THE SUIT 1#RULE, THE FIT IS EVERYTHING.
Turn it up a notch or two with these five knot styles.
THE
PERFECT F IT
LAPELS: Be conscious of the ties you’ll be wearing with your suit, lapel width should correspond to the tie width. DARTS: To avoid a boxy silhouette, your suit should dart in at the waist. Even on a pre-darted suit, you should have your jacket tailored to fit your body. The thinnest point should be around the jacket’s main button. SLEEVE LENGTH: The back of the sleeve should just meet the bump on the pinky side of you hand, and should allow ½” of shirt cuff to show. PLEATS: Flat front shown here, but if you opt for pleats you must wear your pants on your waist, not on your hips, otherwise they will bulge. BREAK: The pants should have one break at the bottom, and the leg should stop halfway down your shoe. This is known as a ‘medium break’. CUFF: A classic look and a matter of preference. Cuffs look great with pleats.
SHOULDERS: It is one of the few alterations that is too expensive to be worth it. The seam should rest naturally on your shoulder. Lean against a wall, if you jacket touches first, it’s too big. ARMHOLES: If your armholes are too low, your whole suit will move when you stick your arm out. Opt for the modern, less boxy high armhole cut. BUTTONS: If your buttons look like they’re pulling, the jacket is too small. If you pull the bottom of the V straight out, it shouldn’t come out more than about 2 inches, if it does, it’s too big. JACKET LENGTH: With your arms at your side, cuff your fingers up. Your jacket should be resting in your hand. A suit jacket should cover most of your pants zipper and all of you butt. PANTS LEG: Suit pants will rarely fit off the rack. They’re cut long, intended to be tailored. Opt for a modern straighter cut that will create a sleek silhouette instead of a frumpy, baggy one.
THE
JACKET F EATURES
DOUBLE-BREASTED SUIT The DB is a statement in itself, so stray away from loud patterns and thick pinstripes, always keeping your jacket buttoned even when sitting.
SINGLE-BREASTED SUIT The most common type, and a staple in most wardrobes. The SB can be dressed up with a peak lapel and offers many options in terms of pattern andd colour. -STYLES-
Single-Breasted 2 Buttons
Single-Breasted 3 Buttons
Double-Breasted 6 Buttons
-VENTS-
None
Center
Side
-BUTTONS-
The ‘sometimes, always, never’ rule applies to the top, middles and bottom buttons of your suit jacket.
TOP BUTTON Sometimes
MIDDLE BUTTON Always
BOTTOM BUTTON Never
THE
COL L ECTION
Every man has reason to own a good suit; whether it’s to attend a friend’s wedding, nail a big presentation at work, or just boost the class-factor. Suits are the surest way to be dressed when you need to look your best.
-MODERN MAN-
GRAY SUIT Gray is the new black when it comes to suits. It has replaced black as the must-have for semi formal office wear. And, because it’s just a little more casual than black, it still works well during the day or for a dressy evening out, making it the most versatile of all suit colours. If you’ve got one suit in your closet, it oughta be gray. Remember that the lighter the gray, the more casual the suit. (So, keep it relatively dark if you plan on buying and selling a lot of stock when wearing it.
- T R A D I T I O N A L I S T-
BLACK SUIT If you’ve got dark hair, your wife refers to you as a silver fox, or you just want a sleek night-time look, you can’t go wrong with black. Despite what you might hear, black works really well for a lot of guys and should be the third suit in your wardrobe. Yes, it is the most formal, but don’t feel like you can only wear it to funerals. Wear it any time you want to mark a special occasion, whether that’s an anniversary dinner or to celebrate the cable guy’s arrival after a 48 hour wait time. Pro tip: If you really want to make the black suit less formal, add a pop of one of your best colours in a cool tie/pocket square combo. Colour always says, “I’m here to party”, and not, “I’m here on behalf of my client.”
THE
COL L ECTION
-SOPHISTICATED-
NAVY SUIT While gray may have a modern edge, navy is always in style and makes a great choice for the second suit in your closet. It’s still appropriate for businesses and more casual events, but navy has a slightly more relaxed and gentlemanly feel – especially when paired with brown or burgundy shoes, through black shoes work well too. The best part is that if the fabric isn’t sharkskin or otherwise too formal, the jacket can always pull double duty as your go-to blazer when paired with a different pair of dress pants or a pair of jeans.
-HONEYMOONER-
TAN SUIT Tan is the best choice for your fourth suit. It’s the perfect day-time counterpart to night-time black. Instead of mystery and gravitas, tan conveys levity and cool confidence with an overall casual vibe. The lighter colour is best in warmer weather and should be paired with brown, rather than black. If the situation calls for a tie, stay away from more formal shiny silk ties and consider a linen or knit tie. The tan suit is also a great candidate for the suit without a tie look. Try a bright white dress shirt and leave the collar open when you’re kicking back and listening to those island riddims.
ALL YOU If you’ve only got four suits, why not make the last one something that you really love, something that really represents who are you? The suit that rounds out your closet should be less about covering the basics and more about making your wardrobe complete. If you’re a guy who attends a lot of formal events, consider looking for an additional black suit with a pin dot pattern to add visual interest. Maybe you like a relaxed look. In this case, it’s hard to go wrong with deep brown which can be paired with almost any colour shirt and looks great all year round.