Most men would say no. But what they say and what they do may be different things. Called mantyhose in the USA, it’s claimed (somewhat tongue in cheek) that men are getting into tights in a big way.

Several role models are referred to, or maybe blamed, for this phenomenon. Captain Jack Sparrow is definitely in the frame for eyeliner and the unbuttoned ruffled shirts sported by Russell Brand, while Usain Bolt and other sprinters are considered to be driving forward the trend towards men wearing skin-tight leggings, or maybe even tights.

Men tights cost around £12 to £35 and come in matte colours with diamond or skull patterns. They are also specially designed in a more breathable fabric to allow male reproductive regions to be cool enough, given that tight trousers have been held responsible for low sperm counts.

Behind the giggles though is a serious situation – male hosiery is most popular in cold countries where it’s being worn under trousers to act as an insulation layer in winter. And there’s another reason too – men are using tights to act as girdles (or mirdles, as they are called) to hold in flabby bellies and love handles.

So if you’re not willing, or able, to wear tights, how can you get the fashion look?

First, make sure your underwear fits sensibly. If you have bulges or sags in your foundation, they just get magnified as you add layers over the top – good underclothes help to give you a smooth silhouette.

Buying trousers a size smaller than you really are just forces the evidence up over your belt-line. It’s better to wear well fitting larger trousers than too tight ones, for your health as well as your appearance. If you want to look slim, buy straight fitting polo-shirts in a heavyweight weave and a light colour and don’t tuck them in. Then invest in some dark trousers or jogging pants: the pale top and darker trousers have an instant slimming effect. Ringer tops also perform this illusion of making the body taper from the shoulders to the waist.

Researchers at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, have found some interesting features of workplace clothing that are revealed in a recent issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Not only can our clothing influence the way other people think about us, it can actually influence the way we think!

According to the research, “ …cloth[ing] can have profound and systematic psychological and behavioural consequences for … wearers,” – what that means is that work-wear that is generally associated with attentive and careful behaviour, such as lab coats, will actually make the person wearing them more attentive and careful.

Of course this theory is individual specific – so if you associate T-shirts with creative endeavour, you may feel more creative when wearing a T-shirt to work, but if you associate hoodies with lounging around the house at weekends, you may find that wearing one to work actually decreases your productivity. Adam Galinsky, a co-author of the paper, calls this process of being influenced by clothing “enclothed cognition”.

For workplaces that don’t have a dress code this may be an incentive to reconsider their stance, and for individuals preparing for interviews, it may be worth considering which colours they associate with positivity and confidence and which shirts and trousers (or skirts) make them feel assured and dependable, as those are the qualities that they may gain from their clothing during the interview itself.

Asda has been conducting research – and it reveals that 68% of shoppers spend money on clothing to cheer themselves up, and that the clothing they choose tends to be brightly coloured. According to Asda, women will reach for red, purple and yellow to boost their confidence on a bad day.

So how does it work?

Medically speaking, colour therapy is not a science but there are several forms of sensory ‘therapy’ that give a person experience of specific colours either in their clothing, or in their environment, or sometimes in the way their home or office is lit: the efficacy of this as a medical treatment is unclear, but the effect of certain colours is long known to have been powerful in influencing others: that’s why monarchs or rulers have always chosen red and purple, which connote majesty and power (and maybe, sexual power too, as red is the traditional colour of sex workers) and spiritual leaders have always chosen pale blue and white, colours seen as being ‘pure’ and full of hope and life.

Yellow is a fascinating colour that falls in and out of favour: many men like to wear yellow in summer as they see it as being sporty – so yellow polo shirts and yellow or yellow checked shorts tend to start selling well around Easter. Women wear yellow in times of optimism, but reject it in times of pessimism, so if yellow is a big colour this year, it’s likely that people will be feeling positive about the economic climate.

If you want to look positive and attract others, the best colour to wear as a man, apparently, is a bright light blue so a turquoise jacket or hoodie would be ideal, while for women, it’s a small amount of red with pink or white, so a white and red ringer T-shirt with pink Capris or a white long-sleeved T-shirt with a long red and white gingham skirt would be perfect. And if you think those colour combinations sound like something out of a Rock Hudson/Debbie Reynolds movie, you’d be right … because those are considered to be amongst the most upbeat films around!

Angela Hill in the Seattle Times is concerned that we have become too casual to care and her story includes people who wear low-hanging trousers to court when they are on probation, rather than the suit, tie and good haircut that used to be the defence lawyer’s weapon of choice. One of her interviewees compares current fashion to the ‘before’ look on makeover shows.

This is a difficult subject – dressing too formally can make you look like a bore, or even worse, somebody who is deliberately trying to look like they are in charge of the office, the party or even the universe! Too casual though, and your appearance can suggest you are depressed, or just somebody who likes to be dirty, discouraging and maybe even a bit dim-witted.

Danny Miller, whose book Blue Jeans is to be published in March, is an anthropologist who ahs studied the role of casual clothing, specifically the denim revolution and its role in shaping identity.

Some psychology studies suggest that people who wear dull and badly fitting clothing or are given stained clothing to wear for several months, actually end up with lowered self-esteem, so perhaps dressing too casually has an effect on our mental health and a bright new T-shirt or crisply ironed white shirt are as important to our wellbeing as good food and exercise?

There’s a good article on how Fashion Week fashion ends up on the high street over at MSN and it’s important because for those on a budget who want to, or have to, look good, understanding the process from catwalk to casual clothing helps pick out what counts, and what doesn’t.

If you’re in an industry where fashion matters: fashion itself, media, graphic design, art etc, what you wear can say a lot about you and how you fit in. So recognising key details such as colour and cut can help you pick out trends to invest in that mark you as a trend setter, not a slouch.

Colours, such as this year’s hot tip of mustard are crucial. But you don’t have to invest in a new mustard coloured leather jacket like those seen at Prada’s show – just get a mustard coloured vest or T-shirt and wear it under your existing shirts, zip up hoodies and jackets: instant trend for a few pounds rather than a month’s disposable income.

Watch hairstyles too – if every male model has slicked back hair, you can bet that the look is going to be appearing in soap operas and teen band videos in within weeks, and then in your local barbers before the end of the year.

One of this year’s big features is sportswear with sports hair – that means technical clothing in bright colours and tousled hair that’s also ‘bright’ in other words with strong outdoor colours such as racing blond highlights, diver-style wet look curls and boxing ring razored back layers worn with grey hoodies and sweatshirts.

Joleon Lescott is in discussions with Manchester City over a proposed line in casual clothing aimed at twenty something fans of fashion and sport. Since taking part in Shay Givens Fashion Kicks event last year, Lescott seems to have focused strongly on developing a fashion identity that could be turned into a brand. He’s not alone, David Beckham is perhaps the most famous of the British players to create a clothing line, and a perfume, but Rio Ferdinand has had success too.

So what’s the Lescott look likely to be, and how do you get it without paying designer prices?

One rumour is that the new brand will feature his distinctive scar (from a car accident as a five year old boy) as a trademark, although that seems unlikely, however it may feature as a line art design on vest T-shirts that seem to be one of his favourite garments, and while the clothing will probably feature Man City colours at least in the first couple of years he tends towards grey, black and red as a clothing palette. Sportswear will be a big feature if the line goes ahead, and we can expect to see pale blue, grey and black vests, maybe with that scar as a watermark style print on the front, along with hoodies and track trousers.

If you want the look, aim to buy vests, maybe getting them printed with your name in a gothic tattoo style, or with a scar emblem if you, like Lescott, have such a feature, and focus on combining vests with more formal jackets or hoodies with designer denim and boots, to get the luxe sports look that Lescott is likely to aim for.

In a cautionary tale, American high school basketball has just had a minor infringement of rules become a major national debating point, all because of the colour of some T-shirts. It’s Make-A-Wish week in the USA and loads of people are taking part in charitable fundraising, just as we do here for Red Nose Day or Children In Need. At Burke High School (Nebraska) the team decided to wear pink – the Make-A-Wish colour – instead of the classic white home uniform and to auction off the uniform tops afterwards to raise funds for the charity. Their competitors, Columbus Discoverers, wore red away tops.

At half-time, one of the Columbus management team raised a formal complaint, saying that the uniform worn by Burke did not comply with league rules and no advance warning of a uniform change had been given. As a result, a technical foul was given against the home team who were one point in the lead at the half time break.

It’s the kind of question that’s arising a lot in sport at present – what’s honourable, what’s acceptable, when are rules enforced and when not? Is it okay not to shake hands with another player? Is it okay to change uniform clothing for a good cause without consulting others involved? What kind of language is acceptable in the heat of the moment during a sporting crisis?

Basically, the basketball officials had no choice but to award the foul once the matter was brought to their attention and the final result, 62-47 to Columbus, made it really insignificant that they’d pointed out the infringement. But it’s worth always bearing in mind, whether you play for a local 5-a-side football team that wears jerseys and one day decides to move to V-necked T-shirts or organise vests for a local running club, that there are often rules about sports clothing that need to be understood and observed and raising money for charity is not considered an adequate reason for breaking them.

While we’re shivering in the icy blasts of winter, the fashion industry is ready for spring and this year’s top tips for casual fashion are mint, colour-blocking and parka jackets, so maybe winter is still with us!

Mint

Pale blue-green, icy in shade and crisp in format, mint is the colour for summer. For many of us, it’s a difficult shade to wear. Top tips are to combine mint with navy for a simple smart appearance, so a mint-coloured polo-shirt combined with navy shorts or a skirt would work well. Mint shades also look better with a tan, so if you’re feeling a bit washed out, fake facial tan (or a tinted moisturiser for women) will help you balance its ice-cream coolness with some summery warmth.

Colour Blocking

This is the technique of combining colours that usually clash. It’s not for the faint-hearted and many men, in particular, find it tough to create this look with confidence. If you have doubts about solid blocks of colour, combine a colour, say coral or orange, with a neutral such as stone or grey. A fuschia T-shirt with grey leggings for women, or a yellow polo-shirt with stone coloured chinos, for men, is less risky that the full on effect of colour blocking that requires two clashing colours, such as purple and yellow or green and red, to be set against each other.

Parka Jackets

This look, typical of mods, was seen a lot on catwalks towards the end of last year, but the new parkas are lighter in weight, and brighter in colour. It’s not a look for men who are narrow shouldered, and if you feel you may look weedy in a parka, it may be better to go for a long-line sleeveless fleece, which allows you to bulk out your build underneath (maybe by wearing a mint hoody?)

As businesses continue to look at opportunities to cut costs and reduce expenditure, the relationship between business casual clothing and business productivity is being reassessed by many companies – and the subtle changes in requirements are catching out many employees who are finding their clothing choices are being highlighted in their annual review. Knowing this, here are the new rules for business casual and personal success:

1. Understand your organisation’s requirements. Some kinds of casual are more casual than others: a brokers office will have a different requirement to an oil company headquarters and a firm that manufactures bicycles will have different standards to one that creates bespoke furniture.

2. Remember that there are different standards within clothing: a pair of jeans that are pale and worn almost to the threads is a completely different prospect to a pair that are navy-blue, crisp and tailored. A white polo shirt with a crisp collar, worn with smart trousers is almost a business shirt, while a creased polo shirt in orange, worn with those faded jeans, is almost barbecue garb.

3. Don’t flash or flaunt flesh: for women in particular, too much skin on show is unhelpful – bare midriffs and deep cut tops or camisoles that reveal the cleavage do little for promotion prospects and may even cause a lack of unity in the workplace as the mixed messages can be detrimental to harmony and productivity.

4. Avoid anything that can cause offence: T-shirts with words or images can easily be misinterpreted, shorts and sandals may reveal areas of the body that other cultures, or even other individuals, would rather were kept covered.

5. While casual is open to interpretation, it’s important to bear in mind that the workplace is where work is done, and while you may be at your most productive in an old hoody and a pair of sweatpants, your clothing choices may disincentivise those around and could affect your chances of receiving the recognition your work deserves.

This year is Olympic year and there’s no doubt that London will be packed with people wearing sporting gear, even if they are not, themselves, sporty. Designers are clearly being influenced by the combination of Cool Britannia and sporting fever, and designers such as Lacoste, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors are all getting hot under the collar.

Performance fabrics, such as poly-cottons or poly-elastic-cottons are very much in evidence along with sports styling such as ultra-long vests worn over leggings for women and layered T-shirts in primary colours for men.

A lot of dropped crotch cotton trousers turned up on the catwalk again in the spring collections, and it will be interesting to see if they actually make it into the high street this year – last year the harem pant style was very much in evidence in the collections but not very prevalent in the shops.

One difference this year is in colour. While male luxe sportswear is still focused on bright colours, the female palette is much more subtle, with bronze, grey, heather, cream and stone appearing as basic tones. This makes dressing in luxe sports clothing much more accessible to the average women both financially and in terms of body shape. While most of us can’t contemplate pearl coloured leggings and a sheer panelled vest, we can imagine wearing a gold or silver vest or camisole, under a grey zip-up hoody, with dark jeans or leggings. To get the look, focus on a good leather slouch bag, or even better, a leather backpack which looks properly sporty and consider jogging bottoms worn with heels, ‘sporty’ hairstyles like pig-tails tied with wool, gymnast-style, and neon detailing like earrings and shoe-laces.