We talked to a professional stylist about Luke Voit’s whole deal

Between Luke Voit’s habit of keeping his jersey undone at the plate, his multiple chains, and (before he was on the Yankees) his goatee, his style is really a whole thing. He’s one of the Yankees’ seemingly endless supply of large baseball sons, and he’s been raking since he came to New York over the summer, but also looks like he’s the son of a bodega owner who just wants to follow his dreams and be a professional DJ (I mean this in the best possible way).

So I talked to a professional stylist, Next Level Wardrobe founder Cassandra Sethi, about his overall look, what she likes about it, and what she would change (hint: it’s not about the chest hair) for Voit to get to the next level of New York style.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Whitney: What would you say your first impression of his style was?

Cassandra: I did some research on him and it’s awesome that he’s in this new chapter in his life. He’s playing for one of the best baseball teams in the world, the Yankees, now. He’s a good looking guy and he’s in great shape. The first impression that came to mind for me — and if I were to be talking to him I would tell him — you should dress for the man you are today. Not who you were yesterday or three years ago or five years ago.

He grew up in Missouri, so he didn’t grow up a New Yorker or anything. He’s only been here for a short time. What would you say is your favorite part of what he’s sticking to?

As I mentioned, he’s in good shape. Obviously he’s doing great on the Yankees so far and he’s kind of the talk of the town. I notice that he has more of a muscular build so he likes to dress to show it off which is awesome and there’s nothing wrong with showing off your body.

My opinion is he’s on the Yankees. He’s already made it in the door. So now his style needs to reflect where he is today. So it’s interesting that he has an unusual haircut, he wears chains and all that sort of stuff but now that he is living in New York City and he’s playing for the Yankees it’s time to upgrade his style as well.

What would you improve, if you could?

Going back to what I was saying about dressing for the man you are today, not yesterday or three years ago or even five years ago, the first thing I would suggest for him is I would love to put him in a great fitting polo shirt with a pair of plaid pants. Plaid is a big fall trend. He could still express his personality through a fun print and color but also have clothing that fits him really well.

The second thing I’d recommend to him is a cool sneaker. Something that’s cool and comfortable but something that you can also wear it to a press conference or while he’s traveling to a game or even out with friends or family.

The third thing I was thinking about, because I noticed he has a fiancé and he posts about her a lot so I’m sure he goes out on date nights with her, so for a date night look I’d love to put him in an updated athletic elegance look. There’s a lot of amazing blazers in performance fabric. So I’d love to put him in kind of an updated, like a basic blazer, but with a twist with the performance fabric.

He has the chains, he wears them during the game. A lot of baseball players do, that’s not just him. They stand out more though because he keeps his jersey unbuttoned on the field, there’s been shots during the playoffs like close up shots of his chest hair. Is there a good way for men to show chest hair like he does if they want to be like Luke Voit?

Yeah, yeah. I think there’s nothing wrong with showing chest hair. It’s kind of like you have to think of the context you’re in. So for example if you’re like Luke and you’re in front of the public eye in a baseball game or a press conference or something I think it’s important, being front and center now, to project the right image.

So he could still show the chest hair, again nothing wrong with that. But maybe it’s one button instead of three buttons. For the every day guy again think about context like if you’re going into a business meeting you probably don’t want to have your chest hair showing that much. If you’re going out on a first date maybe it’s okay.

Sometimes it kind of looks like it combs his chest hair. I haven’t decided because I genuinely can’t tell if he’s just sweaty or if he’s trying to style his chest hair. My question for you is: should a man ever style his chest hair?

That’s an interesting question [laughs]. I think that would fall under men’s grooming which is such a hot topic right now. When I work with clients not only is it about clothing but it’s about overall image. Skincare, your hairstyle, are you taking care of your facial hair as well? So chest hair could definitely be looped into that group as well. If your chest hair is a bit unruly there’s nothing wrong with taking scissors to it or having someone taking care of it. I would categorize that under the male grooming trend that’s happening right now.

He also has this habit, and this is more fashion-y than just from a style perspective. He has this habit of wearing Louis Vuitton accessories or shirts with a logo on them and then he’ll either print it up to say Luke Voit, or on his Instagram someone will take a picture of his backpack and he’ll type in Luke Voit next to the LV. How insufferable is this to you, personally?

I think that’s creative. I think at this point he needs to be careful about what that is communicating to people and what is the impression he’s giving off. So it is about clothing and grooming that also, what is he doing online and all that sort of stuff.

I personally am not a fan of big logos, and it’s a hot fashion trend right now to be a little more inconspicuous. So people who do wear logos and put their name next to an LV definitely want attention and there’s nothing wrong with that, I just think he needs to think what kind of impression and image he wants to give off by doing that.

Is there a limit to chains you would tell someone to wear? Because it’s a very athlete thing, especially baseball, and they’re tough to pull off. You could either look cheap or sleazy, but athletes can do it because they’re usually muscular and stylish. What’s your limit to chains? What’s your chain strategy?

I always believe less is more and that’s something I work with my clients on. You don’t have to wear ten chains to be the center of attention. You could wear really quality garments or jewelry and wear one to two of those, and be the center of attention and get the good kind of attention. I would say probably keep it on the lighter side in terms of thickness and then you could do anywhere from one to three. Then if a man wanted to express his personality more with his clothes. He could wear a fun colored top or a cool streetwear sneaker or something like that. Chains are kind of the overall picture of his style or image.

Well he’s one of the large baseball boys, as people like to call them, so he certainly stands out.

I think for him too, I was looking through his pictures, it’s important to recognize his body type. That goes for any guy, but he’s definitely bigger and a bit more muscular and I think recognizing that will do wonders for making sure his clothes fit him and are more on brand with him. Luke will definitely go far if he can figure that out.

You’re saying he needs to inhabit the large baseball boy lifestyle on and off the field.

Yes!

That was biggest impression of him, he’s in front of the public eye now. He needs to look good on and off the field it’s not just about either/or he’s in front of cameras so he needs to make sure his image reflects that and like I said he’s playing for a top baseball team and living in the best city in the world.

It’s time to take it up a notch.