Cartoon characters are cool. And showing off your favorite characters should be just as cool. Unfortunately, wearing a Mickey Mouse or Spider-Man shirt can look nerdy or immature. There are solutions. You can wear Bugs and Daffy to the bar at night or to the bookstore on the weekend. There are ways that you can wear your cartoon bearing shirts and still be a fashion hero.

Body rules

You do not need huge muscles; the shirt should fit snuggly with a nice taper. If the smallest adult size is too large for you, try wearing boy’s or young adult size shirts, which also feature more characters. If you have huge pecks, fashion-wise, you can get away with just about anything.

Dressing up

Sport jackets make the young dignified, the casual mature, and the silly stylish. The sport jacket balances your immature cartoon character with elegance, negating each other. The end result looks cool and smooth.

For matching, work with the color of the shirt instead of the colors in the character. Most shirts work with a black or preferably dark charcoal jacket. With blue shirts, try a gray sport jacket for variation. Black shirts are harder. Gray can work, but the fashion forward might want to try a white jacket, possibly even with some texturing.

Zip ups

Also known as “Gay It Up,” zip-up hoodies validate your nerdy shirt by transposing it to a gay shirt. Often, one might mistake a nerd for a homosexual, so it is a fine line. Zip-ups allow for more variation and more casualness. Certainly you can wear a sport jacket over your zip-up, but I’ll stick with zip-ups alone for now.

Using the same color contrast as the sport jackets, zip-ups are less expensive and you’re more likely to own a white one. Test the height of your zipper for your shirts, depending on the placement of the character. Usually, I will zip to just above my stomach, slightly covering the emblem. I find the affect is lost by keeping the zip-up open.

For a unique example, picture the a Punisher shirt with the white skull embalm on a black shirt. Put on an off-white, light cream zip-up hoddie and zip it just over your stomach. All of sudden, the most macho super-hero is wearing a cardigan. You’re fashionable and funny.

Editing

Funny and dirty shirts work without aids. Cartoon characters do not. So why not make your cartoon characters funny or dirty. Now this is extremely difficult, not for the fashion, but for the writing. With a computer, printer, and iron-on labels, you can edit your cartoon shirts with dialogue and explanations (Note: there are two different kinds of iron-ons - light backgrounds and dark backgrounds. Light background iron-ons are cheaper at around $10 for 10 sheets). Text is easy by using any word processor. Adding images is difficult if you are not versed in imaging programs.

Good fashion should reflect the individual, but that individual should reflect some good fashion. As fun and original as these outfits can be, they are NOT for any business meeting (unless for you work for a comic book company) or for first dates. Yes you should “be yourself” on a first date, but omitting certain things is just normal. Do not be embarrassed by your nerdiness; just understand the prejudice that exists.

(Originally published on EDGEBoston.com)

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.

Geeks can spend the majority of their salaries/allowances on collectibles often associated with kids toys. Comic books, action figures, and even video games do not scream mature adult the way we want them to. This does not mean you have to get rid of your geeky treasures. Instead, use them to your advantage and create some impressive displays.

Wall decorations

Instead of hanging paintings of scenery and fruit, hang some original comic art or even the comics themselves. Keep your best comics bagged and boarded and put them in some flattering frames (simple black from the art store work perfectly). Sparsely layout the comics in your living room and brag about their value, both financially and spiritually. This validates the thousands of comics neatly organized in your bedroom.

Shelving

The simplest of displays, shelves obviously hold things. For our geeky needs, the more shelves the better and the more stuff to put on them the better. I keep my almost 300 action figures on a large bookshelf. Even my mother (who threw out my first action figure collection) was impressed. Video games work just as well: replace those bookshelves of books you never read with all those video games you never beat.

People at first scoff at the childish display, but at quickly impressed by the size of the collection. Lesson learned: size does matter.

Things to avoid

Remember that some close-minded people might not be able to look past stereotyping our love of geek culture.  If you entertain lots of business folk in your apartment or house, keep your geekier paraphernalia away from more common areas.  Keep your living room clean, but your office is your domain.  Also, if you plan on entertaining a great deal in members of the opposite, or same, sex, limited the shocking geek gadgets from your bedroom.  You don’t want a giant Balrog action figure breaking the moment.

Geeks might have more experience formatting hard drives than formatting the perfect outfit, but Prodigeek has ways to help you out.  This is a list of some of the must-have fashion items every geek should have in their wardrobe.

Sweater vest

Sweater vests are, to me, the best geeky clothing item in existence.  It provides the mature, comforting feeling of a full sweater but creating a slimmer, more stylish look.  An always safe bet is pairing any color vest with a white button down, but I recommend pairing more daring colors like black vests with red shirts and gray vests with red shirts.  And for the really brave, try out some argyle vests.  See, fashion can be fun.

Superman/Batman belt buckle

Marvel fans, don’t yell, but Superman and Batman emblems just work the best as belts.  They have simple color palettes that can compliment various fashion styles.  And these icons are so recognizable, you’ll get lots of attention to your belt buckle area.  And this time it’s for a good thing.

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I’ve been hearing from a lot of readers who want more information about wearing belt buckles, so let’s take the time to explore this fashion forward practice a little further. This advice can be used by men and women though I have some specifically female advice at the bottom.

In Part 1 of How to wear geeky belt buckles, I talk about tucking in your shirt and/or wearing a sports jacket/blazer to dress up the outfit. But there are many ways to style belt buckles for many occasions. The key is to consider if the belt buckle will be the focus of your outfit or an accessory. This is simple to figure out. Large, ornate, or multi-colored belt buckles will be the focus of your outfit and should be paired with solid colored shirts or shirts with a little embellishment (like a little writing on the chest). Small belt buckles with a simple design and limit color can be paired with busier shirts. Basically, when you look in the mirror, you should focus on one thing, be it the belt buckle, shirt, shoes, or rainbow hair. Having too much going on creates chaos for the eye and can ruin and outfit even when all the pieces alone are fashionable.

All belt buckles pictures link to their sales pages. Prodigeek does not receive any compensation for these referrals.

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Holiday clothing more often then not looks tacky rather than festive, but with some advice from you Geek Chic guru, you can put your show Santa just how much you love this holiday.

Geek holiday shirts - Available in a variety of shapes and colors, from white t-shirts to polos and turtlenecks, you can pick from some of these flattering and at the same time hilarious holiday shirts. Whether you enjoy from programing humor or just want some nice ASCII art (well, binary, but only real geeks will know), these are the shirts for you. Available at CafePress.

Geek LED belt buckle - You can wear this belt buckle all year long. Just change the LED letters to customize your own message specific to the event, whether it’s Happy Holidays or I<3 LARP. How you wear this belt buckle is up to you and isn’t that kind of control what the holidays are really about. Find it at ThinkGeek.

Quality holiday music - You’ve heard the best, now try the rest. Why settle for Gene Autry when you can have Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo. Yes, this pop culture icon from the wholesome family show South Park has his own collection of classic holiday songs including “The Lonely Jew On Christmas” to “What The Hell Child Is This?” and the all-time favorite “The Most Offensive Song Ever.” Remember your holiday memories with this unforgettable treasure. Available at Amazon. Parental advisory recommended (that’s a sales pitch, actually).

While we all dream of our own utility belt, the fashion forward know when accessorizing, less is more. To show off your particular brand of geek, try wearing a customized belt buckle. Shops like H&M and Express sell belts where you can interchange the buckle with an emblem of your choosing. Try a Superman shield or Pac-Man’s yellow face. Watch out for buckles with too much color or lines. When in doubt, less is more.

Good	Bad

Pair these eye-catching buckles with simple shirts, either solid color or with mild stripes and a pair of jeans or khakis. Tuck in a button-shirt to show off your buckle or wear a short t-shirt that comes to just around your waist. And for some extra legitimacy, try wearing a sport jacket as well. There’s nothing wrong with mixing formal and casual. It’s fun. Just don’t wear it with a tux. That’s just taboo.

For a more in-depth how to wear geeky belt buckles, please check out our newest belt buckle how to guide.

Try the:

• BuckleShop.com
• BuckleCity.com
• Alley Chicago

Every Thursday, I put my geeky gayness to the task of bring geek culture to the fashionable mainstream. This is your geek life guide.

From Tina Fey to Steven Colbert to Harry Potter, all the coolest people are wearing glasses. And I will always be the first to say, do everything celebrities do. Even Glam.com put together a photo gallery of Hollywood beauties with four-eyes.

So don’t be scared to glass it up. For one, contact lens are annoying, drying pains in my eyes. Glasses not only show people you’re smart, but if you follow some of my advice, people might think you’re also a cool person…who just happens to draw a diagram of the Millennium Falcon from memory.

So here’s some guidance to picking the right pair of glasses.

Powerful plastic

My personal preference. These thicker rimmed plastic frames are the among the most popular styles right now. They look great in wide ovals or rectangles, best for people with longer, slimmer faces. And if you want to stand out a bit, try something other than traditional black. Maybe you’d like blue frames or turtle shell frames. These are hard to pull off, but if you’re daring, you’ll certainly get some attention. Don’t you think Cate Blanchett is even prettier with the glasses? Oh yes you do. Just keep the lens wide but short. Huge cheek covering glasses are so 1985.

Lens without boarders

Rimless glasses maintain the illusion of wearing glasses just as much as the illusion of intelligence. Steven Colbert fashions these glasses every night, professing harsh conservative rhetoric with a geeky twist. Almost any face-type will do well with rimless glasses, but they are best if you have a larger forehead (not saying the Colbert has a large forehead; he has a perfect forehead). Best of all, rimless glasses are often very light and comfortable, so if wearing glasses annoys you, this might be your answer.

On the wires

The more classic style, wire frames should be handled just like plastic, only with a thinner frame. Keep your lens small, either wide ovals or rectangles, or maybe some round Harry Potter frames. Thin frames can be especially fun, looking almost hidden, helping your face look wider or more focused. And there’s the Harry Potter look. That’s pretty much all you care about, I’m sure.

To make your geek-out glasses look even better, try a fun hair style. I wear my hair a little spiky: the out-of-bed look. This makes my face look longer and slimmer so my thick glasses look more prominent. And it also shows I care about my appearance and my glasses are a choice, not a requirement. They are an accessory just like any belt or pocket protector.

So try it out. Take some of this advice and research, experiment, test, and conclude. Just like every geek would.

Every Thursday, I put my geeky gayness to the task of bring geek culture to the fashionable mainstream. This is your geek life guide.