Men's Suits - Not Just For The Office

By Andrew Regan

Suits are ideal office wear for men – and many women – because they are smart, stylish and not overly individual. This last statement may prove contentious, but it is rare to go into an office and see a suit that is not a dark shade, with a discreet pattern. This is perfectly understandable: offices are about teamwork, rather than sartorial one-upmanship. Of course, you can always discreetly compete, with the cut of your suit and the quality of the fabric, but it is usually expected that your energy and concentration will be channelled into business.

Suits are also ideal for the business world because they look good on everyone. While it can be a little worrying to see your parents or elders sporting the casual fashions of twenty-somethings, if they wear a suit then it is likely to be completely unremarkable. Equally, even a very young man applying for his first job looks reasonably presentable in a suit. If a potential boss saw him in low cut jeans and a label t-shirt then the story might be rather different.

However, do not assume that your suit’s usefulness expires away from the workplace. Men’s suits come in a marvellous array of shapes, sizes and fabrics and are perfect for playing with people’s expectations, so you can be as sensible, stylish or flamboyant as you wish. Perhaps go for the flounced dress shirt and cummerbund combination, or keep the look pared down, letting people simply admire the way your suit flatters your figure. Or pick an unusually textured fabric, perhaps velvet or tweed, unless you are going to be dancing, in which case a light-weight fabric is by far the best choice.

If you typically sport the cool and casual look at parties just think how much attention you will get by wearing a suit to the next Christmas celebration. They are the epitome of stylish dressing and you can really enjoy accessorising with silk handkerchiefs, slim ties or an old-fashioned pocket watch. Even if you only invest in one ‘party’ suit, you can make it look fresh by changing your accessories. If the office expects sensible shoes, then you can match casual sneakers with a suit just to emphasise how far from the work ethos your evening is going to be.

Suits are also great at making the most of any figure. The only item of men’s clothing that is better is a kilt, but unless you’re Scottish you’ll likely not be trying this on for size. It is always a fallacy that a round stomach is best hidden under something baggy – a well tailored suit jacket and shirt will do a much more effective job of hiding extra weight. Although of course, clothes can only achieve so much.

So, when the Christmas invitations start coming in and you’re wondering what to wear, don’t forget the stylish charms of mens suits. Leave the standard black officewear in your wardrobe and choose one that will make you stand out from the crowd.

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.

Formal Wear – A Man's Guide To Dressing With Style

By Kelly Price

When dressing formally all you need to follow some basic easy rules and you will instantly have a stylish classic.

The right look with formal wear for a man is easy, if you follow the tips below:

The suit

The suit is very important and is the building block of your formal look.

1. Style

You can't go wrong with a single-breasted suit. Solid colors should be used such as black, grey or dark blue

A single-breasted suit will make you look slimmer and leaner a double breasted one will make you look fatter – So this is the safe best option.

A stylish suit can present a multitude of images, all of them good!

A suit can have various looks it can make you look in control, dynamic, mature, conservative, or even sexy! Women love the look and you will do when you doing it correctly

2. Fabrics / Patterns

Wool is a good option to buy. With care It will always look good, wears well and their variety to choose from. Worsted wools by nature are lightweight and ideal for the warmer months.

Gabardine wools are heavier and will keep you warm in the winter. Wool Crepes are lightweight with softer finishes. Flannel wools are heaviest.

With regard to patterns for formal suits these are limited to solids, stripes (pinstripe, chalk stripe, beaded-stripe, multistripe) plaids, and checks (hounds-tooth, windowpane and herringbone).

The Shirt

Men with lean faces should choose collars that are wide, to help broaden their faces; on the other hand, men with wider faces should wear collars that are narrow to help to give the image of a longer face.

Ties

Today, formal wear does not necessarily mean having to wear a tie. You will see people such as Bill Gates and Richard Branson not wear ties and it’s perfectly acceptable.

However, wearing a tie can add a real focal point to your look and if you choose correctly a collar and tie looks great

If you want to make a strong statement wear a patterned tie with a patterned shirt, make sure that the colors are the same and that the patterns go in the same direction.

Don’t forget the Length it’s very important where your tie finishes:

It should hit the top of your belt buckle and t he ideal width of ties is between 3 and 4 inches.

Combining Tie’s Shirts & Suits

When choosing a jacket-shirt-and-tie trio, match its level of color contrast to your complexion and hair color.

If you're coloring is one of high-contrast i.e. dark hair and light skin, or vice versa--your jacket, tie, and shirt combo should be high contrast, too.

If your hair-hide contrast is softer and lighter i.e. you're blond or gray-haired with pale skin, or dark-skinned with dark hair--you need to wear clothing with a lower contrast.

When you're wearing two like patterns in the jacket-shirt-tie triangle, they should be of different gauges.

If your suit has pinstripes 3/4 inch apart, your tie should have significantly broader or thinner bands. If your suit is a striped one (with lines more than an inch apart), your shirt's stripes then should be narrower.

If for example, you wear two different designs within the lapel triangle a checked shirt and a striped tie, or a striped suit and a medallion tie--They need to be different scales in size If your shirt has a narrow stripe, your tie needs to be the opposite. Deflect

Choose clothes that deflect attention from your extremes in terms of your body.

If you're short, look for strong vertical lines such as pinstriped suits, two-button jackets. If on the other hand you’re thin, choose a jacket with wider shoulders. If you are of a heavier build then Wear darker colors that are monotone from top to bottom.

Watches

With regard to accessories this is the only one you really need. A watch which has a large face are seen by everyone as stylish.

Forget earrings medallions and lots of rings! The only accessory a man needs is a watch the others should not be worn, rings can be if subtle and only a few.

belts

You want to buy quality and this doesn’t have to be expensive.

Your belt color should be coordinated with your footwear and suit - black with black, brown with brown.

Shoes

Black is the traditional safe color for work but Brown and ox blood can also look stylish.

You can also use a variety of styles including loafers, wingtips, round-toe, or the trendy pointy-tipped shoe.

Don’t economize on quality. For men, shoes are the final touch and are one of the things that most people will notice great suit and look and scuffed or dirty shoes! – Don’t make this mistake

So there you have it. Follow the guidelines above and you will look the business, feel good and get admiring glances from women as well as a bonus!

For more free fashion advice on mens formal wear including, articles features dowloads and FREE fashion show videos visit:

http://www.net-planet.org