³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

There's something about turning 40, which happened to me over half a decade ago. All these people who used to try to sell you fashions in the pages of the blokes' magazines, who used to be concerned with telling you how to shave without getting a rash, they kind of go away. The models in the fashion mags suddenly start looking like teenage stick insects, your own body continues to change as your hair gets greyer and the weight rolls off less easily than it used to.

You still want to look your best, you want to make a few adjustments so you don't look like a walking mid-life crisis, but there's no "middle-aged bloke" magazine out there for you - it's straight from Nuts to The Oldie. Doing your research and often buying online looks like a good option.

Some basics

You can, of course, save a lot of money buying clothes and accessories on the web. This isn't the place to promote specific sites as they're all private businesses and this isn't a commercial blog, but there are a few pointers you can take into account.

First, check the returns policy on absolutely everything before you buy. If they won't take it back you don't want it. Different brands have different ideas of what's large or extra large, which can mean one brand's XL size in undies looks and feels five sizes too big on you whilst another is uncomfortably tight.

It may not just be a matter of sizing. Something that looks great on the immaculately-coiffed, young-enough-to-be-your-son model on the screen can look ridiculous when you put it on. I had this with a jacket a few years ago, a chocolate-covered check thing. I put it on; my wife was polite and said I'd have to wear a plain shirt with it, but my then-much-younger daughter couldn't stop laughing. I looked like a caricatured used car salesman from a particularly naff 1950s sitcom. The seller took it back without a quibble even though it was a faultless sample of what I'd actually ordered.

Also, look at alterations. One online tailor offers you the chance to perform all your own measurements instead of paying them £25 to do so - but if you really screw up then for £40 they'll apply a retrospective guarantee and fix it as if they'd measured you themselves. Another I know won't let you do your own measuring so the suit carries his own warranty, then if you lose weight or gain it he'll alter it for £20 a seam.

Never forget though, that the days when items were automatically cheaper on the internet have gone. Hardly anybody pays the full amount for a shirt these days, so do check your online price against what they're charging on the High Street.

It's not always a good idea to buy purely on price, though. When you're looking at suits or shirts see if you can get a swatch of the material - try scrunching it up to see if it creases or not. The ones that don't will look better on you for longer. When the shirt arrives see how dense the stitching is - if it's loose or too spaced out then it won't be as solid as something better made.

Beginners in men's styling are often bewildered that you can get a suit for just over £100 at some very reputable High Street retailers but pay hundreds or even thousands for a "designer" name. Of course you're paying for the name but you should also be paying for a better grade of fabric than the High Street retailer can manage for the price.

Outlets and sales of last year's designer shirts often represent bargains both online and off. A lot of men's clothes remain reasonably classic so the changes aren't huge, but a real buff will spot last year's Polo Ralph Lauren colours immediately. If that worries you, you'll need to pay a bit more.Ìý Personally I think they still look fine.

Websites

There don't seem to be any magazines catering for us 'not-yet-old' blokes. However there are a number of excellent blogs dedicated to male styling and grooming. I'd recommend , which is currently busy discovering spa treatments, and who seems plugged into more of the male grooming industry's PR offices than most of us and therefore gets all the good freebies.

My own blog, , aims to do what it says on the tin, talking about suiting, casual clothes, skin products, shaving equipment, watches, and gadgets. As far as I can make out, none of us are paid for these blogs so I'm not pushing any commercial interests in naming them.

People react in different ways to the idea. One reader said he found it a bit strange, men talking about on stuff in which only women were usually interested. I've done some research and found that these female types can vote and everything now, so we're allowed to go a bit beyond stereotyping.