Gentleman's Essentials - Basic Wardrobe and How to tie a tie/bowtie

[modern man]

Suits:
Dark gray or charcoal and dark navy, stay away from dark sold black unless you’re at a funeral. Solid color or pinstripe, remember not to make the pinstripe stand out like Al Capone. You just want them to make the suit color lighter. Pinstripes can also be sliming, if they are close together or widening if they have more spacing. Single breasted 2 or 3 buttons. Save double breasted for more formal events. I recommend having two suits because you never know when you are going to need a back up. You can get a suit at Target and it looks just as good as Brooks Brothers but it won’t last nearly as long so if you wear suits sparingly this is an option to explore. If you are a constant suitifile go with the 130 thread all season wool (I can’t tell the difference between 120 and 180). Try not to go over 350-500 dollars. There are deals out their, find them. To take care of it use a wooden hanger.

Trousers:
If you get ones with a suit make sure you dry clean them with the suit. If not you will get wear and tear on one and not the other.
The rule for trousers is simple
Pleated = Cuff
No Pleats = No Cuff
Do not hang them folded on a hanger bar (put your ties on those) hang them on a wooden clip.

Shirts:
Solid white, light blue or gray. Buttondowns for casual attire but not buttondons for the suit, same with pinstripes.

Shoes:
Black or brown (cordovan), wing tip or cap toe, laced up, save slip ons and box toe for casual.

Socks:
Over the calf, must match shoe or trouser color.

Ties:
Stay away from loud colors, use more solid deep colors. Stay away from funky designs (save them for casual) All Silk and do not use a tie clip, 1. They look tacky and 2. The will ruin the tie.

Belts:
Leather, 1 inch wide, color must match shoes. Small buckle unless you are from Texas.

Coats:
Rain: Military Style Tan Trench (classic).
Top Coat: Dark colors no funny designs.

Casual:
Sport coat and blazers are good to go here, along with button down collars and your loud ties. Polo shirts, turtle necks, sweaters, vest, slip ons are also authorized. Paints = cotton, twill or corduroy.

Dos and Don’ts
1. Never wear a short sleeve shirt with a tie.
2. Never button the bottom button of a suit.
3. Tip of tie should reach to the belt buckle
4. The cuffs of the shirt sleeves should show ½ inch below the suit sleeve (this is to protect the suit).
5. Belt or suspenders not both.
6. NO WIFE BEATER UNDER SHIRTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s talk collars.
How dose your face look?

Spread collar = Diamond, Triangle, Rectangle, Heart shaped faces
Standard collar = Pear, Oval shaped faces
Pointed collar = Round, Square shaped faces

Suit Jackets:
European cut = Wedge body frame (top bigger then bottom).
American cut = Parallel body frame.
Ivy League cut = For those with a little junk in the trunk.

Tuxedos? RENT THEM! Unless you use one more often then not but then again if you put one on all the time you don't need this thread then do you Mr. Bond?

Tie Knotting:
Four in Hand = Easy to tie but looks a little crooked, good for casual or for 6 year olds.
Single Windsor = The standard, nice.
Double Windsor = Power suit, formal dress
Bow tie = tux or clown suit.


Remember Jeans and T-shirts/sweatshirts never go out of style.

Also get some work boots, sneekers, crocs, loud Hawaiian shirts etc. Style is subjective out of the work place.

 

[Isaias]

Very Cool! but... I think I need pictures I had to google 15 concepts... Now I know I only favor the Italian Cut in a suit and the pointed collar shirt.

 

[stobes21]

Well done, and thank you. However, I will take exception to a few things and add a few:

Black Suits: In law, one of the few remaining professions where suits are still commonly worn, black is perhaps the most popular color of suit. Every law student I currently am in school with has a solid black suit, and it seems that between a 3rd and half of lawyers I see in court wear black. I consider a black suit to be the most versatile color, appropriate for job interviews, court appearances, weddings, funerals, and anything else for which a suit is required. Otherwise I agree with you. I do have to say though that I have never seen a good looking double breasted suit on anyone ever in my life.

Ties: 4-in-hand seems to be the most common I see. I would not classify it as a child's knot. I personally wear a shelby/small knot most of the time as it is symmetrical and single windsors end up way too wide for me.

Undershirts: no disagreement here, but remember to tuck your undershirt into your underwear. Otherwise it bunches at your midsection and adds girth to your belly, something most of us don't want.

Shoes: Store with a cedar shoe tree inside. It will absorb the moisture, keep/return the leather to proper form, and greatly extend the life of the shoes.

 

[Phog Allen]

Okay, I understand most of this but have two questions. What exactly is the deal with the vests? AKA "wife beater". I mean, when you see a young hood with full sleeve tattoos standing on a street corner wearing one of these (usually with half his arse hanging out) I can understand it. However, I am of an age when I remember that ANY man over the age of about 40 wore these almost religiously. Is it a rule if it can only be seen through the shirt fabric or has this old classic finally been relegated to the dust bin for all uses?

Bow ties. I have taken a certain fancy to them. Are they only to be used with suits and evening wear or are they okay with sport coats? I would be one of those square face types. So I guess pointed collars are the rule of thumb. Will a bow tie work with that shirt and face shape?

As for double breasted suits and sport coats, I have indeed seen them look good a number of men. Of course Hollywood comes to mind. Bogart, Harrison Ford, Claude Rains and some others. I have also met a couple of men in real life who wore them splendidly. One was a minister at our local church. The guy looked like a million bucks in the one I saw him wear. It was sport jacket, not a suit. I think it helps if you are normal/thin around the middle.

Regards, Todd

 

[modern man]

Okay, I understand most of this but have two questions. What exactly is the deal with the vests? AKA "wife beater". I mean, when you see a young hood with full sleeve tattoos standing on a street corner wearing one of these (usually with half his arse hanging out) I can understand it. However, I am of an age when I remember that ANY man over the age of about 40 wore these almost religiously. Is it a rule if it can only be seen through the shirt fabric or has this old classic finally been relegated to the dust bin for all uses?

Bow ties. I have taken a certain fancy to them. Are they only to be used with suits and evening wear or are they okay with sport coats? I would be one of those square face types. So I guess pointed collars are the rule of thumb. Will a bow tie work with that shirt and face shape?

As for double breasted suits and sport coats, I have indeed seen them look good a number of men. Of course Hollywood comes to mind. Bogart, Harrison Ford, Claude Rains and some others. I have also met a couple of men in real life who wore them splendidly. One was a minister at our local church. The guy looked like a million bucks in the one I saw him wear. It was sport jacket, not a suit. I think it helps if you are normal/thin around the middle.

Regards, Todd

I should have added to my post.

If it looks good or if you can make it work....... DO IT!

 

[pastafarian]

Thanks for this fantastic guide, I especially liked the suggestions about collar-types and face shapes. I am slightly more old-fashioned than you in my dress sense than you, but then more liberal. I am a fan of striped shirts, for example.

One minor point though with the list of tie knots:

Suits:
Tie Knotting:
Four in Hand = Easy to tie but looks a little crooked, good for casual or for 6 year olds.
Single Windsor = The standard, nice.
Double Windsor = Power suit, formal dress
Bow tie = tux or clown suit.

I believe that what you call the "Single Windsor" should be the "Half Windsor", and what you call the "Double Windsor" is just the "Windsor" or "Full Windsor". Sorry to be pedantic.

 

[modern man]

@ Matt, I blame my upbringing. You see I was taught this stuff by my Father or other family male figures. My dad called it that so that is what I call it.

I haven't put a suit on in long, long time but I was educated through family and peers on this stuff so I thought I would pass it on. That and I make a suit and tux look good

When I joined the work force I was told... well given my clothing from my Uncle (Sam that is).

I do wear a tie all fall/winter long and I use a Full Windsor/Windsor/Double Windsor etc.

 

[ant4177]

This is great. Regarding socks though, I have heard that you only wear black socks and red ones are okay if you want to make a statement. I don't know about matching them to your suit or shoe colour.

 

[mjmallon]

great post, thanks for the bow tie howto!

cheers,

-- michael

 

[RHVette]

Great post, never did know how to tie a Windsor.

There is one thing that I think is missing, though. It should go without saying (though I've seen it more often than I care to), but all leather goods on your person should match. Belt, shoes, holster, wallet, etc. It looks rather bad when you have everything in black, except for the burgundy belt.

On a similar note, take the time to make sure the colors really do match. Brown shoes require a brown belt, but just any old brown belt probably won't match and will actually stand out worse for it. Light Brown and Dark Brown are not interchangeable.

 

[adamjaskie]

I pretty much only use a (full) Windsor or a four-in-hand. Windsor for interviews/presentations, four-in-hand otherwise. If you tie it properly, a Windsor won't be ridiculously wide, and a four-in-hand will be reasonably symmetrical (and most of the remaining asymmetry will be hidden by your collar). Most people tie Windsors too loose and four-in-hands too tight. I think Windsor knots look too picky, which is why I only wear them when it's important to look like I paid attention to all the little details (interviews and presentations).

Button-down collars, coloured shirts, and loud ties (well, loud-ish; I'm not talking ties with baseballs or fishing lures on them---you should never wear those) are fine with a suit, as are more casual shoes. All are ways of dressing down a suit when you want a bit more of a casual touch, just as french cuffs are a way of making a suit somewhat more formal. Even wearing a suit without a tie is fine; I do that far more than I wear a tie without a jacket (more on that later). Of course, if you're going to be wearing brighter coloured shirts and ties that aren't completely bland, you do have to pay a lot more attention to matching your tie, shirt, and suit.

Wear the right shoes for your suit. If you're wearing a black suit, wear black shoes. If you're wearing a brown suit, wear brown shoes. Brown shoes also work with tan suits, and black shoes also work with grey suits. Navy suits... black or brown, depending on the particular shade of navy. Usually black looks better, though. Cordovan shoes look great with navy, grey, or tan. So I'd get a pair of black shoes and a pair of cordovans if you're only getting two pairs.

In addition to your shoes and belt matching, you should match metals if you are wearing, say, a watch, or cuff links.

I like pocket squares and think more people should wear them. Pocket squares should pick up a colour from your tie or shirt, or be plain white. They should never be purchased in a matching set with your tie. All of mine are cotton; I don't like silk pocket squares. Don't bother with a careful, picky fold unless you're going for a very formal look. Just grab it by the center, shake it out, gather up the ends, and stuff it into your pocket with the center sticking up.

I don't get the point of the "wife beater" undershirt, anyway. It shows more easily through a dress shirt (edges are usually thicker, plus deeper cut necks, etc. that can actually be obvious even in the fairly small area shown by a jacket), and doesn't cover your armpits. How is it going to protect your shirt from sweat/deodorant stains if it doesn't cover your armpits?

Things I don't like in modern "business casual" that I see all the time:
-Ties without something like a jacket/vest/sweater---it just looks silly to see your tie flopping around all over the place.
- Point/spread collar shirts worn with no tie and the top button undone---if you don't want to wear a tie, wear a button-down shirt. The collar points make the collar spread way out and it just looks silly.
- Ties worn slightly loose with the top button undone. Buy a shirt that fits, and button it up. Or don't wear a tie.

 

[adamjaskie]

Belt, shoes, holster, wallet, etc.

Don't bother with the wallet. Besides, who wants to switch all their cards and stuff from one wallet to another every morning? I don't make it a habit to flash my wallet around, anyway, so I really don't care if it matches my shoes.

 

[Doc4]

Shirts:
Solid white, light blue or gray. Gray?? Buttondowns for casual attire but not buttondons for the suit, same with pinstripes.

Shoes:
Black or brown (cordovan), wing tip or cap toe, laced up, save slip ons and box toe for casual.
Corovan isn't a colour, it's a material ... leather from the @$$-end of a horse, and very durable & expensive. It is often produced in a dark burgundy, and thus that colour is sometimes mistakenly called "cordovan"
Socks:
Over the calf, must match shoe or trouser color.
Over-the-calf is a must. Socks should match the suit colour, and be slightly darker. It is said that a businessman matches his socks to his suit, and a gentleman matches his socks to his mood.
Belts:
Leather, 1 inch wide, color must match shoes. Small buckle unless you are from Texas. ... in which case ... still a small buckle!

Casual:
Sport coat and blazers are good to go here, along with button down collars and your loud ties. Polo shirts, turtle necks, but no mock-neck sweaters, vest, slip ons are also authorized. Paints = cotton, twill or corduroy.


Tuxedos? RENT THEM! Unless you use one more often then not but then again if you put one on all the time you don't need this thread then do you Mr. Bond?
Buy a tuxedo of good quality, that fits properly and is tailored to you. Rented tuxedoes are a travesty against nature and civilisation, and you will NOT look good in them.

Also get some work boots, sneekers, crocs, loud Hawaiian shirts etc. Style is subjective out of the work place.Subjective is as subjective does, but it never goes so far as Hawaiian shirts, let alone crocs!

Avoid the black suit. It is the refuge of the damned. It is your way of saying "I don't know what sort of suit to wear, so I'll get this. I hear black is slimming. Everyone wears black, so it must be good." Everyone wears black suits, and shaves with multi-blade systems. 'Nuff said.

 

[adamjaskie]

Nothing wrong with a black suit. As long as it isn't your only suit. I'd start with a solid navy suit and a solid mid-grey or charcoal suit. The grey or charcoal I suppose could be a sharkskin if you want something a little different (basically contrasting threads woven tightly so there is a very subdued very fine almost plaid pattern that "shimmers" a little; very hard to describe, but subtle and nice). You could go for black for your third suit. I'd go for tan, or perhaps a navy pinstripe, though.

And get a single-breasted navy blue blazer with two brass buttons.

This is great. Regarding socks though, I have heard that you only wear black socks and red ones are okay if you want to make a statement. I don't know about matching them to your suit or shoe colour.

Socks should match your suit colour. If you can't match exactly (very difficult, obviously) they can be a shade or three darker, but should still have a similar tint.

Patterns like argyles are OK if you want something a little flashier. I'd still stick with similar tones, though. I have some socks that are a brown/olive/tan argyle that I wear sometimes with my tan suit, and some black socks with a faint charcoal and light grey pattern running in a stripe down the sides that I wear with my black suit.

Basically, you have a few categories of colours you can work with. Earth tones like brown/tan/green, maybe getting as daring as rust/goldenrod, dark blues and maybe muted turquoises/cooler purples if you REALLY want to stand out, and black/charcoal/grey/white. Since you do want them darker than the suit, you're going to want to stay away from the lighter golds/turquoises/whites in the socks, at least as anything more than a fleck or a pinstripe here and there.

I don't know about red. I suppose it depends on the kind of statement you want to make. I do have a pair of red acrylic socks with yellow hammer-and-sickles on them and CCCP lettered around the top, but I wouldn't wear those with a suit (little sis picked them up for me in Hungary).

 

[labrat_333]

Any tips for a good tweed coat.

I'm looking for something that would dress up jeans a boots into something a little classier.

 

[adamjaskie]

A good one is a bit pricey. Especially this time of year. I'd wait a month or two when they go on sale and check out Macy's or something.

Look for something with some good thickness to it. Details like a belt/bi-swing back, lapel tab, elbow patches, etc. are traditional, but may give it too much of an "I just got back from duck hunting" look, unless that's what you want.

100% wool, certainly. Preferably Harris or Donegal, if you can swing it.

 

[RHVette]

Don't bother with the wallet. Besides, who wants to switch all their cards and stuff from one wallet to another every morning? I don't make it a habit to flash my wallet around, anyway, so I really don't care if it matches my shoes.

Good Point. I have to use a thin wallet or else the pressure gives me back problems, so since I'm always cleaning it out and moving stuff around anyhow, I decided to get a matching wallet for an extra 5 bucks. The thing never has more the $40, two cards, and my DL, so it isn't a big deal for me.

 

[adamjaskie]

My wallet came with a little removable thingie in it for an ID. That little thing has plenty of room for my driver's license, insurance card, credit card, and debit card, so I leave the wallet itself on my dresser.

 

[Abdiel]

OK question from the normally not so well dressed-

When choosing a sport coat/blazer whats the best way to match color? Any general rules of thumb?

 

[john.crissman]

Wonderful thread and discussion! Please expand on the topic of ties (with particular reference to one's size).