clothes such as rolling up the sleeves, wearing jeans with a button down, and undoing the first few buttons of a shirt.  

If any of you are looking for inspiration when trying to dress down nicer clothes, I would look up Albert Muzquiz.  He is on TikTok and Instagram and has some amazing fits.  He does a great job of balancing looking nice while also looking casual.  He also has some great advice on where to find nice button downs, pants, and jackets.  He inspired me to look to Ebay for clothes.  So far, I have found a lot of nice clothes on Ebay while also being reasonably priced.  Look to Albert and Ebay for inspiration and put down the sweatpants and hoodie!