Following up my Fashion Every Geek Should Have post, I decided to take the opposite route and help rid geeks of some fashion faux pas you might realize you’re committing.  Here are the biggest violations of true Geek Chic.

Cell phone on the belt

Popular among BlackBerry enthusiasts and other techies who are trying too hard to pretend their phone is a tricorder.  Even the most fabulous phones, even your darling iPhone, should be heard but not seen.  And frankly, I don’t even want to hear it.  Keep your phone in your pocket or bag when it’s not in use.

Clothing that doesn’t fit

I worked for a week at Express (oh college) and had to convince many skinny guys under 6′ that they weren’t largest.  To get them to wear a medium was a challenge even though it looked much better.  Even if you don’t have a great body, clothing should fit you.  For skinny geeks, wear smalls or, occasionally mediums.  The slimmer fits make the clothing look more stylish even if you aren’t at the forefront of fashion.  And if you are large, find clothes that help your body image like vertical stripes and darker colors which have slimming effects.

Inappropriately worn geek fashion

I’m a big advocate for wearing comic book and video game shirts when appropriate.  Clothing professing your love for Spider-Man and Batman are fun and personable, but can also be off putting in the wrong setting.  Make sure you wear these shirts to fun, casual events paired with something more serious like a sport jacket or sweater to show you’re styling, not just slumming.  And make sure the shirt fits!

Avoid shorts

Unless you have calves to make David Beckham jealous, don’t wear shorts.  Your legs will look almost as stupid as mine.  If you can’t take the heat, try khakis shorts over jeans.  They legitimize the silliness a little.

This does not apply to girls, I will note.

Glasses too big for your face

Sleek and slender doesn’t just apply to polos and mini-skirts - it even applies to glasses. Check out Prodigeek’s look at Geek Chic Glasses and you get the idea that the glasses your grandparents and parent wore at out and cool, clean frames are in.  Even those like me with window pane sized lens can find smaller frames to compliment the shape of our faces.  And if you’re really struggling, spring for contact lens.