All you had to do earlier was to wear a trouser and a shirt or jeans and a T. Not anymore. Men’s clothing is now about colour combination and print coordination, accessories — right and wrong, look, style, trends and what not. Fashion no longer remains a woman’s domain. And guys, if you don’t have a flair for it, you need some serious advice on it. Here, we are trying to do precisely that. Office or outings, meetings or mere meanderings, use these tips to  plug all fashion faux pas!

Corporate wear

*When talking of the classic suit, the jacket comes first. The jacket defines the wearer. So before getting into your jacket, know your breast front style. While both styles can fit most body types, single-breasted jackets tend to flatter the slim while double-breasted jackets make the broad look better. Choose the jacket style that you can best fill out.

*Button fashions come and go, which can mean even a jacket with six buttons. However a jacket with two or three buttons remains the classic.

*Solid colours help to add a touch of the serious in your work wear wardrobe and also allows you to let the imagination roam with choices of shirts and ties.

*In terms of trousers, the fit and moulding to the shape of the leg is very important. A suit trouser needs to be fitted around your legs but not to your rear. When getting it stitched you need to check the waist size, drape, belt loops and pockets. The waist of the trouser should sit on your waist after you tuck in your dress shirt and you are still able to breathe. Then your trouser fits.

*Flat front trousers offer the wearer a cleaner look and are fast becoming the popular choice; pleated trouser are good for bigger men as they act as a visual distraction.

*In terms of shirts, it is important to know not just your collar or shoulder size, but the length of your arms, and the girth of your neck. When choosing your shirt remember that men with narrow faces should choose wider collars to help broaden their faces and reverse should be for men with broad faces.

*A shorter and more shaped two-button jacket, with wider lapels and more pronounced and structured shoulders and streamlined pants look very nice.

Colours

*Start with the largest piece of clothing, and work your way through to the smallest. So, first pick a suit, then a shirt and last but not least a matching tie.

*Once again, first pick the largest piece of clothing: Your suit. Let’s start with one of the most classic and most common suit colours: A dark gray suit. Put it on your bed.

*Next, take the smaller piece of clothing: Your dress shirt. The best shirt colours to match a dark gray suit are: Light blue / White / Pink / Blue stripes or checkered pattern on white.

*Let’s assume you choose a light blue dress shirt to go with your dark gray suit. Take the shirt and place it on your bed overlapping your suit.

*Now, let’s find a matching tie. Which colours and patterns will go best with your dark gray (suit) and light blue (shirt). With this basic colour combination almost any necktie colour will work well. The following necktie colours are best suited: Dark blue/burgundy red/pink /yellow / grayish green, all kinds of striped ties and small patterns.

Choose the tie that you like to wear for the day and add it to your shirt and suit on your bed. There you go, the perfect combination!

*Has this ever happened to you? You see a suit, shirt and tie combination in a display window of a men’s clothing store. The different patterns of stripes and checks look great in the display window. You go in and buy only one of the pieces. Then, when you get home, nothing will match this piece, and it just won’t look like it did in the store. Well, simply keep these two things in mind:

*Patterned with plain pieces

*Small patterns with large patterns

*Patterned and plain

Example: You choose a blue pinstripe suit -your patterned piece. Here something plain will match, thus we pick a light blue shirt. Since the suit dominates the whole outfit, you will now go for a plain tie, for example in light red. You have probably seen this combination a hundred times, now you know which principles it follows and why it looks so good!

*Small patterns and large patterns combined

*Having a closer look at the suit’s stripes, we notice that the space between them is about half inch. Thus, the pattern is quite small. Consequently we combine it with a large patterned shirt. Either stripes, with gaps of at least one and half inches or — even better — combine striped patterns with square patterns. With the pin-striped blue suit from above, a white dress shirt with blue checkered. According to rule number one (patterned combined with plain) we choose a solid colour necktie, so it will not get in the way with either the suit or the shirt. And the colour? Just as you like. The perfect match for a blue suit and white/blue checked shirt could be a pink or light yellow tie.

Accessories

*Cufflinks, belts, wallets and other small leather goods and men’s bags. The men’s scarf too make for great matches with corporate wear.

Casual wear

*Own at least two dress shirts of different colours with French cuffs: Buy one with a full-fashion collar that you can use with a collar stay and can be worn with a tie. This way you can wear this shirt to work or out at night.

*You can find cuff links that are colour-coordinated with your outfit, or wear silver, which goes with anything. 

*Button-up dress shirts are generally good choices, as long as you buy one that is high-quality and of a nice colour. If you’re building the basics, stick with colours like blue and white.

*You also can’t go wrong with a high, V-neck sweater made of a quality material. Try Merino wool, or if you’re really in the mood to splurge, cashmere spells class and feels great against the skin. V-neck sweaters look great for dates and dinners and for casual dress days at work. Also, be sure to wear a short-sleeve, white T-shirt under your shirts and sweaters.

*In term of outdoor clothing, opt for a rugged and environment conscious look. Organic printed shirts come in plain poplins and Amazonian inspired prints in soft muted colours from Amazonian blossoms and flowers, feathers to tribal head dresses. Faded formal stripes and colonial Madras checks grace small collar shirts, inspired by old English work wear.

*Slim fitted denims are now de rigueur for men, rather than loose baggy ones. Organic denim is lightweight, perfect for the summer.

*Outerwear should be functional with fine poplin trekking and hunting jackets. More formal pieces include; traditional guardsmen jackets in washed hemp and elegant fine cotton poplin shirt jackets. Soft Columbian cotton fine gauge jerseys come in polo, V and crew neck designs. Colours are soft with bright highlights, such as Amazonian inspired pinks and turquoise. Amazonian prints include animal prints; monkeys and frogs.

*For leisure, go for more relaxed and informal clothes that still reflect its hallmark sartorial style and design.

*The outerwear collection comprises spring like creations like microfibre, waterproof techno wool or thread-dyed cotton nylon bomber jackets, overcoats and mini trench coats and more summer ones like stretch linen bomber jackets and cotton sateen jackets.

The style is urban, permeated with a marine and holiday spirit, matched by colours (especially white and blue), shapes (quite structured), and style (clean and sober) as well as details like the refined  and subtle trims that add interest to sleeves and collars or tone-on-tone stitching that turns into decorative friezes and embroideries, typical of this collection.

Colours and prints

*A white dress shirt with a dark suit is always safe for semiformal evening wear. But always playing it safe is no fun! Try a black suit with a coloured shirt, such as dark red, for a change.

*At the office, white or blue dress shirts are business staples. Dark-toned, striped, or check will make a nice change.

*Washed out elegant prints grace slim fit shirts; Vintage Union Jacks, antique rose florals, alongside luxurious embroideries. Fine washed jerseys come in bright colours for summer.

Match them with

*Casual wear shoes can range from pure funky to hip.

*Cufflinks, belts, wallets and other small leather goods and men’s bags are the accessories that should go with the look. Follow these simple tips and keep in mind that after all, style is all about individualism and comfort is what really matters.

Compiled by Arathi Menon,Text support: Paul Smith