Shirt Meet Tie

Some men have terrible taste in shirts and ties – a quick glance around your work place will confirm it.

For those unfortunate enough to be confined to suits for the majority of their working week, fashion has to take a back seat. Corporate suits can often be mind-fumblingly dull and the sea of miserable faces trudging to work every morning is, to my mind, a mix of both work-based hatred and the realization that they really don’t know how to match up their shirts and ties.

Getting creative with your shirt and tie combinations is one of the best ways to showcase your love of fashion and style within a formal environment, but they’re extremely easy to get wrong. After all, colors and patterns can be confusing individually, but when you start mixing them together, all hell can break loose.

The Unstructured Suit

With tailoring continuing its resurgence in menswear circles, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to set your formal looks apart from the crowd. However, sometimes the smallest alteration to a classic style can help you achieve your goal. Our suggestion this season? Make the move from structured suiting to unstructured.

Due to its minimal padding and lining, the unstructured suit conveys a naturally relaxed vibe that will give your work-to-weekend ensembles a whole new outlook. Not only that, this type of style is, again, often made from lighter materials such as cotton or linen, ensuring you stay cool and comfortable as the temperatures rise.

The Checked Suit

With the majority of men still purchasing suits in standard shades of navy or grey, a subtle check is all you need to mark yourself out as a confident, stylish gent who is aware of the latest trends, but not a slave to them.

From windowpane to gingham, there is certainly a lot of choice on the current market – but to ensure versatility and longevity, we recommend you opt for a timeless neutral hue and a classic, muted pattern such as Prince of Wales check.

Those who don’t want to make so much of a statement should try breaking up the suit and wearing the jacket with solid colored trousers and brogues for an evening out – heritage chic at its finest. Alternatively, team your check trousers with a neutral blazer, white shirt and smart leather Derbies for dinner with the other half.

The Light Blue Suit

Timeless and highly versatile, the navy suit has long been touted by menswear publications as the only one you’ll ever need. Yet while navy is often the most admired, this season we suggest opting for a lighter shade of blue.

Seasonally-appropriate, a pastel or petrol blue suit will help give a contemporary twist to your smarter aesthetics without having to push your boundaries too far.

In terms of styling, keep it simple with a plain white shirt, linen tie and brown suede loafers for summer events, removing the tie and switching to white Jack Purcell for a modern take on smart-casual.

But don’t restrict yourself to wearing just the full suit – with blue continuing to dominate men’s wardrobes, you are bound to get endless use out of both the trousers and blazer when you split it into separates.

For instance, try teaming your jacket with selvage denim and brogues for a night on the town, or combining the trousers with a neutral colored polo and smart loafers when heading to the office on dress-down Friday.

Which Pattern Should You Pick?

For those looking to invest in a suit that isn't made in a solid color, the following are classic suit patterns perfect for the season and beyond, but don't forget that you can also work these same cloth patterns into components of men's suiting without making it and actual suit; that is, sport coats, blazers and trousers. In no particular order, there are the dominant suit cloths / patterns available this year that sit at the more conservative end of the spectrum.
                                            GLEN PLAID               DAMIER CHECK
                    

A Tie Bar For Your Custom Suit

The tie bar. A quintessential menswear accessory that has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to a revitalized interest in classic men’s style. A tie bar is a small detail that can have a big impact on a look. Here’s how to wear it properly.

– Purpose: A tie bar is meant to keep your tie fastened to the placket of your shirt. It sounds obvious, but bears repeating lest a perfectly fine tie bar be attached only to a tie and simply left to swing in the breeze.

– Styles: Tie bars come in two styles: pinch clasp and slide clasp. In general, I prefer a pinch clasp as I find it holds the tie more securely and stays in place better. However, if you have a thin tie, a slide clasp may be more appropriate as many pinch clasps are made to secure thicker fabrics and may not lay flat in that situation, making the clasp visible.

– Size: A tie bar should never be wider than your tie. It should range in size between one inch and the width of your tie. 3/4 the width of the tie is just about perfect.

– Placement: A good rule of thumb is to fasten the tie bar between your third and fourth buttons, around the sternum, and just below the pectoral muscles.

– Detail: Just before fastening the tie bar, pull your tie upward to blouse it slightly. This will add a nice bit of depth and visual appeal and will also keep you from feeling constricted or like the tie bar is holding you in place.

– Angle: Always wear the tie bar perpendicular to your tie; never at an angle.

– Color: You can’t go wrong with silver. It’s classic, matches almost anything, and looks great on everyone. But if gold is your thing or you’re wearing gold accessories, then go for it: it’s always best to make sure your metals match. Avoid colorful tie bars; it will just look like you are trying too hard. As with most menswear details, a tie bar should be an accent, not the topic of conversation.

– Bonus Tip: A tie bar should not be worn with a waistcoat or cardigan. Remember, the purpose of a tie bar is to hold the tie in place. If you are wearing a waistcoat or cardigan that’s already taken care of and at that point, a tie bar just becomes unnecessary and redundant.

Is A Pocket Square For You ?

Like the tie bar, the pocket square is a classic and timeless menswear detail that has made a comeback in a huge way. Thankfully, guys are discovering that they are allowed to rip out the stitching of their suit jacket’s breast pocket and fill it with a small accessory that makes a big impact with a high style reward.

A small accessory that makes a big impact with a high style reward.

A pocket square improves a suit jacket or blazer’s versatility, adds visual interest and depth to a look, and provides a subtle but powerful means of personal expression. There are many ways to fold a pocket square,some simple and some more complicated but how you choose to rock it depends mostly on personal taste (and slightly on the degree of formality of the occasion). As with anything, practice makes perfect and a little time invested in the skill upfront will ensure you can wear the pocket square any way you want with ease and flair. Here are five of the folds I use most often and that are guaranteed to have you covered from casual to formal.

New Showroom, NEW DEALS, New You !

Whoever has been to our Beverly Hills Showroom can tell you how amazing it's coming along. Not only is our showroom great but so are our deals. Not to mention that we will be having many more. The great thing about suits is that they make men feel the way shoes make women feel, that must say a lot. So why not take these deals into the showroom closest to you and make them worth something in your wardrobe. They won't be here for long so take advantage now that you can.


                 

Make It Custom!

Make it custom. Because in this day and age, anything and everything in your closet can be customized. Options range from computerized made-to-measure ( those nifty Web sites that ask you to measure your own shoulders) to full-blown bespoke (rendered with you in mind from the first stitch). The happiest of mediums comes from BookATailor : Its made-to-measure program for suits and shirts. It is overseen by its team of tailors and craftsmen, who customize the fits and finishes to your liking. The possibilities are practically endless.

Checked Blazers For The Winter

If you don’t want to go all out with a checked suit this winter, or simply have no need for one,  we’d suggest testing the waters with a blazer. The perfect piece to take you effortlessly from day to night, a checked blazer works just as well on off-duty days as it does in the office. Ideal for when temperatures begin to plummet, a textured wool (or wool-blend) version will add some much-needed warmth to your autumn/winter ensembles. Team a tailored grey plaid jacket with a crisp pale blue shirt and black trousers to create a stylish formal contrast. A blazer is also a go-to piece for smart-casual occasions, helping to sharpen up any look instantly. For events such as this, or creative working environments with relaxed dress codes, try combining a checked tweed blazer with slim-fit indigo denim jeans; the rugged, heavyweight fabrics complement each other perfectly.

The Look BookaTailor Can Help You Have

The most impactful way to approach the trend is undoubtedly through a full suit. From tartan to plaid patterns, upgrade your formal wear  with a well-cut version in a textured, cold-weather fabric. Whether you opt for navy, charcoal or light grey, a check suit exudes confidence and sophistication. A grey version in a modern lean fit is the perfect choice for the boardroom, paired with a crisp white shirt and navy tie. Finish the look off with a pair of black/brown .

 

What's A Vent and What's it for?

 For those unfamiliar with the term, a vent is the slit you see on the backside of blazers, sport coats, suit jackets, and any other type of jacket. Like many modern menswear details, vents originated from military heritage. As a functional necessity while traveling horseback, the vent provided comfort to the rider by allowing the jacket’s tails to part and fall gracefully along the sides of the horse. Not only did vents ease the buttoned jacket from bunching and constricting the body while seated, it also prevented unattractive fabric creasing where the bunching would have occurred.While very few men today travel by horse, the same functional principle applies in any situation where you need to be seated with your jacket on. Another benefit of the rear vent is that it permits easier access to your trouser pocket: the give from the vent negates excess fabric gathering and pulling as you dig your hand under the jacket to get into your pocket.

Bonus tip: Never put your hands, or any object, in your blazer or suit jacket pocket unless you want that area to get stretched out and misshaped. Most jackets come with basted (loosely stitched shut) pocket openings – keep the basting intact to prevent entry at all times and to preserve the jacket’s clean lines.

Make Women Jealous

Most men think "fashion" means a straightforward suit-and-tie look. But we don't fault guys for thinking this way -- the pressed slacks, button-up shirt and tailored jacket have long defined men's clothing, and it can get pretty boring. While women get an endless variety of skirts, dresses and even dressy pants, men get the same plain, solid colored suits their fathers wore. But it doesn't have to be that way. BookATailor offers so many styles and fabrics that will make women jealous.

Learn To Suit up Properly and Everything Else Follows

Whether you're an office guy who needs to look sharp for the competition, or a creative type who dresses up because he likes to, the suit is the basic building block of looking good. It's a timeless, ever adaptable, sometimes maligned, but never improved uniform. Consider the roots of that word: uni, as in a universally good idea to save your ass from the danger of too much choice; form, as in the opposite of formless, sloppy, or unfocused. We'll get to the specifics of lapel widths and armholes and vents and how to do it right, but let's first agree that this is where dressing like a man begins. Get the basics down and then you can lose yourself in perfecting the details, what the ever dapper Tom Wolfe once approvingly called the sartorial "mania for marginal differences." And that's when things get interesting.

HOW TO: Double Breasted Suits

BookATailor Teaches You All The New Styles

So, you want to up your fashion game by adding a double breasted suit into your wardrobe. How Prince Charles of you! Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering one. 

1. Go for peaked lapels. You’ll look extra sharp. 

2. Always leave it fastened until you sit down. 

3. Six buttons look the best.

4. Just like with your two button suit jackets, leave the bottom button undone on your double breasted suit jacket. 

Fall is That You?

Bye Bye Summer, hello Fall. Everyone looks forward for Fall with new styles, new brands, new costumes and of course the working men are looking for new suits. 2014 is hitting everyone with a big WOW with all new types of  patterns and styles that Book A Tailor has to offer. Especially with holidays right around the corner after fall who doesn't want to start saving up and getting all types of deals and gifts.