I find that I select dress slacks, casual slacks, and jeans according to the anticipated occasion I will be wearing them.
I'm learning to be less self-conscious too, ( or trying to be less self- conscious) thanks to this forum and reading about the other guys who have the same challenges of fearing they're going to show "too much bulge".
Men probably can get by "showing some bulge" in more casual settings. This especially holds true for business men. I attend weekend social events like outdoor barbecues, receptions, etc. and when I'm wearing khaki slacks or something similar, I can usually get by with it. But being "too revealing" is frankly pretty distracting in an office setting and I suppose it would be deemed offensive too, by some onlookers--including my peers and contemporaries, regardless of their gender. I've caught their stares and glances. So, despite the LPSG influence
sometimes, I still try to keep those past reactions from others in mind.
But like a lot of guys, WHATEVER I wear is typically going to be somewhat revealing...the lighter colors of summer and the flannel grays of winter in particular. And I still feel a bit self-conscious whenever I wear them. But, on the other hand, it's not healthy thinking either, to become
OVERLY self conscious. As men, we are "what we are" and we should just accept it.
***I'll fess up here, though--sometimes? ...when I know that a certain pair of slacks will "make me feel pretty good as a man" I WILL go ahead and buy them IF those aforementioned occasions are coming up to allow me to wear them and get by with it!
I believe we need to convey confidence to our sons sometime along the way so they won't develop the same "messed up thinking" some of us grew up having. I mean, I don't know of any guy (who grew up in my generation) who
ever had discussions with dad or any other man in his life about "clothing" and "showing". We never got such guidance.
I kinda doubt such discussions even take place today!
....except for here. :wink: