Dressing the Man - The Art of Suiting

Great book for Mens Fashion

Okay, so as a way to give you something to think about, I have decided to write about Mens fashion. Ladies, I hope to address your world at a later date but for today and the next few weeks I will address the issues that I believe are important with deciding how to buy a mens suit, what to wear to an interview, how to purchase one suit that will work with almost anything you own and how to present yourself in a professional manner at work and in life.

You might be asking yourself what qualifies me to give such advise. You might be asking yourself, who cares... Well I can tell you that without a doubt, you should care. The way in which you present yourself in an interview or a lunch meeting with possible investors absolutely matters. If you look like a slob, you will be perceived as one and vice versa.

So what qualifies me to address this specific topic? Well, besides over 6 years of experience in the fashion Industry, I specifically worked in Mens Clothing (suiting) for Ralph Lauren. Although most associate Ralph Lauren with polo's and department store items, he has what is referred to as "Full Retail Stores" which means that the items you buy in Macy's are only a very small portion of what Ralph Lauren makes. Suits & dress clothes are just a few of those items. Starting at $1,500 up to around $15,000 per suit means the quality of suit that RL sells is unmatched in many ways in the Mens Clothing Industry.

With that said, I have decided to address the most important part of your wardrobe with regards to an interview. The Suit. So you might be saying, "well I have a suit... Whats next?" A suit should not just be a couple of pieces of cloth hanging in your closet that you wear on Tuesday and Sunday. A suit is an expression of who you are, it says a lot about you and your attention to detail. So the question we need to ask is, "When buying a suit, what should we look for?"

Heres what you need to know. If you can only afford one suit, or you are looking for a suit now that you are entering the working world, there is one suit everyone should have in their closet. A plain charcoal grey or charcoal grey pinstripe, two or three button suit with a notched lapel.

• Charcoal Grey is dark grey (NOT light grey)
• Two or Three buttons because these are very traditional and standard. DO NOT GET MORE THAN 3 BUTTONS FOR ANY REASON!!!!
• Notched Lapel is standard on suits, a "Peak lapel" is the alternative and is nice also but really should only be worn with specific body types. Pictured below are both notch lapels...

Courtesy of Brooks Brothers®

Here is two examples of grey suits that would be appropriate for an interview setting or business. Lucky for us as members of the church we have a lot of white shirts which you will also need for the interview. So here is a breakdown of what accessories you should consider with your grey suit. We will go into additional detail later but to start out here are a few things to know.

• A white shirt is always appropriate. Depending on the industry in which you are applying. For instance, if you are applying in the fashion world, wearing a white shirt might be a little to conservative. Consider a colored shirt and with a complimenting tie (not to matchy, meaning no matching tie, pocket square & cuff-links, all that tells the employer is that you don't really know how to match something so you took the easy road)
• A pocket square can be considered a little uppity! If you do decide to wear one, keep it simple and conservative with a white linen folded with what is ofter called "5 Crowns" or a straight line peaking just above the pocket line. DO NOT WEAR A MATCHING TIE & POCKET SQUARE EVER!
• Black or Cordovan (Dark Brown) dress shoes are both great options. Either way, make sure they are polished and in good conditions. Also, although not as important, when you do go to purchase new shoes stay away from rubber souls when at all possible. It will cost you a little more but will totally be worth the cost in style points!
• Wear a watch! A watch shoes that you care about time and that you are dependent. Using your phone to look at the time in an interview just says you are addicted! A watch also adds a nice accessory to your overall look.
• Speaking of phones, leave it in the car. For that matter, leave everything in car that you can. Having bulging pockets looks ridiculous! If you take your car key off and leave the rest of the keys in the car it will save you a lot of bulging. Also it will keep you from playing with them when you are nervous.

Well I think I have bored you enough. Remember this, if you don't have any of these things, it is more important that you look presentable. I would in no way advocate you getting into debt to finance a new wardrobe as that would be stupid! Build your wardrobe piece by piece and you will find that you look great and feel great! There will be more to come soon so come back for more tips and if you have any questions, leave a comment and we will try to answer them for you! 

Ian Lindsey