By Dylan Jones, appearing in The London Independent

The world is full of so-called style gurus these days, and everyone's an expert on some aspect of modern life, whether it's fashion, food, sex, interior design, whatever. But where fashion is concerned, salient information seems hard to come by' these experts either expect you to look like a Regency dandy, or the star of a reality TV show. There is either a rule book that reads like it was written in the 18th century, or one that looks like it was scribbled on the back of a drug dealer's business card about five minutes ago.

For men, dressing well is essentially about good taste and common sense. To wit: "You'll always need a pair of jeans, preferably Levi's, and preferably 501s. They should be dark, fit like well-cut trousers, and have no holes or loose bits of thread." "Now that we're not wearing ties so much any more, take more care with your pocket square, the handkerchief you put in your breast pocket. Like your shirt, it will become the focus of the top part of your body." "Never have more than two pleats either side of your fly-front." "The better the jacket, the more casually it can be worn." "It's fine to wear a thin, V-neck cashmere sweater under your jacket." "Only medievalists wear sock garters." "Don't wear tone-on-tone shirts and ties. If you do, you'll look like a pundit on Sky Sports." "Only wear boots for practical reasons." "Wearing trainers with a suit will not make you look younger, only like a stand-up comedian." "Colour is over-rated: stick to a classic palette of ink- navy, charcoal grey, white, pale pink, black, chocolate brown and camel. And never use the word palette." "When buying a leather jacket, always buy the one with the snuggest fit. That way, you'll look cool. If you buy it too big, you'll look like an Eastern European cab driver."

Look at it this way. A classic principle of drama going back to Aristotle states that if you take all the characters of a play and roll them together into one person, you end up with a profile of the author. Well, think the same about your wardrobe.