Women have the trusty little black dress or LBD to turn to when dressing up is proving to be tricky. The men’s equivalent for the LBD is a classic suit. A suit is the perfect outfit for any occasion wherein looking presentable is an absolute must. You can dress it up or down with just a few tweaks.
When it comes to functional versatility, a classic suit certainly delivers. But, if you want your favorite suit to be your ultimate style weapon, it is important to know the changes you can implement to it and make it as stylish as possible. Shared below are seven of them.
1. Improve the taper of the pants.
If you want your pants to look polished whether your footwear is for athletic leisure or for a formal event, they need to be tapered just right. The way your pants fit around your legs can improve your silhouette. You can achieve the illusion of a taller and tighter body.
Tapering your pants is most important if you wish to shift from a half or full break to a no break. The styling rule here is as pants shorten, the taper should be adjusted as well.
2. Pick the right dress shirt collar for your face shape.
The style principle to uphold regarding the dress shirt for your suit is the narrower your face, the wider the spread of your dress collar should be, and the wider your face, the narrower the spread should be.
If you will be having a dress shirt made for your suit, this principle is certainly something to consider to further elevate the look of the ensemble.
3. Match the size of your jacket lapel with your tie.
Take the time to measure your tie and lapel to see if they are similar in size. You want to make sure that your tie and lapel are around the same size, advises a master haberdasher who makes bespoke men’s suits in Columbus, Ohio.
You will see that the entire suit simply looks more balanced and cohesive when the jacket lapel and tie are similar in width.
4. Invest in fancy buttons for dress shirts.
If you want to make your dress shirts fancier for formal occasions, you can use specially designed buttons that you just put through the extra button hole on the inner part of the shirt.
This is an easy way to change the style of your suit. You do not even have to get rid of the regular buttons of your dress shirt.
These special buttons are affordable and they are perfect to use especially when you opt to wear a bow tie.
5. Fold the sleeves of your dress shirt right.
Every time you take off your suit jacket to move more comfortably, make sure you dress shirt sleeves are folded correctly. Do not fold straight from the cuffs and just roll up. Instead, fold once with the cuffs reaching your elbows and then fold the sleeves up to tuck in the cuffs.
This folding technique is cleaner and tighter. Plus, the fold creates a fit that’s more flattering for your guns.
6. Experiment with pocket squares.
These suit accessories add a bit more personality to suits. They, likewise, make it easy to switch things up. As small as pocket squares are, the pop of color, pattern, or different texture they provide automatically gives suits a whole new vibe.
Also, for pocket squares to boost the overall look of your suit, learn about different folding techniques. And, use them even if you are just wearing a casual company branded shirt under your suit jacket.
7. Be playful with your socks.
Do not shy away from flashy colors, patterns, and prints. People only see your socks when you are seated, there’s no need to be so serious with them.
Make your socks the cheeky feature of your ensemble, something for other people to chuckle about or find amusing. Go wild, especially for weddings, parties, and other events where there are no strict codes to uphold. Choose an unexpected sock design that will peep through when you are in a more relaxed position.
So, these are the seven ways to make your suits more functionally and fashionably versatile. No tweak is too outrageous, and you surely will be able to use every one shared here.
AUTHOR BIO
AlphaSuit is the brainchild of Master Haberdasher, Sean McKee. Over a span of more than two decades, Sean has provided custom suits to some of the most successful leaders in America. With AlphaSuit, he now brings this same premium service to you, but at 60-70% less than the traditional price.