Clothes Big Boys Shouldn’t Wear

Sit outdoors at a cafe or have a drink at a bar with a view of passersby and you'll quickly notice something strange — grown-ups in children's clothing. While women are guilty of this sin too (pigtails anyone?), men tend to be particularly prone to wearing clothes they should have thrown out a decade ago. Most men don't live to shop, so it's natural to not feel like your wardrobe needs to be revamped every season. However, every so often, it's necessary to take a cold hard look at the garments in your closet and determine what s out of style, and more importantly, what you ve matured out of wearing.

If it's time for you to clean out your closet, read on for our suggestions on the items you should quickly donate to your favorite charity.

Oversized clothing
One of the greatest crimes committed against fashion by men is wearing oversized clothes. While big and baggy might have been a cool look in high school, if you've reached the legal drinking age, it's no longer hip. Though some of the stars who helped popularize this look, such as Jay-Z, continue to occasionally sport baggier jeans and shirts, they compensate by accessorizing their look with a Ferrari. So unless you plan to turn up in front of Madison Square Garden in a Maserati, it's time to shift your style mentor from Coolio to Kanye West.

Also, know that no one wants to see your ass hanging out of your clothes, and it's high time for you to admit that fastening your belt around your butt is just plain uncomfortable. Take a cue from John Legend and purchase some slim-fit shirts and pants that don't look like you're wearing a soggy diaper. If you're a little on the heavier side and you've been wearing baggy clothes to conceal your figure flaws, you should be aware this tactic also qualifies as a fashion misstep. Larger men should choose clothes that skim over the body, creating a smooth-looking shape, and choose darker colors to appear slimmer. Avoid baggy, shapeless garments that make you look like a balloon.

Replace with: Form-fitting shirts, knee-length or just-above-the-knee shorts that fit well, and pants that suit your body type.

Backpacks
If you've successfully managed to make the transition from school to work, your daily carryall should reflect your entry into the adult world. While stylish backpacks are certainly available, they are best suited to students. Many men persist in wearing backpacks because these allow them to fit all their daily necessities into one bag, but a messenger bag offers the same convenience, and so much more stylishly. So if your day is no longer filled with the pursuit of academic knowledge, it's time to trade in your rucksack for a more fashionable, adult alternative. Avoid looking like a tourist or a conference attendee, however, and go for one in slick black leather or a bright color. A messenger with handles and a detachable shoulder strap is a great option for those who find themselves frequently traveling to business meetings, since it can double as a briefcase.

Replace with: Messenger bag.

Baseball caps
Wearing a baseball cap is acceptable only in either of two situations. One of these, of course, is during a sporting event or while engaging in athletic activity. The other scenario in which a baseball cap is passable fashion-wise is when the cap is merely a planned, complementary component to a cleverly put-together ensemble. Unfortunately, too many men wear baseball caps everywhere they go, with many using it as a strategy to avoid grooming. Moreover, women are biologically predisposed to read baseball caps as a sign that says, "This person is unsuitable for mating." To a female, baseball caps signify an adolescent attitude, so if you re attempting to attract a woman of legal age, forgo the cap in favor of more fashionable headgear or a stylish haircut. Hats can be a fun way to add flair to an outfit, and since bad hair days are a reality for everyone, try swapping your cap for a more au-courant cover-up, like a trilby.

Replace with: Other fashion hats, like trilbies or driving caps.

Jeans with holes
Yes, it's true that distressed denim is everywhere these days, and a lot of it looks pretty hot. While we endorse the purchase of such artfully destroyed denim, should that be your thing, we cannot condone wearing a $30 pair of jeans that you've beaten to death over the course of the last 10 years. Sure, they re really comfortable, which is why you keep wearing them, but if they feel like a second skin, it's probably because they ve started to look like one. If your wardrobe is filled with only this type of jean, you are strongly advised to go shopping immediately and not come back until you ve found a pair of dark blue jeans that fit you perfectly, with no stylized flaws; you'll wear them everywhere for the next two years. And don't worry: You can still wear your old favorites around the house.

Replace with: New jeans that fit your body properly.

Sleeveless shirts
Fact: The only men who consider sleeveless shirts to be stylish are men who wear sleeveless shirts. The reason men who wear sleeveless shirts are the sole admirers of this style is as follows: 1) Unless you re naked or in a bathing suit, women don t want to see your armpit hair; 2) Unless you re Mr. Universe, most other men are not impressed with the gauge of your guns. If you have bulging biceps you re just dying to show off, women will be much more impressed with your smokin bod if you ditch your sleeveless shirt for a fitted T-shirt. Individuals without seriously honed muscles should stick to regular tees.

Replace with: T-shirts.

Multiple jewelry items
Another common fashion faux pas grown men make is wearing several pieces of jewelry at once. While you may feel a sense of pride in showing off your pricey baubles, others view over-accessorizing as an attempt to bury insecurities in a blinding display of wealth. A confident man chooses one bold piece of jewelry to speak for itself rather than a confusing mishmash of metal. When it comes to jewelry, less is always more, since accessories are meant to complement your attire instead of be the main attraction. A classic watch will always look good and be in vogue, but try a simple black leather cuff if time is simply not of the essence to you.

Replace with: Single watch.
be a manOnce you enter adulthood, certain clothing items just aren t acceptable — unless, of course, you re aiming for a lifetime of bachelorhood and playing video games in your parents basement.

And, if you thought you could breathe easy because we ve stopped listing embarrassing items from your wardrobe, take a deep breath and start to purge your closet now because Part  II of "Clothes Big Boys Don t Wear" is coming soon.

He’s Not as Smart as He Thinks

A British researcher reports that the male ego is often larger than his actual IQ. But you might be surprised by what women think of men’s intellect.

Are men smarter than women? No. But they sure think they are. An analysis of some 30 studies by British researcher Adrian Furnham, a professor of psychology at University College London, shows that men and women are fairly equal overall in terms of IQ. But women, it seems, underestimate their own candlepower (and that of women in general), while men overestimate theirs. Furnham talks to NEWSWEEK’s Joan Raymond about his findings and why perceived IQ matters.

Excerpts: NEWSWEEK: Many studies show that men score slightly higher in IQ tests. Is this significant?

Adrian Furnham: Universally, men tend to score higher on certain specialized skills, such as spatial awareness. In the real world, that means they might be better at reading maps or navigating. Women score higher in terms of language development and emotional intelligence. But most experts agree there is no real, important overall difference when it comes to gender and intelligence.

But women think they aren’t as smart as men?
That’s the conundrum. What I study is “perceived intelligence,” essentially how smart people think they are. I analyzed 30 international studies, and what I found was that women, across the world, tend to underplay their intelligence, while men overstate it.

So do most men think they’re Albert Einstein?
There certainly is a greater male ego. It’s what we call the male hubris and female humility effect. Men are more confident about their IQ. These studies show that on average, women underestimate their IQ scores by about five points while men overestimate their own IQs. Since these studies were international in scope, the results were essentially the same whether women were from Argentina, America, Britain, Japan or Zimbabwe. Another factor affecting perception may be distribution of IQ … Although [men and women] are on average the same, the people at the very top and the very bottom of the IQ bell curve are more likely to be men. That is a pattern that we see in the university setting, with men either being at the very top of the class or at the bottom.

Do women tend to think that men are smarter than they are?
Surprisingly, [both] men and women perceive men being smarter across generations. Both sexes believe that their fathers are smarter than their mothers and grandfathers are more intelligent than their grandmothers.

What about the kids?
If there are children, [both] men and women think their sons are brighter than their daughters.

Did the data surprise you?
Absolutely. And it is worrying in the sense that it may mean parents send inappropriate or misleading messages to their children about their abilities. It is also surprising since school results, at least in Great Britain, indicate quite clearly that girls are doing better than boys in nearly all subjects. What was interesting was that some groups of people, both men and women, got it so wrong. Men with average to below-average intelligence think that they are quite clever. And very smart women think their intelligence is low.

Does any of this matter in the real world?
Men aren’t more clever or smarter. But since they think they are, they are more confident about their abilities. These self-beliefs, however, may be highly adaptive. Who gets a job? A bright woman who doesn’t think she’s smart, or a not-so-bright man who believes he’s capable of anything? Arrogance and hubris are not attractive qualities, but confident, self-belief may be. Certainly, underestimating abilities might hurt you. There’s a good quote from one of your countrymen, Henry Ford. He says: “Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.” And that is what is troublesome. Beliefs may be more important than actual ability in certain settings.

So women have a self-esteem problem?
I’m not advocating for self-esteem training and therapy. I think that many of the self-help gurus argue incorrectly that improved self-esteem increases performance. Helping people to perform better increases their self esteem. Giving a kind of carte blanche to self-esteem isn’t a good idea in my mind. Rather, I think it should be that increased performance and feedback on the causes of that performance, ability or effort raises self-esteem. As I said, in primary and secondary schools, girls are outperforming boys. And where appropriate, their self-beliefs, hopefully, are increasing.

Do you get a lot of flack for this kind of gender research?
I study perceived intelligence. I don’t research whether gender differences in intelligence are innate. That always sparks controversy. But anytime you talk about intelligence and gender, people will have strong feelings about it. Look what happened to [Larry] Summers of Harvard [the former president of the university was lambasted for suggesting that women are underrepresented in the sciences at least partly due to inherent differences in intellectual ability between the sexes]. I just let the data speak for itself. Nonetheless, sometimes I think you have to be stupid, brave or just plain naive to work in this area.

10 Tips for a Super Bowl-Worthy HDTV : Ben Patterson

You've got the beer, the chips, and the buffalo wings—now all you need is a jumbo HDTV for watching the Patriots and the Giants beat the tar out of each other. Here's a few tips for the TV showroom; try stitching 'em onto your wristband, just like your favorite quarterback would.

• Size matters: A 32-inch screen might be fine for the bedroom, but c'mon, folks—this is football, and the bigger the better. I'd go with at least a 42-inch set, although the gridiron looks even better once you're in the 50-inch range. The only problem is that you might be too distracted by the individual blades of grass and beads of sweat to, you know, actually follow the game.
• Go with 1080p: One of the questions I'm most frequently asked about HDTV is this: 1080p or 720p? The issue is getting to be moot when it comes to LCD sets—almost every new LCD flat-panel that's 40 inches or larger is going to be 1080p. The question gets a little thornier with plasma sets, which are generally cheaper than LCD TVs but still often come in 720p varieties. While the difference between 1080p and 720p is hard to detect in sets smaller than 40 inches, there's a good chance you'll notice a sharper picture on 1080p sets that are 42 inches and larger. Also, bear in mind that while the Super Bowl is on Fox this year, which transmits in 720p, skimping on resolution now will come back to haunt you come Super Bowl XLIII, which will be on 1080i network NBC.
• Bring your own DVD to the store: And I don't mean "North Dallas Forty"; instead, bring "Blade Runner," "Alien," or any other movie with lots of dark scenes. It's a great torture test for HD sets, especially LCD flat-panels, which are notoriously rotten at displaying deep, dark black levels. No, there won't be many dark, rainy scenes during the Super Bowl, but guess what begins on Monday? The off-season. All six months of it. 
• Check the viewing angle: Planning on having a bunch of buddies over for the game? Well, unless you plan on having them sit on each other's laps (not likely), at least some of your pals will have to sit off to the side—and that'll be a problem if your HDTV suffers from poor viewing angles. LCD TVs and (especially) rear-projection screens tend to look washed-out if you're watching at an angle greater than 45 degrees or so; plasma HDTVs, on the other hand, usually look great no matter where you sit. Anyway, before you decide on a set, try looking at the screen from different angles first.
• Check the connections: Most (if not all) 42-inch or larger HDTVs on sale now will have HDMI and component video inputs—the only mainstream HD-capable video connections (not counting DVI, which was common on older HDTVs)—but it never hurts to double-check. Also: don't be fooled by pricey video cables!
• Calibrate your set: Once you've fired up your new HDTV, you'll probably notice a series of pre-set viewing modes under the Picture menu, and they'll have names like "Standard," "Cinema", "Vivid," "Sports," and the like. Do yourself a favor and don't activate the "Sports" or "Vivid" settings for the game; you'll get a garishly-bright picture that'll turn the grass bright green and make all the players look sun-burnt. Instead, have your HDTV professionally calibrated; it'll cost about $200-$300, but considering you just spend a couple grand on your new set, it's worth going the extra mile for the best picture (visit ISF.com to find a local expert). You can also grab a calibration DVD like Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials ($25, or $35 for the HD version), which will help you tune your brightness, contrast, and color settings.
• Tune to the right station: It kills me when I see someone snap on their new HDTV and then switch to the standard-definition channel for, say, NBC or ESPN. It's a common mistake for HD newbies, and one you don't want to make on Super Bowl Sunday. For example, here in Brooklyn, I get the SD version of Fox on channel 5—but the high-def version is all the way down the dial on 705. Check your local listings and make sure you have the HD version of Fox in your favorites. (Of course, I'm assuming you already have an HD set-top box and a high-def signal; click here for more on this.)
• Crank up the surround sound: Fox HD will have the big game in 720p and in Dolby Digital—and you'll want your pals to marvel at your 5.1-channel surround soundscape, right? If you have a Dolby Digital-capable receiver, you should be all set; just make sure your HD set-top box is connected to your receiver via the coaxial or Toslink digital audio connections, and made sure your cable/satellite/over-the-air tuner is set to deliver Dolby Digital (as opposed to analog stereo) sound. (Click here for more details on making the right connections.)
• Get the best seat in the house: Got a 50-inch HDTV for the game? Great—now don't ruin your viewing experience (not to mention your eyesight) by sitting too close (and you'll lose sight of all that glorious resolution if you're too far away). According to CNET, if you have a 50-inch set, your guests should sit anywhere between 6.3 and 12.5 feet from the screen. Check out CNET's complete viewing distance chart for more details.
• Consider a universal remote: When Tom Brady throws that devastating pick in the fourth quarter (hey, it might happen), you'll want to be able to hit pause, jump back a few seconds and crank up the volume to relive the humiliation—but you don't want to be grabbing for three remotes at the same time. Instead, consider investing in a universal remote that'll take charge of your HDTV and all your A/V components. I'm partial to the Harmony 880 (expensive, but worth it), and the updated Harmony One should be available soon (although not before the game, unfortunately).