The People always ask me questions about the suits that I am wearing and I want to take the time out to make a content dedicated to just that.Picking out the perfect suit and dressing it up to perfection. First things first, fit is king.Doesn't matter what brand you're wearing.Doesn't matter how much you spent on your suit, if it doesn't fit, it's a bad suit. I see a lot of guys getting a suit that's one size too big and the result of that is the shoulders of the suit flop over your natural shoulders and you get this dent. An easy way to check if the suit shoulder fits you right is to go up against the wall. Your suit should make contact with the wall first followed by your shoulder.If there's any bunching of fabric in between that your suit is too big.If your shoulder hits the wall first before the fabric of the suit the suit is too tight. It's important that you are able to comfortably cross your arms without tearing the fabric across your back.Moving on down the suit,you want to make sure the fit at the stomach is right too.The way you check that is you button the top button of the suit and slide your hand in between that button. If your hand feels too tight in that area, it's possible your suit is too small. Or if there's way too much room in there,your suit is likely too big.The fabric of the jacket should drape the natural contour of your arms without bunching up, being too tight or loose. The length of the sleeve is also crucial. You want to be comfortable showing at least a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch of your shirt below your suit. This is one of those alterations that needs to be done by a tailor.Because anatomically, we're all different, we're not symmetrical.One arm can be longer than the other.It's been debated how long your suit should be and really there's a simple answer to this. You want your suit to fall somewhere between your wrist and the middle of your thumbt But, most importantly, it has to cover your bottom.So we talked about the jacket of the suit,now let's talk about the pants.
First, you want to make sure the waist of the pants fit your properly. How do you find your natural waist? Well take 3 fingers and place them right below your belly button.And that's your natural waist.That's where your suit pants should fit.These aren't jeans, these aren't sweat pants so don't let them sink too low. Your suits pants should fit comfortably without the need for a belt.In fact, the best quality suit pants are made without belt loops.They're made with little hinges and attachments on the sides to make small changes in case you gain a pound or two.The suit fabric should naturally drape the contour of your legs without being too loose or snug.Now, let's talk about the length of the pants.
There is some flexibility in deciding how you want the hem of your pants to look. You can go for no break, half break, or a full break. I think the perfect look falls somewhere between a half break or no break at all. Because when you go for a full break, you get that ugly crease in your shins and doesn't make the suit look flattering. Now, let's talk about the details which can really bring your personality to light. Starting from top to bottom, let's look at the lapels. Three most popular variations of the lapel is the Notch Lapel which is the classic one you see on most suits.
Then you have the Peak Lapel which
is the one I am wearing now. A little bit more formal, little bit more flashy. Then you have the Shawl Collar which is something you see traditionally at more formal events, like award shows or galas. But throw all those rules out the window. If you feel like one of those lapels matches your personality or your look best, don't be afraid to try it. Give it a go and see if it works with your outfit.
Let's talk about the buttons of the suit. We are going to be talking about single breasted suits only, leaving the double breasted suits behind. The most important part to remember, is do not button the bottom button. That's like a tongue twister. But seriously, don't button the bottom button. I recommend going with the two buttons. It's classic, it works on all styles. You can wear it to a formal event. You can make it less formal by dressing it down with some jeans.
Good quality suits have functioning or working buttons. Believe it or not, functioning buttons have a medical history. They use to be called surgeons buttons because when surgeons had to run to the operating room, they would unbutton their sleeves, roll them up and go to work.It's true.A part of the part suit you probably never paid attention to before is the vents.It's the back side of your suit but it's equally as important as all the other details.
Shirt have three options you can go for for the vents. You have no vent, the single vent down the middle or double vents on the sides. I strongly recommend going for the double vent because when you sit down the flap in the middle actually covers your bottom and doesn't make you look like a fool. Going with the flat front pant with no pleats. Please, no pleats.
The last detail of the suit you can work on is either getting a cuff or no cuff at the bottom of your pant leg. Really the choice here is yours. Now, let's talk about the color and fabric of suits. If you're getting your first suit, you should definitely get a suit that is going to be multi-purpose that you can wear to weddings and you can wear to events, that you can wear to work. And, a navy suit for that fits all occasions. If you already have a few suits and you're looking to buy more, there's two things you should really focus on.
That's your skin tone and the season. If it's winter, you want to go with something heavier, like a wool or even a corduroy.If it's summer, you want to go for light fabrics,like cotton, linen, or even a even a very thin, fine wool. When talking about color, for the summer you want bright colors that pop and make a statement.But for the winter and the fall,you want brown tones, navy tones, dark tones.It just generally looks good with the light of that season. Underneath your shirt, I believe there's only two options that you can really go for.That is a T-shirt or a dress shirt. Wearing a T-shirt is a great way to dress down a suit and making it a little bit less formal but still looking very well dressed. The type of T-shirt I normally go for is either white or black V neck tee. It keeps the lines of the suit looking very crisp, doesn't take away from the suit but still allows you to look very well dressed, very proper and very sharp.
Make sure that it is a slim fit T-shirt, not too much fabric bunching up down the middle.And also that it is not too long. You don't want your shirt to be longer than your suit, that just makes it look messy.Dress shirts; let's not get too complicated here.You want a shirt that fits really well,snug, but not causing any kind of creasing,no pulling on the buttons. Most importantly,you want a shirt that's long enough so it stays neatly tucked in to your pants all day. You want to get a semi spread collar. It's the collar that works with pretty much anything; tie or no tie.Avoid getting a collar that buttons down.
It doesn't look good with a suit. Just go for the classic, two button barrel cuff.No need for french cuffs. No need for cufflinks right now.Start off by getting a quality collection of basic shirts first and then you can start exploring and finding out what works for you.What do I think about undershirts? I don't think you need them, get rid of them.They never look good, they make your mid section look heavy.And some people say it prevents a sweat stain from going on the dress shirt,but that doesn't happen.
In fact, I think they make you more hot, more sweaty, there's no benefit to an undershirt.Ties, make sure that when you're wearing a tie,it doesn't go past your belt and it doesn't sit too high up on you torso because it's gonna make you look bad.Also, when selecting the color of your tie,make sure it fits the color palette of your suit and your dress shirt.I also opt for a tie bar. Not only do I think it looks great, but it also keeps your tie in the same place all day without falling to either side.
What's the deal with pocket squares? Well I think pocket squares are great. They allow you to show more personality, add more color to your wardrobe. A lot of people think that your pocket square needs to match your tie or your dress shirt perfectly. But that's not true.It can be that perfect little accent of color that you don't expect. But, again, it should stay in the same color palette that your tie, suit, and dress shirt are in.There are a million ways to fold your pocket square. But I like to keep it simple as I do with most things.So I either go for the conservative square or if I'm feeling very fashionable,I'll go for the 4 point look.Time to figure out what kind of sock to wear.Here's a place for you to show even more personality. Get some crazy colored socks. You really should only be seeing your socks when you're seated. So, it's okay to get a really flashy color here.
For me, because I have big calves, if I wear regular socks, they'll cause the fabric of my suit to bunch up and it won't look great.I wear super low, no show socks.Also, you're going to be wearing a loafer,don't be afraid to go sock less,especially in the summer. You can tell a lot about a man by looking at his shoes. As long as they match the color palette of your suit, and they're great quality, you'll be all set.
Fashion has no boundaries, there's really no limit to your creativity. These are simply my rules that I think can help you look your best. We've covered a lot of ground. Did you get all that? Are you read to get suited up? If not, leave your questions down below.I'll get back to you.
Hi there. I’m James. Thank you so much for visiting my website, and I hope you’ll check out my ultimate labor of love.
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