Dress Like a Man (21 page)

If you can't pull off a close match, it's often better to go with a deliberate contrast. Many men keep a few pairs of brightly-colored socks (red and lavender are popular options) so that they'll always have a contrasting option for their trousers. At the strictest levels of business formality you need to go with matching socks and trousers, but outside of those settings a bold, deliberate contrast is generally acceptable (and even admirable, when it's done well).

Bare ankles are also an option, and indeed the best option, for slip-on shoes. The exception would be black dress loafers worn with a business suit, or pumps worn with formal attire -- those require fine, dark socks. But the rest of the time, if you're wearing slip-on shoes, feel free to go sockless. It's really the most appropriate option.

C
HAPTER 29:
M
EN'S
A
CCENTS

The details make the man.

A very small accent piece can have a very big effect on an outfit. Think about the difference between a man in generic office clothes with a paisley tie and the same man in the same clothes with a Mickey Mouse tie -- one's an ordinary worker and the other's a goofball clown, even though the only thing that changed was a narrow strip of cloth on the front of his shirt.

Impressive and unique suits, jackets, and trousers are nice if you can afford them. But most men can't afford to base their personal style on owning dozens of different, high-quality "core" items.

For most of us, that means the smaller (and cheaper) accent pieces like belts and neckties play a big role in the "personal" half of "personal style."

There are a handful of common accent pieces, and a few less-common ones that are worth knowing about. We've covered them all here for you.

Neckties

Discussions of accent pieces always begin with neckties -- which is sort of interesting, given that most men these days don't have to wear one, outside of special events like weddings. They're just not part of the uniform the way they were fifty years ago.

That said, they
are
still the most easily personalized accent for the workplaces where they're required. If you work in a business-dress or business-casual office where neckties are the norm, it's worth using them to vary your style a bit.

Wearing a tie every day, of course, seems by definition the opposite of variety. That's why it's worth owning one or two each of several distinct styles:

• Diagonal stripes
  are about as default as it gets. A solid base color with thin, wide-spaced stripes of another color (or several other colors) is always unobjectionable. It allows for infinite variations without much thought -- just get a few in different color schemes, and suddenly you've got "variety" in your wardrobe. Easy as that.
  
• Solid colors
  are either bland or bold depending on the color. They look better when there's a visible texture or pattern than when it's literally just a solid block of one unbroken color. Dark, conservative colors (think burgundy, royal purple, hunter green, etc.) work well; brighter colors like red and orange can sometimes work as "power" ties, but tend to be a little novelty overall.
  
• Figure patterns
  describes any tie with a solid background overlaid with small, repeating designs. Fleur-de-lis, dots, and crests or logos are all common. The more empty space there is, the more formal the tie looks, so a series of very small figures spaced far apart is more formal than one of larger figures placed close together.
  
• Paisley
  is essentially a busier and more varied figure pattern. It's quite popular for neckties, and gives a bit of a relaxed air without becoming novelty or tacky. A few paisleys in conservative colors are always worth having as an alternative to the more staid diagonals and figure patterns.
  
• Grids and checks
  are not the most common family of patterns for neckties, but they exist, particularly in tartan/plaid. Most are fairly casual -- good for adding uniqueness to a business-casual wardrobe, but not well suited to strict business attire.
  
• Knit ties
  are typically monochrome, but have a bumpy texture that acts as a pattern. They're more casual than smooth-surfaced ties, and a bit retro these days. You'll mostly see them on guys with thick-rimmed glasses and trendy haircuts. That's not a bad thing, as long as you know the look you're going for.
  

A good mix of styles helps keep you from always looking the same when you're wearing ties every day. If you're in a workplace where ties are optional, mix it up -- wear a tie some days, an open collar others, any maybe something as casual as a turtleneck on Fridays.

The knot of the tie should always fit comfortably within the spread of your shirt collar (see our chapter on Men's Shirts for details about collar spread). At the bottom, the tip of the tie should fall just past the top of your belt (or waistband if you're wearing suspenders).

Popular tie widths change somewhat with fashions, but in general you want to stay in the neighborhood of 3 1/4" or so. A quarter-inch in either direction is fine; much more than that starts to get noticeable as either a "skinny" or a "wide" tie.

As a final note, bow ties
are
an acceptable subsitute for a regular necktie. Avoid plain black or white ones -- those are reserved for semiformal and formal wear, respectively -- but feel free to mix colored/patterned ones in with the more common long-style ties. They're novel enough that you should avoid them in strict business dress situations (where the goal is to blend in), but otherwise they're fair game.

Pocket Squares

The rental tux industry has tried to re-craft the pocket square as some sort of matched pairing for neckties.

Ignore all that.

Pocket squares are their own separate accent piece. They can
complement
the tie -- or anything else in your outfit, for that matter -- but they shouldn't look like a matched set. And you can (and should) wear one without a tie, so long as you're wearing a jacket with a breast pocket.

There's really no reason to go without a pocket square, unless you feel like your outfit has already reached the maximum number of colors and patterns it can contain. Even then, you can always wear a simple white square -- and if that's going to be enough to overwhelm your outfit, it had problems already.

If you've got the pocket for it, throw a square in there. Brighter colors and patterns are, obviously, less formal, while solid colors are more formal, with plain white the most formal option (and, indeed, used all the way up to true formal attire).

The fold of the square determines much of how it appears on your body. Sharp-edged folds with a defined shape are more formal than loose ones. Most fall into a few basic categories:

• Horizontal folds
  are a simple flat edge of the square emerging from the pocket. They run parallel to the top of the pocket itself, so that you just have a narrow band of horizontal, colored cloth visible against the background of your jacket.
  
• Peak folds
  keep the straight edges, but have a corner thrusting up from the pocket instead of a flat edge. That makes a clear, crisp triangle shape against the background of your jacket. Some folds will produce two or more slightly offset peaks, sometimes called a "crown fold."
  
• Puff folds
  are made by simply blousing the center of the square out a bit and then having that as the visible part emerging from the jacket. It makes a casual, slightly wrinkled dome-shape against the jacket.
  
• Flute folds
  are an inverted puff fold -- instead of the center of the square, the tail ends are visible above the pocket. This makes an inherently random shape, and takes a bit of fiddling to get just the right about of "accidental" disarray. It's casual, but very striking when done properly.
  
• Rose folds
  or
  flower folds
  are most commonly seen in pre-made squares for rentals, but you can create one yourself with a bit of effort. With careful twisting, a bundle that looks like a rose just starting to blossom can be created and tucked into the jacket pocket. For obvious reasons, this is most commonly done in red, but any square can be made to work if you want an extravagant fold.
  

It's good to vary your colors and folds up, especially for differing levels of formality. A really crisp, starchy horizontal fold in plain white looks great on a charcoal business suit, but it's a bit out of place against a tweedy brown sports jacket.

One important closing word on pocket squares: these are
clothing
, not tools. Wiping your nose on your pocket square falls into the same category as wiping your nose on your sleeve. Carry a sturdy, practical handkerchief in an interior pocket for that sort of task. No one should ever have to wonder if the elegant silk accent in a man's jacket pocket has snot wadded up inside it.

Belts

One of the more critical accents out there, belts can run the whole gamut from neutral necessities to elaborate centerpieces.

The default behavior here should be matching your shoes. If they're brown, wear a brown belt. It doesn't have to be the exact
same
brown, but you want to be in the same general color family.

Is that a hard and fast rule? No. It's just a good option that's never going to be considered "wrong." Men who want to make more of a statement (or whose shoes are making a statement) can certainly break the "rule."

Narrower belts are dressier than wide belts, and the same holds true for the buckles. Strict business dress always calls for a thin, black leather belt with a narrow metal buckle; as standards relax, both the belt and the buckle can widen.

Keep in mind that metal matching follows the same rules as leather matching -- you want everything to be in the same color family. If you're wearing a blazer with brass buttons, don't wear a belt with a silver buckle. Find a gold/brass tone one instead.

If you're looking to experiment a little with belts as statement pieces, consider investing in a good leather belt with snaps that allow you to swap different buckles in and out. It's an easy way to get dozens of belts for the price of one -- or at least, for the price of one plus the cost of whatever buckles you pick up.

Jewelry

The role of jewelry in fashion is rapidly expanding, especially for men.

Traditional metal and gemstone jewelry, with the exception of watches and wedding bands, remains mostly a feminine style. But that "mostly" is fading fast -- increasingly, men are getting comfortable with "statement" jewelry beyond simple functional or symbolic pieces, worn just for fun and fashion.

Think of it as an option but not a necessity. (With the exception of a wristwatch. Every man should own a wristwatch, preferably two or three. Fishing in your pocket for a cell phone when you want to check the time looks awkward and unsophisticated.) Jewelry can be a good way to spice up an otherwise-bland outfit, but a little goes a long way, and there are other accents that will work just as well.

If you do decide to try out some men's jewelry, stick to a few basic guidelines:

• Match your metals.
  Don't mix gold tones and silver, and if you have similar but different metals (a white gold ring and platinum watchband, say), keep them far apart. A plain, gold wedding band is an exception -- you can wear that with anything, since everyone knows what it is and why it's there.
  
• When in doubt, go thick.
  Solid-looking jewelry is more masculine than fine, delicate jewelry. You don't need massive, chunky chain links, but you do want jewelry that has a little heft of its own. Be careful of fine chains and very slender bands or loops.
  
• Don't overdo it.
  One or two pieces of jewelry is usually enough. Multiple rings or necklaces is pushing your luck -- wear one that makes a simple, clear statement, rather than half a dozen that clash and tangle.