Tips for guys in suits
by Jack Powell | photo by Dominic James
My name is Jack and I am part of a men's fashion page on twitter, @mensfashions1. We aim to provide men of all ages, body types and walks of life with fashion advice. Whether it be day to day, work wear or evening wear, we aim to please everybody. We give advice, post pictures and aim to promote upcoming companies.
Men often find it a daunting task trying to get the right suit. From the style to the colour and pattern, there can be a lot to consider. The fact that there is such a wide variety of suits should be a fun and exciting experience, not something to be loathed and feared as it is by many. Throughout this article, I aim to give a guide as to what works well together. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will have more confidence and willingness to go out and buy the perfect suit for you.
The first rule I always go by is make sure you feel comfortable in what you are wearing. This doesn’t necessarily mean physically, some people may find that even though a suit is slightly uncomfortable to wear, it makes up for it in the way it looks. This more refers to feeling comfortable and confident in what you are wearing. If you like and feel good in what you are wearing, it will give you confidence in whatever you are doing. It can give added positivity and gives you a good start to your day.
So we should firstly consider the pattern and colour of suit that is right for you. This first step is crucial. This is the body and the pillar of the whole outfit. This is the base that everything else feeds off. If you get this wrong it will probably make you feel like you stand out in a bad way and you will feel uncomfortable, wishing for the end of the day when you can take it off. Although crucial, it need not worry you. There are simple rules to follow to keep you on track. Consider the event you are attending. Are you going to work? Are you meeting some colleagues outside of hours? For day to day work affairs, most people will opt for a plain grey or navy blue suit. Many people will wear black suits but you must be careful. Maybe from time to time this may be a good idea to mix things up but day to day, I would steer clear. The tendency with a black suit is that it can come across as a funeral suit or tux which is far too smart for your average day at the office. A grey or navy suit is lighter and friendlier, often making you more approachable. It can be worn in all seasons and is an easy colour to match things with. If you feel more confident in what you wear, try a lighter grey or blue colour that makes you stand out more and would be more unique. Another pattern that is good for a work environment is a pinstripe suit. These can come in a number of colours and are a nice change from the standard plain coloured suit. Other nice patterns for suits are checker and herringbone. However, these are better for a more social situation. Perhaps for brunch with an acquaintance or a more low key business meeting in a relaxed situation.
After this, you need to consider what shirt to wear and also whether you will wear a tie or not. For most suits, the best shirts to wear are pastel colours, primarily pink, blue and white. If wearing a black suit on rare occasions, I would always wear a crisp white shirt. Most other colours just don’t look right and are a no go. You may also want to consider a thinly striped shirt but keep it light. Quite often dark colours will not look right with a smart suit. If you decide to wear a tie, button your shirt all the way to the top, full stop. There is no compromise on this. Ties should be done all the way up and an appropriate length. Sometimes you may want to add something exciting to a suit or mix things up by using an interesting tie. You can get a number of interesting patterned ties that go with a number of shirts and suits. You can also change an outfit just by changing the tie. I like to go for a nice patterned tie of some description in order to make it unique to me and to make myself stand out a bit. I advise you to wear a tie in more formal arenas but there may be the call for a slightly less formal option. This is where you can lose the tie and undo a couple of buttons. I tend to undo two or three, it really does depend on what you feel more comfortable with though.
Shoes are an integral part of the look, you can’t put in all this work and then ruin it by putting on a pair of trainers. The first point for a good pair of shoes is that they’re polished. There may be some cases where this is an exception because it is not possible but I’ll come onto that later. You can
wear any number of shoes with a suit, so I’ll just suggest a few basic, common shoes that people tend to wear. Firstly, most people will tend to wear just an average smart shoe. If this is the case its usually best to go for black or brown, not some crazy colour unless you are completely certain it goes and that it will be appropriate in whatever situation you plan on wearing it. To give a bit of variation, people often wear brogues instead. These have a pattern and are more interesting than the average smart shoe. Another alternative is a loafer, although these may not always be appropriate. The loafer is a nice shoe and can look really good and original. However, it is very easy to get this wrong and for those who lack confidence in their ability, you should probably steer clear of these at the start and go for something a little plainer. If in a more relaxed setting in which you wear a suit, as mentioned earlier, the loafer may be the perfect shoe for you. They are fashionable and make a statement. With the low cut of the shoe showing off more of the foot than most shoes, people often wear no socks with these. This isn’t for everyone though and to do that is to make a statement and
to draw attention to your own knowledge of fashion. You need confidence to pull this off and if you don’t have that, you may want to wait until you are more comfortable in a suit. An alternative for a lower key event is a suede boot. They are smart and don’t degrade from the look of your suit and add a little more informality to a smart look.
We are just going to touch on accessories you can wear with a suit. A large amount of these will probably not apply to your day to day work suit but for making a statement at other events. While at work, I would advise you just wear a belt and watch. The general rule I follow when it comes to a suit is nothing too fancy. Also, if you’re wearing black shoes wear a black belt and if you wear brown shoes wear a brown belt. Now, when trying to make a statement, there are a number of accessories you can wear. Be careful though, don’t wear too many, it just looks too busy and ruins the suit. An example of some of the accessories are waistcoats, pocket watches, braces and pocket squares to name but a few. Mix and match these different accessories to find the combination that
suits you and your personality best. The great thing you can do with accessories is that you can swap what you wear together and add a bit of variation to a single suit. This is great if you don’t have many suits but they can also really make you stand out. I personally am a fan of the waistcoat and pocket watch combination but obviously this isn’t to everyone’s taste and you should decide for yourself.
These general rules can also apply to a part suit look. For example, a jacket and shirt with a pair of chinos or jeans is a strong look, especially for younger men. The key to all of this is to have fun, play around with things and relax into the suit. This, along with a few of the simple rules I’ve tried to outline here and you will have no problems picking and wearing a great suit. I’d just like to thank D’office Threads for the opportunity to share my knowledge with others. If anyone wants to ask me any questions or wants advice, don’t hesitate to email me on [email protected].
Thanks for reading this and I hope it helped.
Jack Powell
Twitter: @mensfashions1