A 2018 study showed that the number of men’s suits sold that year was 0.07 suits per man.
The suit used to be an important fashion statement for a man. Men wore them everywhere. They wore a suit to work, to dinner, and even to baseball games.
Now, most men are lucky if they have one in their closet for special events. That means the proper way to wear one is a lost art.
Do you want to learn how to wear a suit? Check out this fashion guide to learn the proper style.
The Basics
What is a suit? It’s a jacket, shirt, tie, and pants. Seems easy, right?
Making any suit, whether off the rack or custom-tailored, work for you is easy if you follow some basic fashion advice.
Shirt
Keep it simple. Solid light colors are easy to match. When in doubt, a white shirt will always work.
White dress shirts match with any suit or tie color. Pale blue is another versatile color choice to match a wide variety of suits. You’ll never go wrong with these two in your closet.
Branching out with different colors and patterns requires more work. Remember a simple rule of thumb about these dress shirts. The primary color should be lighter than the fabric of your suit.
Jacket
Your jacket needs to fit. Not everyone has the money to visit a tailor for a custom suit.
How do the shoulders fit? A jacket with too big or too small shoulders won’t look right. Make sure the shoulder seams of any suit jacket are at the point where your shoulders meet your arms.
For length, a jacket should cover your zipper. Shorter men look best when the jacket falls mid-crotch. Taller men look best with a jacket long enough to reach the lower-mid crotch.
The sleeve length also shows a good fit. A jacket’s sleeves should leave a quarter-inch of a shirt’s cuffs showing with your arms at your side.
Pants
Not too loose, but not too tight. Your suit pants button at your waist. Casual pants button lower, but your suit pants should button just above your hips.
A proper fit allows no more than two fingers into the waist.
For length, the cuff should land right where your foot and ankle meet. There should be no more than an inch of divot where the pants rest against your shoes.
Avoid a baggy look with your pants. Make sure they fit close to your body and taper closer as they fall to your ankle.
All About Ties
Ties are where men find trouble. Most don’t know how to match a tie with a suit. Worse yet, the tie is an afterthought.
If this is how you think, you couldn’t be more wrong.
The wrong tie tells people you don’t know how to dress. A suit portrays competence and confidence. The wrong tie portrays a sullen teenager at a family reunion.
Length and Width
When searching for the right tie, remember first to match it to your body’s proportions. A too-wide tie on a smaller man doesn’t look right. The same goes for a too-skinny tie on larger men.
A good reference for proper length is your belt buckle. Your tie should be no longer than your belt buckle.
Colors
Consider your complexion. Fair skin and light hair call for pastels or monochrome. Brighter, high contrast colors suit darker hair and skin.
Choose a tie darker than your shirt. It should, however, match the tone of a darker suit.
The opposite is true for lighter suits. A lighter suit requires a dark, bold tie.
Patterns
Clashing patterns are now more common fashion for men. Matching patterns is for the more advanced fashionable man. They aren’t required for a good-looking suit.
Here’s a simple rule. Match a patterned tie with a solid shirt and a solid tie with a patterned shirt.
Knot
When in doubt, opt for a basic four-in-hand knot. This is the easiest and most common tie knot.
A knot shouldn’t be too large. It shouldn’t be too small, either. Avoid tying your knot with the slim or wide portions of your tie.
Accessories
How you wear these suit accessories can make or break your style. Follow these accessory fashion tips for a clean, professional look.
- Belt: A slim style that should match your shoe color.
- Shoes: Dark shoes match dark suits, dark shoes also match light suits.
- Pocket Square: Matches indirectly with a tie, choose a secondary color.
- Tie Bar: Keep it slimmer than your tie width.
- Cuff Links: Contrast a solid shirt but compliment the secondary color of a patterned shirt.
A Few Helpful Rules
Learning how to coordinate a suit is key to looking good. A men’s fashion guide isn’t complete without teaching you how to wear your perfectly matched suit.
The bottom buttons on suit jackets and vests aren’t meant to be functional. Don’t button them. Don’t forget to unbutton your jacket when you sit down.
Many guys aren’t aware of the stitching on the rear suit jacket vents. Remove this stitching so your jacket falls around your mid-section correctly. Don’t forget to remove the label in the left sleeve, too.
A Fashion Guide for Men’s Suits
There were days when men wore suits everywhere. Work, dinner, and sporting events all required sharp formal wear.
The world is far more casual these days, but there are occasions where you’ll need to wear a suit. Follow this fashion guide and look good when you do.
Make sure to check out the rest of our page for the latest men’s fashion trends.
