PALEDI SEGAPO dishes advice on how to take your man from sloppy Joe to a dashing Don.

Sisters, if you feel your man's fashion sense is hovering between those male teachers with a penchant for patchwork leather jackets, the unionists love of free caps and T-shirts, and the farmer's signature thick rubber-solded shoes, take the following advice before you embark on that fashion makeover.

Men's clothes don't have to scream drama to let everyone know they've arrived, like a certain sushi king. The secret is in the tailoring An ill-fitting suit is fashionably vulgar. Wearing what resembles a school-shirt just screams cheap and nasty, so invest in good quality material to update him to modern and debonaire. Shirts made of 100 percent cotton are the way to go because they feel as light as a feather.

I don't always blame abo.sisters for getting it wrong when trying to dress their men because men in general hate being told what to do. We resent rules and authority; sadly, we don't believe they apply to us, even when it comes to following good old-fashioned advice.

When a salesperson present the latest in vogue slim-fit shirts or body-hugging jackets, our knee-jerk reaction can be a lightning.quick "NO".

But sisters, there's no need to be despondent.

You can still cajole your man to listen to you if you take this into consideration. It's imperative to understand your beau's silhouette prior to making him wear a slim-fit tux because it looked good on a celebrity when you spotted him wearing it at the Grammys.

The number of buttons on a jacket is there for a reason, not for a season. If loverboy resembles a hobbit in height, to lengthen his torso a bit you must pick the one-button jacket for him.

Then there's the double breas jacket (DBJ). Not everyone looks fashionably on-point in a DBJ. This type of jecket compliments a slim torso because it creates a subtle bulk with width.

Sisters with a broad signification other (and we're trying to be polite here considering how the BEE girth can expand) should suggest he wears a jacket with two buttons.

The deep V between the lapels lengthens the body, gving him an instant slimming effect. A man of sportsman Lucas Radebe's tall and well-built frame looks more handsome in custom-made suit in three buttons and a short deep V between the lapels.

But if the dude is truly rotund, to avoid the stuffed sausage effect that big men in ill-fitting clothes seem to project, it's vital to gear up your Adonis in two vent jackets.

And what is the best fabric for men's suits in general? The winner is always sheep's hair. The fantastic thing about this wool is that it creates a cooling effect in the heat, and insulates during those ice-cold days.

"Invest in good quality material to update him to modern and debonaire."

When it comes to pants, the slim-fit is fabulously in, but if your man's waistline exceeds size 34, slim-fit trousers are a definite no-no. This is even worse if he has knock-knees, so please, sisters, spare him.

Finally, men don't need to invest in too many pairs of shoes like you girls. Ideally, the bottom of our closets should comprise loafters, brown wing tips, black lace-up (oxfords), classic sneakers and bucks. And that is all you really need to make you and your man fashionably happy Next Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR LOVERS.